LOCAL/S TATE
The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 12, 2000- 3
*CRIME
Domestic abuse
incident lands
husband in jail
Department of Public Safety offi-
cers responded to a domestic abuse
call early Friday afternoon at the
Northwood II Apartments on Cram
Circle, DPS reports state.
Upon investigating the scene, offi-
cers arrested a male subject and
placed him under custody in the
Washtenaw County Jail. The victim
was escorted to a Safe House and the
ncident remains under investigation.
Students harassed
via AOL messenger
Two residents of South (quad Resi-
dence Hall reported having received
threatening messages via America
Online Instant Messenger last Thurs-
day, DPS reports state.
The residents requested to speak
with an officer concerning possible
legal action against the alleged
harassers. Housing officers met with
the residents but reports state that the
officers found "no threatening com-
munications were involved."
Both residents were advised to con-
tact AOL and to call DPS if the mes-
sages became more threatening in
nature.
Markley vacum
cleaner stolen
A vacuum cleaner was reported
stolen from Mary Markley Residence
Hall, early Thursday morning, DPS
reports state.
Kresge custodian
falls for hoax
A member of the custodial staff at
the Kresge Medical Research Build-
ing, located on Zina Pitcher Place,
reported the theft of a radio late Fri-
day afternoon, DPS reports state.
Upon investigation at the scene,
responding officers found that co-
workers hid the radio as a prank. No
report was filed.
Subject exposes
self, found with
marijuana, GHB
A male subject allegedly exposed
himself near section 1 I of Michigan
Stadium during the football game last
Saturday afternoon, DPS reports state.
When officers made contact with
the subject, he was found in posses-
sion of marijuana and GHB.
*Suspects dump
hot coals on tires
Several suspects 'were chaged with
malicious destruction Saturday after-
noon when they dumped hot coals on
a bystander's car tires on State Street,
DPS reports state.
The suspects were present when
officers arrived on the scene and an
incident report was filed.
A driving instructor requested the
* assistance of DPS officers late Satur-
day night when his driving student
collided with a stop sign during their
lesson, reports state.
An incident report was filed but
DPS did not report whether any sanc-
tions will be taken against either the
student or the instructor.
Noise complaint
prompts threats
Two male subjects were reported
threatening another man with a wood-
en board Sunday night in the North-
wood II housing unit located on North
Campus, DPS reports state.
The man alleged that when he
asked the subjects to turn down their
music, one of the men pulled the
board from his car and wielded it in a
threatening manner. Reports state that
*no physical assault actually took
place.
- Compiled by Daily StaffReporter
Caitlin Nish.
A? to build $5 million homeless shelter
By Laura Deneau
Daily StaffTReporter
Pending final approval, $5 million will be
put toward building a homeless shelter in Ann
Arbor.
But problems with the facility's site provide
one of a few obstacles facing the shelter's plan-
neres.
The proposed site, on a vacant parking lot at
314 W Huron St., is located above a sanitary
sewer line and also on a flood plain.
"Both issues need to be addressed and they
are not easy questions, they are difficult ques-
tions," said Susan Pollay, executive director of
the Downtown Development Authority. But
"there is a possibility that the plans could go to
construction early next year, but this will be
determined by how quickly the plans get
through the approval process," Pollay said.
The county is building the new shelter to
consolidate more efficient services for Ann
Arbor's homeless under one roof. The pro-
posed three-story, 22,679 square feet building
would include counseling rooms, a resource
area and administrative offices.
The facility will be designed to hold 50 indi-
viduals and includes a meal preparation area
with the capacity to provide three meals per
day for 150 people.
The shelter's kitchen is an opportunity for
work experience. The homeless will help in the
kitchen and with serving.
"Many people were having conversations
about the situation that homeless people face
and found that the existing facilities were less
than desirable," said Karen Hart, city planning
director.
The services provided by the existing shelter
one block away have become insufficient, said
Larry Friedman, city housing services manag-
er. The new shelter will eventually replace the
old facility.
"The general idea is that this would get rid
of a lot of shelters throughout the area," Hart
said.
An estimated 1,200 homeless people in Ann
Arbor currently rely on different area charities,
such as the Day Shelter on Ashley Street and
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. A night-shel-
ter service provided by various churches on a
rotating schedule also aides Ann Arbor's
homeless.
"The homeless will now have access to
many different services without having to
traipse all over the place," Hart said.
The shelter is the second of three phases in a
five-year plan to place the city's homeless in
permaent homes, Friedman said. The first step,
provided a shelter for homeless families,
located on West Jackson Road in the old Alpha
House. The third part of the plan will provide
permanent housing for people as they move out
of the shelters.
Various non-profit organizations involved
with the Washtenaw Housing Alliance in con-
junction with the Washtenaw Shelter Associa-
tion have contribtued donations for the project.
Last July, Lori Sipes, a Smith Group architect
hired by the county, submitted plans for the
building. The city planning committee and vari-
ous city departments then reviewed the plans.
Despite the general community approval of
the project, complaints have been made ab'out
the shelter's location, which will be in olose
proximity to a residential area.
"People who live close to the facility arenot
totally thrilled," Hart said. "But we are makng
an effort to acknowledge anything that happens
in shelters that is negative."
A new look
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Man sentenced for allowing
access to gun useci to 1(1
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FLINT (AP) - The man accused
of allowing a 6-year-old boy access
to the gun police say was used to
shoot first-grader Kayla Rolland was
sentenced yesterday to 2-15 years in
pnson.
Jamelle James, 20, was charged
with leaving a .32-caliber semiauto-
matic pistol in a shoe bok in his bed-
room. Police say the boy then took the
gun the night before the Feb. 29 shoot-
ing at Buell Elementary School in
Mount Morris Township, just north of
Flint.
"It vindicates this little girl's death,"
Genesee County Prosecutor Arthur
Busch said.
Circuit Court Judge Judith Fullerton
sentenced James to at least 2 years,
with the first nine months to be served
in a federal prison.
He will be eligible for parole after 2
years.
Before Fullerton handed down
her sentence, James raised his voice
at Kayla's father, Ricky Rolland,
who was seated in the courtroom,
saying "He don't know me to talk
about me like that. I don't appreci-
ate that."
Minutes earlier, Kayla's father made
a victim's statement in which he chas-
tised James for leaving the gun where
the boy could find it.
"I'm still hurt," Rolland said. "My
whole family's still hurt."
James later apologized to Rolland.
"I'm sorry about the loss of his
daughter. I know I've got to do my
time," James told the court.
Kayla's mother, Veronica McQueen,
was not present at the sentencing. She
said in a faxed statement that she knew
it was her right to be present and to
speak, but that she chose to leave the
matter "to the wise discretion of the
trial judge."
The boy who allegedly shot Kayla
was living with James, his older
brother and an uncle in what prose-
cutors described as a "flophouse"
where guns and drugs were
exchanged. His mother left the boys
at the house a week before the
shooting after being evicted from
her home.
James accepted a plea deal last
month, just before jury selection
was to begin in his Circuit Court
trial. Under the agreement, James
withdrew his innocent plea and
instead pleaded no contest to the
charge, which is punishable by up to
15 years in prison.
A no contest plea isn't an admission
of guilt but is treated as such for sen-
tencing purposes.
Defense attorney Robert Polasek
said James accepted the proposed plea
agreement against his advice, adding
that he thought the facts would Pave
supported an innocent verdict.
"This was very unfortunate-every
unfortunate chain of events;" Pojasek
said during the sentencing hearitg. "I
know my client pleaded no contest, but
I don't believe he's the only culpable
person here.'
Busch has admitted it would shave
been difficult to prove the case against
James, who has been held in the Gene-
see County Jail since his arrest March
2.
- "Considering all the experts that
thought I couldn't win this, nowjhe's
going to prison. This is a good result,"
Busch said.
The boy, now 7, was too young to be
charged in Kayla's death. He told
investigators that he was only trying to
scare the girl and that the shooting was
an accident.
The boys' uncle, Sir Marcus Win-
frey, also lived at the house. He plead-
ed guilty in July to possessing the
stolen handgun used in Kayla's shoot-
ing- a point Polasek said he would
have raised in his defense of Janes,
had the case gone to trial.
A federal grand jury on March 16
indicted James, Winfrey and a third
man, Robert Morris III, on charts of
possessing stolen weapons and using
illegal drugs while possessing a
firearm.
MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily
The Michigan Theater's new marquee, part of its renovation was unveiled last
week.
Grand Valley State
president steps aside
after 30-year career
I U
ALLENDALE (AP) - Arend D.
"Don" Lubbers announced yesterday
that he will retire next year after serv-
ing more than three decades as Grand
Valley State University's top adminis-
trator.
Lubbers has been the school's pres-
ident since January 1969, longer than
any other current president of a public
university in the nation, GVSU
spokesman Stephen Ward said.
Lubbers made the retirement
announcement during his annual State
of the University speech to the school's
Board of Control. His last day as presi-
dent will be June 30.
The board already has set into
motion a plan to begin looking for his
successor. A search committee will
submit a list of three finalists to the
board by March 15.
Lubbers, 69, a Holland native, is
only the second president that the
school has had since being chartered
as Grand Valley State College in 1963.
He replaced James Zumberge, who
would serve as president of the Uni-
versity of Southern California from
1980-91.
The main campus of GVSU is in
Allendale. The rapidly growing uni-
versity also has branch campuses in
Grand Rapids and Holland, and educa-
tion centers in Muskegon and Traverse
City. Its fall enrollment of 18,579 stu-
dents is up 6 percent from fall 1999
and 600 percent higher than when
Lubbers took office.
He said after the meeting that he
started thinking seriously about
retirement early this summer, as
work wrapped up on the Richard
M. DeVos Center, the centerpiece
of a S60 million expansion of the
school's downtown Grand Rapids
campus.
"The DeVos Center was such a
big project, I said, after that's fin-
ished, I'm going to retire sometime,
then I didn't really think about it
again until after" the center was
completed, Lubbers said.
During his tenure as president,
GVSU has established schools of busi-
ness, nursing, education, social work,
health sciences, engineeringand com-
munication. In addition, the universi-
ty's programs in music, art, chemistry,
education, social work, business and
nursing have earned professional
accreditation.
Lubbers credited his administrative
longevity to the support he received
from the board and to the general feel-
ing of unity among the faculty and
staff through the years.
s p
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