HIGHLAND PARK
GOPpian 0
erty,
les
id P
Capital News Servic
A I G
epublicans re callin plans to
cut Michigan' property tone
of the best plans to hit t e draw­
ing bo rd even though no head­
way w made a two meetings
I t week.
ichigan' pro rty tax has
been criticized for putting so
much burden on the state's resi­
dent and forcing business to
develop elsewhere.
Un r pro d by
Republicans 1. 77 billion
property t decrease would be
p ckaged with a 2 percent sales
t increase.
Ho ver, the sales tax in­
crease would first have to be
proved by Michigan voters.
Rep. ichael ey (R.
Litchfield) who is par of the
GOP task force on property and
school finance, said the plan was
to try and get the increase on the
ov. 1988 ballot.
Continu d on P 18
w
irl
001
Y rk yes
Capital News Service
LANSING - A funding pul­
lout by the Whirlpool­
Foundation has put a Michigan
State University and Benton
arbor city revitaliz tion
project on hold, t e city
man ger aid.
Alex Little SU has
done little for the eco omically
depressed city since grant
from the found tion ran out in
August.
The found tion provided
bout $80,000 for the project last
year, but it was announced last
week during an MSU Benton
, Harbor Project progress report
t a new grant request had
been denied by the company.
Sharon Krieger, executive
director of the foundation, . d
th corporation does not fund
projects indefinitely.
e start a project and give it
time to develop," she said. If it's
HARBOR
u
aVE
USKEGON HEIGHTS
3
*
va
DAY,
iY cout Explorer Po t
-_I--.H·r to honor the Tuskegee
t post for the city of 14,000.
the first members of the Explorer
will d I ·th avaiation. The youths
medlIUII.'�. Dying airplan as ll as become ex-
fund
au
of
r
•
C
•
c
tap d me age nt to district
churches.
In the message ilj ander
called on pastor to urg their
congregations to break the
back of Satan and "1 0 th evil
in the face" by voting against
Upton.
The group relocated to Ben­
ton Harbor from Marcellus in
19 3 Rev. Head said.
A source in Marcellu city
govern men ho as ed not to
b i enti d, id th roup
tried unsucessfull 0 elec can­
didates to that village council.
The source described the
church members as dose knit.
Most of them are family. They
are nice people, the source
said.
A source from the former
staff of Siljander who also asked
not to be identified, said that
among the beliefs of the church
is that of shepherd. •
Most churches have deacons
Continu d on a 1
•
p ojec
plan, caling the funding pullout
a 'temporary setback and in­
si ting coordinators are not
giving up. ,
chweitzer would not di -
close po sible SOUTC s for out­
side funding but said 15,000 h
been pledged by M U Provo t
D vid c tt to ke p the project
fon on an interim b is.
h uni sity has b en fund-
Ion chweitzer aid.
d th commitment as a
r ity th t would lay as
B nt n Harbor wanted
u th r ."
The 15,000 will provide
funding for three month with
cutb ck , h said.
The project receives some
funding from university depart­
ments and the U Founda­
tion, but foundation grants must
be used on specific projects and
cannot go into the general
operating budget, he said.
a good project, it will continue."
Whirlpool has recommended
university and Benton Harbor
officials seek outside funding.
The Whirlpool Corp. has
been looking into a Benton Har­
bor revitalization project of its
own, she said.
John Schweitzer, MSU Ben­
ton Harbor Project director,
said he has nown Whirlpool
has had a blue-ribbon panel to
develop an in-house Benton
Harbor plan since the summer,
but it appears to be tied up" in
the corporate bureaucracy.
University officials realize
Whirlpool would not fund the
project forever, he said, adding
he expected assistance for more
than two years.
Schweitzer, an MSU urban
affairs professor, said he has
asked several times for founda­
tion officials to give their im­
pressions of the project but has
e
"If it's a good
project, it will
continue. "
-Whirlpool
not received any feedback.
Despite the pullout, chweit­
zer and Little said they are
hoping to continue the two­
year-old partnership to revital­
ize the city.
While MSU has been looking
for alternative funding, Little
said the city still is benefiting
from programs set up during the
project's first two years and he is
hoping it can continue.
A neighborhood organiza­
tion, the Neighborhood Infor­
mation and Sharing Exchange,
ByTerry lIy
BENTO HARBOR - The
cam paign manager and tw
commission candidates on Wil­
liam Wolfs slate to control Ben­
ton Harbor city are members of
the same religious sect.
Rev. Dan Head, pastor of
Twin Cities Covenant Christian
Church, confirmed that com­
mission candidates Kerry Shan­
non and Steve Wooden are
member of th church and th t
..... �."4=-lP8�. !It . 0 l-
ing comes to our church."
Mayoral candidate Wolf
"visited our church a couple of
years ago, Head said.
Among the four other-south­
western Michigan churches as­
sociated with Twin Cities
Covenan is the one former Con­
gressman Mark Siljander
belongs to, Three Rivers Chris­
tian Fellowship.
Siljander's loss in the Augu t
1986 primary to Fred Upton has
been attributed by many to' a
U/B
was developed with MSU's help
and has been successful in draw­
ing Benton Harbor residents
together, he said. The city also
has seen direct benefits form a
road and street study and a
tree-planting project initiated
by MSU.
"I'm hopeful the univ r ity
will carry through on (its) com­
mitment to Benton Harbor, Lit-
tle said. "I really beli ve c
be helped greatly by pr � t
coordinated out of th
president's or pro 0 t's of I ."
There is no qu ti n ,
with its internal budget could
fund the project on its own, he
said.
"I'm under the impression
(MSU) President (John) Di­
Biaggio has a strong commit­
ment to Benton Harbor and this
project, II he said.
Schweitzer stressed the
university's commitment to the
