March 6-12, 1
'.
Homeless protest
eviction from shelter
By Ro Enl
DETROIT We're fired up,
we ain't takin' no more" were the
shouts from many COTS resi­
dents as they rallied March 1,
outside the shelter to protest the
expulsion of four members of
the ational Homeless Union
( HU).
HU Pre ident Sonya Terry
claim that the expulsions arc an
effort on b half of COTS to dis­
cour ge new member 'hips in
t h H ami as retaliation
again. t COT ' residents who at­
tended a national homele .rally
in Atlanta, 'Feb. 27.
Terry says helter officials
view HU members as radicals
with a new-found power struc­
t ure. he thinks NHU success at
finding perm ncnt home for
COTS residents threatens
':()T� employees who think
they will eventually find thernscl­
vc out of work.
H member Pamela Banks
char c d '( TS with iII_gaily
cvictinu her nnd her four month
old hal _ for insubordination.
Sh . said COTS officials felt the�
IlO long .r needed shelter if they
were ublc to all .nd a conference
in Atlanta ..
Thre� others say they abo
were evicted without bcinu ivcn
a valid rca, on. Ou. ted were
I arne II I i c k on, Ch r lc s
Linds .� and Ouillie Bus. Ie \ ho
ay . "(.( ns i. operated like a
prison."
COTS (.'0- Dire .tor Peggy
Po�a called together an cmcr­
gcncy meeting durin' the r,llly
wit h II i official. to dcicrmin .
I he �talll� of t he person. ex­
eluded. Tcrr ... aid Po. a found
only OIlC 01' the four actuallv
de ... erving of termination, that
being Pamela Bank ..
. T rry say. Po a has not yet
, I
given a reason as to why this ac­
tion was taken, save insubor­
dination. However, she said that
the allegedly "insubordinant"
statements made by Banks were
warranted a many articles were
stolen from her while she at­
tended the Atlanta conference.
Terry has a ked that a full inves­
tigation be m de before exclud­
ing the peopl in question.
Another family ousted from
COTS ays they were excluded
after calling the shelter Feb. 1:7
to say they would be late in
returning. That was the same
day that Banks and the other
ousted residents were in Atlanta
a. part of a national homeless
protc: t.
Tommy and Helen Ridley
along with their five children
were residing at COTS following
a fire which destroyed their
home and al their posse: sions.
Ridley said when he called in
to 'notify COTS that h and hi
family would be arriving late, he
was told not 0 make the effort
becaus e t hey would not be al­
lowed in.
Terry ays OT. employees
exerci. e the right to exclude any
resident thought d co erving of
removal. Yet, at the meeting,
Terry . aid Po a admitted' she
\ a. not aware of these policic .
Bank ... stated that she an<.125
ot hers were for .e d to s ign
COTS' daily Ihod and shelter
voucher for cb. 27 and 28, to
verify their presence althou zh
th . c were the days th 'y had
spent at Atlanta'. H con­
ference.
Tcrr maintains, "How can
there be . tri ·t guidelines for
.( >TS re idcnt behavior when
the guidelines for its employees
arc not known hy the taff offi­
cials."
, I
KENNETH S. SCOTI, NU-M� PRESIDENT AI1BERT J. SOC'IT, AND RONALD J. S
: 30-year strugglb of BlaCk manufacturer
minimum level and maintain d
Nu-Method Pest Control un cr the limitation of "cstab-
Product. , Inc. is a BI ck Family- lish d quotas", of whi h he feels
Owned Businc s, founded in all Black manufactured
195 . pro uct: received the same type
After 15 year. of op 'rating a of t eatrncnt.
successful pe t .ontrol bu incss, tatinu that the company has
owner Alh .rt J. S 'ott dccid .d to . pc t well over $250,000 per
usc his formula to a. k for and yea in advertising and prom -
receive a regi trati n to be a tio of the pro luct nation-wide,
ma nuf act ur c r and put his Scott Iccls that this has had liulc,
proudcts on the market for n- or () impact on the c tablis hcd
. umer acceptance. ceil nus and quotas placed by
In 1973, the Michigan Dept. cor orutions and their buying
of .Agriculture granted a dcp irtrn ·nt..
rcgistru! ion to produce this ,- oday, Scott feels that the
product. Since that time, the () 11 solution that will change the
product has I ccn sold national- pat c r n of Black bu. ines
ly and internationally. fail res, i� i Blacks 1 ccome will-
The name "NU-MRK" 0, and make a commitment
created by Scott'. late wife Rita, pport Black businc s.
scrv . a� a creative acronym for c adds that, if concerned
u-Mct h o d Ant & Roach k American organization.
Killer. chu chcs etc. would decide to
Today, the pn duct is sold in a c pt the re. p nsiouuy ot up-
numerous retail stores acro -por ing Black manufact ured
the -cou nt ry. pro ucts on the market, it would
Unlort unatdy, colt. tares, go-a ong way toward Black Bu. i-
bc c a u: c the company i a nc: survival. '
minority manufacturer, the • I fact, u-Mcth d Product.
product ha been accepted n a . xtandin ' offer to make a
'State is big loser ln courts; ch
nges made
By t ve tired
'apilal News Service
1..1\:'\ I G - Michigan took a
beating in court last year, and
had to p y record amounts for
law uits that ran the gamut from
di crimination to' snowmobile
accidents, the Michigan Senate
Fi cal Agency reports.
And, due to lengthy suits al­
ready in court,it apparently will
take awhile for the effects of new
laws limiting the state's liability
to be felt.
For the fiscal year 1986-87,
the agency reported that pay­
ments for 224 cases totaled $45.5
million. This is an increse from
the previous year's payouts by
10.2 million, about 29 percent.
The majority of payments
were made' to people suing the
Michigan Department of
Transportat_on (MOOT), which
al $28.7 million accounted for 63
perte'll of the t tal payment .
"We have real concerns about
the amount of, law uits against
the department," said Gary
Taylor, head of MOOT's litiga­
tion review team. Taylor said the
department has·three staff mem­
bers working full-time, as well as
other MDOT personnel in­
volved in specific areas, prepar­
ing cases for the department.
Taylor attributed the high
MOOT bill to a year in which the
department saw several expen­
. ive suits decided.
"It's purely the luck of the
draw which case come to
court," Taylor aid. everaJ cases
involving high damage claims,
that have been in court for years,
were resolved last year.
One was a $9.3 million judg­
ment against MOOT, brought
by a oman who successfully
claimed the van accident that
paraly¥d her on M-55 in Manis­
tee Co�nty was caused by an if!l- .... '
propel1ly maintain roadway.
Ta or . aid that changes in
liabilit laws, in effect ince the
beginning of 1987, should
reduce judgments against
MOOT. .
In the past, even though a
plaintiff may have sued MOOT
.. long with other if M DOT was
he only party judged olvent
nough to pay, it was held
respon ible for the entire judg­
ment.
Under a new law, the depart­
ment is responsible only for its
percentage of the total damage.
Also, if the plaintiff receives
compensation from another
ource, such as an insurance
company, that amount is
deducted from the ettlement.
The only exeception is life in­
surance.
"Both the e chang arc �ery
significant," Taylor aid.
The change apply to . II
other state agencie� as wellas
MOOT.
,J.
5% atribution on all ale to
an hurch, that i. willing to
work with the company on
promoting ales, in ddition to
ads and ther donations that the
Busine will give. )
colt feels that "Unless we
make a commitment t day to
upport 'Black manufactured
produ ts and Black wn d busi­
ne . cs, tomorrow will b t 0
late." .
A advice to y un pe pic in-
tere ted in businc s, tt ay
new bu. ine owner should:
- Develop a st
rnunity coalitk n to.
I usinc ...
- Offer cornp tct V' pri ing,
with. Iron' adv .rti: in prom -
tion ..
- Pro ide quality product
and service: above and eyond
our competition.
- Work to rai. ' con iou -
nco s () the orpor tc c neern.
t ward Black businc ..
Remember, buying BI
creates jobs, . upp >rt. our yout
and community pre zrarns.
Bill Bowerman, ho
prepared the fiscal agency'
report, greed that the n w law
will reduce judgment againsl
the stale. But e said it will be
years before t is happen be­
caus suits filed before the new
laws took effect must be decided
under the oJd rule .
In the meantime, he predicts
an increase in suit 'filed gain t
departments u h as orrcc­
tions, Mental Health and tate
Police.
"I think you' e going t ee a
growing potent ai for litigation
(in those areas), becau of the
type of work they are involv d
in,· Bowerman said.