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