assy*-* ta'T 'V i n H H-ThevNewspaper B !IIH with Xtis Heart IIH in i he Fi^ncut i-Lairion, MI Community Com m unity Crier Vol. 24 No. 9 ©PCCC Inc. April 2, 1997 "W ill sch ool vote stan d ? BY BRYON MARTIN Vorva, a real estate agent and local politician, has joined with area residents and The loss of 720 ballots in the Plymouth-Canton Schools’ bond election has inspired a retained Plymouth attorney Steven Boak to serve a similar petition on the board. flurry of challenges, questions and concerns over the legitimacy of the vote, and the Vorva and company were motivated, “by the unseemly and greedy manner Dr. Little schools’ voting process at large. has shown by dismissing the 720 lost votes,” he said. At least four petitions have been, or are in the process of being delivered to the P-C Similar to Herriman’s petition, Vorva’s calls for a mailed-home re-vote for those elec- School Board by a combination of groups and individuals. Dan Herriman, of Loiselle and Herriman, is among them. Herriman filed two petitions Please see pg. 2 with the school board this week, in response to the loss of votes. “I’m very much concerned with the integrity of the voting process,” Herriman said. “720 votes were lost, and it should have been a simple vote. It was a one-proposal issue.” Jacob’s Giant Easter That issue was an $80 million bond to fund a number of school projects, including construction of a new elementary school and a third high school at PCEP. In a close vote, the bond was rejected by seven of Plymouth’s eight precincts, and approved by all 10 of Canton’s^ it passed by 96 votes. Of the 10,124 votes cast in the election, however, 720 were lost or spoiled — more than seven times the number of deciding votes. “The 7percept lost ballot rate is unacceptable,” Herriman said. “A re-vote would assure everybody’s vote is cast.” One of Heniman’s petitions requests such a re-vote. According to the petition and pursuant to state election laws, the school board could hold a special election for electors could re-cast their votes: Paper ballots would be mailed to all of the 10,124 who went to the polls in the March 22 election. An acceptable alternate plan, Herriman’s petition says, would be a new election, a complete re-vote for the bond issue. Either way, he said, a second chance is required, Herriman’s petitions were delivered to Charles Little, P-C schools superintendent. “People ought to be able to leave the precinct knowing their vote has been cast, and that hasn’t happened in this election,” Herriman said. “The ramifications for future elec­ tions are enormous.” ' Jerry Vorva says the fate of future elections concern him, too. Feds buy C anton p ark land fo r P.O . BY SCOTT SPIELMAN post office officials ask for requests,” It’s been a long time coming. Yack said. “We submit a proposal. Once The land has been sold, the ink is dry. you submit a proposal, you can’t with­ Canton is getting its first official post draw it. You’re committed.” office. The post office will be Canton’s first Canton Township Clerk Terry Bennett official post office, and Yack says its and Supervisor Tom Yack closed the sale about time. “We went through petition of 4.638 acres in Griffin Park for a new drives, committees, and 10 or 12 metings post office last Wednesday. with postal officials, all designed to get “I don’t think anyone should expect us a post office;” Yack said, recalling the construction within the next 60 days,” 10 year process. Yack said, “because that’s the amount of “Name one other community of time they’ve given us to take anything we 60,000 that doesn’t have its own post ’ want off the land. It will probably be office,” Yack said. “Right now we have started sometime in May.” to drive to Westland to pick up registered The land is located in Griffin Park, off mail and bulk mail. That’s not an easy Canton Center Road, just north of Cherry trip any more.” Hill, according to Yack. It was just one The Canton post office will offer these of the parcels of land Canton offered for a services and more, Yack said. It will be a Jacob Jaghab won a Giant bicycle from the Plymouth-Canton Jaycees in their annual new post office. full service post office, have its own Easter egg hunt, Saturday, under the downtown parking ramp. (Crier photo by R. “The way the system works is that the Please see pg. 3 Alwood, Jr.) Bookworm School hockey Plymouth book-lover advances Local man returns to community; Group hopes to send Salem, at Detroit Public Library named environmental director Canton teams to the ice this fa ll See friends & neighbors pg. 6 See Getting down to business pg. 8 See Sports pgs. 27-29 " - ~r :-r?3jr -■ :r^-rrr™ -f ^ t'6®^ :■■ A-3i.R0- YTfMI&i&’OO 3H.t ■ j Page 2 THE COMMUNITY CRIER: April 2, 1997 Lost bond votes inspire four groups to file petitions Herriman’s recount petition: The schools’ Continued pg. 1 “Those 716 voters have been dis~ Lost ballots are part of voters’ learn­ canvassers will retabulate the votes 2 tors who went to the polls for the ing curve, Little said. enfranchised* D n Liule has Vorva and Herriman both claim the p.m., Thursday at the board offices. Saturday vote. error was on the part of precinct workers “I’m glad he’s curious about the According to state election laws, It*s too com plioated fo r you tp — insufficient instructions and guidance count,” Little said. “Everybody is wel% though, proof of fraud or malfunction understand. Your vote dQem 't for voters. come.” ' must be proved before the board is How — and if — the board will required to hold a re-vote or a new elec­ matter* The 720 lost votes are proof enough to Vorva to necessitate the re-vote, which respond to the re-vote petitions is uncer-, tion. - Je rry Vorva the makers of die Unilect systems should tain. 0 This burden of proof rests on the peti­ pay for, he said. For Vorva, however, there is no uncer­ tioners. Unilect .systems. “They need to bear out the cost, tainty in the board’s message to voters. No one, however, is certain how the The hypotheses differ, however, on including the re-vote and the March 22 “Those 720 voters have been disen­ votes were lost. who is charged with causing the error. vote. And then we need to review this franchised. Dr. Little has said, it’s too Hypotheses have been proposed by the Little has attributed the lost ballots to company’s (history),” Vorva said. “If we complicated for you to understand. Your board and the petitioners, respectively; voter unfamiliarity with the Unilect sys­ don’t get die re-vote, then we’ll take this vote doesn’t matter,” Vorva said. both are based on human error at the tem, purchased in the last year, and used “The school board would be running • polls, not a mechanical failure of the in only one other election. to circuit court.” Little has already responded to as fast as they can to the mailbox with those ballots if the bond had failed,” Vorva continued. “The message they’re giving is that it’s whether you win or loose, not how you play the game. “We’re outraged and disappointed.” Readers Rate Pick-up and/or return sician. your Community Crier Readers Rate poll at The Crier offices, 821 Penniman Ave,, Plymouth, the Plymouth Library or the Canton “St. Mary Hospital offered postpartum care — they’re called LDRPs. library. 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