1
I
DAVI', H younge t of the.
presenters, brought the. more
than 100 people in attendance t
the edge of their eat houtin
,
t e . tud
ranted one week in
J nuary urrounding the late
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.ts
birthday and one week in
February to pack a month's worth
of events in, he added, noting
the february week will not b a
Black HI tory Week ut a
Celebration of Ethnic Diver ity
week.
However, University offlcials
idea," he
Marking her per nal rowth
a a Black. Dr vi t ld the
audience about her own
prejudice against Blac� that
he feel he must change.
Remembering a tim hen he
a driving down Michigan
Avenue,' Davi 'aid she aw a
white 17-year-old bo driving
alongside of her in a Mcrcede
o
it fordabl
ullder'
• f
By Tere a M. Kelly
The projected energy costs of
$1.50 a day have held true and so
impre sed Consumers Power
Company that the house has been
awarded the "Energy Efficient
Home Award" by Consumers.
The home, which has been oc
cupied since September, had
utility bills of $16 the first m
.:f'.tJl'.-,_ ... n.L_"",,,_lo erlN
ber bill. The December b,m
not available at this writing.
/]i)rown said the three bedroom,
two bath home is a little over 1200
square feet. It 'cost $70,000 to
build, but that figure represents a
lot of "extras" that wouldn ',t need
to go into the ordinary home such
as oak cupboard and the mos t
expensive roof available.
"Costwise we compete �th
any other new cons truction but
we offer you lO-inch thick walls •
compared to conventional three
and-a-hal f inch wall ," Brown
said.
That i pos ible becau e (he
'walls, floors and roofs are con
structed as trus es at a plant and
shipped to the ight. The Weather
Bilt home is, roughed-in, in one
week, compared to the three
, .CommunitY' gr p wre tling
with how to provide low-cost,
energy-efficient housing tend to
think only in terms of rehab.
For those who dream of new
ile rippin out and restorirrg
old, t e g e, no er
wer 1D lamazoo.
Jay- Bro n .of 'ES 'Builder
says his unique, patented sy tern
holds real promi e of affordable
hous ing now, with low main
tenance costs over the years, 'and
energy bill that border on the
miraclulou .
AES buHt their fir 1 Weather
Bilt home in the Autumn of 1 89.
The wall ate �O inche thick of
fering an insulation value of R-30,
Brown said.
," Finding inspiration in .. Dr. King's life, words
• • • ... • 0.
"" "
MARK! DR. M RTI LUTa R KI G DAY in ceremonies at Cobo Hall ere:
L FT, Inger Orthela Barne ; TOP RIGHT, Dr. CI ude Young, Governor John n
Mr. ngler: B OM, troupe of Detroit' YOUD� dancer, . (Photo by Gary Wat
nd
. ' �
the mi tre of ceremonle
turd y, J n. 19. ( Photo by
Benz. He r thoughts were the
boy' parent u t have bought
the car for him, he said. But
when he aw a Black 17-year
old driving Jaguar he "had him
entenced a a drug dealer. '
So not only are whites uch as
her classmate who call her "gal"
or want to "touch her kin and
hair" prepertrator of prejudice,
but 0 are many Black ,
• "WE PARATE\ oursel
ves," she said, adding that some
Black who join Greek Letter
cro d to t I
ter
also installed more effi iently,
saving additional costs, Brown
said. '
He said that ·WeatherBilt
homes are being built in Mus
kegon Heights by the ci ty there,
again because the system offers
high quality at 'considerable
savings.
Brown said another incentive
for cost-conscious buyers is the
quality of the products used in the
bomes.
law," 0 born said.
o BORN CITED i ncons is-.
, te ncies within the law: including
confu ion over the use of bul
letproof v st by poli officers
and police use of firearms in
public buildings. He aid he ha
Lan irig attorney. looking into
the wording and any legal incon-
istencie of the law.
"Ninety percent of .tbe law is
OK. My question is what is the
remaining chance, of getting a
police officer in trouble."
Bob Garner, administrative
. as i tant to House Speaker Lewis
Dodak, engineered much of the
gun control law. He said the law
was the product of careful craft
ing over the pa t eight-and-a-hal f
year under tbe clo e crutiny of
police and law enforcement
agen ie ,Garner aid both ide
had a voice in dra ting the law,
and any change made wi 11 mere
ly be. a matter of cleaning up
wording.
"It's a good law." Garner said.
"It wa drafted by a coalition of
pro-gun and anti-gun pe ple."
Yet Osborn maintain that
even the mallest problem or
confu ion in the law will prevent
it from being' effective.
Fraternitie nd Sorroritie do
this in college.
But if Black learn more about
themselve they can interac with
other properly. especially other
Black and there will be no u
perficial barrier eparating the
race, he said.
Nichols- Watson said Davis
reminded her of herself when he
was a COllege student.
"I thought 1 wa bad back in
the 1970s when we clo ed the
chool," Nichols- Watson aid,
rea suring Davi that her
ideologie , which might not be
popular with her peer, are not
hers lone.
"When you talk about raci m,
people look t you fike you're
orne leftover from the 60 ."
Nichol -Wat on aid. "We
denounce raci m we won't 'h ve
it. "
"I like to thin of the e ind of
ssions a a prel ude to work,"'.
he i4 bout the forum. "We
didn't come here to ju t have
good time."
,
newhome
This we-bath, three-bedroomho e 'th its $1.S0-a-day energy co t, won the" Energy Emclent"
Award from Consumers Power Company. Becau e of the unique patented method of construction,
it is home that is affordable to buy and maintain, the builder says. (Staff photo)
weeks it takes for conventional
construction, Brown said.
That aspect makes it the perfect
match for. community groups or
families wanting to keep down
new horne con truction, costs, he
aid ..
"We'll come in and rough out
the hou e, the buyer can do the
finishing work at considerble
saving ," he noted.
Becau e of the truss system,.
electrical and plumbing �or� is
The WeatherBiJ t bOJDes are
strong in the South, he said. Be
cause of their strength, they arc
able to withstand hurricane winds.
up to 120 miles 'per hour, and
again, the air-conditioning costs
· are kept to a minimum.
Brown, who learned the con:
struction business from his father
and has been at it. over the past 30
years, said the patented systemof
fered by WeatherBilt is the only
way to go. Why? "Because you get
a better home," Brown answered ..
C�ties battle for gun law change
By Kdli a m I
Capital News Service
LAN lNG-The Michigan
Municipal League i till qghting
for Changes in un control legis
lation pa ed in December, but
OUICC at the Capitol ay it's a
10 ing battle against a aw who e
ti me ha come.
Tile law, which goe into ef
fect March 28, prohibits local
governing bodies from pa sing
ordinance regulating the
tran port, use or ownership of
gun. Under the new law, that
regulatory responsibility will lie
With tate official.
The Municipal League fought
a a i n t adoption of the law
d UTI n Icgi Iative debate on the
is ue, and now league' official
are aying they till have
problem with the law.
David Osborn, director of tbe
Municipal League' tate affairs
di i ion. aid the gun control law
contain many loophole that
prevent tbe law from being the
kind of co mprehe n ive ,
tatewide law that legi Iator
sought.
"The best thing you can ay i
over tbe year, we may get court
interpretation to point out the
weakne e and eventually we
wil1 have a comprehen ive tate
"IF YOU PUT the language
in the law originalJy, you dpn't'
have to worry about a judge inter
preting it'incorrectly years later"
Osborn said.
Others throughout Michigan
are hail ing jhe arrival of the gUD
control law. Officials with the
Michigan United Conservation
Clubs say the law i both clear
and comprehesive. They are
especially .pleased that the law
brings Michigan into confor
mance with most of the country,
making Michigan the 40th state
to pass such statewide controls
on firearms.
"I think it's a big step for
ward, It said Rick Jameson, assis
tan t executi ve director of
Michigan United Conservation
Clubs.
"I think it will simplify any
problems in enforcing gun or
dinances in the state, "
Osborn insists he will remain"
patient and wait for police offi
cial frorn across the state to
bring their concerns with the I w'
to him and to legislators.
Jameson and Garner admit
minor adjustment may be neces-
ary to fi ne tune the law, but for
now they ay the clamors for
change in the law are un
founded.