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Community Calendar . 1-BCommentary . . . . . . . . . 6-ADeaths . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-ASports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-C

Book discussion set: Friends of the MilanPublic Library will hold a book discussion 1 p.m.Sept. 13. John Steinbeck, Pulitzer Prize and NobelPrize-winning American author, cited for his keenperception of social and economic issues in ruralAmerica, will be the topic. The talk will be heldat the Milan Public Library, 151 Wabash St. The

Friends of the Milan Public Library meets thesecond Monday of each month. For more informa-tion, call 439-2714 or visit www.milanlibrary.org. Congregation to meet in park: MarbleMemorial United Methodist Church, 8 Park St,in Milan, will hold Worship in the Park 10 a.m.Sept. 5 at Wilson Park. Call 439-2421 for more infor-mation. Bring a lawn chair or blanket.Milan Womans Club to meet: The MilanWomans Club will meet noon Sept. 14 at the Milan

Senior and Community Activity Center. TheWomans Club is a community-oriented and pub-lic service-focused organization. For membershipinformation, call Marilyn Alexander at 439-2714. Sign up for e-newsletter: Sign up for TheMilan News-Leaders e-newsletter to get breakingnews alerts and the latest headlines in your e-mailbox. Visit www.heritage.com. Open house set: Milan High School will holdits open house from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

BRIEFLY...

VOL. 128, NO. 36 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2010

75Milan News-Leader

The

City to spend $842K tofix dam wall in Milan

See Page 3-A

Countys new financedirector faces deficit

See Page 8-C

Golf outing raises $5K forchamber of commerce

See Page 3-A

On schedule

On schedule

Superintendent says school to open TuesdayBy Steven HowardHeritage Newspapers

Its been a busy summer for MilanArea Schools Superintendent BryanGirbach.

As soon as teachers and staffvacated Milan Middle School, Symons

Elementary and Paddock Elementary inJune, work began on an expansive reno-vation plan within the buildings, whichis being funded by a $49.9 million bondissue passed by voters in February 2009.

This summer, were right in the $20million range, Girbach said of the workon the three schools. Well be spendingabout $15 million next summer at thehigh school.

Going into the project, Girbach saidhe and his colleagues had one primaryobjective they wanted to accomplishwith the work.

Our goal in all of this is to bring ourbuildings up to a point to where we donthave to spend a ton of operational moneymaintaining them, he said. We wantto get them to a point to where they canpretty much maintain themselves for thenext 15 years with as little expense as

possible.Girbach said more than two years ago,while he was assistant superintendent,he and other district officials realizedtheir current mode of operation, giventhe failing state of the school buildings,was not practical.

We decided we just cant continueto keep these buildings functioning,he said. We were basically takingmoney out of the classrooms to do theserepairs.

The district then commissioned anarchitecture firm and construction com-pany to perform a study to determine theneeds of the buildings, and to see if they

matched up with the findings of districtofficials.

What Girbach and others suspectedwas largely proven true, he said, and thebond was brought before voters.

Once the issue was passed and theability to renovate became a reality,

Girbach said he set the course on thework with two fundamental ideas inmind.

Energy efficiency and safety are thetwo primary things we stressed as wewent through the design phase, he said.

Milan schools implemented an energymanagement plan several years ago,which, Girbach said, has already savedthe district a substantial amount ofmoney each year.

The all-new infrastructural work willonly add to the savings, he said.

We have already cut our energy con-sumption by 30 percent, he said. Andthat was all habit. Were excited to see

how much more we can save with thesenew renovations.

Much of the major work that was donein all three buildings is not noticeableanymore because it has been recoveredwith ceilings and walls, but Girbach saidthe updates that took place amounted to

a gutting.We redid electrical, heating and cool-ing, installed new windows and doors,new roofs, new boilers, he said. Itsalmost like a new school. Its just thecinder blocks that are there (from theformer state of the building).

As he walked through PaddockElementary School on Monday, Girbachpointed out the new windows that wereinstalled in classrooms and hallwaysthroughout. He said they are an improve-ment over the previous windows in sev-eral important ways.

Oil found

in Saline

RiverBy Art AisnerSpecial Writer

The U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency is investi-gating the source of an oilysubstance that was discoveredin the Saline River Sunday inMilan.

Members of the WashtenawCounty Hazardous MaterialsResponse Team responded tothe Platt Road bridge over-looking the river and verifiedcomplaints of oil in the water,officials said.

There was no current andyou could definitely see it float-ing on top of the water, said

Vic Cheverette, HAZMAT teamdirector.He said the water level had a

rainbow sheen and that blotch-es of black tar could be seenbelow the surface. There was noodor or fumes present.

Our first thought was Isthere a pipeline anywherein the area that could do thisor cause a bigger problem?Chevrette said.

Crews immediately placedbooms in the water keep thesubstance from spreading andbegan searching for a sourcewhile they notified state andfederal authorities, he said.

They quickly determined itwas coming from a storm drainand started looking under man-

By Gerald LaVauteHeritage Newspapers

At its last meeting, the MilanCity Council approved theformation of a new Ford LakeRehabilitation and ReviewCommittee, including theappointment of most of themembers of the committee.

Council member MichaelArmitage said that the planwas to develop documentationby next February showing thekey areas of Ford Lake requir-ing change and improvements,as well as potential sources offunding.

Armitage added that he washoping to present a proposal toCongressman John Dingell forfederal funding assistance.

Council member DougGilson, who said, I grew upplaying in that water. I know alot about it, was added to thecommittee that evening.

Committee

forms for

Ford Lake

PLEASE SEE OIL/7-A

Weave the Web:Make sure to click on www.

heritage.com around theclock for in-depth coverage ofWashtenaw County. Our MostViewed story this week isCollege Football Preview:Michigan Wolverines.

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Someting new:Deals2Click4 is here.

Check out www.heritage.com to save on everythingfrom restaurants to roofing.Purchase gift cards at a pricebelow face value.

PLEASE SEE STORY/7-A

Milan Area SchoolsSuperintendent BryanGirbach shows off thenew lockers and flooringat Paddock ElementarySchool on Monday.

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