Fred Roperti's Reflections

Candidate Night Answers

These are the questions asked at the Salem Area Historical Society Candidate Forum, my answers as well as an open and closing statement. Each candidate response was limited to 100 words. Please send me your questions through my email fred@fred-roperti.com or by leaving a comment on any post on this site.

 

Fred

 

Opening statement:

 

I’m asking for your support for another term as Township Supervisor. I’d like you to know from me why I am running again. Had there been a candidate that demonstrated an understanding of the issues, a willingness to learn the facts rather than just to attack, I would not be running. I love this township, I didn’t just build a house 29 years ago; this is where my heart lies. I’m concerned about the “changes” that are promised. That is why I’m running again; I’m working hard to win and to support the candidates I know will put Salem First. 

 

Closing Statement

 

As a young man in the 1950’s, I watched the many acres our family farmed in Livonia paved over at an alarming rate when some self-serving individuals got onto the Livonia township board. That’s right; Livonia was once a farming community, more rural than Salem is today. What’s left - the Roperti Turkey Farm - now sits on a 5-acre island in the midst of a sea of sprawl, a monument to “change” – change that benefited a few at the expense of the rest. I don't want that to happento Salem, and that’s why I’m asking for your support. 

South Lyon Herald - You Just Never Know, Continued!

Well, I appeared in a story on the front page of the Detroit Free Press on Tuesday, and on the front page of the South Lyon Herald on Thursday - along with a bystander, my daughter Gina.

Apparently some people, that have nothing better to do with their time but create conspiracy theories, decided that Salem Township Clerk David Trent went out in the street and started handing out ballots (which, sadly, is NOT the most absurd thing I've heard in this election). Do I need to say now that that's not true? But please, don't believe me - take a look for yourself...(click to view full size)

I'm wondering, when these people look under the bed do they see dust bunnies, or Russian spies?

In any case, the plot thickens....remember the story of Chicken Little? When Chicken Little gets hit on the head by a "ballot" falling out of the sky, it just ain't news until Chicken Little runs off and tells Henny Penny all about it. In our story, Henny Penny is the editor of a small town newspaper.

Well our little Henny Penny is so excited by this piece of "news" from Chicken Little that he rushes out and publishes a story on the front page reporting this fact: "one of those that received a ballot without submitting an application was Gina Roperti, the supervisor's daughter." Henny Penny forgot to mention that when he spoke to David Trent, that David told him that all the applications were right in his hand and running through the copy machine for Mr. Penny to pick up. Hmmm. But somehow, the story ran as fact anyway.

Do you think there'll be a retraction and apology on the front page next week?

Oddly, there was enough lead time on this story that Henny was able to spread the story to others, and quote their reaction. He contacted Turkey Lurkey with the State, and Goosey Loosey with the County, he was so excited just thinking about these ballots falling from the sky that he completely forgot about the facts... maybe when "Foxy Loxy" reminds Mr. Penny of how far afield he has roamed from his employer's Principles of Ethical Conduct, he'll think twice before printing known and unsubstantiated fantasies.

In light of what I just read reported as "news", I am amazed looking at these Principles of Ethical Conduct. The story was written with complete and utter disregard for his employer and his profession.  Mr. Penny smears me, my daughter, and David Trent, all while knowing what he is writing is not the truth, in an attempt to influence an election. FOR SHAME!

In the Detroit Free Press - You Just Never Know!

Last week I read an article in the Free Press about GM retirees having their retirement health care benefits reduced...I decided to write a note to the reporter- at about 2 am - about the comments that some GM salaried retirees had made.

To my surprise, Meghana Keshavan called me, came out to Salem, interviewed me, had me photographed and the story appeared - on the front page of the Freep, no less -  all in less than a week! You can the entire story below...

Murtle the Turtle, and her cohorts

I was driving from Northville into Salem on 8 Mile a few weeks ago– just at the Salem border I saw a car parked on the shoulder, and a few feet away an older gentleman and a young boy. They were both looking down and taking small steps. I saw a wetland in the background, and guessed correctly…they were sheparding a turtle to its destination.

 

A few weeks prior to that, I was driving down 5 Mile between Curtis and Currie Road, and saw a large pile of brush in the road. I moved over, and as I passed the “brush” I saw it move and suddenly realized that it was a turtle. I stopped the car and decided to help “Murtle” cross the road, only to find out that Murtle didn’t want any help, thank you very much! She/he swung around at me (turtles move surprisingly fast) and gave me a dirty look. As we eyeballed each other, I decided that Murtle’s reluctance to be helped wasn’t going to deter me.

I picked up and gave her/him a “helicopter” ride to the edge of the road that she was headed to, put her down and bid farewell. I went back later to make sure that she wasn’t back in the road, and she was long gone.

Interested to know more about our Michigan Tortugas (Spanish for “turtle”) and road crossings, I did a little Googling and found that it’s okay to help turtles out of the road when you make sure you assist them in the same direction that they were going. Need I say this?...if it’s a snapping turtle, you may want to think twice about your body parts – specifically keeping them well out of reach of some serious jaws. The state has also put up a “turtle fence” on US-31 to keep the Muskegon River turtles from finding themselves under the wheels of traffic. A hazard to motorists swerving to miss the turtles, this stretch of road was known as one of the deadliest for turtles in the nation. The fence doesn’t stop the turtles from getting to the other side of the marsh, just requires them to swim rather than walk.

Salem’s dirt roads are a blessing to the turtles of our area for several reasons. First, dirt roads are not as impervious as paved roads, so rain water that runs off the road travels slower and retains less heat. That makes a tremendous difference to aquatic habitat near roadways – water temperature artificially raised by runoff from paved roads can be devastating to all aquatic wildlife, not just turtles. This is why Salem is one of two communities that still have trout in its streams! To learn more about this, please visit the Johnson Creek Protection Group  – they have a great picture of a brown trout on the site.

I find it awe-inspiring to think about how we are connected with the earth and its creatures – living in Salem puts this connection right in our faces, if we just take the time to look and listen.

Watch out for those turtles – Fred

A Farm Grows in Livonia?

Here's an article about the Roperti Turkey Farm - formerly the Roperti Dairy Farm -where I milked cows before and after school - day in and day out. Development has created a Roperti Turkey Farm "Island" - this article is from youngest sister Chrisitine's perspective....

By HANK SCHALLER

11/18/2002

November 18, 2002 LIVONIA - Don't tell Christine Roperti how juicy the white meat on your Butterball turkey was last Thanksgiving. "The white meat on our turkeys is very moist," boasted Roperti, 57, whose parents, Tom and Mary Roperti, opened Roperti's Turkey Farm when milking 40 head of dairy cattle for the Twin Pines Farm Dairy became too much of a chore.

"We wouldn't be in business since 1948 if we had dry white meat." "My father had a buddy who raised chickens and turkeys, and he suggested that my father get in the turkey business," she recalled. "He got rid of the cows in 1947 and started raising turkeys in 1948. We started with 50 turkeys, then went to 100, 200 and 500, and now we raise 4,500 turkeys a year. "When we started raising turkeys, there were farms all over Livonia," she said. "Now we may be the only farm left." For 54 years, turkeys raised by three generations of the Roperti family have been a Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner tradition for hundreds of families in the Detroit area. Some customers have been depending on the Ropertis for their holiday gobblers for 30 years or more. "We used to grow all our own corn, wheat and oats on 250 acres, including two large fields near Six Mile and Haggerty roads, where a shopping center now stands," Roperti recalled. The family now purchases the grain it feeds its large Wilford White turkeys, but otherwise the five-acre family farm at 34700 Five Mile Road continues operating as it has for years. "Wilfords are a large breed of turkeys that are very breasty and very meaty," Roperti said. "I get the turkeys when they are 8 to 9 weeks old and weigh about 2 pounds from my grower in Zeeland. I pick up the turkeys around the last week in August so I can sell them from Oct. 1 to Dec. 23." The secret to good tasting turkeys is the right diet, she said. In fact, the company motto on fliers distributed in neighborhoods in Oakland and Wayne counties tells customers of the importance of what a turkey is fed: "Remember, fresh is not the secret. The secret is what they've been fed." "Animals are what they eat, and that goes for turkeys, too," Roperti explained. "Our turkeys are fed corn, wheat and oats that are mixed with a high-protein mash from the time they arrive (until) the last two weeks before they are killed, when they are fed nothing but corn. "The larger turkey farms can't feed the turkeys the way I can because they can't get their money back," she said. "Some allow their turkeys to graze, feed them fish meal or anything that's cheap." The busiest time of the year for the Ropertis is the four-day period immediately before Thanksgiving, when about 4,000 of the turkeys are killed and dressed by the family and a seasonal staff of 35 employees who set up a production line. "For those four days before Thanksgiving, I'm working 17, 18 or 19 hours a day," she said. "I just can't sleep any more than four or five hours when we get to that time of the year." During these hectic times, Christine runs the store; her oldest son, Tony, is in charge of killing the turkeys in the "red room"; her husband, Wesley Bates, runs the scalding and defeathering room; her youngest son, Tom, runs the dressing table; and Tom's wife, Ferida, acts as the farm's secretary. Besides getting turkeys ready for the roaster or deep fryer, the family also sells turkey smoked for 12 hours right on the premises, using apple and cherry wood with a little wet hickory thrown on top. Ironically, when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, the Roperti family takes a pass on turkey. "My family has seen too many turkeys at that point and would hang me up like a dead turkey if I put turkey on the table," Roperti said. "Thanksgiving is sort of a party for us. "For Thanksgiving, we have filet mignon, lobster and stone crabs and key lime pie that my niece sends up here every year from Florida," she said. "She sends us the stone crabs and key lime pie in exchange for a turkey, of course."

©The Daily Oakland Press 2004

I Couldn't Have Said it Better Myself!

This past Saturday was the "traditional" Salem Saturday Night Sign Massacre. This time Linda Hamilton, incumbent Salem Treasurer, was targeted, and lost most of her signs. She placed a replacement order today - very vexing in terms of money and time lost. There's enough monetary loss that this is considered theft by law enforcement.

Oddly enough, a resident wrote me early Sunday morning - long before we knew about the missing signs - about finding a Hamilton sign at the New Hudson Wal-Mart. She picked it up, brought it home and has it in her yard. My daughter Gina wrote to the resident to ask her when she was at Wal-Mart, since Wal-Mart is known to have complete parking lot video coverage, something apparently our thief doesn't know.

Anyway - here is the reply from the resident....as I said, "I COULDN'T HAVE SAID IT BETTER MYSELF!" (I've edited for brevity and privacy, but every word is the resident's).

"I have the Wal Mart receipt in front of me.  I was there at -----.  I parked right next to the cart return area.  The sign was in that area.  It is in good shape because cars could not drive over it.  I thought it was strange to be there, far away from Salem Township.  I picked it up and threw it in the back of my car.  It is now on our front lawn.”

  

 

 Thanks to this resident, and all the good guys out there....Fred

 

PS - if we find the thief, would it be too much to have them wear a sign like this?

 

Accomplishments as Township Supervisor

Managing Growth

ü  Worked to revise Salem’s Growth Management Plan to best reflect our long-range values and needs’

o   The detail of the GMP is what gives it defensibility; the revision added 2/3 to the existing version

ü  Successfully defended multiple lawsuits brought by developers that went to court to test Salem’s Growth Management Plan and Ordinances. Our strong, precise ordinances allowed us to prevail, maintaining our vision how we want to maintain our township.

Keeping Salem a Great Place to Live

ü  Designed and implemented a community park in the Salem Hamlet, completely financed through private donations, no township money used.

ü  Explored many alternatives that will give Salem the best balance of cost and health and safety services (fire and police).

ü  Actively worked with police to resolve individual resident issues – trespassing, noise disturbances

ü  Crafted noise ordinance with input from law enforcement and courts, so that we have an ordinance that provides warnings, tracks repeat occurrences and provides escalating penalties for multiple offenses.

Finances and Budget

ü  Restored township’s income from landfill and gas recovery revenue through successful lawsuit, including recovery of all attorney fees.

ü  Always support seeking simpler, more economical alternatives.

o   Specifically, spent $30,000 to correct a problem when Drain Commission proposed a $1.4 million solution, which would have been assessed to residents. Further, solved a “$400,000” drainage problem for $10,000.

ü  We enjoy a bank balance of $7 million, compared with $2.3 million upon taking office. We’ve built this reserve by keeping expenses down, government small and defending our income.

o   A healthy bank balance is also a key to being able to ensure that development is done on our terms – those that would sue to overturn our development ordinances think twice when there is enough of a “war chest” available to defend our development standards, guaranteeing that we decide what happens within our borders. 

Government

ü  Township still employs just 3 full-time employees; keeping government small is a key to maintaining our open space. Expand government and sprawl is right behind.

When "feelings" don't reflect what happened...

Below on the right is a letter published in the South Lyon Herald today. I believe most people - not all, but most - sincerely believe what they are saying is accurate. However, desire for something often shades recollection and perception to flatter the speaker - facts often get fuzzy when feelings are primary. In any case, my answer is below....

My Answer... With all due respect to Mr. Burley, this is a perfect example of why those with personal agenda’s should not be making decisions for the rest of us. Firstly, calling this structure a “church” is stretching the bounds of credulity. If he had said former coffeehouse, apartment building, dog kennel, condemned building or unsafe attractive lure to children and magnet for illegal activity, I’d agree. Second, it is impossible to move a building that cannot stand still without falling down – the prior owner had nailed siding onto the building in an attempt to keep the bricks from falling off! By removing this unsafe building, we’ve added value far beyond the $30,000 mentioned, and provided needed space to the township. Third, this building was taken by a previous administration through eminent domain or the process where government takes an individual’s property for a necessary and legitimate governmental need. The one remaining member of the board, Trustee Marcia Van Fossen, voted to take this property from an individual, embroiling the township in a lawsuit that cost over $400,000 to settle, and worst of all, did so knowing that it was her intent was to give this building and the land to this organization. Where is the governmental need in that? Fourth, we did look at options… The lowest estimate was close to $400,000 to repair this structure’s foundation, every mechanical and plumbing system, deal with flooding, roofing and complete gutting. More realistic estimates were closer to $600,000. Further, there was not a purpose that this structure would fulfill for the township. This group wanted the township to fund their desire to move and repair this building. How could elected officials even dream of using public money to fund a private organizations wishes? Fred

"Salem church a loss to community" As a nonresident of Salem Township who has had dealings with the present Salem Township administration, I feel that it is important to express my feelings on what is happening. What a church organization wanted to do was to buy an old church in the hamlet. This property had been sitting empty for six years. The sale would have given a value to the community. Yet the majority of the Salem Township Board hurried the church group to move the building from the Dickerson Street site, and would not give the needed time for the structure to be moved. After two years the Salem Township community has only a parking lot and approximately $30,000 loss. Where was the Salem township government's help in the project? The zoning department knew of places in Salem Township where a building could be moved to. The Salem Township clerk handles records, and the township treasurer handles tax matters. Any of these three township officials would have knowledge of property that a building could be moved to. Yet, there was no information given. Three months and blockage to government funding made things impossible. The current Salem Township administration destroyed rather than serve. Did these Salem Township officials do their civic duty? After two years, 7911 Dickerson is a vacant lot. The money available from the sale is lost. What did the citizens of Salem Township get except the loss of a part of its community? These Salem Township Officials did not go into anything with a prior preparation, no knowledge of the cause and effect, and no long range planning. The Salem Township board was unable or unwilling to look beyond their narrow views and to look for long term value. Please, I urge the voters to evaluate what was not done and ask the question as to what value can be gained by re-electing the current Salem township Supervisor, Treasurer and Clerk. Alden D. Burley