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Chili Challenge EMU football raises $1,500 for players visit VA SOS Hospital See Page 1-B See Page 4-B

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Ypsilanti basketball overtakes Dexter See Page 1-C

The
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2013 Weave the Web:
Make sure to click on www.heritage.com around the clock for the most in-depth coverage. See most popular stories....CHELSEA: Baby surprises mom, dad by being born at home.

VOL. 19, NO. 8

Newly found water leaks costing township

Leaks, disconnected meters at vacant homes cost Augusta $21,500
Marion Dupuis
Special Writer

New water leaks and disconnected water meters found in vacant homes in Augusta Township have now reached an estimated total cost of $21,500, although some of that money may be recovered through property liens, according to township officials. Last month, Jason Karmol operations and maintenance manager for Wade Trim, reported a $12,500 water leak caused by a failed water template. The home never had a meter installed. Three more homes recently were discovered with burst in-house water lines. Karmol said during the Feb. 14, board meeting that the new leaks could add an additional $9,000 to the total of uncollected water bills.

Karmol said during the Feb. 14 board meeting that an additional $3,000 charge could be added onto each of the water leaks discovered in the vacant homes. One of the homes had two meters with one disconnected. Another home was metered but was recently sold without a lien on the property, making that $2,900 charge non-recoverable, Karmol said. A third home on Augusta Street, was discovered with water pouring out the second floor windows. Karmol said the water leak spewed some $3,000 of water before they were able to shut it off. Wade Trim representatives asked board members for clarification and permission to utilize a shut- off policy that was discovered in a local ordinance. For months, Supervisor Pete Hafler had said that such an ordinance did not exist. Since August, Wade Trim has asked Hafler for a shut-off policy for repairs and maintenance. Hafler has not responded to Wade Trims request nor the previous boards attempt to solve the issue. Out of desperation, Wade Trim started reviewing all past utility ordinances. They

discovered a shut-off notice policy for repairs and maintenance and for non-payment of utility bills going back to 1984. With this in hand, they asked board members to approve four points needed to protect the system. The first was connected to confusion over the need of plumbing permits for new service. The board ap-proved denying new water installations until the service address meets local, county, state requirements. They also approved the use of the current shut-off policy, as written in the ordinance for maintenance and repair of the water system. The board also approved Wade Trims request to answer questions on behalf of the township on the rules and procedures of service connections. The last request was to take appropriate action re-claiming $2,963.33 lost from the meter at 10015 Willis Road. The four requests were unanimously approved by the four board members present. Hafler and Trustee Joe Keefe were absent from the meeting. Marion Dupuis is a freelance writer and can be

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Second arrest made in West Willow death

Ben Baird
Heritage Media

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A second suspect has been arrested and charged for the murder of Brandon Charles, who was shot in his car Jan. 29 in the West Willow neighborhood. Willie Lee Wimberly, a 30-year-old from Trenton, was arrested Tuesday, Feb. 12, by a U.S. Marshals fugitive apprehension team based in Detroit, according to the Washtenaw County Sheriff s Office. Wimberly also faces charges for a road rage shooting in which Charles was shot on Jan. 1 on a Detroit freeway. Charles, a 28-year-old Ypsilanti-area man, was scheduled to appear in court the day after he was murdered to possibly testify against Wimberly for the previous shooting. Wimberly was turned over following his arrest to be held in Washtenaw County Jail and has been arraigned on multiple charges, including first-degree premeditated murder, according to a press release Tuesday from the sheriff s office. Wimberly has also been charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree premeditated murder, felony firearm, felon in possession of a firearm, and carrying a concealed weapon. He is scheduled to return to court at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 19 at 14A District Court. The sheriff s office obtained an arrest warrant for Wimberly on Friday. Avantis Dominique Parker, a 21-year-old Northville man, was previously arrested in connection to the homicide and was arraigned Feb. 6 on charges including open murder, which can include any degree of murder and is punishable by up to life in prison. He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary examination of the evidence against him at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 19 at 14A District Court, according to the county prosecutors office. Both Parker and Wimberly are being held without bond in Washtenaw County Jail, which is typical for suspects with a murder charge. Other charges against Parker include felony
PLEASE SEE DEATH/3-AZ

Photo courtesy Ben Fort

Local Second City grads write musical on NBA 2011 lockout

Joseph Yelick
Special Writer

The Marketplace:

The 2011 NBA Lockout has inspired a theater musical aptly named The Lockout: A Musical. Under the production name Six Hours Short Ypsilanti resident Ben Fort and college friend Jason Gallagher, both graduates of Second City, have wrote and completed stage readings for The Lockout: A Musical. Right now they are in the midst of a 30-day Kickstarter campaign to produce a studiorecorded album of 12 of the musicals original songs, the campaign ends on Feb. 22. Its a rough 30 days, Fort said. Its never off your mind, a battle between your rational and irrational self. Fort moved to Ypsilanti in 2012 because his wife is pursuing a Masters degree in childrens literature at Eastern Michigan University. My rational self has me emailing 5 people a day hoping one of them backs our Kickstarter, he said. The musical is centered on two characters: The owner of the Wichita Water, a fictional small market NBA team, and the teams newly signed franchise player, who signed with the team as free agent after he and owner became friends over a game of Horse. We wrote the entire musical in 6 months, Fort said.

In late August, Six Hours Short put on a stage reading of The Lockout. Since then they have continued tweaking the script by cutting down on the basketball references and focusing more on the characters, and have begun to work with a band in Oklahoma on recording the music from the show into a studio album. We dont have a core audience for our musical, basketball fans dont really go to musicals, Fort said. The musical, he said, is not composed of your typical musical sound. (Im) not necessarily a fan of the modern musical, more into classic rock, Motown and indie rock, Fort said. Fort wants the people to like the music of his musical even if they do not attend or even like musicals. Our grand idea or plan is that we are going to have a full production show in Chicago this fall, he said. And have an album ready to purchase at this show. Fort said he hopes to submit the musical into the 2014 New York Musical Theater Festival this coming fall. Part of the process for submitting a project for this festival includes a demo of 75 percent of the songs in the show. From a financial standpoint the Kickstarter
PLEASE SEE MUSICAL/3-A

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INDEX
Editorial Classifieds Sports Page 6-A Page 9-B Page 1-C

Death Notices Page 14-A

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