BENTON HARBOR
care I
"The bottom line i , th t
mete can
id.
According to M nnln of the
,500 mete in Benton Harbor,
only half of them ve been d.
CALENDAR
t r G rd n r
Training off red
The Berrien County Cooperative
Extension Service will offer M ter
Oardener training in ten e ions
beginning February 6 through April
9, at the Andrew Univer ity
Agriculture Building in Berrien
Springs. All es ions will be held
from 1·4:30 p.m.
Course fees 0 $105 will include
a 500 page reference manual.
Cooperative Exten ion Service
programs and materials are available
to all without rregard to race, color,
national origin, ex, handicap, age or
religion.
Call 429-2425, 695-3887, 756-
9571, or 465-5373, Ext. 264 for more
information.
Toughlove Parent
Support Group Meet
Th Toughlove Parent Support
Oroup will me t Tu day, February
4, t 7:.0 p.m. in the nu ery of th
Steven ville United Meth di t
Church, 06 Ridge Road,
St vensville.
At The Library
Pre-School StoryTime will m et
on Wedn day and Friday, February
5 & 7, from 10-10:45 a.m. The film,
"Liang and the M gic Paintbrush",
will be hown along with other
torie about China.
Movie for children are hown
Saturday at 1 p.m. Showing
February 8, will be: "L; ng and the
Magic Paintbrush" and "How the
Leopard Oot His Spots."
African artifac ,from the collec­
tion of B rb Dill, will be on di play
in the Junior Department during the
month of February, in recognition of
Black Hi tory Month.
HearingScre ning-February 7,
from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Mercy
Memorial Medical Center's Speech
&. Hearing Clinic in Berrien Spnngs.
No charge nd no ppointment
neces ary. Call 471-4243 for more
information.
SHARE Support Oroup -
February 3, at 7 p.m. at Mercy
Memorial Medical Center. Call 983-
8187 for information.
Cardiovascular Screening -
February 26, from 6:30-9:30 a.m. at
the St. Joseph YWCA. Pre-registra­
tion not required, but a $20 fee i
charged. Call 983-1561 for more in­
formation.
Breast Cancer Support Oroup -
ebruary 20, t 7 p.m. at the First
Congreg tion I Church in St.
Joseph. No pre-registration required.
AUTO INSURANCE REFORM
arbor ra
. J
By DAVID NEUMANN
LANSING - Let' give Benton
Harbor re idents a $97 car insurance
: rate cut, and charge St. Joseph
drivers $50 more each year.
Sound re onable?
It's possible, though unsavory, a
AAA Michigan spokesman said.
Michigan auto owners could see
startling insurance rate changes in
, April unless state lawmakers rea h
J an agreement on reforms or, yet
" again, extend key parts of the current
'no-fault insurance law.
As the expiration or sunset date
for Public Act 10 approaches, House
Democrats are' still squabbling·
among themselves and with Senate
.RepubUcans over proposed reforms.
AFTER MARCH 31, an earlier
flaw, the Es ential InsuranceAct,
• : goes back into effect, king in­
.·surance companies drastically
: change their rates, said Leonard J.
• Bach, AAA Michigan claim opera­
� tions vice president.
" "Ninety percent of OUf policy
.: holders would have to'pay more each
year for insurance," Bach said. "It's
• a nightmare." ,. .
While residents outside the
Detroit Tri-County area face rate in­
creases, Bach said Detroit and other
large City drivers will be getting
sizable rate cuts. Benton Harbor
residentS would receive one of the
largest rate cuts in the tate at $97 a
year.
Rates for downtown Detroit resi­
dents will decrease $87, and in orne
outer areas of Detroit by $75.
By contrast, mo t urban centers
· outside Detroit will be getting in­
crease. Lansing faces a $25 hike
and Kalamazoo rates will increase
$35.
ST. JOSEPH RESIDENTS will
be getting an increase partly because
AAA-Michiganclassifies it asub­
urb of Benton Harbor.
Counties with rel lively parse
populations like Alpena and Emmet
would ee mall increase , around
$6, Bach said.
Bach said these estimate were
calculated using the "average driver"
who i 45 years old, i the principal
driver, travel only three mile to
work one-way, but has an average
annual mileage over 10,000 and is
eligible for a multiple car di count.
And. the average driver drives a
1990 Taurus LX Sedan.
Under the Essential Insurance
Act, insurers would be required to
establi h pecial territories to charge
premiums to drivers depending on
where they live. Between territories,
rates couldn't differ by more than 10
percent, and a company's lowest rate
can't be less than 45 percent of the
highe t rate, Bach aid.
IN URANCE COMPANIES
will all be dffected, but not all will
have to make such evere rate chan­
ges, said Gene O'Malley, State Farm
Insurance spokesman. State Farm
write mo t of its insurance with
rural re idents who may not be af­
fected as severely as AAA policy
coordinator. He said State Farm
policy holders could expect a 1 to 16
percent rate increase if the curret law
expires. .
"People who aren't insured with
companies that write insurance all
over the tate won't be impacted
badly," O'Malley aid.
The larger insurance companie
that write mo t of tbeir polici in
metropolitan areas will have to raise
p
o
II
their rural rate higher in order to
charge an adequate rate for urban
residents, O'Malley aid.
O'Malley said AAA Michigan is
the largest Michigan auto insurer fol­
lowed In size by State Farm In­
surance and Allstate Insurance
Company.
Debate over the no-fault issue in
the Legislature has centered upon
various reforms and across-the­
board rate cuts.
A BILL THAT pa sed the
Senate in one form and the House in
another was defeated in the House in
December after leaving its first con- '
ference committee.
House Clerk David Evans said
the Speaker of the House, Lewis N.
Dodak, D-Birch Run, must take the
initiative to appoint new conferee
for the bill and transfer it to the
Senate before any further action can
be taken on the bill.
But Dodak thus far demanded a
mandatory 20 percent rate cut on
insurance premium without any
reduction in benefits before he ap­
proves the bill.
Dodak said that he has been
negotiating with Sen. Dick Po -
thumus, R-Alto, to reach an agree­
ment and that he is optimistic about
the chance of reaching an agree­
ment before March 31.
"Failing th t, I ee no alternative
but to orpnize a drive to put this
i ue on the b 110t for '92'," Dodak
aid.
h d
The Robert Small Scholarship
has been e tablished for a Benton
Harbor rea tudent to attend Lake
Michigan College, ccording to
Anne E. Mulder, LMC President.
The schclarshlp is in honor of retired
Benton Harbor Attorney Robert
Small, a member of the College'
Board of Trustee at LMC from
December of 1963 to January of
1974, and chair for nine years.
The scbolarship, funded by a gift
from Small's family, is for students
from Benton Harbor or Benton
Township who have demonstrated
leadership in their communi ty
through school, civic, or community.
organizations.
The 85.year-ol� Small continues
to live in Benotn Harbor with hi
wife, Mall.._ Elizabeth. The couple
h three chlldren, Stephen C., also a
retired Benton Harbor ttorney,
ichard B. of Lo Angeles, and Vir­
gin1az B. Bird of Portage, Michigan.
Scholarship reciplen m t en­
roll for at le t ix credit hours at
LMC, and the cholarship i renew­
able for a second year if the tudent
maintains a minimum 2.S grade
point average. Primary co Idera­
tion will be given to minority stU­
dents and th e ho re not eli�ble
for federal or tate financi 4.
Call the Lake MiChigan College I
financial aid office at (616) 927-
3571, ext. 323 for more informatiOn.
Send all rv.ws
and inforrn anon
to: �J1 ic h i�Ftrl
Citizens.
P.o. Box03'JI)(-)
Highland Park,
MI48203
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