SPORTS

Olympic dreams could come true See Page 1-B

Hundreds of beers at Michigan Beer Fest See Page 1-C

INSIDE

INSIDE

Area crime briefs See Page 3-A

The
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VOL. 18, NO. 31 THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

Township to lose 2 reghters

By Rachelle Marshall
Special Writer

SERIES ON SHRINKING GOVERNMENT

Weave the Web:

Make sure to click on www.heritage.com around the clock for the most in-depth coverage. See most popular stories....Franklin exemplifies future of U.S. Olympic swimming.

Two Augusta Township fire fighters are leaving the department this AUGUSTA summer, according TOWNSHIP to Fire Chief Victor Chevrettes monthly report to the townships Board of Trustees on July 24. Firefighter James Hagerman resigned after five years with Augusta Township to take another position at the Ford Rouge Steel Fire Department, Chevrette said. Hagermans resignation is effective Aug. 1. Like Hagerman, Firefighter Robert Williams is also leaving the fire department because of other job requirements. Williams retired from the department on June 1. Bob Williams has been with us since the early 1980s on and off for the fire department, Chevrette said. Hes got a real good job, and he just cant make the commitment for us anymore. Williams spends 10 hours per day on the road as a trucker, traveling out of state. I have enjoyed my time serving the township and working with the firefighters, Williams wrote in a letter included in the board packet. Williams said he will continue to support the Augusta fire department as a fire corps member, if time allows. In the month of June, the Augusta Charter Township Fire Department responded to 35 calls for emergency assistance, of which 14 were fire related and 21 were emergency medical service. First responders treated 17 resident patients, and the force incurred no injuries in June. In addition, the department approved 10 burning permits in June before issuing a burning ban. Its very, very dry outside and especially this month weve had an increase in brush and grass fires, so weve put a ban on open burning because its just too dry out there with the winds, Chevrette said. He said the ban would be lifted, weather permitting. The department logged 328.5 personnel hours in response to multiple vehicle accidents with injuries; brush and grass fires; unauPLEASE SEE LOSS/3-A

Check out video:

4-H participants discuss why they are involved

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The Sylvan Township Board hears from residents upset about having to pay a consent judgment.

Taxpayers holding the bag after housing bubble bursts

By Erica McClain
Heritage Media

The Ypsilanti Courier is looking for Community Bloggers!

If you live in the greater Ypsilanti area and are interested in writing about local events, news and views or even your own interests and hobbies, please contact Tanya Wildt at twildt@heritage.com

oughly 10 years ago, housing in Michigan was just on the precipice of bursting its burgeoning bubble. Urban sprawl had paid off for counties neighboring Wayne County and housing developments had never looked better. There was a mindset back then that this growth was going to go on forever, said Rob Turner, a western Washtenaw County commissioner.

So, when a developer wanted to build, many municipalities didnt blink, and when it came down to water and sewer systems, growth was so confidently forecasted that municipalities like Sylvan Township

in Washtenaw County and Handy and Howell townships in Livingston County sought large bonds backed by county credit. In Sylvan Township, a water treatment plant with a planned capacity of 620,000 gallons per day was built with the assumption that a local developer would need the additional Residential Equivalent Units, or REUs, along with the installation of two new water wells and a 500,000gallon water tower in 2000.
PLEASE SEE TAXPAYERS/13-A

The Marketplace:

Online chat kicks off series on size, scope of government

By Jerry Wolffe
Joiurnal Register News Service

Local ads are just a hop away at the MIcentral. com marketplace. While you are there, you can check out all the special supplements of Journal Register Co. newspapers in Michigan. Click on marketplace on the home page of our website or go directly to www.marketplace.micentral.com.

INDEX
Editorial Calendar Page 6-A Page 4-C Page 1-B

P
State Rep. Jeff Irwin

olitical and business leaders discussed issues ranging from setting up health exchanges to implement the Affordable Care Act to consolidating government to provide services, to the role of an emergency manager during live chat, How Much Government? hosted on the Heritage Media website at www.heritage. com.

The participants let their views be known on problems facing our society faces in the dawn of the 21st century, where citizens are finding the past ways of doing business no longer work in a time of declining property tax revenue,
PLEASE SEE CHAT/9-A

Death Notices Page 11-A Sports

News Tip Hotline: 734-429-7380

More coverage inside

What gets cut? Looking at severe nancial stress in a city and how it was solved, 4-A.

Whats the right size for local government? 4-A. Counties struggle to pay for court system, look at creative solutions, 11-A.

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