7/31/2019 Belleville Front Page 6-14-12

1/1

Weave the Web:Make sure to click

on www.heritage.comaround the clock for themost in-depth cover-age. See most popularstories....Brady Hoke is

being Brady Hoke.

Check out ourvideo: World War II Marine

laid to rest after missing68 years

VOL. 28, NO. 24 THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2012

50

The

SPORTSBelleville season endswith loss to Monroe

See Page 1-B

INSIDEGreen Fair attractshundreds

See Page 2-A

Click on the jobs tabon the home page of ourwebsite or go directly tohttp://jobs.heritage.com.

Join us on Twitter:Become a Belleville

View follower. Clickon the Twitter tab onthe home page of ourwebsite or go directlyto http://twitter.com/BellevilleView.

The BellevilleView is lookingfor CommunityBloggers!

If you live in thegreater Belleville area

and are interested inwriting about localevents, news and viewsor even your own inter-ests and hobbies, pleasecontact Tanya Wildt attwildt@heritage.com .

The Marketplace:Local ads are just a

hop away at the MIcentral.com marketplace. Whileyou are there, you cancheck out all the specialsupplements of JournalRegister Co. newspa-pers in Michigan. Click

on marketplace on thehome page of our websiteor go directly to www.mar-ketplace.micentral.com.

Printed on

recycled paper

Editorial Page 6-A

Calendar Page 5-A

Death Notices Page 8-A

Sports Page 1-B

News Tip Hotline:

248-745-4613

INDEX

INSIDEArea crimebriefs

See Page 7-A

City records $10K budget surplusBy Jerry LaVaute

Special Writer

Amendments to this fiscal yearsbudget, next years proposed bud-get and fees for city services wereunanimously approved by theBelleville City Council at its regu-lar meeting on June 4, following abrief public hearing.

This years budgetThis years 2011-12 fiscal year

General Fund budget, which endson June 30, was updated to reflect

revenue of $2,179,000 against

expenses of $2,169,000. The $10,000surplus will be added to the reservefund, which will have a balance of$404,000 on July 1.

Plante Moran represen-tative Molly Goike said thatthe improvement in rev-enue resulted from usingconservative assumptionsfor state sources of revenue duringthe budget development process,and reimbursements for cityexpenses for the recent election,and payment of insurance claims

to the city.

General fund expenses for thisfiscal year, on the other hand,increased by $77,000, primarilythe result of lump-sum payouts

for accrued sick and vaca-tion time for two longtimeBelleville police officers,who recently left thedepartment. Savings in

next years budget are assumed asthe citys new officers will receivelower salaries and benefits as aresult of less seniority.

Council member Kim Tindall

said it looked as if postage expense

had been under-budgeted by about$3,500, and wondered if the newbudget should be adjusted to reflectthe recent actual expense. Goikesaid that she would look into theissue.

Next years budgetThe revenue assumed in the new

General Fund budget for fiscal year2012-13 that begins on July 1 wasapproved at $2,032,000, compared

By Jerry LaVauteSpecial Writer

Two lunchroom supervisors atthe recently mothballed HaggertyElementary School who provideda combined 60 years of service tothe Van Buren Public Schools, were

among those whose retirementswere announced Monday at theVan Buren Public Schools Board ofEducation meeting.

Veronica McLeod(33 years) and SharonHollandsworth (27years) were among theemployees recognized.

Other retirement announce-ments included Richard Wenzel atNorth Middle School and ValeriePeters at Elwell School, each ofwhom worked for the school dis-

trict for 38 years.North Middle School Principal

Margaret Voigt retired with 35 yearsof service. South Middle School

Assistant PrincipalKaren Mida had workedfor the Van BurenSchools for 31 years.

All told, the 13 retire-ments announced among instruc-tional and support staff totaled 333years of service, for an average of26 years per retiree. Following theretirements, eight vacant positions

will not be replaced, school officialssaid.

Primary and secondary schoolsacross the state and nation con-tinue to struggle with decliningrevenue, putting downward pres-sure on school budgets, includ-ing employment levels. BoardPresident Martha Toth said thatstaffing in the Van Buren schoolshas declined recently by 42 people,due to retirements and layoffs.

District says farewell to longtime employees

BELLEVILLE

VAN BUREN PUBLIC

SCHOOLS

13 retirees gavecombined 333years to VBPS

PLEASE SEE BUDGET/3-A

PLEASE SEE DISTRICT/3-A

Strawberry seasonMark Girard, the manager at Rowes Produce Farm at 10570 Martz Road,reported that strawberries are ripe and ready for picking. He said that it wasunusually early for the crop to be ready and wanted to be sure his customersdidnt wait too long to come out. Last year, strawberries were ready on June 7;

this year, they were first ready on May 28.Hours for the farm, which has been operating since 1965, are daily from 7 a.m.until 8 p.m., weather permitting. Rowes phone number is 734-482-8538, or visittheir website at http://www.rowesproducefarm.com/.

Jerry LaVaute

Festival timeIts Belleville

Strawberry Festivalweekend and The Viewhas all the informationyou need to enjoy theevent.

See the specialsection inside todayspaper for the lowdownon all the features andfun the festival offers.

From a car show to acarnival to a craft fairand more, the festivalhas something foreveryone and is theplace to be June 15-17.

And please see page

4-C for a look at thegrand marshals andhonorary citizensfeatured in the annualfestival parade onSaturday.

Used Car SpecialNew Car Special2012 Fusion SEL

Leather, Sync, Moonroof. Rear Camera

$124 per month* 24 month lease.Buy for$21,797**

9800 Belleville RdBelleville, MI 48111

Exit 190 just off I-94(734) 697-9161

www.atchinson.net

* A/Z Plan plus tax and plates, 10,500 miles per year, w/$2000 cash due atsigning. Includes Factory rebate, with approved credit.

**A/Z Plan plus tax and plates, includes all rebates. Must be financedthrough Ford Credit.

Some restrictions apply.See dealer for details

2009 Ford Mustang34,000 miles

$15,999