JU LV 27 - AUGUST 2. 1986
THE CITIZEN
3
'Pace is the
Place' /SUSiness responds
Larry Carter
L AZOO In the
center of the Southland all
between Singer Se ing Center
nd C ptain Chip Potato Ship
i Pace's shop who specialty
is fixin electric avers.
It . the busine of Roo -
Blae urban
arfare
em
force
i .
It i al generally
that the cam p ign of
nation and intimidati n
Blac s who collab rate
government ha lgnificantly re
d uced the number f BI k
for the
g vernment.
ile there i lit tle rea n
t beli ve that radical Black
ill be able to bring n end to
white min rity rul and its
m ive milit ry might with
urb n w dare tactic the
ttac have neverthele dem n
tr ted t uth fri nd the
rld
n th
velt P ce of Kal mazoo, and it
is an enterpri born of neces
sity.
"I wor ed for ten years
for the Bre man Corporation:'
y Roo velt. "But with
lay-offs strikes, and finally a
tot 1 shut-down, I began to
realize that I needed methin
that I could depend on.'
�S methin meant calling on
20 years of experience in elec
tronics dating back to high
h 1. including thre ye r as
a r dar technician for the .S.
rmy while serving in Germany
fr m 1968 to 1970.
"I worked odd jobs for
while in uskegon fter my
plant's shut-down," Roosevelt
explains. "Then one day Rudy
Patella, a fri nd of mine wh
repaired electri shavers, to sed
me one and said 'fix it. I
thought. after working with
phi ticated radar ts for
year, I could fix his shaver
with my eye closed. But I
couldn't.'
Servicing Q-I0 r d r which
trac s enemy mortar fire rounds
and TIP-25 radar that picks
up enemy troop movement,
was purely a matter of elec
tronics R osevelt reveals: But
electric razor inv lved ele tri
m t r a ell a elect r ni .
But the challen e wa p-
p rent. and R 0 velt n be
gan a tw year pprenti e hip
under Patella, durin hich time
they rviced client through ut
ichigan Ohi and Indiana.
Following his apprenticeship, he
worked three years as a regul r
technician with P 11a g�adual-
ly envisioning the moment hen
he would go it alone. Then
in 1982 he got his license. and
with it his chance.
Having the knowled e to fix
radar sets and razors was one
thing however. but m n ging a
business, R osevelt on found
out. was quite another.
"While working ith Rudy,
I pent most of my time behind
the cenes,' R veJt explains.
'Then suddenly I was faced
with the reality of running the
whole sh w. '
F rtunately , Rooseve1t a
t ld ab u t the Michigan Co
operative xtensi n Program, a
three day course spon red by
the county of Kalamazoo to
assist beginnin business per ns
in the various facets of runnin
a su ce sful business in ludin
b and
three day affair
velt a. valuable
in id w rkin s
world th ugh
r -
he admits to leaving a bit di -
appointed that m re minority
member ere not pre nt t
ta e advanta e of the cour
"Personally. I tried t get
others involved," he say s. "It
is a go d ay for pe ple ith
de d end jobs or no jobs at
all to ta ear ad to indepen
dence and self-esteem ith the
help f profes i nal business
people."
After completing the our .
Pace Shaver Sh p repair. which
began at home n R osevelt s
kitchen table. m ved to
Main Mall. Zayre s, and fin IJy
its pre ent I cati n at South
land all, here it has been
since January of this ye r.
Common am ng the many
problem R velt enc unters
. with electri shaver and clip-
per re sh rt bu ted
ca ing ,
Hi fine
wasn't "anticipating" the pay
ment, but aid he was expect
ing a cut in the amount. The .
69, 97 amount marks a 37.9
percent cut from what the city
normally receives - 11_ 556.
In other city financial mat
ters the City' Commission
approved the renewal f a
contract with Pierce, onroe
& Associates Inc., for 'financial
management" c nsultation.
Commissi ner Ge r e Y:
singer co t the le di entin
v teo Wy inger charged that
the city i pending m re money
just to borrow m re money.
He claimed that such m ve
cause the city to get 'deeper
and deeper in debt."
re
Cornrni loner Ralph Cren
sha di greed with Wy in er,
saying th t hiring the consul
tant is • mandated" by the
state. "e have no choice,"
said- Crenshaw.
The contract. aid rensha
calls for a cut of 57 percent
from what the city paid Pi rce,
om e before.
In the comrrussion pre-
meeting workshop ity Manager
llis it hell aid that the
city h pes to have "full credi
bility' rest red ithin the 19 6-
7 fiscal year, If fun credibil-
ity i rea hed, dded itchell
Pi rce nr may n t be
nece sary.
In an ther matter, ay r
Federal funds surprise Ben on Harbor officials
il e e t tw pubJi
hearin f r July Z on a un G
appJi ation for umitec, Jnc ..
470 Pa Paw. The rn unt
that the grant as f r wa n't
revealed. Surnitec plans to
make 'another major e pan
si n' aid itchell, h dded
that the grant's chance for
approval is "very d.'
Sumite - � nned by the
mer er of a Bent n Harb r
company and a T yo. Jap n.
fum - made a mill' nod U r
expansi n in 19 5.
The applicat'r n f r th grant
mu t be ubmitted by Jul 1.
itchell dded.
Continued' on Page 8
E
Conttn eel fro Page 1
p rk in red-
By Ron Leuty
B TO HARBOR - An
"unexpected" p yment of near
ly 10 000 will be coming to
Benton Harbor via federal
revenue sharing aid City
Finance Director Harold Ander
son at the July 21 City Com
mission meeting.
Anderson said that 69,897,
earmar ed for the city's public
safety department will be com
ing from the federal program
in early October.
om ia1Jy, the city wasn't
expecting the payment ince it
recently-pa d 1986- 7 budget
did not include revenue from
the program.
Ander n aid that the city