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Ann Arbor, Michigan

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

michigandailycom


* ELECTION DAY 2009

*

Millage to up
taxes to fund
area schools

2 contested
council seats

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shtenaw County for the upcoming year, will then
be distributed to the county's 10
hools are in dire districts on a per-pupil basis.
Todd Roberts, superintendent
nancial str aits, of Ann Arbor Public Schools,
explained that Washtenaw Coun-
ty's schools have faced significant
funding issues for several years.
By DYLAN CINTI According to Roberts, AAPS's
DailyStaffReporter cost-cutting measures have
included reducing staff and put-
'ed with mounting budget ting a cap on health care contribu-
alls, Washtenaw County tions for employees.
Is are reaching out to tax- Despite those efforts, Roberts
s for help. said, the millage was unavoidable.
Regional Enhancement "This is the only option to
ge Proposal, which will increase revenue (adequately),"
ted on today, seeks to pro- Roberts said.
funding for public schools In August, the county school
ywide. If it passes, the mill- district's Board of Education
ill increase property taxes voted to place the millage on the
shtenaw County by $2 for Nov. 3 election ballot.
$1,000 of taxable value Since that vote, the district has
g the next five years. That faced substantial new cuts.
y, projected at $30 million See MILLAGE, Page 8

Three candidates
running unopposed
in election as well
By BETHANY BIRON
Daily StaffReporter
Ann Arbor residents will head
to the polls today for the general
city election, where they will vote
to seat candidates for two-year
terms in each of the city's five
wards.
Only two of the five seats are
contested, placing the focus of
this year's elections on the 1st
Ward, between incumbent Sabra
Briere (D-Ward 1) and indepen-
dent Mitchell Ozog, and the 4th
Ward, which features incumbent
Marcia Higgins (D-Ward 4) and
LSA senior Hatim Elhady.
Elhady, who is running as an
independent, said the issues he
dealt with as a student at the Uni-
versity - limited transportation

and shady landlords, among other
things - emphasized to him the
need for student representation
on the council.
He said he spoke with many
Ann Arbor residents about their
concerns, which helped him make
the ultimate decision to run in the
4th Ward.
"It was not only the feelings of
neglect toward me as a student
and resident, but neglect for the
homeowners," Elhady said. "We
all shared that commonality for
issues ... and that motivated me to
run."
Elhady believes that because
he is intimately involved with the
University - as a student and a
former member of the Michigan
Student Assembly - he has a leg
up on his opponent when it comes
to representing the constituents of
the 4th Ward. The ward extends
from East Madison Street south-
ward past Ann Arbor-Saline Road
and includes the Fletcher and
See CITY ELECTIONS, Page 8

ItO MOCH/Oaily
LSA sophomore Kaitlin Henry of the College Democrats hands out election litera-
ture to students on the Diag yesterday afternoon as part of a get out the vote effort.


CITY COUNCIL
,City officials get 90 days
to mull over Argo Dam

CAMPUS CRIME
This Halloween, Elm St. block
party ends with brutal beating

State environmental
agency says city must
make minor fix now
By JENNA SKOLLER
Daily News Editor
The Ann Arbor City Attorney's
Office announced yesterday that it
reached a partial compromise with
the Michigan Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality over safety con-
cerns regarding the water quality
of Argo Dam.
With this agreement, the DEQ
agreed to a 90-day stay of its order
for the city to either repair or
remove the dam. The agreement
did, however, also include a tempo-
rary, minor fix that had to be made
to the dam immediately.
The dam was initially built in
1920 to create hydropower for Ann

Arbor. Today, it serves as a barrier
to the natural flow of the Huron
River, which makes the body of
water before it, called Argo Pond,
available for recreational activi-
ties - like practice for the five Ann
Arbor-area rowing teams including
the Michigan Men's Club Rowing
Team.
A letter was sent from the DEQ to
City Administrator Roger Fraser on
Aug. 6 thatsaid the dam's embank-
ment was in "poor condition due
to seepage of water through the
earthen embankment and due to
the extensive growth of trees and
brush on the embankment."
The letter demanded the city
either remove or repair the dam by
April 2010, in addition to fixingthat
minor repair in the dam. It stated
that larger repairs must be made
by Dec. 31, 2010 or the dam must be
removed by Dec. 31, 2012.
DEQ officials had feared the

embankment of the pond was at
risk of flooding, which City Coun-
cilmember Mike Anglin (D-Ward
5) says is no longer a concern
because the city can now control
the amount of water going into the
headrace - or a secondary body of
water next tosthe pond that the dam
also funnels water into.
As was previously reported in
a Sept. 27 article in The Michigan
Daily, DEQ had wanted the flow
into the headrace stopped so that
"embankment deficiencies" could
be better monitored there.
The city was initially given until
Nov. 1 to block the flow into the
headrace.
The letter sent to Fraser in
August resulted in a large debate
over whether to remove or repair
the dam. The discussion was tabled
by City Council in late October, and
city officials instead focused on
See ARGO DAM, Page 8

Man hospitalized
after trying to drive
through street
By STEPHANIE STEINBERG
Daily StaffReporter
The annual Halloween block.
party "Nightmare on Elm Street"
ended Saturday night with a bru-
tal beating and the hospitalization
of a man trying to drive his vehicle
down the crowded street located
east of Central Campus.
A 19-year-old male was driv-
ing down Elm Street Saturday
night when a group of people -
reportedly in their late teens and
early twenties - started to throw
objects at his Mazda, Ann Arbor
Police Sgt. Mike Lance said.
Lance could not confirm if the
driver was a University student.
According to the police report
of the incident, several individu-
als became upset because the man
was trying to drive through the
crowd. The group began pounding

on the car and attempted to open
the doors and get inside.
One subject succeeded in open-
ing the front passenger door and
began yelling at the driver, who
then stepped out of his vehicle,
according to the report. The sub-
ject then began punching the driv-
er in the face and knocked him to
the ground. Five more individuals
then joined in the beating.
Lance said the Ann Arbor Police
Department received a call at 11:18
p.m. and appeared on the scene
at 11:21 p.m. When police arrived,
the victim had been placed on
the porch of a nearby residence.
He was given initial medical care
before being transferred to the
University Hospital.
LSA junior Jayant Krishnan was
on Elm Street before the incident
occurred. He said a large crowd
was forming and people were get-
ting rowdy.
"It was a huge group of kids
who were just causing lots of shit
on the street," he said. "There
were like 30 kids just kind of
wreaking havoc."

Krishnan said a. man also hit
him in the face before the driver
was beaten up. He said he believed
the individual who hit him was
the same man who began beating
the driver.
Krishnan said he saw a bunch
of people jumping on the victim's
car and throwing bottles at the
vehicle. When the driver stepped
out of his car, Krishnan said the
driver was "gang beat by a bunch
of kids."
"They threw him on the ground
and literally gang beat him," he
said. "The last thing I saw was a
kid tryingto curb stomp him."
Krishnan could not describe the
victim, but said he looked injured.
"All I saw was his face covered
in blood," he said.
Kinesiology sophomore Emily
Bonchi was walking down Elm
Street while the victim was being
attacked. She said she saw a group
of about 15 people participating in
the fight.
"Some of them were beating
him up, some of them were break-
See ELM STREET, Page 8

GOING GREEN (AND RED)

Much-beloved Ross administrator
Koonce dies suddenly at age of 45

Robert Koonce
remembered for
always putting
students first
By MALLORY BEBERMAN
Daily StaffReporter
Robert Koonce, the gregarious
director of BBA Student Affairs
whose wisdom, sense of humor
and distinct brand of "tough love"
allowed him to forge deep connec-
tions with students and educators

throughout campus and in neigh-
boring communities, died sudden-
ly Sunday morning.
Koonce was 45 years old and is
survived by his wife, Angela, and
both of his parents.
He was not admitted to the Uni-
versity Hospital and the cause of
his death remains undisclosed.
However, at his weekly press con-
ference yesterday, Michigan head.
football coach Rich Rodriguez,
who had knownKooncesinceboth
men worked at Tulane University,
said Koonce died of a heart attack.
Students and faculty who knew
Koonce describe him as someone

who had a great sense of humor
and cared deeply about improving
student affairs.
BBA Program Faculty Direc-
tor Scott Moore said Koonce was
always "talking to students, talk-
ing to staff and faculty around
the University, trying to figure
out what's going good and what's
going bad about students and
bringing back ideas to me about
making things better."
"He just kept thinking about
students, kept looking for the
next opportunity to bond with
students," added Moore, who
See KOONCE, Page 8

AARON AUGSBURGER/Dail
An employee from Holiday Lighting Services puts up lights on the corner of East Liberty and South Division Streets last night.
This year Ann Arbor will be using exclusively LED lights that use 80 percent less energy than traditional holiday lights.

WEATHER HI: 43
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