Follow Up

A fresh look at some recent stories in the headlines.

Book Fair Attracts
A Thoughtful Crowd

Coalition Begins
Education Fight

LESLEY PEARL STAFF WRITER

KIMBERLY UFTON STAFF WRITER

T

he community is get-
ting serious. That's
what Chris Lewis
thinks.
As director of cultural
arts for the Jewish Corn-
munity Center, Ms.
Lewis has spent the last
few months planning the
42nd annual Jewish
Book Fair.
It's over — successful-
ly so, Ms. Lewis said.
And while personali-
ties like Tony Curtis and
Kinky Friedman of the
Texas Jew Boys were
natural attractions, sur-
prisingly large crowds
showed up to hear non-
fiction writers like Helen
Suzman and Rabbi Adin
Steinsaltz, too.
Opening night, more
than 1,200 people at-
tended.
"Every speaker had an
average of 200 to 400 au-
dience members, and
that's a low estimate,"

Ms. Lewis said. "The
crowds are bigger than
last year and sales are
steady.
"The rabbis have been

drawing in large audi-
ences. It's like people are
looking for something.
They're hungry for a
more serious speaker."

coalition of four Jew-
ish human service
agencies met for the
second time last
week to draft position pa-
pers on the is-
sue of school
finance reform.
The mem-
bers — the
Jewish Com-
munity Coun-
cil, the
Anti-Defama-
tion League,
the National
Council of
Jewish
Women and
the Ameri-
can Jewish
Committee
— began
organizing
a plan for
communi-
ty education
and advocacy a week after
agreeing to get more in-
volved in the issue.

This is the first time that
several Jewish organiza-
tions have joined forces to
influence state public
policy.
In the coming weeks,

ings with further informa-
tion. Each will be urged to
contact legislative repre-
sentatives about the coali-
tion agenda.
Soon, the coalition will
complete a series of
"talking points,"
which will help the
community under-
stand which issues
need to be ad-
dressed, and how to
discuss them with
elected officials.
The group
wants to monitor
the educational
reform process to
make certain
their concerns
are addressed.
This includes
maintaining
the separation
of church and state
0
in the public schools and
members of these organi- distinguishing the debate
zations and community over education reform from
leaders will receive mail- that of finance reform.

State Will Help
Borman Hall

Rockettes Event
Kicks In $955,000

RUTH UTTMANN STAFF WRITER

RUTH LITTNIANN STAFF WRITER

T

he Michigan Depart-
ment of Public
Health will cooperate
with the Jewish com-
munity's attempt to close
or sell Borman Hall nurs-
ing home during 1994.

Walter Wheeler, chief of
the Bureau of Health Sys-
tems, said the MDPH does
not play a role in deciding
the future of the Detroit fa-
cility.
"This is a mat-
ter for (the Jew-
ish community)
to determine,"
he said. "We
will cooperate
with them, and
we will put
forth whatever
effort we can
to assist them
in resolving
this."
Dr. Rich-
ard Yerian,
chief medical
consultant
for the Bu-
reau, said
the MDPH
will, upon
request,
help Bor-
man Hall
administrators

find alternative facilities
and relocate residents if
Borman closes.
The MDPH also will
work with new providers
to assure a continuation of
residents' Medicare and
Medicaid funding during
the relocation process, he
said.
The announcement to
close or sell the 28-year-old
Borman Hall came about
two weeks ago — following
months of deliberations
about the Home's effec-
tiveness. Community lead-
ers decided that Borman
Hall is too expensive and
problematic to continue op-
erating.
Mr. Wheeler said he
does not expect Borman's
new agenda to conflict with
state and federal nursing
home regulations.
"Our overall goal is to
minimize the disruption of
care to residents and that
is (the community's) stat-
ed goal as well," he said.

night of sequins,
singing and cancan
dancing at the Fox
Theatre in Detroit
raised $955,000 for
JARC, a Southfield-
based organization
for adult Jews with
developmental dis-
abilities.
The Rockettes
benefit, held Nov. 9,
featured a soiree
that attracted more
than 250 people to a
gathering of JARC's
new young adult
committee.
"People enjoyed
the show. They
loved the evening.
We think it was a
wonderful begin-
ning to developing
interest in JARC among
young adults," said Rena
Friedberg, development co-
ordinator for the organiza-
tion.
The young adult com-
mittee will meet in early

December to discuss plans
for future hands-on activ-
ities, like double dates with
JARC residents.
JARC, in its effort

to foster independence
among developmentally
disabled adults, currently
runs 15 group homes in
metro Detroit. A 16th will
open soon.

The organization offers
independent living pro-
grams to 50 people. It also
provides advocacy, coun-
seling and referrals to the
more than 225

people on JARC's waiting
list.
Revenue from the event
will benefit JARC's ongo-
ing activities. ❑

