Canton Observer for July 16, 1992 - Canton Public Library

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Canton (Dbsmw
OPINION
744 WING. PLYMOUTH, MI 48170
These 4 are best for trustee post 01
There will be plenty of points of view from
• which to choose when Canton voters go
to the polls on Aug. 4 to cast their ballots
in the Republican and Democratic primary
elections for members of the Canton Township
Board of Trustees.
The election will narrow a field of six Republicans
down to four candidates who. in November.
will face two Democrats on the ballot.
In the Republican primary race, we recommend
Jim Panos, Melissa McLaughlin, Phil
LaJoy and John Burdziak.
Panos is a newcomer, but he has qualities
needed by the board. He's the kind of person
who likes to sit down and talk to residents
about their community. Also, as director of
public works for the city of Romulus, he ha»
knowledge about government contracts and the
bidding process. Such experience is needed on
the board. Matched with his ability to listen, he
will make a good trustee.
McLaughlin, another political newcomer, is a
long time Canton resident who has worked hard
on historical preservation in the community.
That, coupled with her vision of Canton as a
place where the rural character can be retained.
will make her a fine trustee.
LaJoy was appointed to the board, but has
been an independent voice. As the owner-operator
of a temporary employee placement firm, he
brings experience in employee relations to the
board. Also, he is a soccer buff who has volunteered
as a coach. Canton is a young community
where recreation is important. La-Joy s background
in soccer will make the board aware ol
the needs of young people in the community.
Burdziak is another appointee to the board,
but has served as chairman of the township
planning commission. That knowledge is a help
to a township board that faces development issues
on a daily basis.
Running in the Democratic primary are Stuart
Schuch and John Cleaver. Both expressed
their desires to make Canton a better place to
live. We're glad they're in the race.
Because they're the only Democrats on the
ballot, they will face the winners of the Republican
race in November.
But first there is the primary on Aug. 4 We
urge everyone to vote. When they do, they empower
the entire community.
Vote on Aug. 4.
1
Coverage disappoints
Stadium sale good for suburbs too Fest Committee. I want to thank you and
m ® your staff for helping to publicize our
T
he serious competition between Mike IIitch
and Edsel Ford II for the Detroit
Tigers means suburban Detroiters can
breathe a collective sigh of relief. The latest rel>orts
have hockey/pizza magnate Hitch edging
out Ford as the leading contender to take the
Tigers off cash-short Tom Monaghan's hands.
The pending sale — which still needs approval
"of other American League team owners —
means no stadium will likely be plunked down
in western Wayne or northern Oakland County.
Both men. but particularly Hitch, are business
visionaries who take a long-term, regional
approach to major decisions. That's one reason
Hitch kept the Red Wings on the Detroit River
front instead of skating off to Pontiac. The
city's revived theater district and moving Little
Caesar's corporate headquarters from Farmington
Hills to the Fox Theatre building also demonstrate
Hitch's gutsy style.
That kind of civic commitment indicates a
solid effort will be made to kt^ep the Tigers
where they belong — in Detroit.
The sale will hopefully kick-start stalled negotiations
with Wayne County Executive Edward
McNamara over the site and financing for
a new stadium, preferably downtown-
It would be even better, of course, if the
Tigers' new playing field was built without public
financing. Hitch of Bloomfietd Hills and
Ford of Gross* Pointe. like Munaghan. art j hind the timet
wealthy enough to sink their own money into
the project, or at the very least obtain credit or
attract private inventors —
Wayne County votess could have a chance to
QUESTION:
Are you going
to watch the
Democratic
National Convention
on
television,
why or«#hy
not?
We asked this
question in front
of the Canton
Post Office
No I'm not a
Democrat.'
While the trend In the '70s wet
to build about as far out of town
as the freeways ran, the newest
stadiums In the American League
— Minnesota, Chicago and Baltimore
— were all built In the center
city.
shape the new owner's thinking on that issue as
early as this fall with a referendum on a hotel/
entertainment tax.
We are not naive. A downtown location, while
vibrant and easily accessible, won't be the cureall
for Detroit's massive socioeconomic problems.
But that solution would be far better for
baseball fans and suburban residents alike
than building a $200-million diamond fortress
in Plymouth Township, Auburn Hills or some
other remote location identified in surveys as
"the center of the team's customer base for the
21st century."
A suburban stadium would undoubtedly provide
Tigers patrons with a safe environment
and ensure the team's profitability.
But it would also contribute heavily to urban
, sprawl and put the Tigers about 20 years be-
^auui itirrv Vaipf
Wminviex • • — - — —
* ^ If
k .^l SI
Canton
No I'm not inter
ested m pontics
«.natwMinf!f, and
whoever we get m
there doesn't do
what they say
they'll do."
Whilp the trend in the "70s was
to build about as far out of town as the freeways
ran. the newest stadiums in the American
League —» Minnesota. Chicago and Baltimore
— were all built in the center city.
Sclwfkam^
Canton
Canton (Dbsmrer
No. I have no
Visiting front japan
* r
No. I don't line to
watch. I don't
want to. I'm too
busy dotng other
thmgs.
Cery Stewart
Canton
Jtw Counts comm. tsa-rroo
Snvt BAWNABY MIMAGING eorroa O** Isma* GCNCRAL UAMAG£*
SUSAN ROBKX ASSISTANT MANAGING eorroa Maaa LIWIS omecroa Of AOvrwns/wG
Fmd Wrmmt omecroa or cmaxAVO*
Suburban Communications Corporation
Philip Power CHAITMAN OF THr TORN) Richard Aglnlan p«secvr
First Annual Community Liberty Fest. The
special insert published in your Thursday, June
25. paper was wonderful. As a committee, however.
we were somewhat disappointed with the
Monday. June 29. article by Mr. Ralph
Echtinaw. As the leading newspaper in the
Plymouth-Canton area, we did not feel this arti-
' »-le was up to your standards of professional
journalism and it did not reflect the essence or
I quality of our First Liberty Fest. I have had
-I—manv of the festival worker- and participants
call me voicing their displeasure with the tone
of the article.
Arkie Hudkins
LETTERS
1 feel the Canton community now has a festi- |
val in which to lake pride in and to call its own.
We are striving to make Liberty Fest 93 even
better. Thank you.
Bob Dates. Recreation Supervisor
1992 Liberty Fest Chairman
Poor tasteu
THURSDAY, JULY 16,1992
h
As one of the founding board members of
the Canton Challenge Fest. forerunner ot
this year's Liberty Fest. I was surprised
and disappointed to read Ralph Echtinaw's
front page article on the festival. The Liberty
Fest. along with the Challenge Fest before it.
provides residents and visitors with an excellent
hpportunity to enjoy the Canton community.
The festival i& staffed by hundreds of volun
leers who work long hours to make it a success,
and I believe that Mr. Echtinaw has done a
great disservice to both the community and to
those dedicated people with his article.
Kathleen Kefn-Mr('arthy. Plymouth
Opinions are to be shared: We wejeome your
ideas, as do your neighbors. That 's why we offer
this space on a weekly basis for opinions in your
own words. We will help by editing for danty. To
assure authenticity, we ask that you sign your
letter and provide a contact telephone number.
Letters should be mailed to: Editor. The Canton
Observer. 744 Wing. Plymouth 481 70.
Lawsuit awards spell tax increase
The state Court of Claims let the other
shoe start falling to the floor last month
Just as I told you last year it would.
Ingham Circuit Judge James Giddings, sitting
as the Court of Claims, ruled state government
is obliged to pay the costs of operating
trial courts. These are the circuit, probate and
district courts in 82'/% counties.
All sorts of figures are bouncing around about
the cost. I would put it at $400 million per year
to the state general fund.
What happened is that in 1980 the state began
paying for local courts, starting and stopping
with Wayne County and Detroit. The state
Heftties.
„Now. most people reading Detroit papers and
watching Detroit TV have no idea how bitterly
outstaters resent that funneling of their taxes
down 1-96 to 2 Woodward Avenue. So 76 counties
and 56 local uniU hired Grand Rapids attorney
Doug Van Essen to sue.
It took three years. The appeals process will
take another three years. But Van Essen's clients
are sure to prevail, since many Supreme
Court justices are committed to full state funding
of trial courts.
Let's put the money into perspective. The
state budget currently ia in the $7.5 billion
ballpark, putting this coat at 5 percent of
total.
Consider what has happened in the last two
punk economic years:
e Gov. John Engler settled the Oakland
County mental health suit for several hundred
million.
e The state has whacked the welfare, commerce,
regulatory and other budget segments
hundreds of millions more, holding education
levels but throwing more burdens on universities
and out-of-fortnula school districts.
e Engler's "cut and cap" property tax plan is
on the ballot and getting enthuaiaatic support
from most Republican legislative candidates. If
approved, it will coat more than $1 billion when
phased in over five years
My prediction haa been that if any two of a
• - - - ' - -
'(
THM RICHARD
face a substantial tax increase. The Oakland
suit was first on the list. The court suit is likely
to be the second The money just isn't there,
and the economic growth isn't possible.
There was an interesting wrinkle to the
Patterson-Anderson tax cut proposal — remem
ber? The one that didn't get on the ballot Hidden
in the fine print was a section saying the
state couldn't raise taxes to pay for lawsuit
awards Brooks Patterson and Patrick Ander
»on clearly recognized what could happen
Again: In the next one to eight years, we face
a substantia! increase in state taxes, whether
anyone likes it or not.
Th* fflrcw are In motion Wrran'r tegnrtarr
against them any more than we can legislate
against an earthquake or a heat wave.
Meanwhile, we can breathe a sigh of relief
that the "KIDS" proposal fell flat on getting
signatures for the ballot
Never mind what the letters K-I-D-S stand
for because it's a sham This Ypsilanti-based
group wants to reword the Michigan Constitu
tion to make equitable school funding a constitutional
right. In short, they are inviting, asking
for. begging for a lawsuit to narrow the gap between
rich and poor school districts.
And in these suburbs, our kids* school pro
grams would have been reduced.
Tim Richard report a regularly on the local implications
of state arH regional events
I
was extremely disappointed at the
article in the Observer, "Feat features
fun for all ages." The article
WHS . - cTIipvTJ aiiliia^' vw
/I—
real success that the Liberty Fest was
- for Canton Township.
I also felt disturbed at being
the reporter thatmany
people had misinterpreted my
painting of my dog and cat. and since
the dog was only yawning, I had to title
it, "The dog is yawning," so that people
would not be alarmed by it. I also told
of an incident where the original photo
had been displayed at a photo store in
Westland Mall, and a woman claiming
to be an animal rights activist had insisted
on the removal of the photo from
the store. 1 would never call a person a
"wacko" and felt that the article made
me sound insensitive to the feelings of
those who feel strongly about animals'
! rights.
tyfest in Canton, and I feel that it was
a great success. We had the strong sup-
; port of the Canton community and the
township officials. I think Bob Dates.
Dianne Neihengen and Kevin Mill did
I a terrific job of putting tips event to-
! gether and seeing that it ran smoothly.
II also think that credit should be given
• to Sharon Dillenbeck of D&M Studios
for putting on the first fine arts fair
that Canton has ever had. The fine artists
had experience ranging from this
being their first show to more than 20
years of experience, and a good time
was had by all. , .
Julie A. Giordano, artist
co-chair fine arts.
Canton Liberty Fest.
North vi lie
Article was bizarre
I
must register my emphatic irritation
at the bizarre article on the
Canton Liberty Fest that appeared
in the Canton Observer on June 29.
Given my experienc,; that the Observer
has historically been the most accurate
and editorially even-handed of the
three newspapers serving Canton. 1 am
more than annoyed that my first-ever
letter to its editor must be a complaint
DELUXE CLUB
BOLOGNA
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uvei its reporting quality.
I will readily admit my bias: I work
for Canton Township and I did participate
marginally in the work that went
into the mounting of Liberty Fest.
"However, white 1 oTcouris hoped for"
the normal press boosterism that accompanies
such a community event, I
was also more than ready to accept'a
eertain amount of print criticism fomit.fl
shortcomings, reaj or imagined.
What J was not prepared to accept
was dementia.
The primary culprit is Ralph R.
Echtinaw, "identified as staff writer.
Monday's article was Mr. Echtinaw's
third on Liberty Fest. The first article,
printed on June 11, was thoroughly
snide in tone and seemed to be deliberately
hurtful. The second article, published
June 25, the day before Liberty
Fest began, went a reasonable distance
in making amends for the earlier article.
Mr. Echtinaw's article on June 29.
however, was in unrelenting bad taste.
4 finished it with a feeling of revulsion.
(Mr. Echtinaw's writing sadly negated
the impact of Sherrie Buzby's fine photography.
which accompanied his article.)
I remain puzzled why a writer displaying
such bald and inappropriate
hostility was ever assigned to ijfrite
about Liberty Fest. Because all three
articles were page one stories, the implication
is that the Observer was intent
on damaging the event. If this is
not the case, then one would think it
self-evident that a reporter should not
work his personal demons out in public
and his editor should not abet him.
Gerald Martin. Canton
Thanks to fest worker
O
n behalf of the 1992 Canton Liberty
Fest Committee, let me extend
our appreciation to the
hundreds of Btaff and volunteers who ,
helped to make thirfirst annual community
event a smashing success. The
countless hours of time and effort by
these special people made the committees
task a pleasure.
Special thanks also to the major
sponsors of the Liberty Fest. without
whom we certamfar could not have put
on such a wonderful show.
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POINTS or VIEW
Burda Brothers Inc.. Carrollton
Arms/Bob Paciocco, Island Lake Association.
Richard Lewiston, First of
America Bank. Toys-R-Us. Alrose Inc.,
Plymouth Construction Equipment.
Dan ne and Co. -Financial Services, Ma
" Affiliates. Waste Management of
Michigan, All Parties Concerned, Canton
Chamber of Commerce, H.W. Mo-
tor Homes Inc.. Omnicom Cablevision.
Regal Construction^
Hams. Also a personal thank you to
The Camero Club of Michigan and my
Liberty Fest Committee of Mike
Gouin. Kim Scherschligt, Marianne
Stewart, Kevin Mill, Pat Tanski. Dianne
Neihengen and Tammie Colling.
We hope the Canton Community enjoyed
the First Annual Liberty Fest
and will look forward with pride and
excitement to Liberty Fest 93 on June
25-27. 1993.
Bob Dates, parks and recreation
services
chairman 1992 Liberty Fest
Lack maturity
oting for the right person this
year will be very hard. Choosing Vsomeone
that you think will be
the lesser evil seems to be the common
method of making a voting decision
this year.
Your front page article on Dan f alabrese
and Deborah Whyman. running
for Jim Kosteva's House seat, shows us
two young people who need to learn a
little more about life before they can
represent a community,
I am not against youth running for
office, but I am leery of a youth that
has absolutist views about social issues
or any issues, for that matter. Life
is made up of relatives i.e. not everything
is black or white. There is a little
gray out there. Both candidates are
! against abortion in any case except
when danger to a mother's life exists.
This kind of absolutist position shows
me that these candidates lack the experience.
compassion and maturity to
represent a diverse community like
i Canton.
J an us z M. Szyszko, Canton
UPGRADE PADDING
S3T1/2 OFF.
0 BEckwjjh
I© EVANS
Arms cuts wrong
I
was deeply concerned about the
recent announcement by the Bush
Administration that the U.S.
t plans to massively reduce it* remain- _
I ing nuclear capability by a whopping
two thirds of what is left after previoi
cuts. 1 believe such massive cuts are
not justified and in fact put the very
liberty ot every citizen at xne mercy Q
the word of a nation which has never
. major treaty in 50 years, but
now claims to have changed.
I believe this whole "change" in the
U.SS.R. is a hoax to get the tens of
billions we are now pouring on them.
Occasionally a story slips through our
pro Soviet news media, indicating that
the KGB is still calling the shots over
there. After our nation and the west
have been bled dry. a quick staged
"coup" will put the "bad guys" back in
power. Our government can then explain
the wasted billions as a "mistake"
as was done for the billions wasted
in Vietnam, on a no-win war.
I urge your readers to inform their
representatives in Washington that
further cuts in our military capability,
including the latest cut of two thirds of
our present nuclear arsenal, is endangering
our very liberty. This may bode
well for the new world order, but not for
the citizens of the U.S.
I also urge them to let their representatives
know that the interest on
the national debt is approaching the
size of our total budget for defense We
can no longer afford to play Santa
I Claus. even if the cause was good. No
more billions for Mr. Bush s friends,
the Soviets.
Gerald Wiggins. North vi lie
Protect our rights
our recent article. "Taking
God's word door-to-door." has Yprompted
me to write this response.
In these United States, we all
have the God given right to choose the
faith "religion" we wish to practice,
and not have other people try and
shove their religion down our throats.
The Jehovah Witnesses said in the artide.
"We don' if M oliot member
(C) 17A
ship, but what we try to do is encour-
' I find this statement to be very untrue.
Last summer, 1991. when the
J.W. were in my neighborhood, 1 just
happened to be working in my front
yard.~ WJB
them that they
were not welcomed on my property,
that I am a Roman Catholic, and my
father was/or is a Jehgvab Witness.
l hey proceeded to infoHB me that my
father had made the "right choice" of
religion, and that 1 was wrong with the
"religion" that I choose to practice.
Needless to say 1 became very hot
(angry) with them. 1 have asked them
on several occasions to stay away from
my home and they were not welcomed
here. Needless to say they have returned
to my home, even on
Thanksgiving Day.
My point is this: Where is my freedom
of my own home? The right not to
be hounded by unwelcomed solicitors?
Others denominations do not invade
the privacy of our homes, like the Jehovah
Witnesses do. I (like many other
people) don't need to be taught or be
reminded about the Bible.
Donna Matsuo, Livonia
Wake up to life
F
ew things in life have more effect
on my blood pressure than the
actions of some animal advocates
and their attitudes. Recently, the
transplant of a baboon's liver to save
the life of a patient dying of liver disease
brought out the activists and their
inane protest
Irene Simko, a member of Animal
Advocates, was quoted on July 1 as
stating "We don't believe you should
sacrifice one species for another. No
one asked the baboon what he
thought." Really, can you picture the
act of asking a baboon or any animal
what they think! What other contribu
tion to the world has this baboon made
l in his lifetime? Can you equate the
saving of a baboon's life for the loss of
a human's? Wake up Irene, smell the
coffee and GET REAL. Would Irene
give her life to save a baboon"* ... I
I wonder
Anthony Brehler. Livonia
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