Disabled
protest
cuts in
AATA
services
By ADRIENNE LYONS
Members of Ann Arbor's handicap-
ped community and their supporters
turned out at last night's Ann Arbor
Transportation Authority (AATA)
board meeting to voice complaints,
suggestions, and fears, over proposed
changes in AATA service.
The proposed changes, which
probably will come to a vote August 1,
will primarily affect handicapped and
elderly riders if approved. The changes
include abolishment of Sunday Dial-a-
Ride service and possible reduction of
evening service.
UNDER THIS plan, AATA would
provide 32,000 service hours to the
elderly and handicapped. In addition,
15,000 service hours could be applied
toward evening service.
"And about that hat. . ."
Rookies at the U.S. Naval Academy in Washington got a good talking to from academy senior Sandy Erwin yesterday. Erwin
is one of the first women in the academy's 134 years to be in command.
False fire alarms persist in A2
"The (AATA) staff presented a
minimum system from which we could
operate, but they didn't use all of the
AATA's funds," said AATA board
chairman Cecil Ursperung.
Ursperung explained that Sunday
service will be cut because "it is not
productive." He added, however, that
he did not "anticipate the board will
vote for the 7 p.m. deadline" in the
current plan.
SOME HANDICAPPED and non-
handicapped persons were angry about
the proposed changes.
"It will hurt people going to school, or
even their sociAI life," said Sally Taber
of the Ann Arbor Center for Indepen-
See DISABLED, Page 9,
Southpaw smokers
By TIM YAGLE
Three fire trucks, a rescue unit, and
two patrol cars screamed down Olivia
St. late Tuesday night to a large two-
story house, responding to a reported
fire. They arrived on the scene and
discovered there was no fire. After in-
vestigating the house, one firefighter
shrugged his shoulders and said,
"Another false alarm."
But was it an accidental call or a
prank? The Ann Arbor Fire Depar-
tment receives an average of 41 such
false alarms per year. While some of
them are legitimate accidental calls,
according to Ann Arbor Fire Chief
Frederick Schmid, most are
pranksters.
ANN ARBOR police apprehend about
12 persons each year and are able to
convict perhaps three to five of those 12.
Conviction of the misdemeanor, "tur-
ning in a false alarm," said Schmid,
Easily detected
by police
carries a penalty of a $100 fine and/or 10
days in jail.
Schmid said a majority of the
pranksters are probably in the 10-to-14
year-old age bracket. Police receive
more prank calls beginning in mid-
June, which is when those kids are get-
ting out of school. "Most just want to
see the trucks go by," Schmid said. The
rest, according to Schmid, are
"harassment" calls by "so-called"
adults, who just want to bother
someone.
Schmid said the police are the first to
be notified of a fire through the 911
emergency phone number. Then while
the caller is still on the line, police call
the fire department. They call the
phone company, which tapes the call if
it sounds suspicious.
POLICE AND fire officials usually
can tell when a call is a prank, mainly
because the sometimes shakey voice is
unconvincing. "Calling in a false alarm
is not easy," Schmid said. "You're
talking with people who know the city.
If you make the slightest mistake, we'll
trip you up."
The phone company usually is able to
trace the call and "a policeman will be
knocking on your door in a few
minutes," Schmid said.
Schmid said the department "will let
you off the hook if you pay the expenses
of the run instead of paying the fine.
In trns of gas and manpower, it
costs the city just over $200 to send each
truck out on a call, according to Sch-
See FALSE, Page 1o
.
Left-handed people smoke more cigarettes than
right-handed people, two University researchers
concluded during the course of another study. The
study, conducted by health research scientist Er-
nest Harburg, Biostatistics Prof. Anna Feldstein,
and Psychology Prof. James Papsdorf, concen-
trated in the Detroit area. While the researchers
found no satisfactory explanation for the quirk,
Harburg speculated the trend may be related to the
stress lefties encounter in coping with a right-handed
world.
Marital marry-go-round
Kenneth and Judy Palmer of South Dakota
thought they were legally married two years ago. In
fact, they said their vows twice when it appeared
Kenneth's divorce may have been complicated by
legalities. Now, however, the state Supreme Court
ruled that Kenneth's original marriage is still valid,
and Judy is not anybody's wife. "Legally, I guess
I'm still married to Dors, "a' id Kenneth. "But I
don't feel morally I am." The high court ruled that
Kenneth, who lives in Sioux Falls, did not prove
"extreme cruelty" when he divorced his first wife
of 27 years during proceedings that dragged on for..
two years. Apparently Doris felt her share of the
property settlement was too meager. Unless the
court agrees to hear the case again as Kenneth's
lawyer has requested, Kenneth and Doris will have
to divorce one more time, and Judy will be married
thrice to the same man.
Happenings...
... for the second day of the Art Fair start at 9:30
a.m. with the 1979 Summer Youth Fitness Program
open house at the Old IM Building... at noon,
Thomas Hatsig, a specialist in computer-based in-
struction in the Macomb County Intermediate
School District, will discuss "Kids and Computers:
Classrooms and Microcomputers" in the School of
Education's Whitney Auditorium . . . at 2 p.m.,
Eclipse Jazz presents the Wendall Bigelow Quartet:
at 3:30 p.m., Mixed Bag: at 6:30 p.m., the Tucker
Blues Band: at 5 p.m., Skyhigh. The free concerts
are in Liberty Plaza . . . it's American Heritage
Night again at the Michigan League cafeteria.
Tonight an Across the Plains menu will be featured
from 5 p.m. until 7:15 pim..-.Music Prof. Robert
Clark will perform on the organ at 8:31 p.m. at St.
John's Episcopal Church in Plymouth ... the
Residential College Players present "Puntila and
His Hired Man" at 8 p.m. in the East Quad
auditorium ... a free film, accompanied by an in-
troductory lecture, on "Eckankar: A' Way of Life,"
will be presented in Room I) of the Michigan
League. Call Fran longnecker at 996-1975 for more
information ... FILMS: Media Resources Cen-
er-Woody Allen: An American Comedy, Gen-
tfeman Tramp: program begins at 7:30 p.m., Aud.
3, MLB ... Ann Arbor Film Co-op-Taxi, 8 p.m.:
They Drive by Night, 9:15 .p.m., both in Aud. A,
Angell Hall .. . beginning at 7:15 p.m.. A Day in the
Life of Bonnie Consolo will be shown continuously in
Aud. 4, MLB, in an effort to raise money for the
medical treatment for Sammy Perkins, a three-
year-old who lost both his feet in a farm accident
earlier this summer.
On the outside
The clouds will begin to dissip tte today, but
there's still a chance for morning showers. The high
temperature will be in the low 80s, the low tem-
perature around 67'.
7