'A -At tbo
yor'l I ht on, j t ore
the Monday June 7 City CoUDCil
meeti , Highland P yor :un.
ey Porter anno� that he t
layoff notices to 24 membe of the
Public S ety Department, [which
comb in police and fire em ]
reducing the from fr1 to 64
cers.
Porter charged that "the depart
ment will never ri e beyond 70 [offi
cers] ever again."
"We must make sure the Public
Safety Department of 64, 65, and 66
will work in the city."
Most of the city garbage wor ers
had also received layoff notices, in
what some cri tics have called a "pri
vatization plan" .
According to Porter, there i a
lack of money and the city is t.rying
to downsize.
However, critics of Porter in the
audience said that the problem
should have been solved by cutting
.tacem.�nt
in
city.
layoff' no
may have been matter of form,
but txp ed doub that they would
go into effect
J
- I..egisl . n to allow ru:rea-
tio card playing the 's
rcentm introducedSen-
ior Power Day by Rep. Sharon
Oire (D-Mt acmem). Tcchni-
ly, senio prohibitrd from
playing even penny ante card
games. Rep. Oire' Ie on
wouldallowscniorci�' d
ident groies, orfaciliti withat
least 15 membasofageffiorolder
to play cards for 00 more than 25
cen per bet or $5 per winning
ham, if ronducted between the
bows cX9 am. � midnight.
- State Senator Michael
O'Brien (D-Detroit) introduced
lqpslation making it a felony to
abaOOona�scniorciti
zen O'Brien's bill would make it
a felony to leave an elderly haIxIi
� person in a trcet, field,
building, or other pleoe with intmt
to ill we or abandon that person,
The crime would be pllllWlable by
imprsonment for not more than
four years and/or a fire of not more
thanS2,CXD.
- Governor Fngler 1m �I«'d
the federal government to desig
nate the Areo-Ameriean popula
tion in Dearborn and Wayne
County as a medically under
served population. The designa
tion would allow flexibility in
addressing rompeUing local cir
currstances that create barriers to
accessibility of personal health
services.
vide alternative' routes t> teacher
certification in Michigan. Tbose
seeking to become certified
through Michigan's Alternative
Routes t> Teacher certification
(MARTe) must also pass both the
basic skills examination (�
writing. and math) as well as other
examinatiom. Those interested in
learning more about the model or
the possibility of participation
should call Dr. Carolyn E. �
director of the Office of
Teacher/Administrator Prepara
tionand Certification, at(517)373-
6505.
"
- Acting Govermr Connie
Binsfekl ttx;tay signed legislation
that paves the way for the sale of
the Traverse aty Regional Psy
chiattic Hoopital grourxs to the
GtaOO Traverse Commons Rede
velopment Corporation, State
government benefi� from the deal
by receiving fair market value for
certain parcels of land and some
homes on the lmpital grounds.
That state will trarsfer the rest of
the property the community for
$1 es park land. F\uljs received by
the tate will support community
health programs.
- Governor Engler an
rouoeed a U.S. Department of
Education grantof$l84,029 to the
State of Michigan es a result of the
National Literacy Act of 1991.
The grant will expaOO upon an
existing State UtenIcy Rc:soW'CC
Center at Central Michigan Uni
versity and provide upport for the .
Library of Michigan Foundation's
Read Indeed! literacy grant pro-
. gram. The State Literacy Re-
uree Center at Mt. Pleasant and
the Literacy Education Outreach
ter in Pe ky will be directed
by Virginia L Watson. For more
information, phone (517) 774-
7(J)1.
- Governor Engler igred a
bill allowing tbe Department of
'al Services to take all seps
necessary to recover overpay
men of istance former re-
cipien of public Istance. The
)ill could po ntially sav taxpay- .
e a total of .62 million. The
. bill HB 4 , provid a legal
is for DSS to purs recovery
of overpaymen from closed cash
, tance aOO [i tamp
D may waive recovery if it
w uld uI t 10 harciship to the re
cipien ,or' the t of recovery
. equal r more than the amount
o overpayment.
" Y HAD TO announce lay-
offs, because it i procedure", h
aid.
One problem that Mcal nad s
i that there might not b enough
money to cover all the retirees who
m y wish to leave now.
He aid he bas been told that the
city's talking with Chrysler inregard
to a settlement agreement over dam
ages regarding alleged misrepresen
tations to the city in the 80s.
suggesting that some money from
Chrysler might be used for th pen-
ion.
Mc Clelland disagreed wi th
Mayor Porter that the ci ty could get
along with only 64 public afety of
ficers.
"It [the Department] hasn't
UN COUNCIL overrid
the veto, the deputy po i tion will be
tored.
Praident of the Police Union, Pat
McOelland, who w not at the
meeti and did not hear Porter's
tatement, aid that the layoffs could
be prevented by changing the pen
sion sy tIem allowing older officel'S
to get their pensio . eanier.
Thi ould allow the city to bire
new, lower alaried officers who
would be able to do more meaningful
work on tbe stree .
He aid the city put in writing that
they were [or tablishingsuch a ys
tem. He said officers who bad been
McCLELlAND T TED that
o P3Jk, which w one 0 the fi t
cities to'imtall publiC � sy -
tem, pent a much higher percentage
of its funds for public afety.
Oak Park pent $6 million of a
$16 million budget on public ely,
while Highland Par only pent
$3.90 million of the same budget on
public safety .
He added 0 Park officers got
$47,000 a year, while Higblmt Pm
officers only made $31,000.
Bostic said that one other differ
ence between Highland Park and
Benton Harbor is that much o(Higb
land Par's crim comes from those
who live outside th area,
"Highland Park is surrounded in
the middle of the Ci ty of Detroi t, " she
said. "Benton Harbor does not have
a metropolis on all sides. tI
Amena Omar, director of admls-
ion at Higbland Park Community
College, noted that the problems in
Highland Park stemmed from white
flighl.
"Black men are expected to clean
up the mes that whit folk made."
She charged that altbough the
mayor used the fact that the finance
director worked without a deputy
an example of th magnitude of his
cuts in administration, this tate of
me'
ere'�er-I
ng t t if Mayor I
Porter was a white mayor, he would
be praised for "taking hard steps to
save the ci ty" and "hi ting the bullet."
Bo tic retored, "If we didn't have
the press, we wouldn't know what
you guys [the political officials]
were doing."
Omar expressed sympathy for the
garbage workers who had been laid
off in the Mayor's privatization
drive, but suggested they oould
form a company of their own aIXf bid
for city jobs.
"Black Folk have had a history of
taking lemons and making lemon
ade."
The Mayor said that at the begin
ning of his administration, he told
citizens he would do things which
'were unpopular, to meet the city's
financial problems.
"1 am a Mayor who makes cuts
and shows guts." he said. "I am not
. running for reelection."
Artl t and community activist B nnle White wa. honored with ·McHam ra and Arthur B. Blackwell II r cognizing hi d plction
the Wayne County Council For The Artiatic Excellence and of African American historical giant •.
Community Commitment Award by Bernard Parker, Edward H.
lIE URGED TIlE residene to
wait till the end of his term am judge
him by. the final resul t of hi� policies.
•
u
I
m
arum
y
n
Nonetheless, Robinson turned his life
around. He went bac to school and received
his GED and since then has obtained five
years of college education. By joining the
Narcotics and Alcohol Anonymous he reha
bilitated himself and has stayed away from
drug and alcohol for over 14 years.
education, drug awareness, ports and cul tural
activities.
Although Robinson is new to the position
of president, he has aspirations to enhance the'
work of the organization. He has three major
plars he would like to activate: more vi itation
to schools and youth groups, holding a mem
bership drive to increase involvement, and
furtber interaction with th youth by sponsor-
. ing trips and cultural events.
Rooirson states that he would like to see
the members contribute more of their parent
ing and fathering skill .
Robinson
motivates youth
By JULIE REYNOLDS
Michl .n Cltfun
mGHlAND PARK-A new face plans to
help enhance a Highland Park insti tution, the
Mens Forom.' .
"I'm honored to be elected president of the
Mens Forum because I think it is a very pro
gressive organization that has principles. I
plan to do all 1 can to live up to the standards
of the organization. "
This is a taternent made by William David
Robinson who was elected the new president
of the Mens Forum organization in Highland
Park.
"IT DO N'T matter what a person i
involved in if they are willing to change.
Helping the youth is somethin I am willing
to die for", aid Robinson.
In addition to his involvement in the Mens
Forum he has become a community· livist.
He i the head of Robinson House Unlimited
which i guided by the theme "Making our
city a better place to live in".
The Robinson Ho�e i located on 51 Mid
land and was tarted three years ago. Its foe
is to help recovering male drug addicts 1 to
65.y old. Along with the help of hi wife,
beryl Robi on, the 21 t Century upport
� .. fuUJX1edforyouthhavingproblems
j� drugs ,?r rome from dy functional
hOmes. He also heads a Communi ty Center
located at 111 Oakman.
IIxieed Robinson i an live p n. He
ays that sometimes h pu In 12 to,2 h u
a day in each organization.
For mformati n n becoming a memb r of
the Mcns Forum, me tmg arc h ld every 2nd
aturday at th' YM A on W odward at
I ( \ m all )5-4<i 2 or further informa-
"I BELIEVE TIIA T one major benefi t of
being a member of the Mens Forum is being
able to give away experience, knowledge and
expertise. This helps to make the communi ty
a better place to live in. They also help influ
ence another generation", said Robinson.
Robinson says there' a lack of male role
, models in the black commu�ty � �tCrq�;} . �
youth need to be told t t De dOl���
Robi on, 39 w lSom iii· -. ttoit D:$,
resides in HJghlaix1 PaIk:. He can relate to the
problems facing th young black male be
cause his life is a living example. .
He-dropped out of school in the 6th grade
and from then on became a victim of drugs,
gangs, violence, reform schools and prison.
WILUAM DAVID ROBINSON
"I T b a victim. J refuse to
let things happen In the community without
doing something about It. I believe in chang
and that any thin i po ible. I elieve in the
city of Highland Park", Robinson aid.
R,OBIN 0 W elected president on
Saturday May 22nd at the Mens Forum Board
of Directors meeting. The focus of thi or
ganization is helping the youth. For over five
years the members have been dedicated to
being mentors for youth who may not have a
male role model.
One main theme [or the Mens Fonnn is
" All en Are Fathers". Focusing on this
theme, ,....mem�elS help the youth, tluough
,