2· july 2019 - the wayne dispatch · 2019. 7. 10. · cludes hits from quiet riot, journey, def...

2 · July 2019 · The Wayne Dispatch

The Wayne Dispatch · July 2019 · 3

July 17-Major WoodyThe 2019 Summer Concerts in

Goudy Park will kick off on Wednes-day, July 17, with Major Woody, aband that has not performed in pastsummer concerts. This Livoniacover band, formed in 1992, per-forms pop, rock, Motown and clas-sics. There have been a few memberchanges over the years, but four ofthe original founding members arecurrently in the band. The seven-piece band has male and femalefront singers; the size of the band al-lows for a full sound and versatilityin song choice. According to PattiDickson, wife of lead vocalist GlennDickson, “Major Woody’s greatestasset and reason for their popularityis their contagious fun and enthusi-asm. Guaranteed a good time thatpeople can’t resist joining in. Theyalso limit the amount of venues theyperform, thus keeping them freshand excited for their performances.They will not disappoint!” JoinGlenn Dickson (lead vocals), Carrie

Shelton (lead vocals), Carl Gerhard(lead guitar), Greg Panaretos(rhythm guitar), Mike Wigand (bassguitar), Tim McPherson (keyboard)and Duran Grisa (drums) as theygather to entertain you at the open-ing concert of the Goudy Park sum-mer series.

July 24-Theo GridironTheo Gridiron is the singer of

the Detroit Lions fight song. Theo’slife changed when he tried out for the2004 WDIV Super Singer contest inDetroit where he caught the eye of aDetroit Lion’s exec who reached outand asked if Theo would be inter-ested in performing the team’s fightsong at home games. Born andraised in Detroit, Theo has devel-oped his brand of “soul-stirring,gospel-influenced, pure Detroit soul”from an early age, according to hiswebsite. A blue-collar Big 3 workerby day, he brings his passion forsinging to the Goudy Park stage onWednesday, July 24.

July 31-Live Bullet DetroitAccording to the band’s Facebook

page, Live Bullet Detroit “Formedin July 2015. Live Bullet Detroit iscomprised of some of the area’s topmusicians. Lead by the strong vocalsand stage performance of KevinEvans, expect to be entertained bymusic from the Live Bullet album inits entirety as well as other favorites.Adding to the performance, themembers are also dressed in cloth-ing from the 70's to give a completeBOB SEGER EXPERIENCE!”

August 7-ROCKSTARROCKSTAR will be making their

2nd appearance in the Wayne sum-mer concert series, having playedhere last summer. This 80s hairband will give you the ultimate 80srock experience. Their repertoire in-cludes hits from Quiet Riot, Journey,Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Poison, Mot-ley Crue, Cinderella, Night Rangerand many others. According to theirwebsite, “ROCKSTAR has had the

honor of sharing the stage with someof the original 80’s greats includingSteven Adler of Gun’s & Roses,Berlin, Foreigner, Brett Michaels ofPoison, Sebastion Bach of Skid Row,Night Ranger, Winger, .38 Special,Loverboy, Warrant, Faster Pussycat,John Waite, and many more. Comesee why ROCKSTAR is known as‘The International 80’s Rock Sensa-tion’ by getting the Ultimate 80’sRock Experience!

Concerts will begin at 7:30 p.m.on Wednesdays at the Amphitheatrein Goudy Park. The concerts are pre-sented to you by the Wayne RotaryClub.

The remaining concerts for Au-gust include:

Steve King and the Dittilies

(Aug. 14)Power Play (Aug. 21)Fifty Amp Fuse (Aug. 28)These bands will be highlighted

in next month’s edition of The WayneDispatch.

The Wayne Rotary Concerts in Goudy Park are Wednesday nights in Downtown Wayne starting July 17th.

Your summer concert season has arrived!


Wayne loses community icon and diamondBy Carolyn Marnon

An icon of the community hasdied. William “Wild Bill” Coplanddied June 18 after a fight with can-cer. He was 81.

As “Taps” played into the sky out-side the doors of St. John’s Episco-pal Church on a warm 81° summermorning, mourners packed the rowsof pews, some having to sit in foldingchairs, others having to stand at theback of the church. The parking lotwas filled to capacity. Overflow park-ing spilled out onto the front andback lawns and into the school park-ing lot next door. All had come to paytheir respects to Bill and his familyand to share stories of how he hadimpacted their lives.

The Reverend Tom Wilson camefrom his home in Tennessee to leadthe funeral celebration. Rev. Wilsonwas a former pastor at St. John’s; heand his wife became great friendswith Bill and Sharron. Sharron saysthat when Tom heard of Bill’s death,he told her he would come to Michi-gan to officiate at the funeral.

In his homily, Rev. Wilson said hemet Bill 47 years ago during the in-terview process to become the pastorat St. John’s. Bill was on the vestryand was part of the process. Hespoke of the many church activitiesBill had been involved in over theyears, including the church bowlingleague. He told the attendees that Billhad a great love of toys. Those toysjust happened to be front-end load-ers, snow plows, riding mowers,dump trucks and the like. He spokeabout the business’s Bill had inWayne: the party store, the videostore and the bike shop. He spokeabout Bill’s singing, especially duringthe winter. A favorite? “Every time itsnows, it snows pennies fromheaven.” Yes, Wild Bill had a sense ofhumor. Unfortunately, the last fewmonths had been hard on Bill. Hebecame frustrated because he wasnot able to do all those things he’donce been able to do. Most in thecommunity know that Bill seemed tobe everywhere. Sharron later com-mented, “You know Bill. He neverstops.”

Young Bill started his “career” asa chip bagger at the party store whenhe was 14. The store was owned bysomeone else then. The store madetheir own chips, and Bill bagged

them up. He later became a bottle-boy and kept working his way upthrough the positions until eventu-ally, “He owned the whole thing!” ex-claims Sharron.

Bill and Sharron were marriedfor 58 years and have lived in thesame house in Wayne those entire 58years. They met while she worked atLeright’s. She says he rented a roomdown the street.

Sometime in her 30s, Sharronhad a pulmonary embolism in herleg. One thing after another seemedto plague her health, but she saysthrough it all, “We had a very goodmarriage. Very compatible. We neverfought. He always took such goodcare of me. You don’t find men likeBill anymore.”

While Bill was in the Army, Shar-ron stayed at their home in Wayne.She says he almost went to the Bayof Pigs (a failed military invasion ofCuba). When asked what he did inthe Army, Sharron says he was on aboat where the end tips down andthe men all run onto the ground.

“What you see is what you got,”Sharron says about Bill. She men-tions how he would come across ahomeless person that he would thentake care of-giving him food and shel-ter. That person would eventuallydie, and he would get a new home-less person to take care of. “He wassuch a good Christian. He did whatJesus told him to do,” Sharron says.When he owned the party store and

the Greyhound bus stopped there,he would take a passenger who haddisembarked wherever they neededto go. Sharron says she didn’t likeBill doing this since he didn’t knowthe person, but Bill would do it any-way. It was the type of person he was.

Sharron was a stay-at-homemother to their three children. Whenthe youngest, Linda, went off to col-lege, Sharron had plans for what todo with her new “spare” time. Billhad other plans. He put her to work“for just an hour or two a day, a fewdays a week” Bill told her. Thatended up being all day six days aweek. Sharron would tell Bill shedidn’t know what she was doing, buthe told her she would learn in timehow to run the party store, the icecream parlor inside and westernunion, among other duties.

Bill was a family man accordingto Sharron. He and his boys racedall-terrain vehicles in competitions.He coached hockey and baseball forthe boys. They had horses, so he didthings on the horse route.

He loved elephants. There aresigns of this throughout his home. Itmight seem, however, that he mighthave had a secret way with cats.Sharron tells a tale about Tillie, a catwho lived down the street from theparty store. She was constantly fol-lowing Bill around and loved to getup on his shoulders and sleep on hisneck. He would take Tillie home,and she’d come right back to theshop. Sharron says Bill never likedcats but after Tillie met an unfortu-nate demise, Bill had a portrait ofher made that hung in the home.

Once Bill owned the party store,which consisted of two buildings on

the block on Wayne Road betweenAsh and Elm streets, he went on toown the video store, and then twomore buildings that made up thebike shop. He added a garage to thebike shop. He moved into the land-scaping business. Bill’s intentionwas to own the entire block. At hisdeath, he still owned the buildingwhere Scooters-N-More is located.All the rest of the buildings had beensold.

Because of all his businesses, theCopland’s didn’t travel much. His fa-vorite place was Alaska where theycruised the inland passage. Hedidn’t like Hawaii. Once, on a Missis-sippi riverboat cruise at Mardi Grastime, the riverboat staff handed outcrepe paper for passengers to makecostumes for a party. Sharron andher friend’s husband had hurt them-selves and couldn’t dress up, but herfriend Betty was a carrot, while WildBill might have a been a stalk of cel-ery. “It was something ridiculous,”Sharron laughs. There was also atime when they travelled to theUpper Peninsula and after dinner atsome greasy spoon in the middle ofnowhere, Bill stood outside and didthe Tarzan call.

Bill is survived by his wife Shar-ron, his children William and Linda,his sisters Sharon, Joni, Kathy andSusie, brothers Robert, Butch, Johnand David, six grandchildren, sixgreat-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. He was precededin death by his parents William andMargaret Copland, his sister Bar-bara and his son, Darrell.

The City Council issued a resolu-tion in memorium of Wild Bill Cop-land at the July 2 meeting.

William “Wild Bill” Copland


By Carolyn Marnon

Upon hearing the news of William“Wild Bill” Copland’s death, mem-bers of the community shared theircondolences and memories of Bill onThe Wayne Dispatch’s Facebookpage.

He will be missed dearly by every-body that knew him. I was fortunateenough to have known him for al-most 50 years. This awesome amaz-ing man helped me out too manytimes to count with any bicycle partI ever needed and never asked me topay for nothing when I was in need.

— Bob Sweet

Wild Bill was a great fixture inWayne. He was always so friendlyand about the hardest working manthat I have known.

— Martha Pitsenbarger

Bill always had a smile for every-one.— Bertie Karll

A tremendous loss to his family,his friends, his community, and hischurch. I was honored to considerhim my friend.— Daryl Royal

He used to come into Brownie’sDiner when I was just a kid forbreakfast. Always so upbeat and pos-itive.— Kimberly Fick

A wonderful gentleman who wasan amazing ambassador for ourcity.— Cindy Schofield

He made a lot of kids’ dreamscome true with his fantastic bikeshop.— Michael Gotts

There’s not one bad thing thatone could ever say about this man! Igrew up through the years walkingwith my mom to the party store orrenting movies from Bill and his fam-ily. That last word is exactly how myfamily and I felt about Bill and hisfamily; they were our family.

— Michelle Tackett-Braden

I will always remember Bill fromhigh school as a very gentle, soft-spo-ken and happy boy.

— DeeAnn Ekman

A great supporter of community!Bill was a “doer,” a working man whonever quit helping people and

causes. Bill cared! Bill loved to helpothers.— Sharon Arthur

Wild Bill was truly one of thenicest people in the world. Alwayskind, funny and generous. What agiant presence in our community asfar back as I can remember.

— Regenia Higgs

He touched many lives.— Carla Jo

Bought my first mini-bike fromhim. Everytime I’ve seen him, he’s al-ways had a kind word.

—Tom Cahill

We have lost many importantthings in the city of Wayne, howevernone can compare to this loss! Iworked with Bill for several years ascommissioners on the Wheelfest.There is nothing I can say that hasn’talready been said.— Nancy Lambert

The best dad jokes. My businessneighbor, a true gentleman, vigorousin his support for Wayne.

— Kim White-Jenkins

My first memory of “Wild Bill”Copland is as a little girl when mygrandfather walked me up to hisbike shop to get me a bike tire. Yearslater, I was blessed to get to knowhim through St. John’s EpiscopalChurch. He was always busily in-volved with one church project orthe other. He was always nice, funnyand made you laugh.

— Margaret Zimmerman

I first met him while deliveringthe mail, and he would always giveme a wink and a smile when Iwalked by.

— Marie Shannon

I remember Wild Bill when wemoved to Elm Street in the mid-fifties. I think he was a stock boy atthe party store that he eventuallyowned and added the bike shop to.He is definitely a true icon of Wayne.And he helped so many people overthe years. He cut my mom’s lawn.

— Beverly Fuller

He was such a nice man with bigenergy. — Matt Rochon

Bill was the most universally

loved person I’ve ever known. He gotjoy from helping everyone he knewand those he’d just met.

— Kathy Darfler

Wayne will never be the samewithout him! — Rayma Hogan

He did so much for the commu-nity that people don’t know about. Atrue lover of Wayne and its people.

— Ed McMurray

I saved up all my chore moneywhen I was 8 to buy a BMX helmetat the bike shop. We used to ride upthere and get our tires filled for freelike family.

— Hannah Flores

He fought a good fight. He was atruly great person to everybody. Hehas earned his wings.

— May Williams

Wild Bill was Wayne. I think weshould dedicate a bench or some-thing in his honor.

— Sammy Willingham

Really touches my heart becausewhen he ran Wild Bill’s Bike Shop, Iwas always in there buying bikeparts.

— John Davis

I absolutely loved him so much!He always kept an eye out for mewhen I was working at Kirby. When Ileft late at night when it was dark. I’dsay don’t worry about it, get in yourcar. I see you! Drive safe! EverywhereI seen him he always had a smile onhis face and was always willing tohelp out. The world is definitelygoing to be missing this wonderfulangel.

— Vivian Whisenand

Bill lived in my street growing up.Not a day went by that he didn’t drivedown the street and beep, smile andwave.

— Jennifer Roach

I grew up 3 doors from his partystore. As a young teenager, I wanteda 10-speed bike. He allowed me tobuy one and pay him $10 a weekuntil it was paid for.

— Lee Miller

Wild Bill taught me how to

change a bike tire tube when I was 7years old at his bike shop. There wasa pile of old bikes and parts outsidethat he didn’t use and would let thekids go into and take parts. Some ofus even built a bike with them.

— Robert Webb

Wild Bill was a neighbor wholiked to have fun. He used to go trickor treat in costume with his kids. —Kathy Johnson

His parents lived down the streetfrom me growing up in Wayne. Allthroughout my life I don’t ever re-member him being mean or hateful,always willing to help and alwayshad a smile. Used to see him at theDunkin’ Donuts on Wayne Rd talkingto his cronies. — Patrick Hill

He was always around and al-ways helping the city. I can remem-ber buying candy from his store andchecking out bikes at the bike shop.I also remember chatting with himwhen I worked for the city.

— Aaron Masters

Bill and I were doing clean up inWayne, and he was my partner. Aswe came upon the cemetery he saiddon’t go in yet. He placed 3 pennieson the step and said no worries nowbecause this will keep evil spiritsaway. — Trish Hampton

I lived on Chestnut street andwent to Wild Bill’s Party Store all thetime as a child. One day, a frienddared me to take a red penny candy.I was about 7. At the time, they cost2 for a penny. I was scared and prob-ably really obvious. Bill watched mefrom behind the counter and gaveme a look as if to say you better notbe thinking of taking that candy. Well,thanks to Bill, I never did take thecandy. I did go home and get somemoney. I came back and bought thecandy. I’m sure he chuckled andprobably told my dad.

— Liz Arthur-Meyes

He loved everyone he encoun-tered and truly believed in helpingeveryone he could, and if he couldsing a song or say or do somethinggoofy and get a laugh, it made the ex-perience that much better.

— Alex Copland

Community shares memories of “Wild Bill”


Only one or two police officersfrom the entire state are selected forthe award each year. On June 25, Lt.Kevin Schmidtke of the Wayne PoliceDepartment received the prestigiousMichigan Association of Chiefs of Po-lice Distinguished Service Medal. Ac-cording to the Wayne PoliceDepartment, “This is a state-wideaward for ‘exceptionally meritoriousservice in the performance of an as-signment of great responsibility. Theexcellence of such performance dis-tinguished both the officer andhis/her department.’”

Recipients of the award are se-lected by a panel of police chiefsfrom across the state.

The Wayne Police Departmentalso reports that “Lt. Schmidtke re-ceived the award for his tireless ef-forts to identify a cold case serialrapist. Lt. Schmidtke took a reportabout the original incident when he

was an officer in training in 2001. Hefollowed the case since then andeventually identified the suspectthrough stellar police work. Thecase was turned over to then Detec-tive Perez, who obtained a warrantfor the suspect's arrest. The suspectis now serving a lengthy prison term.In his original recommendation tothe awards committee, Chief Strongwrote, ‘Without Lt. Schmidtke’s ded-ication to the case, the suspectwould have continued to commit sex-ual assaults, and the victim wouldhave never received justice. Istrongly believe that Lt. Schmidtke’sactions prevented numerous sexualassaults.’"

According to Chief Strong, no onein his 20-year career in the WaynePolice Department has won theaward. He believes the last award toa Wayne officer was about 30 yearsago.

Officer Schmidtke receives prestigious Chiefs award

Left to right David Malloy (past president of Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police

and Novi PD Chief), Wayne Police Chief Ryan Strong, Lt. Kevin Schmidtke and new

president of MACP, Chief Terrence McDonnell of East Jordan PD.


Beaumont Hospital, Wayne

4th ANNUAL FAMILY SAFETY AWARENESS DAY

ACTIVITIES AND DEMONSTRATIONS:• ambulance tour

• child identi�cation kits

• �re safety obstacle course

• helicopter

• smokehouse

• shooting simulator

• Jaws of Life at 4 p.m.

MEET AND GREET:• Department of Natural Resources

• �re departments

• K9 units

• Life�ight of Michigan

• Michigan search & rescue

• police departments

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection

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Beaumont is committed to serving the health needs of our community. Join us at this family friendly FREE EVENT to learn tips on preventing accidents and injuries.

THURSDAY, AUG. 1 2-6 P.M.

Beaumont Hospital 33155 Annapolis St. Wayne, MI 48184

PIZZA, ICE CREAM AND SNACKS

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT beaumont.org/safety-days, OR CALL ADRIENNE 734-467-2756.

BIKE CONTEST:Complete the safety stations and receive a free bike helmet (while supplies last) and be entered to win a bike.

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By Carolyn Marnon

“One of the first things I tell thegroup is ‘I'm really good at play-grounds, but I'm really bad atnames,’” said Wayne resident JuanBradford, Community Build Super-visor for Miracle Midwest, MiraclePlayscapes that manufactured thenew playscape at Rotary Park II lo-cated on Chamberlain between Johnand Stellwagen streets in Wayne.

Volunteers from throughout theWayne community came together onFriday, June 28, and Saturday, June29, to construct the new playscapethat officially opened Monday, July 1.

“My job is to go out and assistgroups that purchase playgroundequipment with the intent of in-stalling it themselves with volun-teers. I typically end up working withschools, churches, municipalities,HOA's and I will travel anywhere inMichigan, Indiana, or Ohio,” saidJuan. “The most challenging part ofmy job is taking a group of peoplewhom I have just met that day and

quickly evaluate their skill level,stamina, and ability to work as aleader or follower. There truly is ajob for everyone and I do my best tofind them that job. That and remem-bering everyone's name.

Friday, the Wayne Department of

Public Works (DPW) prepared theground while volunteers unloadedthe playscape components andmoved them to the areas where theywould be installed. Posts were thendropped in preparation for assembly.

Saturday, the playscape was as-

sembled. This consisted of liftingparts and bolting them together.

“One of the most satisfying partsof helping a group build a play struc-ture is seeing people smile and beproud of themselves after assem-bling something when earlier thatday they didn't even know how aratchet wrench worked,” said Juan.

“Thankfully, we didn’t have anylast-minute surprises like notenough volunteers or bad weather.Even though it was around 90° andhumid each day, everyone did a goodjob of keeping hydrated and takingbreaks when needed. We don’t wantanyone working harder than they areable to, that’s how people can gethurt and we definitely don’t wantthat. I want everyone who was thereto look back in a month or a yearand remember how much fun theyhad,” continued Juan. “As a formerCity of Wayne employee who workedfor the Parks and Recreation Depart-

Playscape rises with community help

See Playscape, page 9

Mayor John Rhaesa and the City of Wayne, along with community volunteers, thanks

Beaumont Regional Affairs Manager - Eric Woody and Beaumont Hospital for their

generous gift of new playground equipment for Wayne Rotary II Park on Chamberlain.


ment for 28 years, it was a great feel-ing for me to get to come back anddo a community build playground inmy hometown.”

According to Beaumont Hospital-Wayne’s Vice President of OperationsJose M. Kottoor, “Playscape is aproject to keep the families and chil-dren to be active and encouragesthem to be outdoors. With BeaumontCommunity Health Assessment im-plementation strategy to buildhealthier lives and communities,there couldn’t be a project betterthan this. We also see this project aspromoting health in our communityand population health. It also in-creases our visibility in the neighbor-hoods.” Jose states, “Beaumont isinterested in the health and wellbe-ing of the communities around ourcampuses. We practice what we ad-vocate for – healthier communities.”

The project could not have hap-pened without Beaumont Health andHealthy Wayne who donated the newplayscape. Northside Hardware do-nated any wood needed for the proj-ect. David Steinhauer andProfessional Insurance donatedbreakfast (coffee, donuts and bagels)both days. Captain Nemo’s donatedsubmarine sandwiches for lunchboth days. Happy’s Pizza donatedpizza both days. Fresh Choice do-nated water, Gatorade, pop andchips both days. The volunteers didnot go hungry!

Children would not be enjoyingthe playscape right now without themany volunteers who gathered tohelp. Volunteers came from Beau-mont Hospital, Healthy Wayne,Wayne Main Street, Friends: PeopleHelping People, Wayne Parks andTrail committee members and theirfamilies, and members of the Waynecommunity. Volunteers also camefrom DPW, Wayne Fire Department,Wayne Police Department, membersof the City Administration, MayorJohn Rhaesa, Mayor Pro-Tem TomPorter, Councilman Jeremiah Web-ster, Councilman Kevin Dowd andCouncilwoman Kelly Skiff. All thesepeople endured temperatures in thehigh 80s/low 90s while they workedto bring this playscape to life.

There will be a ribbon-cutting cer-emony to celebrate everyone whocame together as a community toprovide a special place for kids toplay. The date has not yet been deter-mined.

Playscape, Continued from page 8


By Carolyn Marnon

As a bagpiper played “Amazing Grace,” peopleattending the dedication of the new Rosie RoseGarden in front of the Wayne Historical Museummilled around the lawn. At the predeterminedtime, Wayne Historical Society Immediate PastPresident Ann Zimmerman welcomed everyone,including several original Rosies, the WayneMayor and several councilpersons and membersof the Wayne Garden Club for attending.

This past spring, the American Rosie the Riv-eter Association (ARRA) planted 100 rose bushesacross Michigan. Each rose bush honors a WorldWar II Rosie. “Like it’s namesake, this rose bushis strong, hardy and beautiful,” said JeannetteGutierrez of the Rose Bush Project team, ARRA-Willow Run Chapter, referring to the special rosescalled Rosie the Riveter floribunda. Five of theserose bushes were planted in the new garden infront of the Wayne Historical Museum.

“A lot of people don’t know that my grand-mother Wilda Hauser, who was a Wayne resident,worked as a riveter at Willow Run also,” MayorJohn Rhaesa told those assembled on June 18.“And she got hurt early on in her career doing thatand wound up after that doing dog tags for the sol-diers.” This statement was the first that led up tothe many ways women helped in the war effort inthe 1940s.

“Rosie wasn’t just a riveter,” said Jeannette.“Rosie the Riveter is an important figure in our na-tion’s history. She was any woman who steppedup to do a man’s job during World War II while themen and boys were off to war. Rosie was a factory-worker, a farmhand, she was an elevator operatorand a streetcar conductor. She was an officeworker, a clerk, even a pro baseball player and abig band musician.

Rosie the Riveter also represents the manyAmerican women who volunteered: the Red Cross

workers, … the nurse cadets, USO entertainers,and more. America and her allies could not haveachieved victory in World War II without the Rosiethe Riveters and the millions of planes, ... gunsand ships that they produced.”

Wayne residents Alice and Robert Webb werethanked for sponsoring each of the bushes in thenew rose garden. Robert’s mom was a Rosie atWillow Run. Also thanked were the Wayne Histor-ical Society for providing a home for the gardenand for preserving the legacy of Rosie for futuregenerations and the ARRA planting team. “Wehave proved once again that We Can Do It!” ex-claimed Jeannette.

Three original Rosies attended the ceremony.Anna Timmerman worked at Stinson Aircraft inWayne making little planes they called grasshop-pers. Clara Doutly worked at Briggs Manufactur-ing in Detroit on the B-29 bombers. Jane Biestekworked at the Ford Rouge plant making parts forthe B-24.

Each rose bush throughout the state recog-nizes an individual Rosie. Family members andfriends of a Rosie came up to speak about each ofthe women the rose bushes were dedicated to atthe conclusion of the ceremony.

As Ann mentioned at the beginning of the pro-gram, “The roses are full of potential, just like weare.”

Rosie the Riveters honored by Wayne Historical Society

Wayne resident Robert Webb’s granddaughters Emily

and Skylar celebrate the new Rosie Rose Garden in

front of the Wayne Historical Museum.


By Tyler Moll

Did you know that for over 100years there has been oil coursingunder the ground on the west end ofthe city? Did you know that the oilthat came through Wayne helped theUS win WWI and WWII? Lets start atthe beginning. In 1899 the companyheadquarters of Imperial Oil movedto Sarnia, Ontario where StandardOil had a huge refinery. To supplythis refinery, crude oil was broughtin by ship across the great lakes, butthis was slow and subject to inter-ruption. In 1913 it was decided tobuild a direct pipeline to supply therefinery. The route was to be 155miles from Sarnia to Cygnet, Ohiowhich at the time produced much ofthe U.S. oil. A six-inch wide pipe waslaid at a cost of $1,000,000, and twopumping stations were built. One atCygnet, and one halfway along theline at Wayne, Michigan. The Waynepumping station was built in thesummer of 1913 on the south side ofthe Michigan Central RailroadTracks, west of the junction, alongTreadwell. Several brick pump-houses and outbuildings were built,and a large pond was dug to provide

fire protection. The pipeline openedFebruary 25, 1914 and was the firstpipeline to ever cross an interna-tional boundary. The oil from thisline supplied a majority of the fuelsused by the military during WorldWar I and later World War II. By the30s the pipeline was connected tomore productive oil fields in Okla-homa over 1,000 miles away, and by1939 the pipeline was pumping23,000 barrels of oil per day to Sar-nia. The Wayne pumping station hadfive-100 horsepower pumps to keepthe oil flowing, and by 1954 waspumping 45,000 barrels per day. Itis unclear when the original lineswere replaced and improved, butWayne is still a pumping stationtoday on the original 1913 site.Today the pumping station is still at4400 Treadwell road and is operatedby Buckeye Pipeline. From Waynetwo 12-inch lines run south toToledo, and two 8-inch lines runnorth to Novi and Flint. In aerialviews the original fire protectionpond from 1913 is still visible on thesite, though it looks like most of thebuildings have been changed overtime.

Oil under Wayne –The Imperial Oil Co.


Kite building

and decoratingCome to the Wayne Public Li-

brary, 3737 S. Wayne Rd, on Tues-day, July 2, from 1:00-2:00 p.m. fora kite building and decorating work-shop for children ages 4-11. Takethe kite home and enjoy hours of fly-ing!

Knit and crochet nightThe Wayne Public Library is start-

ing a casual monthly knitting andcrocheting night. Bring any of yourknitting or crocheting supplies andenjoy a casual meet-up with fellowcrafters. The next Knit and CrochetNight is Thursday, July 11, from5:30-7:30 p.m., but you’re free todrop in at any point during that timeto get to know other attendees and towork on your projects. This is anadult program, but teens are wel-come to join in as well! The libraryis located at 3737 S. Wayne Rd.

Historical museum

events this summerJuly 11 – Railroad Cabooses

7:00 p.m. Guest speaker AnthonyRzucidlo, President/CEO of theMichigan Railroad Club will give anoverview of the history of cabooses,why they were developed in the1840's, who rode in them, and pres-ent-day utilization of cabooses.

Family fun dayThe Wayne Historical Museum

will be hosting a Family Fun Day onSaturday, July 13, 10:00 a.m.-5:00p.m. at the museum, 1 TowneSquare. There will be children’s

crafts, games and activities, classiccars, museum tours, food and re-freshments and entertainment byHarmony Town Barbershop Men’sChorus.

Car showThe Knights of Columbus Notre

Dame Lounge will be hosting a carshow on Saturday, July 13, 10:00a.m.-5:00 p.m. at the Notre Dame

Lounge, 3144 S. Wayne Rd. Foodand drink will be available. A freeconcert will follow the car show.

Wayne bicycle

show and bbqThe Wayne Bicycle Shop, 35858

Michigan Ave W, is hosting their 2ndAnnual Wayne Bicycle Show andBBQ on Saturday, July 13, from10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Bring out yourClassics, Customs, Ratrods, andstore-bought bicycles; all are wel-come. $5 registration for each bikeentered into the show for your

chance at the coveted Wayne BicycleShop trophies. They will judge forBest Classic, Best Custom, PeoplesChoice and new this year Best Store-bought. Registration starts at Noon;judging takes place at 3:00 p.m.Food, fun, music, and games all daylong. There will be cruises through-out the day down Michigan Ave.

Space storiesChildren of all ages and their fam-

ilies can come to the Wayne Public Li-brary, 3737 S. Wayne Rd, onTuesday, July 16, at 3:00 p.m. to lis-ten to stories and sing songs aboutspace, planets and the universe.

Celestial mobilesCome to the Wayne Public Li-

brary, 3737 S. Wayne Rd, on Thurs-day, July 25, 6:30-7:30 p.m.to builda mobile of the sun and planets. Thisevent is for children ages 5-11.

City receives

grant fundingAt the quarterly meeting of the

Wayne County Community Develop-ment Block Grant (CDBG) AdvisoryCouncil hosted by the City of Wayne,the recipients of the grant fundingunder the new allocation formatwere revealed.

The City is pleased to announcethat the Grant request it submittedto remove the wood play structure atAttwood Park, replacing it with anewer and much larger structure,was approved The cost of this proj-ect and grant amount awarded is$227,741.00.

The County also approved the re-quest for $20,000.00 for Code En-forcement.

The CDBG Board is made up ofofficials from various communitiesthroughout Wayne County.

Cruisin’ in WayneJohn Goci Realty and Mark Chevrolet present the annual Cruisin’ US12 car cruise

on Saturday, July 13, from 10:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. This is a free family event in

downtown Wayne with live music and classic cars. Knights of Columbus Council

#3021 will be holding its First Annual Notre Dame Car Show from 10:00 a.m.-5:00

p.m. at Notre Dame Hall, 3144 S. Wayne Rd.


By Carolyn Marnon

On June 14, the Wayne-WestlandBoard of Education received a writ-

ten complaint froma former Districtemployee regardingthe conduct and ac-tions of the Superin-tendent of Schools,Dr. Shelley Holt. Dr.Holt has been in theposition for twoyears, succeedingDr. Michelle Har-mala, who took anew position withMadonna University

in 2017. The Board had also re-ceived similar complaints about Dr.Holt that have been expressed bymembers of the community atschool board meetings.

A special Board of Educationmeeting was called for Thursday,June 20, to determine whether an in-vestigation should be initiated intothe allegations against Dr. Holt.

School Board President David R.Cox tried to start the meeting byhearing from students and recentgraduates who had gathered at themeeting. A five-minute recess had tobe called when Dr. Holt’s attorneytried to speak at the podium out ofturn before the first student had achance to speak. “Let the kids talk,”came from somewhere in Wayne Me-morial High School’s Stockmeyer Au-ditorium which was almost filled tocapacity with concerned citizens.

One of the student speakers toldthe Board to act on the community’sbehalf and not “on your personalopinion.” During the five-hour meet-ing, there were claims that the super-intendent had given the board a 44%

pay increase, therefore membershad a reason not doing anything toinvestigate any claims. The boardwas questioned as to why formerWayne High School Principal KevinWeber was immediately removedfrom his position when allegationswere made against him (details werenot given), but allegations against thesuperintendent were not being im-mediately investigated. Anotherspeaker claimed the children werebeing used as pawns. There was aclaim that Dr. Holt’s husband servedin the military with someone relatedto the school board and that anotherschool board member was a sororitysister of Dr. Holt. One speaker calledout Dr. Holt on smirking and eye-rolling during board meetings. An-other five-minute recess was calledwhen Anthony Adams, Dr. Holt’s at-torney, tried to once again addressthe Board out of order. A mother ofa 2019 graduate and a freshmansaid that Dr. Holt has been a trans-formational leader in the two yearsshe’s been in the District and thatshe’s a model leader. A woman readan NAACP statement. A gentlemanwho had been a substitute teacherspoke about witnessing Kevin Weberbeing escorted out of his office. Aprincipal said Dr. Holt has been thebest superintendent she’s workedwith in 15 years. A woman said aninvestigation needed to be done todetermine what’s factual and what’srumor otherwise the rumors willcontinue. She said if nothing iswrong, the issue should be put torest. A gentleman agreed, saying aninvestigation would determine whatdid and didn’t happen so Dr. Holtcould get her life back. It was alsomentioned by a district employee

that not all administrators sup-ported the written complaint thathad been made. Another speakersaid “If she’s (Dr. Holt) done nothingwrong, she has nothing to hide.” Thepresident of the teacher’s union saidthe union has no position on the mat-ter before the Board.

The School Board, consisting ofTom Buckalew, David R. Cox, Me-landie Hines, Carol Middel, MarkNeal, Frederick L. Weaver andShawna Walker, voted 4-3 to havethe allegations fully investigated todetermine their validity or lackthereof. The investigation will be con-ducted by the attorneys of the LuskAlbertson law firm; the findings shallbe reported to the Board.

After the resolution to go forwardwith the investigation was passed,the Board continued to take com-ments from those who remained inthe audience. After the vote, about1/3 of the attendees chose to leave. Ateacher said trust needed to be re-built between all parties. A Westlandcouncilwoman addressed the boardabout alleged corruption in West-land. Another person requested thatthe report, when ready, be releasedto the community. An administratorasked for a fair investigation whilekeeping the district moving forward.Another person said the issue athand was not about race, faith orcharacter but about the allegations.A rising senior at Wayne Memorialspoke to the “children” in the audi-ence (n reference to students), “Don’tlet adults influence what you say ordo or that you don’t know what youare talking about.” A plea was madeto bring Lindsay Rousseau, formerAssistant Principal at Wayne Memo-rial, back to her position. She wasrecently reassigned to MarshallUpper Elementary as its Principal. Agentleman spoke about how he hadaddressed the school board last yearabout his concerns when many staffmembers from central office retiredor left the district. A woman com-mended the students who had spo-ken earlier on the way theyconducted themselves better thanadults; she also demanded Ms.Rousseau be offered her former po-sition back.

After the vote, Superintendent Dr.Shelley Holt was placed on adminis-trative leave. She will remain on paidadministrative leave until the Board

determines that the concerns regard-ing her conduct have been resolvedand/or addressed. During her leave,Dr. Holt is not allowed to be onschool grounds, act as a representa-tive of the school district, engage inany activities related to the perform-ance of her duties, or communicatewith any school district employeewithout first obtaining permissionfrom the school board president,David R. Cox. Dr. Holt was directedto participate in all aspects of the in-vestigation including, but not limitedto, appearing for and participating inany requested interviews.

While Dr. Holt is on leave, Ms.Jennifer Curry, Assistant Superin-tendent of Standards, Learning andInnovation, was designated by theBoard as the Interim Superinten-dent.

In a letter released by the schooldistrict after the meeting, BoardPresident David R. Cox stated “TheWayne- Westland Board of Educationbelieves that a strong responsivepublic school system is essential tothe health and vitality of the commu-nity we serve. To carry out our mis-sion of educating and preparing allstudents to be knowledgeable, re-sponsive, contributing members of aglobal society, we must provide anenvironment of trust within ourbuildings that is safe and secure forall to work, learn and grow.”

The letter continued, “The Boardhas recently been presented with se-rious allegations lodged against theSuperintendent of Schools. The alle-gations contend, in pertinent part,that a culture of fear, favoritism, andintimidation has been perpetuatedby the Superintendent, resulting inadverse impacts on staff and, ulti-mately, our school community.”

The letter concludes “Importantly,the action to place the Superinten-dent on administrative leave whilean investigation is conducted is notdisciplinary, nor does it representany accusation of wrongdoing. It is anecessary procedural process re-quired to determine the validity orlack of validity of these allegations.Completing this process fairly,quickly and professionally with re-spect to all parties involved will beessential to the resolution of thisissue and the return of focus to ourcentral mission - the education ofour students.”

After pressure from the community, school board acts

Superintendent

of Schools,

Dr. Shelley Holt


Wayne Main Street will be hostinga flea market and community garagesale in Downtown Wayne’s VeteransPlaza as a part of the 2019 Down-town Days festivities happening Au-gust 9 and 10.

Wayne Main Street is pleased toannounce that the 2019 DowntownDays event will feature a flea marketand community garage sale. Themarket will feature vendors from allaround the Detroit area. Organizersanticipate that numerous antique,vintage, and collectible stores willparticipate in this year’s event. Indi-viduals and community membersare also invited to get in on the ex-citement. Space is being offered forgarage sale and craft vendors.

Spaces still availableWhile space is avail-

able, the event is filling upfast. Organizers are plan-ning to have close to 50vendors each day. Themarket will operate dur-ing all hours of DowntownDays, from Noon-9:00p.m. on Friday, August 9,and 9:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.on Saturday, August 10.The market will feature various an-tiques, collectibles and artwork forsale. "Our flea market is an excellentway of keeping the community mem-bers engaged throughout the eventand provides a wealth of opportunityfor our individuals and vendors todisplay their unique wares," saysPaul Sposite, Board Member forWayne Main Street and Chair of

Downtown Days. Booth space isavailable for $15 for one of the twodays or $20 to rent space for bothdays. Vendors can find out more in-formation and purchase space bycalling the Wayne Main Street officeat (734) 629-6822.

About downtown daysDowntown Days was started in

2016 and since then has become ourorganization’s signature summerevent. In 2019 Downtown Days willbe held Friday, August 9, and Satur-day, August 10, at Veteran’s Plaza(34841 Veterans Plaza, Wayne, MI) inthe heart of downtown Wayne.

This year’s event is especially sig-nificant to the City of Wayne as 2019marks our sesquicentennial anniver-sary. To help celebrate this impor-

tant milestone, DowntownDays will feature a 150thBirthday Celebrationhosted by Mayor JohnRhaesa. Downtown Days2019 will feature an excit-ing lineup of family-friendly live musicentertainment, food ven-dors, the flea market/com-munity garage sale, and a

number of art-focused programs, in-cluding our Second Annual Art-O-Motive car hood contest, the ThirdAnnual Window on Wayne photogra-phy contest, and the Detroit Instituteof Art’s Drop-In workshop. We esti-mate that Downtown Days will draw4,000-5,000 festivalgoers fromWayne and its surrounding commu-nities.

Calling all flea market

and garage sale vendors


By Carolyn Marnon

Celebrating 25 years of practicein Wayne this month, Dr. Kevin Craw-ford specializes in Orthopedic Sur-gery. According to Dr. Crawford,“The City of Wayne has been and re-mains a diverse and hard-workingcommunity with a strong civic iden-tity.” Dr. Crawford embraces thosevalues of a hard work ethic and com-mitment to his community.

He has stuck to his roots insoutheast Michigan and embracedWayne and the surrounding commu-nities. When asked about his experi-ence in Wayne, Dr. Crawford stated“I have been extremely happy withmy decision to practice in this area.My gratification from the countlesspatients that I’ve treated has cer-tainly exceeded my expectations. Theappreciation that myself and my staffare shown by these patients is in-credible.”

As the only board-certified ortho-pedic surgeon in Wayne in the past25 years, he estimates he has hadover 100,000 patient visits duringthat time and has performed over

15,000 surgeries.Dr. Crawford’s primary hospital

affiliation is with what is now knownas Beaumont Hospital-Wayne wherehe has been a primary factor in help-ing it to evolve into a well-respectedcommunity hospital. For 25 yearshe has maintained his office adjacentto the hospital. He trained at Michi-gan State University.

According to a statement from Dr.Crawford, he “participates in generalorthopedics, although he does havespecialty qualifications in knee andhip reconstructive and regenerativetechniques. In fact, he was the firstpractitioner to perform stem celltreatment in Michigan and has athriving portion (of) his practice thatis devoted to the treatment of degen-erative hips and knees with stem celltherapy.

Dr. Crawford stated that he hasplans to continue his commitment tothe Wayne area by moving his officelocation to downtown Wayne in thefuture. No details are available atthis time on the move.

Come celebrate the 25th anniver-

sary of the business with Dr. Craw-ford and his staff during an OpenHouse being held on Wednesday,July 24, from 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. “Iam looking forward to the opportu-nity to meet with many of my pa-tients and other members of thecommunity during that open house,”says Dr. Crawford. “It will be nice tospend time with former patients andmembers of the community in a set-ting that doesn’t involve brokenbones or knee and shoulder prob-lems,” he chuckles.

Dr. Crawford’s office is locatednext to Beaumont Hospital-Wayne at33000 Annapolis, #120. There willbe light refreshments served. Therewill be some giveaways, including astem cell giveaway valued at $6000.Office worker Renea Callery writesthat “Stem cells regenerate lost tis-sues, including cartilage, to help healthe damage of arthritis in a jointsuch as the shoulders, knees orhips.This allows for a safe, effectiveand nearly painless treatment that al-lows a patient to avoid a total join re-placement.”

Doctor celebrates 25 years in Wayne

Dr. Kevin Crawford is inviting the com-

munity to celebrate his 25th annniver-

sary in Wayne with an Open House on

July 24.

Advertise in The Wayne Dispatch

call 734-641-6550

2· july 2019 - the wayne dispatch · 2019. 7. 10. · cludes hits from quiet riot, journey, def...

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