NEW Wednesday, July 31, 1996-- Thd Michigan Daily --
S to entertain, disperse safety infonnation
3
By Katie Wang
Daily News Editor
This week the Ann Arbor Police
Department and the University
Department of Public Safety will be
hosting events to celebrate the National
Night Out on Aug. 6. The celebration is
a nationwide effort to strengthen rela-
tions between'citizens and law enforce-
ment officials in crime prevention.
More than 8,600 communities and 26
million people are expected to partici-
pate nationwide.
This Friday, AAPD will kick off the
celebration by throwing a "going away
party" for drugs and crime. The event
will take place from 6-9 p.m. on Main
Street.
"We want to heighten awareness in
crime and drug prevention," said Adele
Akouri, AAPD crime prevention spe-
cialist. "We want to unite the neighbor-
hoods and to help better the police and
department liaison."
Akouri said she did not think rela-
tions between the community and
AAPD were weak, despite the criticism
the force received for its handling of the
June Ku Klux Klan rally. "I think the
police has a lot of support from the
community," she said.
Akouri also said the city's crime rate
has been decreasing every year. In June,
the city was recognized as the fifth-best
city in the country to live in, its low
crime rate distinguishing it.
DPS is scheduled to celebrate
National Night Out on the North
Campus Diag from 5-8 p.m.
"Partnerships between law enforce-
ment agencies and community mem-
bers are crucial in the fight against
crime," said DPS Director Leo Heatley
in a statement. "National Night Out
provides an excellent opportunity to
develop those partnerships and work to
create a safer community."
Information booths will be set up by
the Sexual Awareness Prevention and
Awareness Center, DPS, the Domestic
Violence Project/Safehouse and a booth
on bicycle and traffic safety. In addition
to information booths, participants will
receive an opportunity to become an
"official" junior police officer.
This is the fifth year that Ann Arbor
has observed this event. Last year, the
AAPD and the city received national
recognition for its program and promises
an even better program this year.
Among other events, the city has
scheduled a karate demonstration and
an environmental magic show.
'U' to provide state residents with health advice
Kiosk project will offer
.................. .limited WWW access
By Anita Chik
Daily Staff Reporter
With a touch of buttons on a comput-
er screen, the community can have
access to the most recent health infor-
mation. The University Comprehensive
Cancer Center will develop computer
health kiosk machines that will give
people the opportunity to receive
BOHDAN DAMIAN CAP/Daily advice on any health-related questions.
The art of music Dr. Victor Strecher, who heads the
Folksinger Andie Russo entertained the Art Fair crowds last Saturday. She was Health Kiosk project, said, "We came up
one of the many musical performes at the 1996 Ann Arbor Art Fairs. with this idea because in this country, 35
million are actually using the World
Wide Web and 200 million people do not
ew indigenous garden unveied have access to it. We build the bridge
between the have and have-not."
Strecher said they plan to put kiosk
machines in libraries, churches, super-
markets, shopping malls and other pub-
lic areas. He said he expected to expand
the scope and number of kiosks in the
network and increase the depths of
health information available for people.
Strecher said the interactive kiosk
system is going to work like automated
bank teller machines, which have
touch-activated screens and printers.
Strecher said the project will cost
about $1 million and has become part of
the state's Community Health budget
under the approval of Gov. John Engler.
According to Comprehensive Cancer
Center Director Max Wicha, seven dif-
ferent schools in the University partici-
pated in the project, but the School of
Public Health and Medical School were
the two major contributors.
"We hope (by) setting up kiosks in
state, people in all areas (will) have
access to information in a more enter-
taining way. (The kiosk system) encour-
ages people to seek out medical help
when they need it," Wicha said.
Wicha said the center first targeted
the kiosk system in preventing cancer
diseases, and later further developed the
project to provide a variety of informa-
tion to help people engage in healthier
behavior. He said the kiosk machines
will include health information such as
diet, exercise and smoking facts.
Wicha said the center plans to activate
the machines in the next six months.
"We need to demonstrate to the state
that this is something helpful and peo-
ple will adopt more healthier behavior.
We will develop this project to become
more extensive ...," Wicha said.
By Anita Chik
Daily Staff Reporter
Many butterflies and bees flew in
between flocks of visitors who came to
celebrate the opening of the new
Gateway Garden at the Matthaei
Botanical Garden on Saturday.
The celebration began with a short
"eech by the main garden designer and
assistant curator, David Michener.
"We came to the realization that we
have an opportunity to use new world
plants, plants from all of the America
and in domesticated, cultivated forms,
as a transition from the natural wealth
of the New World to the more tradition-
al graden centered style of the
European," Michener said. "We want
this place to be a place that you can
njoy, come back to and see how it
atures through the years into being a
special part of Ann Arbor."
Michener said the garden challenged
the community to explore the meaning
of an American garden. The theme of
the garden, "New World Plants:
Journeys through Horticulture and
Civilization," allows people to learn
more about plants from North, South
and Central America, he said.
Garden co-designer Jim Dickinson
entione how economically signifi-
cant a lot of native American plants are
in history. He gave examples such as
tobacco, com and tomatoes. He said the
garden is a transition between the wild
and a setting where native animals and
plants can interact.
"Another advantage of this garden is
the diversity of plant material in here.
The diversity allows us to avoid using
pesticides in this garden and allows a
natural balance between predators and
prey," said Dickinson.
The Matthaei Botanical Garden
Associate Director Brian Klatt said,
"Everything that you see in the garden
is native to the Americans. (The garden)
has a lot of plants people have in their
gardens. It brings a greater appreciation
to the American public that what they
are seeing is native to their area."
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