7/29/2019 News-Herald Front Page March 20

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The Voice of Downriver North Zone Edition

Southgate, Michigan 48195 Wednesday, March 20, 2013

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Downriver Life . . . . . . . . . .1-D

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Two die in separateweekend explosionsBy Jackie Harrison-MartinThe News-Herald

ROMULUS Two men died when separate explosionsripped through their residences over the weekend.

There was an explosion at about 5:30 p.m. Friday in the

11000 block of Harrison. The second occurred at the sametime Sunday in the 6000 block of Metro at Royal VillageTrailer Court.

According to fire Lt. Michael Wojtylko, the two are notrelated and arson has been ruled out in both cases.

The explosions also are not related to any utility work,according to Wojtylko.

The names of the men had not been released as of yester-day afternoon.

Wojtylko said the deceased mans son was inside thehouse at the time of the explosion on Harrison, but wasable to escape. The fire was out within about an hour.

No other damage was reported to neighboring houses.In the explosion on Metro, Wojtylko said the deceased

man was the only occupantof the house at the time.

A neighboring mobilehome office and a mobilehome also were damaged bythe blast.

No one else was hurt ineither explosion.

Members of theDownriver FireInvestigation Teamare assisting the FireDepartment in the investi-gations.

Its been three years sincethere has been a fatalityfrom a residential fire inthe city.

Contact Staff Writer JackieHarrison-Martin at 1-734-246-0837 orJackie@heritage.com.

Photos courtesy of Wayne County

A helicopter (above), drops marshmallows onElizabeth Park while the Easter bunny (right), is a sta-

ple of Wayne County Parks annual Marshmallow Drop.

By J. Patrick PepperThe News-Herald

TRENTON Its a

bird. Its a plane. Its a marshmallow?

Thats right. Some

20,000 of the fluffy con-

fections will rain from

the sky above Elizabeth

Park on Good Friday,

March 29, as part of the

annual Marshmallow

Drop organized by

Wayne County Parks.

The hit event, now inits 29th year, features

a helicopter that drops

marshmallows in a cor-

doned-off field. Eager

children are then given

the go-ahead to scramble

and collect the goodies,

which, in turn, can be

turned in for prizes.

Children are divided into

age groups to ensureeveryone has an opportu-

nity to participate.

The event is co-spon-

sored by Trenton Parks

and Recreation, ITC

Holdings and Taylor Ford.

In addition to theElizabeth Park drop at9 a.m. there is anotherscheduled at Nankin

Mills in Westland at 11.

Contact J. Patrick Pepperat 1-734-246-2702 orjpepper@heritage.com.Follow him on Facebookand @jpeppernews onTwitter.

MarshmallowDrop comingnext week

Blog for us!The News-Herald is looking to expand its blogger lineup, and were looking foranyone in the community ready, willing and able to be a blogger on our website. It

can either be an existing blog you already produce, or well teach you how to start one.From books to travel to theater to landscaping, you can blog about anything andeverything.

For more information, contact Community Engagement Editor Michelle Rogers atmrogers@heritage.com.

By Dave HerndonThe News-Herald

MELVINDALE A merger of the citysFire Department withDearborns is getting closer.

A member ofInternational Associationof Fire Fighters Local1728, which representsMelvindales firefighters,confirmed yesterday thathis union and Dearbornsapproved the merger afterinitial discussions nearlyspoiled the deal.

Under the original pro-

posal, Melvindale firefight-ers would have lost theirseniority after the merger.After some negotiation, thetwo unions agreed to placeMelvindale personnel onthe seniority list based ona combination of hire-indates and time in theirranks.

Its not based just onhire-in dates like we want-ed, the union member said,but its a compromise.

Melvindale CityAdministrator James Berisaid the merger still is not adone deal.

The feasibility study wascompleted, he said, butwe still have to crunch thenumbers to see if we willhave a savings.

Beri said once the num-bers are in, the two citycouncils and both unionswill meet.

There isnt a magic num-ber that says yes or no therewill be a merger, he said.It has to be a significantsavings, though.

Details include whichcity will take on benefitsand a few other key points.Dearborn will not take

over pensions for the sixMelvindale firefighters stillin the pension system, Berisaid.

If the deal goes through,Melvindale Fire ChiefSteven Densmore wouldbe the deputy chief of theshared department, accord-ing to Beri. Melvindale alsowould have a second firetruck and ambulance sta-tioned in the city.

Dearborn Fire ChiefJoseph Murray wouldremain chief of the mergeddepartment. Both men

Possible merger of area firedepartments moving forward

PLEASE SEE MERGER/2-A

By Jackie Harrison-MartinThe News-Herald

ROCKWOOD A policeofficer who pulled over amother for running a redlight quickly realized he hada medical emergency on hishands, not a typical trafficstop .

Officer Nick Mitchell sawa woman speed through a

traffic light at about 9 a.m.March 4 as she traveled onHuron River Drive near FortRoad.

After pulling over thevehicle, police said Mitchelllooked inside and immedi-ately noticed her 10-year-oldson having extreme diffi-culty breathing.

Police said the boy was

Officer lauded after trafficstop turns out to be medicalemergency for little boy

PLEASE SEE OFFICER/2-A

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