^^^^^^WF • » m •*rwi*****^***m'*^*rw ,«•»».• • IP I' •! . II '•JP P»P"|PHPIW lomeibwn COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK Your hometown newspaper serving Westland for 35 years' Thursday, February 10, 2000 hometownnewspapers.net 75C Volume 35 Number 72 Weatiand, Michigan OB000 HomeTown Communications Natwork1** 1 M Council meeting full of wrath Effective with today's issue, we've • The furor over the firing made improvements in the page one namepiate - called 'the flag"'py newspa­ of City Clerk Patricia Gib­ per ftM* - of your West land Observer. bons intensified Monday a£ A newspaper's flag carries Blot of hundreds of people information for'those who know how to descended on City Hall. read it. This note is to help you out. • We've designed a special type face for BY DARRELL ClEM STAFF WRJTKH 'the namepiate of the West land Observ­ dclem^oe.homecomm.net er. We hope it's both distinctive and easy to read.. Amid a public thrashing over Clerk • Below the namepiate, we list the com­ Patricia Gibbons' firing, Westland City munities served hy the paper. Council President Charles "Trav*' Grif­ • To the left of the namepiate, you'll find fin vowed Monday to release copies of "HomeTown-Communications Net­ the former city employee's job perfor­ work* under a graphic that looks like mance evaluations. the roof of a house. That indicates that Griffin said he will release the docu­ the Westland Observer is part of the ments after the Wayne County Prose­ HomeTowrV Communications Network of fine local newspapers throughout.' cutor's Office concludes a probe of Michigan. whether he and three council col­ leagues violated the state Open Meet­ • To the right of the namepiate is an award ribbon indicating that the West- ings Act for their handling of Gibbons' land Observer has won an aw'ard as the •dismissal. best community newspaper in Michi­ Griffin already divulged during u gan by the Michigan Press Associa­ blistering council session Monday that tion. he didn't believe Gibbons was earning, • In the color bar below the namepiate, her S69.7U9 salary, He criticized her yOu will see from the left; Volume 35 writing and verbal skills and said she and Number 72. indicating the •number should've been better organized. of years the paper has been published "She had too many performance defi­ and the number of editions published ciencies, in my opinion," Griffin said. so far during the year; 'hometown- new spacers, net" is the address.of our His statements came on the same site on the World Wide web: 75 cents night that nearly 30H people jammed 8TATF PHOTO BY TOM HAITLEY indicates the price of the paper at the City Hall - many of them to protest the newsstand. Closed doors: People who weren't lucky enough to get seats at Monday's packed council meeting way a four-member -council majority At the bottom of the front page we run found themselves on the other side of closed doors, unable to hear what was happening inside. They handled Gibbons' firing on Jan, 18. telephone numbers of our classified ''sharply criticized council President Charles "Trav" Griffin for ordering the doors closed. He cited More than 100 people packed council advertising department, newsroom and chambers, and Fire Marsha! Patrick circulation and home delivery staff. We concerns about fire safety codes and overcrowding* Some residents voiced their anger with shouts of Harder estimated that 150, to 200 oth want to make it easy for you to reach.us. "Recall!" Our aim is to make our newspapers the Please see COUNCIL A3 essential tool for our readers and their families to live the good life m their home towns. That's why we are making these improvements, with others soon to come. Tell me what you think. You can reach City clerk vote nixed for now meat (734) 953-2100 or at incinerator rax $rosJek#oe.homecomm net BY DARRELL CLEM Cox said the issue, which would require a city char­ Sincerely. STAFF WRITER ter amendment, deserves more study. dcle.ak9oe.homecoaiin.net going to voters " "Personally I'm not in disfavor of the idea," he said. Westland voters will not be allowed to decide a May But he has voiced opposition to moving swiftly to BY DARRELL CLEM change the charter, in the wake of a public uproar STAFF WRITER Susan Rosiek, 9 ballot proposal on whether the city clerk's job [email protected] Publisher should, become an elected position. over the Jan 18 firing of Gibbons In a 4*3 yote, th« unie majority that fired Clerk Cicirehj CBIM May tt an i»p—ting date to decide Westland voters will decide during a special May 9 Patricia Gibbons on Jan. 18 decided Monday that the whether Westland should have an elected clerk- election whether to renew a 1-mill incinerator tax for ballot measure would be premature. while the post is filled on an interim basis by former 10 years, rather than 15, IN THE PAPER Council President Charles "Trav" Griffin and col­ Clerk Diane FriU. City council member Sandra Cicirelli propose*! the leagues David Cox, David James and Sharon Scott "I think this is a very rare opportunity that has scaled-back proposal; to make it more paLuablt- to chose to appoint a committee to study the issue. presented itself time-wise,"Cicirelli said. critics, but colleague Glenn Anderson and some resi­ Council members Glenn Anderson. Sandra Cieirelli She also noted that cities such as Livonia.and dents >still oppose the measure and Richard LeBtaru* supported letting voters decide Dearborn have elected clerks, "and they seem to do The ballot plan would pay for West land's d'"bt -in[' TODAY the clerk issue May 9, when a special election is just fine." . ' . trash disposal at ;i Dearborn Heights incinerator already scheduled for a 1-mill incinerator tax. Anderson said allowing voters to decide whether operated by the Central Wayne County Sanitutiun The clerk is now an "at-will" employee appointed by they want to elect a city clerk could help to restore Authority, ENTERTAINMENT council. public faith in a council under fire. The owner of an average $!?O,O0O house would Former council member Thomas Brown strongly Griffin, Cox, James and.Scott fueled a storm of continue to pay $60 a year. Musical family event: Bob- urged a ballot proposal to let voters decide whether protest by firing Gibbons on Jan.'18 - four days after The seven-member council reached a consensus on they want their clerk to be elected, starting with the Griffin placed her on leave and took her office-keys. C'icirelli's 10-year plan during a Monday evening Harris of Livonia, a long­ next round of city elections in 2001. ."•VYV need to do the right thing tonight," Anderson study session time Rolling Stones fan, Brown said the clerk Should be accountable to live said Monday, "Let's put some faith back in city gov- But Anderson changed his mind when the issue voters" and not a council majority. r- - tells his story during a Pleas* see CLERK, A3 "^ * Please see INCINERATOR, Ail "Rockin*Family Valen­ tines" extravaganza. /El REAL ESTATE Quo vadls? Leaders of large real estate groups a discuss their plans./Fl BY JULE BROWN enjoying crafts. "I think it's pretty fun," STAFF WRITER said Elizabeth Cuek, 8, a second-grad­ INDEX jbrW«»Goe..hon!ecomm.net er at All Saints Elementary in Canton, Winterfeat wasn't just kid stuff, but She liked "the moon walks and making all the arts and crafts." Apartments/FB Entertainment/El the kids were having a good time Sun­ day. Robert Kosowski. director'of West- At.Home/D Jobs/FIi Children at the Bailey Center in land Parks and Recreation, was Automotive/09 Obituaries/A6 Westland had different ideas of what pleased with turnout at the city-spon­ Qpiruoris/A12-i3 Classified/P,* they liked best. "I like to play games," sored event, early Sunday. The fire­ Classified lodex/FS Real Estate/Fl said Sarah Toamiina, 5, a Patchin Ele­ fighters' pancake breakfast was fol­ Community Ufe/Bi Service Guide/09 mentary kindergartner. Her brother. lowed by a day full of entertainment Crossword/ ft Sports/Cl Zach, 10, a Patchin fifth-grader, liked and family togetherness. "the crafta." .. ' * " Nelson Pearson's Wildlife Safaris The two were'watching dad Lou brought in wild animals. There was iUai initio tH * ufkl'l&iiTii B I IZZa SOrVG Up- !T>"wif'«! entertainment nnd several slices of pizza. Proceeds were going to inflatablea set up in the gym, &TAFT PWtii «y MArntow IAPUM^H TLC Greyhound Adoption, with Kathy "The-kids are all anxious to get on Merrily: Che I sen Kangas, Judy Chiesa and Kelly Chiesa prepare Darfler of that group helping to serve the ridetr," Kosowski said Sunday of the to embark on a sleigh ride around the track at the annual Win* up pixW. inflatable*. He was pleased with the terfeM held Sunday at the Bailey Recreation Center, More than Down the hall, other children were ^WNTIRrtiOe &Q0 people attended this year's event. TTeaa e ww» Amplification system to help young students hear Thinking about a new car or a good vicond car? «v .liH4R Rnoim tant superintendent, for instruction. There i« also a student microphone, • Recognized John Glenn High, OTAFT Vltnwi Some children lack sufficient ear devel­ Superintendent Greg Barney noted School s t hriKtopher Mcr ariand n> ;i You'll find a huge selection jw M • IHPD «,lNHHe*oin Tto.net opment to hear well, he said, and oth­ that grant money, rather than general Metro Detroit Ford Dealers High Hearing the teacher will «oon become ers have health conditions which fund dollars, will pay for \hv equip School Athlete of the Week iW.'JK AM of auto ad* in today's MtFiu iRnd.