e
Ifred
Edward , crime prevention con­
ultant-coordinator for th city
in a letter to area mini ter
a highly critical of their
participation in the crime pre­
vention program.
Edward' criticism surfaced t
the Dec. 15 Crime Prevention
meeting, parking a heated re­
spon from Rev. elvin il­
liam, pastor of Hope United
ethodist Church.
Rev. Williams said he will
organize a ta fore in an
effort to help 'lift up crime
a
By Diana yl
. BE 0 HARBOR - Fri­
day, D c. 14 the B rrien Land­
lord ociati n (BLA) ent to
court in an attempt to block
the city's r ntal registration
ordinance. The BLA filed for
an injunction in Berri n Cir­
cuit Court.
ity ttorney Ernes ite
id th city has topped. is uing
und r the ordin nee
the Di trier ourts
e t conduct a te t
c first. ite aid th city
h d ti keted landlord Robert
B pti t for failure t regi ter
nd pay the regi tration fee
for the thr rental unit. A
hearing i t in Distri t Curt
for next we k ac r in to
hite.
Grand R pids attorn y Ben-
j min Logan repre th BLA
which claim the ce is
- The
vac ncy left by f rm r tru ee
Larry iel en w filled immed­
iately by the oton Harbor
chool board durin a regular
meeting Tuesday night. The
board received plic ion and
heard pre ntation f m four
citizen b fore making a final
decision.
The board heard from four
citizens: Annabelle Bankston •
a nutritionist, Tere a Kelly,
editor of Th Citizen, Gertha
Robbins, a former Benton Har­
bor teacher, and Dr. Hanel
Taylor, who currently rve
<?n the T in Cities Airport
Board and the Chamber of
Comm rc . I
Dr. Sue T yl ,H rzel s wife,
ha law uit p nding a in t
the ch I bard. The Ja uit
not h
Jam
G rtha
b rd.
, the
on from
conded by
pp int
h I
rs. R bin th
only candid te who id sh
ould de initely Tun f r election
igh
•
ng c
preven tion. '
In his letter dated Dec. 5,
Edwards wrote: e are not
getting any upport from mo t
of our churches in the verall
Crime Prev ntion Pro ram.
aturally the question that
comes to mind is why? Do
the church member hip feel that
they are a potential crime
victim in som manner? Do
the churches feel that their
membership should be involved
in Crim Prevention? Or do the
churches feel that they should
wait until omething happens
before they become involved?"
•
Ie
. DECEMBER 19 -25,1984 THE CITIZEN PAGE THREE
dward said the churche
are not involv d and should
b . The churche control
the masses of p ople in Benton
Harbor, Edwards said at the
Dec. 15 meeting. dwards
\s paid I 5 000 a year by the
city in addition to his pension
from the city.
Edwards id he has been
willin to do various kinds of
programs in the churches put
his efforts has been far bet een
and far fetched as minister
are concerned.
Rev. illiam told Edwards
it is wrong to a ume what i
eci y to COU
illegal becau it amounts to a
tax and was dopted without
allowing the BLA input.
Under th ordinance on
ov. 7, all rental properties
were required to be regi tered
and pay in pection fees of
30 per single family unit,
$25 per unit for multi-family
units, and $10 a room for
boarding hou s.
In other matters at the
commi sion meeting, the com­
mis ioner met in clo d se ion
to di cuss a pending legal action
again t Marcella ndrews. After
the meeting, ttomey White
id thi an effort by the
city to fore the closing of a
rooming hou e at 522 Colurn­
bu Street. The c.evter is
operating in violation of the
city ordinance he said.
In other busine , he com-'
mis ion approved a commercial
•
GERTHA ROBBINS
i a
when her term expired June
30,1985.
Rev. Brown aid he felt
r. Robbins was the best
choice, because he "faithfully
tt nded all board meetings and
sho ed a genuine intere t in the.
h l.
for _5 year. Prior to that, h
ial w r er in Chic
m ter' degre
redevelopment district for
Leroy's Body Shop 109 W .
Britain. The shop employees
nine people and a result of
propo ed expansion may em­
ployee three more people. The
commi ion al 0 approved the
sale of urban renewal land to
Leroy's for 4 115.
The commissi n approved the
sale of property at 5 0 Heck
ourt to Larry Thomas for
5,000.
The c mmi i n appr ved
pr ject plan for Jenny's Land­
ing. The vote cleared the
way for dev I p r to g ahead
and eek p ible financing for
the 10 million d 11 r pr je t.
The pr j ct ill c nsi t of a
160-r om hotel mall hops
racquetball ourt indoor swim­
ming pool physical fitne area,
Continued on Pag 4
o
•
Ins
rk . dmini trati n
id the cirriculum
was of maj r imp rtance to her,
and she would devote her
energie t seeing to it prop r
"administration and improve-
ment.
The board also approved the
implementation of an advanced
placement program for high
chool juniors and seniors who
have completed their graduation
requirements and wish to take
on some college level cour es.
The cirriculum would pre­
pare student to take the Ad­
vanced Placement tests. High
cores on the e test enable
students to receive orne l­
Iege redit before entering. The
program would ffer inten ive
ludic in nglish, ience, nd
foreign langua e .
Dr. Fred Brieve , Dir
of Instruction, id th pr-
gram i not intended to repl
the current h nor
pr ram.
.
here or isn't here. illiam
added at the f mily is not as
strong an influence to deal with
youngsters a b fore. Williams
said to a ume the church has
that much influence is not
true. The church i not as
strong in term of overning
personal behavior today as b -
fore.
Ellaretta Brown, member in
th crime prevention program
since its beginning, said the
AC
e
minister should get invol d
and they can ta e it to th ir
people.
She add d crime pre-
vention could b taught in
Sunday School.
Editor's note: Guest speak r
at the Crime Prevent' n meet­
ing was AI Whitfield, Col rna
Junior High Assistant Principal.
His talk on drug abu e by te n
will appear in the next issue
of The Citizen.
Rev. Delano wman pastor
of Union emorial African
Methodist Epi copal Church,
and AACP treasurer told tho
at the AACP that he has
"a problem pending money
where Blac folk are not
employed." He further indi at­
ed that h has a problem ith
bu ines that don t rve Blacks.
B man said that th re are
several local e tablishments he
would not do business with.
He n med Family Food M-139
CP
•
air
Shar
Continued from p 1
y u Blacks living in p
h u ing, and po rly edu ted.'
The Black vote is not con ider d
eriou ly, Finley added.
According to Finl y even
though B nton Harb r is very
different and unique the me
problems that existed in Benton
Harbor orne 30 years ago are
still happening today in the
inequality of Black education
and employment.
Busine se and corporations
named by Finley a possible
Fair Share targets were Mont­
gomery Ward, Krogers, A&P,
J .C. Penney.
In other busine , officers
and board members by a unani­
mous vote elected to offices
were: ary R. DeFoe, pre i­
.dent; Lurl an Williams, lst vice
pre ident; Will Branscurnb, _nd
VI e pr ident: Valerie Jo eph,
ret ry: and Delano L. B w-
Louel1a
Terry.
•
Ie
and ,WoWs Sup rmarket, 449
Pipestone, Benton Harbor.
Bowman said he won't h p
at Family Foods anymore b -
cause of the statements made by
the store manager. Bowman
id in three months "'We pent
om 5 000 and our chur h
spent over 3 000 at Family
Fo ds. Bo man said pe pI
were ent to the store ith
food vouchers to purcha f d.
The funds wa provided by
United Way through a pr r m
called United Against Hunger.
Bo man said he was told by
/
th tore manager that Family
Fo d didn t need his bu in
The mana er boa ted the t re
ets over 16,000 cu tomer • a
wee a wrnan said. The
incident aros when a reque t
to donate [i d was denied by
the mana er.
wman al 0 S id he d es
not hop at Wolf's Supermar et,
becau of remarks made hy
an older white male employee
to Mrs, Delano Bowman. The
man allegedly aid 'the only
reason I keep my store in this
area - which I am not making
any money on - i to ace m­
m date the riff rats' that remain
in the area.' Wolfs is owned
by George Wolf ho al 0 has a
tore I cated in- St. Jo ph.
e rg olf out f t wn
nd not vailabl for comm nt,
according to hi on T m Wolf.
B wman said bu in e m ve
into the Black communitie
tak money and d not empl y
Blacks. "That b thers me'
aid. He dd d,