7/31/2019 The Belleville View Front Page, 8.02.12

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VOL. 28, NO. 31 THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

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The

INSIDECommunity Art Showreturning to Belleville

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INSIDEBACAs Artaffair onMain a success

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INDEX

INSIDESchool districtaims to improvetest scoresSee Page 10-A

By Jerry WolffeJoiurnal Register News Service

Political and business leaders dis-cussed issues ranging from set-ting up health exchanges toimplement the Affordable CareAct to consolidating government

to provide services, to the role of anemergency manager during live chat,How Much Government? hosted on theHeritage Media website at www.heritage.com.

The participants let their views beknown on problems facing our societyfaces in the dawn of the 21st century,where citizens are finding the past waysof doing business no longer work in atime of declining property tax revenue,

By Erica McClainHeritage Media

Roughly 10 years ago, hous-ing in Michigan was just onthe precipice of bursting itsburgeoning bubble. Urbansprawl had paid off for

counties neighboring WayneCounty and housing developmentshad never looked better.

There was a mindset back thenthat this growth was going to go onforever, said Rob Turner, a westernWashtenaw County commissioner.

So, when a developer wanted tobuild, many municipalities didntblink, and when it came down towater and sewer systems, growthwas so confidently forecasted thatmunicipalities like Sylvan Township

in Washtenaw County and Handyand Howell townships in LivingstonCounty sought large bonds backedby county credit.

In Sylvan Township, a water treat-ment plant with a planned capacityof 620,000 gallons per day was builtwith the assumption that a localdeveloper would need the additionalResidential Equivalent Units, orREUs, along with the installation oftwo new water wells and a 500,000-gallon water tower in 2000.

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

Taxpayers holding the bag

after housing bubble bursts

Online chat kicks off serieson size, scope of government

PLEASE SEE TAXPAYERS/13-A

State Rep. Jeff Irwin PLEASE SEE CHAT/9-A

More coverage insideWhat gets cut? Looking at severe financial 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 atcreative solutions, 13-A.

NEWSPAPER LAUNCHES SERIES ON SHRINKING GOVERNMENT

By Ben BairdHeritage Media

Andrea Deanna Brennan,a teacher for the Van BurenPublic Schools district, hasbeen charged with provid-ing sexually explicit mate-rial to a 15-year-old boy.

She received a per-sonal recognizance bondof $10,000 in court Tuesdayand was released. She isexpected to return to courton Monday.

Brennan, a 37-year-oldYpsilanti woman who is ateacher at North Middle

School, was arraigned oncharges in 34th DistrictCourt in Romulus.

Wayne County ProsecutorKym L. Worthy has chargedher with distributing sexu-ally explicit material to aminor, a two-year felony. Shewas also charged with useof a computer to commit acrime, a felony punishableby up to four years in pris-on, and furnishing alcoholto a minor, a misdemeanorwith a penalty of up to 60days in jail.

The charges come froman alleged meeting on July10 between Brennan and the15-year-old, who has never

been a student of Brennans.At about 1:30 a.m. July 10,

Van Buren Township policeofficers were patrolling thesoftball fields surrounding a

Teacher

chargedwithgivingstudentsexuallyexplicit

material

Andrea Brennan

PLEASE SEE TEACHER/3-A

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