LOCAL/STATE

The Michigan Daily - Monday, December 2, 1996 - 3

professors
® ,
elected to join
Institute
Two University professors were
elected to the National Academy of
Sciences' Institute of Medicine.
Kenneth Warner. professor of health
management and policy in the School
'of Public Health and Nursing Prof.
Nancy Reame are among 55 new mem-
bers to the Institute.
Both professors are involved in
research. Warner was senior editor of
the 25th anniversary Surgeon General's
*eport relating to the health conse-
4uences ofsmoking and has also written
books on health care and tobacco.
Reame is internationally known for
her research on women's reproductive
health and has focused on understand-
irfg the impact of hormones, behavior
ind the menstrual cycle on women's
vulnerability to illness. Reame has also
served on health policy task forces.
Warner and Reame have both
Weceived honors. In addition to being
awarded the Surgeon General's
Medallion in 1989, Warner has been
cited twice by the national public health
honorary society for achievement.
Reame has received awards from the
institute of Medicine and the American
'Academy of Nursing for lecturing and
nursing journalism.
Prof. to deliver
speech on elderly
Martha Ozawa, professor of social
pplicy at Washington University, will
discuss "The Well-Being of the Elderly
jn a Changing Society" today during
the University's Winkelman Memorial
"Lecture.
The free talk is sponsored by the
School of Social Work is at 4 p.m. in the
Alumni Center Founders Room.
*AATA revises its
routes, scheduling
Following customer comments, the
Ann Arbor Transportation Authority
changed schedules and some routes on
local bus services.
According to a written statement
f from AATA. changes have resulted in
"ater arrivals.
Route 5 (Packard), which passes
Sleijer on Carpenter Road, had time
changes at all outgoing stops. including
the Michigan Union. Route 36
(University shuttle) had time changes
at the C.C. Little Building stop and at
the State Street-South University
Avenue stop, arriving earlier by two
minutes and four minutes respectively.
Tree ceremony to
Obenefit hospice
The fifth annual Tree Lighting
Ceremony, organized by the Hospice of
Washtenaw, is planned for Thursday.
' "The event will be followed by musical
entertainment and a reception and will
take place at the Great Lakes Atrium on
' Division Street.
Hospice of Washtenaw wants each
light to symbolize a memory of friends
or family. Lights can be obtained by
forwarding names of those being
remembered, along with a donation, to

,,iospice of Washtenaw.
Postdoctoral
.fellowships open
Recent recipients of doctoral degrees
in life, biomedical and environmental
sciences and related disciplines are eli-
Ogileto apply to the Alexander
t-ol laender Distinguished Postdoctoral
Fellowship Program, sponsored by the
U.S. Department of Energy's Office of
,Health and Environmental Research.
Fellowships are for one year and are
renewable for an additional year. In addi-
tion to a stipend, fellows are also eligible
for some limited insurance-related and
moving expense reimbursements.
'Applicants must be U.S. citizens or
permanent residents and must have
received a doctoral degree after April
iU0, 1995. Applications can be obtained
from the Education and Training
Division, Oak Ridge Institute for
Science and Education, P.O. Box 117,
Oak Ridge, Tenn. The deadline for
applications is Jan. 15.
-- Compiled by Daily StuflReporteir
Prachish Chakravortin

'U' Stude
By Anita Chik
Daily Staff' Reporter
Engineering junior Brent Roberts
had his car fixed four times - all for
the same problem.
Roberts said the auto repair shop he
went to charged him for the three extra
parts its auto mechanics wrongly put
into his car. However, he said that after
he took action to negotiate with the
shop, he received a refund for his
unnecessary expenses.
Roberts is just one of the many stu-
dents who experience frustrations with
car repair service, paying a much higher
price than they should to fix their cars.
"If you are willing to spend time and
efforts to check every single charge
appeared on the bill, you'll find yourself
being overcharged sometimes," said
Rackham first-year student Jimmy
Huang.
C'edric Ricks, a 1995 University

nts weary of auto-repair npoffs

alum, said the auto repair service he
received often did not match with a rea-
sonable price. Ricks said he spent more
than $500 to fix the brakes on his Volvo.
"I spent a lot of money on the brakes
and there's still a problem," Ricks said.
"The brakes were squeaking"
A recent report by the National
Association of Attorney Generals' Auto
Repair Task Force indicates that good
mechanics will sometimes push unnec-
essary car repair work because of their
temptation to make additional money.
Autosistance, a new company based
in Novi. offers an automotive informa-
tion service in an attempt to stop repair
shops from "ripping people off." The
service aims to reduce customers'
expenses on auto service by offering
technical automotive inflormation.
Offering membership to the public.
Autosistance answers questions about
warranties, histories of certain car mod-

els and prices of different auto parts.
Ed Walicki, one of the owners of
Autosistance, said the company relies
mainly on computer software that con-
tains equipment repair manuals, electron-
ic parts cataloging, and the latest techni-
cal service bulletins and recall notices.
Walicki said customers can ask for a
list ofcertain car models, auto mechanics
and auto repair shops with bad records.
Through the company's Web page,
people can obtain online technical assis-
tance, and technicians reply to members'
queries via e-mail, fax and telephone.
As a certified auto mechanic, Walicki
discovered that many auto mechanics
lack training and that customers usually
pay extra money for "guesswork." He
said technology advances too quickly
for auto technicians to catch up and
learn new skills to fit customers' needs.
"Mechanics don't have time to do a
lot of homework for the customers

because they don't get paid to do home-
work. They get paid to fix cars"
Walicki said.
Walicki also discovered that many
students battle with low-quality car
repair service because they lack infor-
mation about a decent local garage. le
said students often risk going to differ-
ent shops and end up being victims of
either dishonest or inexperienced auto
mechanics.
Some students expressed their inter-
est in a company that would provide
valid information regarding car repair.
"As a woman, I don't know much
about cars. I have to take whatever the
mechanics said," said Jacki Treml, a
Social Work second-year student. "So I
would like to take an unbiased opinion
on what should be done on my carp"
However, not all students believe
they need assistance before having
repairs done on their cars.

Tips of the Trade
Before selecting an auto repair
facility, Autosistance recom-
mrends that customers do the fol-
lowing:
Check with neighbors and
friends for recommendations.
0 Ask to see the repair facility's
mechanics' certifications.
Contact the Better Business
Bureau for ratings of local shops.
Engineering junior Bill Chappell said
he always repairs his car at the original
dealership. lie said he has been pleased
with the service and does not believe he
has been overcharged.
"I find that the dealer is not going to
screw me over because they'll want me
to buy another new car:" Chappell said.

..

Early retirement
plan, may lead to


govt.

brain drain'

MARGARET MYERS/Daily
Sound check
Terraplanes drummer Gary Goodman sets up his equipment last night at the Blind Pig. The Terraplanes host Bluestage
there every Sunday. Students and Ann Arbor residents come to jam to blues, funk, and rhythm and blues.


Michigan State receives new
grant to improve cyclotrons

Some fear job cuts
would lead to more
privatization
LANSING (AP) - An early retire-
ment proposal for state workers could
mean significantly fewer employees for
some agencies - so much so that one
lawmaker fears a "brain drain" could
result.
More than 7,000 employees - 15
percent of the state's work force of
46,000 people -would be eligible for
the one-time, early out plan proposed
by Gov. John Engler. About half of
them would likely accept the offer, if it
wins legislative approval, The Detroit
News reported yesterday.
Some departments with a dispro-
portionate number of older workers
could lose a chunk of employees. For
example, the Transportation
Department could lose a quarter of its
workers.
The Natural Resources, Education
and the Consumer & Industry depart-
ments could each lose about a fifth of
employees, as could the Jobs
Commission. The state Department of
Civil Rights could lose 29 percent of its
employees, the News said.
State Senate Democratic leader
John Cherry of Clio has some reserva-
tions about the early retirement pro-
posal.
"Brain drain is clearly an issue. Any
time you have a major out-stream of the
work force, you lose some institutional
rmemory and continuity, and that could
hurt," Cherry told the News.
John Denniston, president of the
Michigan State Employees Association,
fears the job cuts would lead to more
work being handed to private compa-
nies.
"If you're only going to replace 25
percent of those who leave, you won't
have enough people left to do the work.
So, you'll have to go outside to get
some of the work done," Denniston

said.
Engler's plan calls for hiring one
worker for each four who take early
retirement. lHe estimates yearly pay-
roll savings could add up to $25 mil-
lion.
Department of T'ransportation chief
Robert Welke called it a good idea. and
said he himsel f would take the early out
offer.
"It'll help the department. We've
developed layers and layers of manage-
ment over the years. We've got some
good young people. engineers 'with
master's degrees who know more than 1
do." Welke said. "This would give them
a chance to move up.
James Carter, personnel chief at the
DNR. is trying to
measure the
potential impact
of the proposal.
An estimated 21
percent of the
department's
1700 employees
would be eligible
for early retire-
Engler -It looks like
the largest number
of retirements would come in parks and
recreation. from park managers to
wildlife biologists to secretaries,"Carter
said.
The proposal would reduce the age
and number of years of service required
to retire while increasing benefits. If
approved state employees would have a
two-month window to apply for the
program starting in the spring.
Benefits for each worker would be
determined using a formula that con-
siders age, years of service and salary.
Engler hopes to push the proposal
through the Legislature this month,
before Republicans lose control of the
state House, the News said.
"This is a top priority for us," said
Jeff McAlvey. Engler's chief legisla-
tive lobbyist.

Grant may make it
easier for university to
conduct experiments
EAST LANSING (AP) -_A multi-
million-dollar National Science
Foundation grant will put Michigan
State University on a faster track to
unraveling some secrets of the universe.
'The grant, announced last Monday..
will allow Michigan State to refurbish
and couple its two superconducting
cyclotrons, or atom smashers. The
result will be equipment so powerful it
will do in about half a day experiments
which now would take a year.
"It will allow us to do things that
haven't been possible up until now,"said
Konrad Gelbke, director of the National
Superconducting Cyclot'on Laboratory
at the university.
"It's a cost-effective move in a field

that's experiencing explosiv e grolth
- and intense competition I~world-
wide."
Cyclotrons can be used to create
radioactive isotopes and other particles.
such as those used as -tracers" in med-
icine and other sciences. Nuclear physi-
cists might use cyclotrons to study how
the elements making up the world were
formed.
They are used in laboratories across
the world, mostly for nuclear
research.
The National Science foundation
will give Michigan state S12 million
over the next five years for the project,.
redirect $3.7 million from the existing
spending for the lab's operation and
authorize another year for its S9.3 mil-
lion operating fund.
The grant will pay to join the two
existing cyclotrons to produce radioac-
tive beams of much higher intensity.

Michigan State will provide $6 mil-
lion, in addition to a previous start-up
investment that included a $1.3 million
building addition.
The work is expected to be complet-
ed by 2001.
The lab has two cyclotrons, the
K500, the first of its kind in the
world, and a more powerful K1200. In
the past decade, some 500 scientists
and 60 doctorate students worldwide
have used the Michigan State
cyclotrons.
Cyclotrons accelerate particles of'
atoms, using low -oltages of electricity
and magnetic fields. Particles hurled
out of the cyclotron target a nucleus,
resulting in the formation of other par-
ticles.
Some of the particles created exist
for less than a few thousandths of a sec-
ond, but still long enough for experi-
ments to be conducted.

Pollack to head environmental group

LANSING (AP) -- It's too early to
say whether Lana Pollack will swing
much weight as a top Michigan envi-
ronmentalist.
But it's fairly easy to predict that peo-
ple will know she's around - to their
discomfort if' they're among those she
considers polluters, and to their joy if
they're on her side in the state's envi-
ronmental battles.
In her 12 years in the state Senate,
Pollack whose district included Ann
Arbor, earned a reputation as smart,
articulate and outspoken. To those
attributes, some detractors would add
shrill, annoying and argumentative.
In her new job as head of the
Michigan Environmental Council, it

remains to be seen if those traits are a
help or hindrance.
Pollack herself says she knows how
to cooperate with people, if that's what's
needed.
"I was combative," she admitted.
"When I needed to fight, I fought.
(But) I know how to get along with
people. I know there is a time for
fighting and there is a time for peace-
making."
While Pollack's impact on Michigan
en ironmentalisr is uncertain, the
movement may well benefit from having
a person of her reputation at the head of
a major organization, observers say.
"She brings stature ... a strong under-
standing of what the people of

Michigan care about." said Alison
Horton, director of the Michigan chap-
ter of the Sierra Club. "MEC is a very
important voice of all our environmen-
tal groups."
The MEC is a coalition of 39 envi-
ronmental groups - most of them
small - representing about 100,000
individual members.
Michigan's environmental movement
has lacked a no-nonsense, in-your-face
leader since last December's death of
Tom Washington. executixe director of
the Michigan United Conservation
Clubs.

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