CH -10,1 2
NEWS
BRIEFS
Rutherford
acquitted - war
of wo.rds begins
The war of words
spawned by the Freedom
Festival videotaped beat
ings didn't die down after
C assandr a Ruther ford
was acquitted Wednesday
in the second of her three
trials.
Rutherford, 18, wasn't
identifiable In the
videotape of the oanne
Was beating.
Larry Bennett, Was'
lawyer, said Wednesday
the' outcome of the Was
case was part of what he ,
termed a "conspiracy"
reaching all the way to
Detroit Mayor 'Coleman
Young.
"We're going to be
looking into the connec
tion between the mayor,
(defense attorney. Cor-
. nelius) Pitts, the Judge
and the witnesses and
evaluate what remedi s to
take" Bennet said. ,
B�t jurors said they ac-
quitted Rutherford in the
attack on Was because
Wayne County Assistant
Prosecutor Lisa Lindsey
did not prove her case.
Gov. John Engler
bl med the UAW
Thur d y for Gener I
otor's deci ion to close
it Willow Run Assembly
PI nt, nd aid ichig n
could 10 e another
100,000 auto jobs in the
next decade.
The governor, who ha
come under att ck for not
doing enough to keep the
. Willow Run plant open,
said G M cho e to con
solidate assembly opera
tions at Arlington, Texas,
because union leaders
there ware more receptive
to work rule changes.
Conyer : U.S.
will top flow of
fed ralofflces
DETROIT The
General ervices Ad
ministration has agreed to
stop moving federal of
fices out of Detroit and to
return some that were
recently moved, U.S. Rep.
John Conyers said Friday.
The Detroit Democrat
said the GSA has found
space in the city to meet
the needs of all federal
agencies in Detroit.
, . The GSA also agreed
to recommend construe
, tion of a federal office
, building downtown, he
said.
, Detroit to .
, purchase 41
imported cars
The Detroit City Coun-
, cil, facing a budget deficit
of more than $100 million,
unanimously approved
spending $579,740 late
last week to buy 41 im
ported Ford Crown Vic
torias for themselves and
city department heads.
The full-size, 8-
cylinder executive
vehicles cost the city
$14,140 each.
The Crown Victoria is
built in St. Thomas, On
tario. Even Ford classifies
it as an import because
more than 25, percent of
•
.
Thi ye r' S lute to Di tin
gui hed arrio honors:
Ella Br gg, a
champion in the
ren of welfare
rights and health
and welfare
reform. She
chaired the Wel
fare Right Or
ganiz at io n in
Michigan for many
ye and h been
active on many
health and human
services coalitions and ouncils.
Frieda Gorrecbt, who employed
her skill a a social worker to further
human rights causes. She was one of
the founders of Citizens for Better
Care, which as ures quali ty care in
DR. ALV LOVING
ALVI LOVI ,Ph.D., who
created a legacy in publi education.
The first African-Am ri an high
school teacher in D troit, Loving
later erved on the faculty of the Col
lege of Education at th University
of Michigan. He h also worked in
re ulting in the landmar restrictive
convenant deci ion. Both men
erved terms a pre identofth Wol
verine Bar As 0 iation.
"Today, more than ever before,
we need to honor those who have
fought for dignity and justice, and
Legislation ponders way
to go with assisted suicide
.... • •• _ ... 4. •• ... •
League has a rich, 75-year history of
serving the Detroit community and
tho e in need. We are proud of our
past and pleased to honor these in
dividuals who have been unsung
heroes in erving our city and help
ing to make it a better pl ce," said N.
Tic ets for
thi year' din-
rare $75 d
may be p d by
M terCard or
Vi . The in
dividu I ticket
price include
League mem
bership. Cor
porate ponsor-
hip pack ge
are al 0 avail ble.
For details, call the Detroit Urban
League at 832-4600.
By JENNA BECK
c.pIt!, N.w. S ....
would allow a legal termination of
life by a· physician under trlct
safeguards to a terminally III patient.
Under this bill, the patient would
be required to sign a written state
ment authorizing an injection. Then
the patient would have to wait two
months and repeat the procedure. A
p ychological examination would
also be required.
Wallace made the assisted suicide
time consuming and complex to get
o no one could argue the procedure
and be ubjcctcd to abuse, he aid.
Blackgrav
dl covered
NEW YO - Fed ral
uthorities have agreed, at
least for now, to ensure that
none of clo e to 200 graves
sites which were unearthed
when construction began on a
federal building p-oject last
October, would be destroyed
by construction crews.
The grave , more than 200
hundredyearsold, are located
in what is known today as the
City Hall areas and the finan
cial district. In the 1700s it was
the only place Black people
could bury their dead. It is said
that as many as 20,000 people
of African descent may be
buried in the areas. This
ceme ery is the largest dis-
covery of its kind. •
.' ,
LANSING - The Kevorkian case
has the legislature tumped about the
legal status of assisted uicide.
The vagueness of the issue has
lead orne legi lators to consider
passing the laws to clarify the rnatte't:
In reality, the legislatorts 0 far
have only added to the morass. Three
bills have been introduced in the last
year concerning assisted suicide and
one bill that deals with living wills,
leaving the question largely un
answered.
The House then fonned a sub
commi ttee on death' and dying to
hear public testimony and report
back to the committee in two years
to help other legislators decide how
they will vote.
REP. JACK POWER, R
Traverse City, propo ed a bill to cre
ate a commission on death and dying
to repre ent the legal, medical,
religious, ethical communities and
other interest group to recommend
a state policy.
Sen. Frederick Dillingham, R
Fowlerville, presented a bill that op
.posed assisted suicide, but would
lower the punishment to four years in
jail rather than life in prison.
The confusion is oot only in Lans
ing. It is affecting the Oakland Coun
ty judicial system too. They are just
as baffied as to what to do.
Archaeologist LI Collins examines the skeletal remains of a
mother and two children who were burled with her.
"WE WILL BE making recom
mendations to .the committee on
what we think," said Rep. Lynn Jon
dahl, D-Okemos, head of the sub
committee.
The' bills that the subcommittee is
studying cover a wide range of po -
sibilities for assisted suicide.
Rep. Ted Wallace, D-Detroit, in
troduced a bill, aid-in-dying, which
S e SUICIDE, A·10
eacher
mu
criminal
someone who did not agree would
not be hired.
By DAVID HONHART
Capita' N.w. &frvlc.
schools, said the Board of Educa-
.tion decided to begin checking
employee backrounds partly be
cause of a statewide trend in that
direction.
Under the policy, all people ap
plying for a teaching position are
asked on the applicaiton if they
have a crlminal history. They must
also sign a consent form allowing
adm;nistratoIS to do a backround
check.
If they are hired, they are con
sidered under temporary placement
until a backround check can be
done, Wozniak said.
If the check turns up any past
criminal behavior, the person may
be fired.
"Lying on the application is
re on for dismissal," Wozniak
said.
WHILE THERE IS NOT a
law requiring chool systems to do
backround checks on teachers, they
are required to do a similar check
on school bus drivers. But that may
change.
. A bill passed by the Michigan
House would require prescreening
of criminal backrounds for poten
tial school employees, while also
giving more leverage to schools in
cases where present employees are
committing crimes involving stu
dents. It is currently in the Senate
Education Committee.
The original pill was proposed
by Rep. Terry London R-Marys
ville. The prescreening amendment
was added by Rep. James Keslev&,
D-Canton.
"I don't want to play judge aDd
jury," London said, adding that be
wanted to make ure there was an
avenue to be taken, "if we've got
someone committing aimes on our
young people in the classroom."
think it is practical for all busi
nesses,to do backround checks on
their employees.
"When it comes to actually
checking, I think it's more impor
tant for'human service jobs where
people are in close contact with
'especially young people,"
Trojanowicz said.
If a check does turn up in a
crimiMI reCord, Trojanowicz said
schools should keep people with
violent his tories out of the cJ
rooms. '
" Anytime there's been a conflict
or agitadon between two people, I
think that's enough (to deny them a
job)," he said.
ON THE OTHER HAND,
crimea involving property damage
and theft should not automatiQ}ly
� away a job, be said.
"You' want to leave a ittle
ladtude for people ho do
mia takes, and do become
rehabillta1ed: he said.
Short said the Michigan Educa
tion Association supports pre
em'ployment checks on all
employeea who ort in schools.
He said it is iJpportant to � sure
people are telling the truth about
crimiMJ Records on applications.
"J tlike iDaumDCC compani "
he said. -If you apply and uy
you've never had a ticket, they
don't taB your ward for it; tbey
cbcck your motor ftldde record. ..
Short aid tbcre 11M been more
controveay over funding than over
the backround checD themselves.
"I think it' just a matter of cost, "
he said, adding. "There's been a lot
of discussion about that."
LANSING - Increased concern
over student safety has led the East
Lansing and Haslett school districts
to begin checking new employees
for crimina) histories.
In cooperation with the
Michigan State Police, both school
districts have been making sure that
they aren't putting convicted felons
in the classrooms. But these school
districts seem to be the exception,'
not the rule. .
"Under present law, school dis
tricts do not have access to state
pollce records," said Allan Short,
director of government affairs for
the Michigan Education Associa
tion.
"The only way they could check
on the backround of an individual,"
he added, "would be if they had a
good worldng relationship with a
local pollee department." Agree
ments uch those worked out by
the Haslett and East Lansing
schools.
BASLE1T ASSISTANT Su
perintendent Jean Frentz said there
have not been any objections to
their program.
"We've not gotten any adverse
effe<:t from potential employees,"
be said.
If a criminal history as
revealed by a da'ound check, a
decision would have to be made,
Frentz said. "We ould determine
bctherornotit appropriate to'
have the person an employee of
the district," abc said.
Ukc East I JlDling, Haslett re
quirea poscntial emplo)UI to ape
to a beckrollDd meet. Frentz d
JOSEPH A. YOUNG and AIr
soaatea is a private detective film
in Muon that, among other thinp,
does pre-employemntacreen1J18 for
certain school districts. .
Michael1bompson, who WOlD
at the firm, said it tries to reduce
negligent hiring in IChooI diatridl.
Uke Short, he said it ia-impo11aDt to
check all school·employeea.
"We recommend potential
employees and school diatridl to
screen from profesaiODll people to
volunteers, " be said.
One area school dlatrlct tbat
does not do backIoUDd � OD
teacbel'l is moviDgin t dIIecdoD.
Tom &lloli, director of public
information at Okemos Hlp
School, said school dJltdct Ja
·planning on getting into that
J:Jlalbt. •
Belloli laid Okcmol is looklna
at a program aImilar to tbe 0DeI at
East I,IDllng IDd BIllett. He d
they are 100 to start the plO
gram sometime DeXt acmol year.
When tartlDa a propm liD
these, Trojanowicz _d it is lmfo
tant Co IChool of!ldala to bow
hat tbcy arc 100 i>r.
eWlDttlO ad
iDfODDatlOD
to do will i,,-
IN HASLETf, checks .have
been done on the aimhutl back
round records of all substitute
teacberl, aDd all new employees
Ince last fall. In East I 3DSing. they
began cbccking the recotd of new
teachers last month. So far the
checb have not tumec1 up any
aimtnal recorda..
VlcJd Wozniak, public informa
tion cUrector r the But I.ansfug
MICHIGAN STATE Univer-
ity criD)inal jmdcc professor Bob
Trojanowicz d be thinks it is im
portant to know about a person'.
crimjuJ history before hiring tbem.
·If it's going to be a job here
potentially it could be harmful to
children, �ly would want to
know that," be Wd.
Trojanowicz aaic1 be doca DOt