Corrections: VBT Clerk Wright did ask to speak at Veterans Day ceremony

Van Buren Township Clerk Leon Wright, a Navy veteran, said he attended the Nov. 11 Veterans Day ceremony in Belleville, and before it started asked the VFW member in charge if he could speak. Clerk Wright said he was told he wasn’t on the program and they didn’t have time for him. Wright said after the event, VFW member John Blackstone came over to him and apologized.
We apologize, too, since in last week’s editorial, we said Wright didn’t get up to speak. He said he tried.
Blackstone, who was the master of ceremonies, said Wright came up at the last minute and asked to speak and it was too confusing to add him since they were about to begin the ceremony.
Wright said next year he will make arrangements in advance and will also bring a wreath. Wright said although he didn’t serve in a foreign war, he wanted to speak about his brother, who served in Vietnam and was sickened by Agent Orange and died.
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We’ve been advised that a story on page 3 of last week’s edition said Acting Belleville Police Chief Kris Faull had served as school resource officer for 12 years. The reader who contacted us said that is incorrect and she had been SRO for more years than that. He is correct.
At the Nov. 13 meeting of the city council, Councilman Tom Fielder explained that in 2001, a COPS grant paid for 80% of the SROs for the Van Buren Public Schools. He said VBT had Ryan Bidell and Sumpter Township had John Ashby. After the grant expired, VBT left and Sumpter no longer had Elwell School in its venue. Fielder said for the last 12 years, Faull was left alone as the only SRO for the district.
Also, we used the wrong first name for Ryan Bidwell, who is back as SRO from VBT. Actually, since Faull has been acting as police chief and has had surgery, Bidell currently is the only SRO for the school district. We apologize for the errors.
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Also, the contact person for the University of Michigan boathouse in Van Buren Park is Michael J. Rein. We misspelled his last name in our Nov. 16 edition. Our apologies.
— Rosemary K. Otzman, editor