750 DETROIT THE EINISH NEWS 18 IYAR 5754/APRIL 29, 1994 Federation Puts Brakes On UHS's Bus System Deficit-ridden transportation system will close in June. RUTH LITTMANN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS Does anyone understand this ancient holiday? Story on page 66 Strong Memories Of Nixon Support of Israel and Soviet Jews are what local leaders recall of former president. F ALAN HITSKY AND ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITORS or many Jews, the name of the late President Richard M. Nixon brings conflicting images. He was the man who became close with Golda Meir and who, in many ways, defined the positive course of U.S.-Israeli relations. Yet he also was an American leader who compiled a list of "ene- mies," more than one-third of whom were Jewish, and who ordered a se- cret investigation of a "Jewish ca- bal" at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For community leader Max M. Fisher, Mr. Nixon always will be the savior of Israel and the cata- lyst for the mass exodus of Jews from the former Soviet Union. "In my opinion, Richard Nixon was the greatest foreign affairs pres- ident we ever had," Mr. Fisher said this week. "The Jewish communi- ty for years didn't like him, but that was not justified by his presidency. He was a great friend." "I thought President Nixon was one of the great presidents of the world in the area of foreign affairs," added attorney Alan E. Schwartz of Honigman, Miller, Schwartz & Cohn, who was in the late presi- dent's pres- ence on nu- m e r o u s occasions. Mr. Nixon, the 37th U.S. president and the only one ever to resign, died last week of complica- tions following Max M. Fisher a stroke. He was 81. Mr. Fisher, a past president of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, was chairman of the Council of Jewish Federations and the Jewish Agency for Israel at the time of Mr. Nixon's presidency. As a leading Republican fund-rais- er, Mr. Fisher had quick access to the White House during Mr. Nixon's terms in office. "I met Richard Nixon in 1958 when he was vice president (to Dwight Eisenhower)," Mr. Fisher said. "He helped with the United Jewish Appeal when we had prob- lems with the Arabs." (American-Arab groups were asking the government to rescind NIXON page 8 secular organizations like Detroit Country Day School and Community Mental Health. Federation is encouraging agencies affected by the closure to seek alternatives with for- profit, private companies, which "have the expertise to run a re- liable, safe and cost-efficient ser- vice," Mr. Davidoff said. Federation officials said the closing was prompted by fi- nancial and demographic con- siderations and not a recent main reason for closing UHS Transportation is the decreased demand for its services. Once the primary means of trans- portation for 4,000 students and other individuals per week, rid- ership has spiraled downward along with revenues. Employment for UHS Transportation's 70 workers will be terminated by the end of this school year. After June, Federation will make an exception and extend UHS bus service only to the PHOTO BY GLENN TRIEST Lag Wainer he United Hebrew Schools Transpor- tation System will shut down this June, ending service for some 500 children and adults who ride its buses and vans throughout the school year. "We believe that a commu- nity-based system is no longer the best way to provide for transportation needs," said Mark Davidoff, chief financial officer for the Federation, which runs the UHS Transportation System. 'There is a move across the state to privatize school-bus systems." During the annual budget- ing process, UHS officials said the service was running a deficit of $20,000 to $30,000. Yet the UHS Transportation Transition Task Force has dis- covered that the actual deficit was in excess of "several hun- dreds of thousands of dollars" each year. Mr. Davidoff and Federation Planning Director Lawrence Ziffer attribute the discrepan- cy to "financial oversight." All UHS bills have been paid, Mr. Ziffer said. Federation officials have established a Joint Fiscal Oversight Council that will in- vestigate UHS Transportation deficits. Both Jewish and other agen- cies will be affected by the trans- portation system's closure. Fifteen nonprofit organiza- tions regularly contract with UHS Transportation. They in- clude Jewish agencies like Hillel Day School, Jewish Vocational Service and the Jewish Community Center, as well as UHS Transportation deficits were in excess of what had been reported. state police investigation of the transportation service. Since February, the Michigan State Police Department has sus- pected that defective, "red- tagged" buses operated contrary to state law. "The (timing) was actually coincidental," Mr. Davidoff said. Since last fall, Federation has become aware of UHS Transportation's difficulties. Federation officials say the Jewish Community Center's Day Camp, its largest summer contractor. The summer day camp, which supplies its own drivers, has previously used UHS vehicles to transport 1,400 children to and from the West Bloomfield and Oak Park JCCs. But JCC Executive Director Mort Plotnick expects another alternative to arise before sum- mer day camp begins in two months. ❑ PROFILE BUSINESS SPORTS Taxi! Plot Thickens Play Ball! Haim Desta has traveled far. Little bookstores have tough competition. The Indoor Baseball Clinic is a hit. Page 39 Page 58 Page 104 Contents on page 3