OPINION
Otter ends March 31, 1992
1
Education Decision
Continued from Page 6
dates that Federation and its
agencies continue to be led by
volunteers, with the skilled
support of professional staff.
Their partnership is one of
Detroit's greatest strengths.
ELDORADO.
"The Cadillac feels as nimble and light as smaller luxury sport coupes ... com-
municate power, class, and the new and uncharacteristic Cadillac look of the
'90s ... can stand up to the Lexus/Infiniti/Mercedes cartel and be unashamed."
— Motor Trend
In the service of our com-
munity, committed and tal-
ented volunteers devote
countless hours to their tasks,
often at great personal sac-
rifice. They provide the "citi-
zen" oversight to ensure the
efficient operation of our
agencies and institutions and
the best use of community
dollars.
• Each of Federation's agen-
cies functions independently.
It is the professional staffs
who operate each of these
agencies. It is the volunteer
boards, with the assistance of
their committees, who set
agency policy. A well-run
agency combines the best of
both.
Jewish education is not
about operations alone. It is
an issue of such overriding
community importance that
kaORMILINIE
Month
36 Month
Lease
one agency alone cannot ar-
rive at all the answers. It is
an issue that requires the
best thinking of all sectors of
our community — parents,
educators, rabbis and the host
of others with an interest in
and commitment to Jewish
education. It will require
open minds and the patience
to see "what works."
The fact is, many positive
steps are under way with the
approval of the Jewish educa-
tion report and the creation of
a committee to implement its
findings. We are moving
toward a new era that builds
upon the best achievements of
our community agencies in
the areas of formal and infor-
mal education.
The UHS elementary
school issue was described by
its former president as his
"personal axe." That is regret-
table. Because this is no time
for personal axes.
It is a time for us to stand
together and make some
sacrifices for our children's
sake. 1=1
DETROIT timmimmmi
Did Southfield's Fire
Squad Insult Jews?
*GMAC LUXURY SMART LEASE 36 Months. First pymt. plus $525 ref. sec. dep. and plate or transfer due on delivery. 4% state tax additional, 36,000 mile limita-
tion. 15' per mile excess charge over limitation. Lessee has option to purchase at lease end for $16,687. To get total pymts. multiply pymt. by 36 months.
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BLOOMFIELD collision
& Auto Spa
20
FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 1992
MOW
BLOOMFIELD
:d„;:szsariz
,
NOAM M.M. NEUSNER
Staff Writer
A
lawsuit filed by a
Southfield firefighter
and a former trainer
alleges that the city's fire
department is rife with
racism and sexism.
Among the plantiffs' ac-
cusations: a lieutenant
would use derogatory terms
to describe women, blacks
and homosexuals. He also
used a radio code, "JTS,"
which meant Jew to Sinai, to
indicate that a patient was
being taken for treatment to
Sinai Hospital.
Southfield's Public Safety
Director Rollin G. Tobin de-
nied that charge, saying that
an internal investigation
revealed nothing to substan-
tiate it. Of 14 radio dispat-
chers questioned, only one
recalled hearing the phrase
in question. That dispatcher
could not remember when
she heard it, said Mr. Tobin.
The lawsuit, which was
filed by Mary Potts, 21, and
her former training super-
visor, Robert DeWinter, 48,
claims the two were
harassed by department
administrators.
Richard Lobenthal, direc-
tor of the Michigan office of
the Anti-Defamation
League, said that if the anti-
Semitic radio code does ex-
ist, it would not be "unheard
of in these kinds of jobs." He
pointed, as an example, to
jokes made on the radio
scanner by Los Angeles
police immediately after the
beating of Rodney King last
year.
One of six recruits who
corroborated the harass-
ment charges said approx-
imately 10 percent of the fire
department routinely uses
vulgarity.
Mr. Lobenthal has led sen-
sitivity training for both
police and fire personnel in
Southfield and said some
"recalcitrance" against pro-
gressive thinking exists in
public safety departments
everywhere.
"I didn't see it (anti-
Semitism), or at least I
didn't see it then," he said of
Southfield. ❑
Solo Plans
Two Events
Solo's (Single Jewish
Parents) next breakfast
meeting on "Sex and Rela-
tionships" will be 9:15 a.m.
March 29 at Temple Israel.
Continental breakfast will be
included; there is a charge.
For information, call Tem-
ple Israel, 661-5700.
Solo will host an April
Fool's Day Pub Crawl. The
group will meet 6-8 p.m. April
1 at Max and Erma's
Restaurant (14 Mile and Or-
chard Lake Rd.).