Page 4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, August 6, 1985
City schools protected in court
LANSING, (UPI) - The Michigan Court of Appeals, The appeals court said the district is immune "because
reversing its previous decision, ruled yesterday the Ann it was involved in an activity authorized by law, i.e.,
Arbor Public Schools may not be sued over a janitor's operation of a school district, when the...conduct oc-
alleged sexual assault on a student. curred."
But the court said the girl's teacher and her principal It also said the district is not indirectly liable.
are not protected by governmental immunity. "The factual allegations in this case do not indicate that
(the janitor) was acting in the course of his authority as a
THE APPEALS court originally had ruled that neither janitor, when he committed the" acts.
the schools nor their employees were immune from the A dissenter said, "An employer is liable for an em-
suit, brought by Ruth Collins on behalf of her minor ployee's assault if the employer knew or should have
daughter. known of the employee's propensities to commit the
The court was forced to reconsider, however, in light of assault."
the Michigan Supreme Court's landmark ruling on gover- In holding the teacher and principal not immune, the
nmental immunity last year. appeals court said supervision of a student and student ac-
It is claimed that the girl was sexually assaulted on tivities is a "ministerial act," adding individuals "are not
several occasions on school property. The specific assault clothed with immunity if...supervisory duties are
mentioned in the suit took place during school hours. negligently performed."
IN BRIEF
From United Press International
Causeof
air crash
remains
unknown
DALLAS (UPI) - Investigators
yesterday pressed to determine
whether wind shear, pilot error, light-
ning or a weather warning system
failure caused Delta Flight 191 to
crash, killing 133 people.
The Dallas County Medical
Examiner's office, using dental and
medical records and information
provided by relatives, had positively
identified 53 bodies.
"I THINK it's going real well," said
Pat Epley, a secretary to one of the
doctors who volunteered to answer
questions from the victims' relatives.
"This is a monumental task."
Flight 191 from Fort Lauderdale,
Fla., bounced over a freeway clogged
with commuters Friday night, skid-
ded across open ground and erupted
in flames just short of the runway at
Dallas-Fort Worth International Air-
pert.
The crash - the fifth-worst in U.S.
aviation history - killed 133 people,
injured 31 others and scattered cargo
and pieces of the Lockheed L-1011
along a quarter-mile path. The dead
included a motorist decapitated by
the jumbo jet.
Chelsea gunman frees
hostage after 5 hours
CHELSEA - A gunman who
wantedtelevision coverage and
psychiatric help held a gasoline
station attendant hostage for more
than five hours yesterday before
releasing him unharmed and
surrendering to police.
During the standoff the suspect,
Kevin Schrader, 23, of Chelsea,
threatened to blow up the Mobil
station unless bis demands for
$20,000 in cash and a mobile home
for getaway were met.
Police said the standoff began
shortly after 4 a.m. when the gun-
man poured gasoline around his
car, which was parked in front of
the station, and then seized the at-
tendant, Richard Gashen, 32, of
Jackson,
Schrader called Wendy Berry, a
producer at WJBK-TV in South-
field, and told her his demands.
When she asked why he did it, he
replied, "Just for the hell of it,"
she said.
Experts label bomb
blast a 'freak' accident
CHECOTAH, Okla. - Military
and civilian experts yesterday said
the explosion of three 2,000-pound
bombs in a fire following a traffic
wreck on an interstate highway
was a "freak" accident, though it
might prompt a review of tran-
sportation procedures.
Clare Thomas, spokeswoman for
the McAlester Army Ammunition
Depot, said the Army has begun an
investigation to determine whether
stringent safety measures were
followed.
"It's all under investigation,"
Thomas said.
Baker prepares to
face U.S. governors
BOISE, Idaho - Treasury
Secretary James Baker prepared
yesterday to face governors from
across the nation who are angered
by a key element in the ad-
ministration's tax plan -
elimination of deductions for state
and local taxes.
Baker, the highest-ranking
member of the administration to
attend the 77th annual governors
conference, was certain to run into
a barrage of criticism at a late af-
ternoon session.
Kansas Democratic Gov. John
Carlin, said that two-thirds of the
governors opposed a provision in
the tax bill that would eliminate
deductions for state and local
taxes.
Challenger's last day
stamped successful
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -
Challenger's astronauts picked up
s "dazzling" bonus day of sun
gazing yesterday and prepared to
return home from a mission stam-
ped a superb success after a start
that came close to failure.
The shuttle is scheduled to glide
to a 3:45 p.m. EDT landing today
at Edwards Air Force Base in
California's Mojave Desert after
logging nearly 3.3 million miles in
fight days of orbital travel around
Earth.
Chief scientist Eugene Urban
said each of the flight's 13 ex-
periments has conducted impor-
tant research and in all, about 80
percent to 85 percent of the objec-
tives were achieved.
Bolivian government
elects new president
LA PAZ, Bolivia - Victor Paz
Estenssoro, 77, was named
president of Bolivia by a divided
Congress yesterday even though
he finished second in the presiden-
tial elections.
The decision was protested by
former right-wing military ruler
Gen. Hugo Banzer, who won the
July 14 presidential election with a
bare 2.15 percent margin over the
conservative Paz Estenssoro.
Congress was forced to choose
the new president because no can-
didate in the field of 18 received an
absolute majority in the voting last
month.
Pooch Goggles Associated
A 9-week old puppy sports a pair of custom-made riding goggles in Casa
Grande recently. Dog and owner were on a cross state motorcycle ride
and the gogles keep the wind out of the dogs eyes as he rides in a pouch
strapped to his owner's chest.
Sixteen of the injured remained la Y
hospitalized, six in critical condition. S mu x y looks into fla.hings
GB. Patrick Bursley, who directed accessible and very difficult to
the first two days of the National (ContinuedfromPage 1) secure. We find the Frieze Building
Transportation Safety Board in- Broner. doors propped open five or six days
vestigation, Sunday said preliminary FITZGERALD said she wants more per week " he said v
findings "of very raw data" show that security measures taken to keep Although public safety patrols are
"there was no major malfunction of a people out of the building. "The doors giving the building "a little more at-
system of the airplane." are not consistently locked," she said. tention," the people in the building
He said an air traffic controller who "Some of it is the responsibility of have to shut and lock the doors to keep
warned Delta Flight 191 pilot Edward staff coming in and out to lock the out unauthorized people, Heatley ad-
Connors to pull up may have seen the doors, but it is up to security to see ded.
plane after it first hit the ground about that the doors are locked consistently. Last spring, Broner was flashed
1,800 feet north of Texas 114, which "I want secure working con- twice by the same man. Both times
runs north of the airport. There was ditions," she added. the man was in a stairwell and had
no record the - order was But Heatley said security is a propped a door open to draw attention
.ackpi , ged;; 4 0 * , , ,pxgbgm becqutse tle ilding is 'very," to himself, Broner said..
Vol. XCV - \o lii.
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