SKYWARD page 35 What's waiting for you back at the office? It's true. Time is money. And the time you or your employees spend standing in old-fashioned teller lines could be costing you thousands! Franklin Bank offers modern banking options like our "Express Deposit" lockbox, courier deposit pickup and EDI electronic deposits. They're all part of the Total Package of financial services for small and medium-sized businesses. Why spend time standing in bank lines? Call Franklin Bank today at (810) 358-5170 and start saving money! Franklin Bank N.A. (810)358-5170 FDIC Insured The new thinking in banking for business. Southfield • Birmingham • Grosse Pointe Woods sands of dollars more than the amount of money it takes to set up and maintain a photovoltaic unit. "I think (solar energy) might be a very plausible thing to use (on a kibbutz in Israel). It's very sunny there. There are people around to do maintenance on the module. If it can last for 30 years, it can be a quite attractive, cost- effective system," Mr. Mazer says. "One drawback would be the heat. As solar cells get hotter, their efficiency goes down. But there's a way to get around that. If it's mounted correctly, the mod- ule can be cooled by the wind." At Kibbutz Samar, Mr. Med- wed is keeping all of this in mind. Since devising the plan two years ago, the 37-year-old Southfield- Lathrup High School graduate has put his solar energy studies on overdrive. He has read books on the topic and consulted with government officials. Current- ly, he's working with David Faiman, director of the National Ben-Gurion Solar Energy Cen- ter, and representatives from sev- eral other institutes and laboratories, including Ben-Gu- rion University, the Joint Israeli Russian Energy Research Labs and Musson Ltd. in Russia. In designing his own system, Mr. Medwed has tried to learn from mistakes others have made. One glaring faux pas: Many pro- ject managers contract with corn- panies that sell solar panels and stands with intergalactic price tags. Mr. Medwed says he's done lots of cost comparisons. He plans to use a relatively inexpensive, but effective photovoltaic panel. When it came to pedestals — or stands — for these units, Mr. Medwed got frustrated with what he calls overpriced, fancy models, so he designed his own (see dia- gram on page 35). It's smaller, perhaps less attractive, but Mr. Medwed is convinced his creation will save money. In all, the Sunergy Project car- ries an initial cost of $770,000, with an annual maintenance cost of $10,000, according to Mr. Med- wed's detailed analysis. The sun, of course, is free. He's asking the government for 30 percent of the initial total up front. Kibbutz Samar promis- es to repay the government in full. Solar energy wasn't Mr. Med- wed's focus in the States. He studied music at Oberlin Con- servatory in Ohio and ecological agriculture at Evergreen State College in Washington. "World governments have not yet made solar energy a priority." — Bryan Medwed Mr. Medwed met his wife, Ilene, through Habonim Zionist Youth Organization when they were both metro Detroit teen- agers. They married in 1981 at Congregation Beth Shalom and made aliyah about 11 years ago. The couple has three children: Paz, Shani and Stay. Their parents, Joe Medwed, Mary Perica, and David and May Moskowitz, still live in metro De- troit. Mr. Medwed says he loves kib- butz life. Much of the appeal comes from projects like Suner- gy. Saddling the sun is something Samarniks knew nothing about, but now some of its residents con- sider themselves experts. "We know how to do this bet- ter than anyone, " Mr. Medwed says. "We've educated ourselves. That's what happens when you're part of a generation that nails to- gether a nation. If you're crazy enough, it'll work." ❑ Town Of Karmiel Keeps On Growing p LLI Cr) Free Lifetime Battery arranty with eve purchase. LLJ CC LLJ w 1 - 3 6 eople have moved to Karmiel over the years de- spite the town's unem- ployment problems. But now the residents' faith is being rewarded., as the municipality pushes ahead with development plans. Karmiel, a development town situated in the Galilee, suffered from a shortage of jobs and cheap housing in the late 1980s. Over the last six years, however, un- employment has dropped from 14-15 percent to 6-7 percent. At present, housing is cheap- er than other towns in the region. EMU JEWELERS In Store Specials Every Day Sunset Strip 29436 Northwestern Hwy. Southfield • (810) 357-4000 Hours: Mon.-Sat. 10-5 Municipality Karmiel spokesperson Leviah Fisher says the drop in unemployment was achieved despite the massive ab- sorption of new immigrants. Since 1989, the town has ab- sorbed about 12,000 new immi- grants, mainly from the former Soviet Union. New immigrants currently make up about 50 per- cent of the town's residents. Mr. Fisher attributes the in- creased employment level to the development of industrial and commercial areas, including the opening of a shopping mall which created 400 jobs.