Thursday, May 6, 1976 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Thre Ferndale fights discrimination suit By MIKE NORTON Attorney: for the Ferndale Board of Jdication yesterday accUsed the federal government of denving them the oppor- tunity to prepare a proper defense against racial discrimination charges file, by the Justice Department. The government, in a suit filed last Wednesday in U.S. District Coutrt in lie- troit, claimed that school officials of the Detroit suburb "operate atid assist" in the segregation of black students within .the schmol system, ACCORDING TO the suit, Grant Ele- mentary School, one of ten elementary schools in Ferndale, had an all-black student body and faculty until the 1975- ~6 school year, while the other nine were all-white. And although 1~0 whites were brought into the school during the current year, they were promptly enrolled in a special open classroom" curriculum with a scant 27 blacks The rest of the black students remained in the traditional pro- gram. An all-white faculty was assigned to the new program, the government added in its action, while the traditional one was left with a nearly all-black faculty. This, say federal officials, constitutes a violation of the Equal Educational Op- portunity Act, and the Justice Depart- ment has requested a court order for- bidding further racial discrimination and requiring the school district to bring AP Photo their system "into compliance with fed- eral law an dthe Fourteenth Amend- ment." a huge The Justice Department says that a e Thomas written complaint was sent to Attorney General Edward Levi by "the parent of a black child," but officials refttsed.to divulge the specific nature of the com- plaint or who made it. THAT, SAt) Phil G;(odtia, ste of the attOIress for the Ferndf-le schail system, is wvhty hi firm ihs beefn pre- vented froimt preparing i defense. "We diol' kssnnv what kitid of person this is, or Whelther or not the child is even enrolled in Grnt Elemntitary-we don't even know the munner ii, which he or she has suspisedly been discrinmi- nated against'' Isole complained. Goodtmtan said the sctoitl systetimn't interested in finding out the identity of the complainant, which is prttectod by law. "We just wmnt te guernmt to define his or her standintig i siwe can prepare an dequtate diefentse'" A PREVIOtiU suit against Ferdile filed May 21 utter t dtfereti griiniot of the Etlual Ednear tl tfprtmtinity Act was dismitssd on simil-ir grounds, and Goodmatn is hiopeftil the city can succeed in gettig the sresot ucse dis- missed. "We're not guilty of any ftorm of dis- crimination," he said. "'the government is in error in bringing this lawsuit." Peter Kelly, the Assistant U.S. Attor- ney in Detroit, reftietd to comment on the nature of the complaint against the Ferndale school system, but claimed the Justice Department expects to sake the charges stick. "WE MOST certainly are expecting success in this," he declared. "If we didn't, we wouldn't have brought suit in the first place." No date has yet been set for a hearing on the litigation. Artist in chains No, it isn't another piece of incomprehensible modern sculpture. It' chain that encircles Boston's new Waterfront Park, and painter George is putting on the last loving touches. r tf OU eE NWWAM tY Shotgun "wedding The 85-year-old proprietor of a combination grocery and gun store in Welch, W.Va. says federal regu- lations governing gun sales are forcing him to seek a wife. G.C. Thompson, who can neither read nor write, says he needs a wife to help check forms before he sells the guns, so he can comply with federal regulations requiring that persons buying firearms must reg- ister with the store where the weapons are bought. But Thomp- son has established some require- ments of his own. "I don't want to marry no walking cane, hos- pital or graveyard," he said. She has to be between the ages of 25-55, with no living husband and "willing to live right." Happenings ... are as sparse as snow flakes in Kissamee today. They include, inclusively and exclusively, a Proj- ect Outreach mass meeting at 7:30 p.m. in Aud. A, Angell; and a meeting of the University Sailing Club, 7:45 p.m., Rm. 170 in the Physics and Astronomy Bldg. for anyone interested in learning or continuing to sail, Weather or not The forecast far southern lower Michigan today is mostly cloudy and cooler, with early morning, showers ending by mid afternoon. Highs for today are expected to be in the mid to upper Sos. Phone rate hikes criticized By BARBARA ZAHS "I guess I won't be making any more calls from pay phones," one angry Michigan Bell customer muttered. His reaction followed Tuesday's an- nouncement that the state's Public Ser- vice Commission (PSC) will allow Michi- gan Bell Telephone Company to raise the cost of a pay phone call from 10 cents to 20 cents as part of a $52.2 mil- lion rate increase package. MONTHLY CHARGES for basic tele- phone service will be boosted by 1.5 per cent. Overall rate increases for other services will average 6.2 per cent, The PSC ruling will also allow Michi- gan Bell to increase prices for long distance calls, Area residents have reacted with sharp criticism to the increased rates. "I THINK IT'S outrageous. I can bare- ly afford it now. I guess I'll have to call collect," Loma Kresge said. "They're charging too much already. I don't want to have to pay an extra dime to make a call from a pay phone," another woman said. Some residents expressed concern that the increase in telephone rates, coupled with rising postal rates, will make com- munication too costly for them to afford. THE PRICE HIKE did not upset every- one, however. "I kind of expected it. All of the other prices are going up, too," Marcia Toon commented. In spite of the announced increase, Bell officials insist that the new rate package will not bring in enough additional rev- enue to salve the utility's financial woes. The company is expected to request yet another rate nerease in a few months. SOME LOCAL BELL customers have complained that increases in the phone company's rates, like those of other utilities, have not been accompanied by improvements in service. New cease-ire Senate al o overre eass fghtng ord day care bil veto in Beirut area WASHINGTON (') - The Senate number of adult workers to care for yesterday failed by three votes to children between the ages of six BEIRUT, Lebanon (M) - The Beirut override President Ford's veto of a weeks and six years for the center port area, scene of heavy fighting for $125 million child-care bill, to qualify for federal money. A pre the past week, calmed yesterday with a Th Senate vote was 60 to 34, sht viotn sustension of these standards new cease-fire, and streetfighters of both sides emerged from bunkers to ex- change cold drinks, cigarettes, crosses and Korans in the buffer zone. Troops of the Palestinian Liberation Army (PLA) separated Christian and Moslem forces in the capital. However, some sporadic fighting with small arms continued in suburbs and nearby moun- tam towns, POLICE SAID 45 persons were killed and 72 wounded mostly in fighting out- side Beirut. In Lebanon's 13-month old civil war nearly 18,000 people have died. In the port area, a bearded Christian gunman threw his arms around-a Mos- See CEASE-FIRE, Page 10 of the needed two-thirds -majority to override. It followed by one day a House vote of 301 to 101 to override the veto, 33 more than the required tw -thirds in that chamber, TO DATE Ford has vetoed 48 bills and has been overridden eight times. The measures would have granted states $125 million to meet new feder- al child day-care standards, while h delaying implementation of the stand- ards until July 1. The standards set a minimum expired on Feb. 1, although they have yet to be put into effect. IN HIS VETO message, Ford said the legislation would "not make day- care services more widely available. It would only make them more cost- ly to the American taxpayer." Ford has urged Congress to enact his own program under which states would set and enforce their own day- care standards. Republican opponents of the mea- sure protested it extended federal regulation further into the lives of private citizens.