Registration' for the RIF
program ill be held Friday,
January 19th nd S turday,
January 20th, trom 1:00 p.m. to
5:00 p.m. at the Benton Harbor
Public Library.
RI f is the Reading is
Fund mental program which is a
n tional non-profit org nization
de igned to motivate children to
re d by m in inexp n ive
boo s vail bl to them through
o nership.
Th Benton Harbor
Ch pter of I th ation I Asso­
ci tion of BI c Soci I or ers
h brou h th RIF pro ram to
the community.
"Par nts ho re con-
cern d bout th ir children's
re ding and hool or in
n r I ill find the RI F pro-
m n e cellent ay for their
children to improve." In z
Holm , President of the local
ch pter of the BS .
• 'The Rl prog m is
p n to II childr n of II econo-
on
there is a
Continued from P ge 1 .
F rmer, in a later inter­
vie with Citizen reporter,
bl ted th CET A officials say­
ing, "They're trying to build
ac "
Farmer explained that
th subject of notifying the
CET A office prior to rna ing
promotions nd tran fers are not
co red in the CET A regula-
tions.
F nn said, "Mr. Weldon
Burden (CET A Director) and
rs, ·Jay orris (CETA Deputy­
Director) met ith us in Septem­
ber nd e discu d this me
thing. It m undcrst nding
-everythi resolv d then."
rmer id th t reports
distributed by the CE A office
t th Monday meeting r erred
to position changes that had
occurred in July and Augus
d h d been de red during the
ptemb r meeting ith Burden
d orri.
In m y of 1977 rs.
orri nt a letter to Farmer
ning the city that they had ·
be n notified in February by r.
Burd n ot to promote or trans­
fer any CET A particip nts ith­
out prior pproval.
• In th t letter, rs. orris
quoted r. Bur'Ci n's threat of
rna ing any such transfers ineli­
gible cost,
She then noted, "It h s
been brought t my attention
that Benton HMbor City is
utili in the advance sys em and
efore, our �Iity t rcup-
mic nd reading levels," Ms.
Holmes stated.
"There are no income
requirements, no rea'ding level
requirements - the onildren
must liv in Benton Harbor, Ben­
ton Township," she added.
"Participation will be on a
first-come, first-served basis."
The initial plans will
service 200 children in the
Benton Harbor-Benton Town­
ship rea, pre-school through
th sixth; .grad , of all r cial
and ethnic backgrounds.
P rents must register
hi /her child ' nd must partici­
pat in' th program as long a
his/her chi! is a particip nt.'
At this time, only one
child out ,.of a family will be
ccepted.: so that we may h e
the benefit of co-planning ith
200 famity participants. •
The fir 200 registrants
ill b the first participants of
the program.
o
o
con picuou bse ce of long
. short term plans; a misuse
o federal' funds; a I ck of
systematic code enforcement;
an b ndonment of citizen in­
put; di ray' in city dminis­
tration; a" nondisemination of
inform tion to elected offici Is
by staff; a buy-off of y oiee
of protest or truth-teller ...
e have the patience to
ait the fe months until the
J election. Does th city have the
funds to last that long?
•
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discu matter.
,
This wee I'v repro-
duced for you a picture of my
great-uncle Georg Hackley.
was the first Blac
born in Benton Harbor and was.
the first and only Black county
coroner.
The Hac leys moved
here from a little community
outside of Terre Haute, Indiana.
That community' was mulatto
and wouldn't allo in any dar
skinned peopl - but that's
another column for another
ee . .
• H ckley is posing in his
asonic lodge uniform. In the
late 1800's and the early 1900'
the ooly social organizations
open to Blacks were the
churches and the asons.
George Hackley was a
aster of the Benton Harbor.
Lodge o. 13 - a Blac s Lodg .
My great-uncle was a
barber and had his shop down
on Territorial across from the
then Post Office which is now
the Federal Building.
In those days Black b r­
bers cut only white people's
hair. If we wanted to get our
haircut we h d to snea in on
Saturday night and pull the
shades do -no
hat folio s is a clipping
from a 1944 ocal newspaper.
The article discribes my f ther's
success here. Only part of the
tide survives and that is:
Married, itchell 0 n
his own home nd h other
properties her; and in Cali­
fornia. He and Mrs. Mitchell
ha e raised a fine family of
children. Three of their boys
e in the Army; one was
wounded in ew Guinea and
two others ar in the Pacific
theater of ar He also has a
son-in-law 0 is staff ser-
geant in California. Hi
daughter, rs. Ethel Butler,
graduated from Redland
university in California and
no teaches in a go nment
school on the est coast.
itchell s born
near iles, as his fath .
Years ago the family came to
Benton Harbor. His wife as
a niece of the late Geor e
Hackley, long a local b rber
and a one-time county coro-
n r.
..
I
Modest, Oscar it-
chell takes no credit for what
he has done with his life. tel
just try to do the best I can
and I eep working," he ys.
But he gives Attorney Dora
B, Whitney credit for what
success he has achieve:
a
By WARRE P. ITCHELL, III
3
.'
GEORGE HACKLEY po s at 144 La e Stree in h' ,)
Mason· uniform. ackley, the great unci of arren itc II,
as the first BI c born in Benton HM'bor as ell as t fi
BI k to hold elected office in Benton H rbor.
Along ith his outside real tioned in the rticle re my
estate or h represents brother Ed ard th oldest
rs. Whit ev's la office in orks for the city, my broth
field or and says: "If I George the you t and my-
have had any success I give . self. y . sis er Ethel ae still
Mrs. hitney the credit for it. lives in Californi .
She encouraged me in e ery From Hac leyls birth to
possible ay. Than s to her the present me s 150 ears
help and inspiration I've this family has been here.
raised a family and or ed Blac h e contributed
hard. You know, a felJo so much to the gro of Ben-
now and then n eds a ord ton Harbor' which 0 of
of encouragement and a help- the most prosperous cities in
ing hand. That's what rs. south estern ichigan
Whitney has done for me." If any of the readers
As for Oscar itchell's h ve old pictur or clippings or
selling bility Realtor Dow- stories of th p t that you'd
ney adds a ord: Ii e to share, d them in.
• 'That boy is tops," Send your icles to:
says Mr. Do ney. men itchell c/O The Citizen,
I 173 ater Street, . Benton H r-
The three boys' men- bo ,Michigan.
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