ve
ELDERLY COUPlE FACE LOSS
US EGO HTS. - An
attempt by an elderly couple
to keep their hou off the
auction bl ck met resistance
by the u egon Heights city
council at their Sept. 9 meet­
ing.
Dan Boner, attorney with
Legal Aid of We tern ichigan
explained to the Mu egon
Height Council members that
S mmy Sims who is over 70
years of ge and his wife had
failed to pay property ta es
on their home at 2133 Edward.
SO RY
In the- Sept. 9, issue of
The Citizen, e promi d
our readers that e ould
publi h Part II of a series
on the Benton Harbor Area
Schools. The Citizen is
inve tigating charge that
th chool are union bust­
ing and ignoring court or­
dered desegre ati n. A of
pre tim, our inve tigation
a not complete and we
The Citizen readers to
ait another wee .
The property reverted to the
tate and the Dept. of atural
Re ources will auction off the
home during a sale Sept. 18
in Grand Rapid. Minimum
bid on the property is $8,000,
Boner told the council members.
Boner propo d the council
exerci its right to purchase
the prop rty from the state for
$50. The Sims with the help
of their church, were prepared
to pay the 2,700 due in back
taxes plu all costs to the city.
Councilwoman Rillastine Wil­
kin expressed a fear that uch
a move by the city would t
a dangerous precedent. If the
city bought a home for one,
there would be no way to turn
do n similar requests from
other re idents experiencing
financial problem, he said.
The plan failed to gain the
five vote to carry it, when the
question came up for a vote.
Voting no were ilkins,
Patricia Jone and Albert Gen­
ter. Voting the purcha the
home and aid the elderly couple
were Eugene Fisher, Mayor
Robert Warren Alex Filstra and
Ch rles: Jackson.
In other bu ine s the council
t a Sept. 23 public hearing
date for number of proposed
busine e request in commer­
cial or industrial tax break .
2
W SHI GTO -A filibu ter
led by Senator Je Helm is
holding the anti-apartheid sanc­
tions bill hostage in the U.S.
Senate.
Unab complete Senate
action before summer rece
began in August, the vote to
end filibuster lost its first try
on September 9 by ven votes,
according to spokesperson in
the office of Sen. Edw rd
Kennedy (D.- a ). Kennedy
and n. Lowell Weicker are
the two principal sponsors of th
legislation in the Senate.
The Ami-Apartheid Action
Act of 1985 (H.R. 1460) con­
tain the following provision :
I. Impo four immediat eco-
The grandmother said one of
the girls ''was up under him
like they were grown and gone."
She says she told Starke not
to drive up in her driveway
again and to go on and leave.
Later that same evening when
she returned from church she
aid Starke's patrol car was
parked on the street behind the
house and Starke was in th
garage with the two girls.
The woman s grand on a
cousin of the girl, confirm d
the account saying he peeked
into the garage and sa the girls
talking with Starke.
Both the cousin and grand­
mother rep rt there are sexuaJly
explicit photographs of a white
male, nude, with one of the
girls. The fa e of the male is
alledgedly not vi ible. either
knows where the phot graphs
are.
Charges that members of the
Benton Harbor police force were
improperly inv Ived with y ung
girl fir t surfa ed at the Augu t
26 cit commi ion meetin.
Sevilla Wi) on made the charge
urging official to "check it
out."
Chief Wat n, ho as
angered at The Citizen qu t­
ioning b ut the charges denied
it was a .cover-up tallow
Starke to re ign without pro-
ecution.
hA the prosecutor if y u
can pro ute without the pi .
ture "Wat n said. "As far as
I'm c ncerned, Starke resigned
and th t' the end of the mat-
EDITO IAL
Go to �ell,
Rev. Falwell!
and other a en ie Involved in
the enforcement of apartheid.
-Ban U.S. xports f nuclear
technology to uth Africa.
3. In ruet t e Pre ident to
recommend additional nction
. t South Africa fter 12
month if th re ] n progr
to rd endin apartheid:
Continued on P 2
Pa ro man resigns amid char
e
CH
BENTO HARBOR - Pa-
rolman Dean Starke has re ign­
ed from the Benton Harbor
Police force amid charges he
took xually explicit photo­
graphs with two juvinile girl .
Chief Sam Watson confirmed
in a Sept. 12 phone interview
with The Citizen that charges
were made against Starke of
"Illegal activity. '
Watson refused to reveal
the results of his investigation
into the charges saying only,
Officer Starke has re igned
effective Sept. 5.'
Starke admitted to The
Citizen knowing the two girls.
but denied he ever went to the
girl's homes looking for them.
According to Starke he
resigned to pursue a career in
real estate.
He hung up on The Citizen
when asked if he had been in­
volved in any illegal activity
with the two.
The grandmother of one of
the girl told The Citizen Starke
had come to her Benton Harbor
home three times on August 29.
The first time wa around
4 p.m., he said. Starke drove
p into her driveway in a police
quad car, dressed in his uniform
and asked for the the girl the
grandmother said. hen she
asked him why he wanted
them, he lledgedly resp nded,
"I ju t want to talk to them. '
According to the girl s grand­
mother, Starke returned later
with the two girls in the front
at of the squad car with him.
nomi
friea.
clion
in South
-Ban imports of krugerrand
into the United State the ban
m y be wived by the President
with the approval of Con re
for specified periods if South
frica make progre toward
ending apartheid by taking on
or more of the peeific teps
mentioned in item 4 bel w).
-Ban U.S. bank loans to the
South Africa government' or
corporations controlled by the
overnment (doe not apply to
loans for educational, housing
or he lth facilities available on
a non-dis riminatory ba is .
-Ban U.S. exports of ornpu­
ters and software to the South
Africa military, police. pri on
ter. If they (the family ant
to pursue it, they an do it
civilly. "
Starke was the subje t f
controversy in 19 2 hen he
shot and illed J m H rdy
Jr. during the course . f a bur -
lary at a hardware
Benton Twp. Hardy
unarmed was killed ith a
single bullet ot the head. Star e
wa cleared of all wrongd in
at the time.