LOCAILISTATt The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 15, 1995 5 Kevorkian arrives at court wearing shackles, chain Woman has property stolen at football game A woman reported stolen property to the Department of Public Safety during last Saturday's Michigan football game against Memphis. The woman said her fannypack, sun- glasses and Sony Walkman were taken from the women's restroom in section 44. DPS has no suspects. Leaky carport roof causes damage A 1995 green Mazda was stained by an unknown liquid dripping from the roof of the Fletcher Carport Wednes- day, according to DPS reports. The damage reportedly occurred around 7:30 a.m. Two males arrested on warrants Two males, with outstanding war- rants for their arrest, were taken into custody early yesterday morning on East Huron Street, DPS reports indi- cate. The two males were wanted by the Detroit Police for multiple crimes. The 28-year-old male is wanted for three misdemeanor warrants and the 23-ear- old male was wanted for felonious as- sault. sAfter the DPS confirmed the war- rants, the males were taken into custody and turned over to the 6th precinct. Egg thrown at car A vehicle moving down Tappan just before 5 a.m. yesterday morning was struck by eggs, a caller reported. .The alleged assailants were three males, though when DPS officers checked the area they were unable to locate any suspects. DPS said no permanent damage was expected to have occured to the vehicle, bht that the motorist would check the car. Equipment stolen from campus What do a microscope, a calculator a cello and a purse have in common? They were all stolen this week. 0 Three microscopes were reported stolen from the Medical Science Unit It, Tuesday morning. The caller said that the theft occurred sometime after Aug. 22. The microscopes were valued at $1,200. 0 Also on Tuesday, acallertold DPS that his calculator was stolen from the third floor of the Shapiro Library. It is valued at $100. DPS officials said that there is one suspect: A white male, approximately 22 years old, with no facial hair. The suspect was wearing a white T-shirt and white coat. * A cello was reported stolen last Monday from the Earl V. Moore Build- ing, said DPS officials. The caller said that the theft occurred around 5:30 p.m. last Friday. There were no signs of forced entry and there are no suspects. The cello is valued at $1,200. *A Trek mountain bike was stolen from the racks in front of Mary Markley residence hall Wednesday afternoon. e A University Hospital employee's nurse was stolen from her locker at University Hospital Wednesday morn- ing. -Complied by Daily Staff Reporter Zachary M. Raimi. PONTIAC (AP) - Dr. Jack Kevorkian arrived at court in homemade stocks and a ball and chain yesterday for a hearing on assisted suicide charges. "Nobody with brains should take this seriously," Kevorkian told reporters at the Oakland County courthouse. "It's nuts." Kevorkian, a retired pathologist who advocates doctor help for the severely ill who want to com- mit suicide, was wearing laminated cardboard stocks, his arms and head stuck through the holes. "Kevorkian is accepting his medieval punish- ment," said his attorney, Geoffrey Fieger. Kevorkian also wore signs on his front and back. "Common law of Middle Ages. What's next, the Inquisition?" read the one in front. And on the back: "Think this is a circus? You're right. But blame the seven Supreme Court jesters." The seven-member Michigan Supreme Court ruled last year that assisted suicide could be pros- ecuted as a five-year felony in Michigan under common law. Prosecuting Kevorkian under centuries-old com- mon law is a "travesty of justice," Fieger said. He said that if the government wants to rely on common law, it should follow other traditional measures for suicide. "They should exhume the bodies, drive a wooden stake through the heart and bury them under the public highway," Fieger said. Kevorkian, 67, took off the items before enter- ing the courtroom. He was arraigned on two counts of assisted sui- cide, a five-year felony under common law provi- sions. When Kevorkian stood mute, Circuit Judge David Breck entered an innocent plea for him. The judge also set a tentative trial date of April 1, 1996. "April Fool's Day - I think it's got poetic justice," Fieger said as he left the hearing. Breck gave both sides until Oct. 13 to file motions in the case. The charges stem from the 1991 deaths of two seriously ill women. Sherry Miller, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, inhaled carbon monoxide. Marjorie Wantz used a device to inject lethal drugs. He originally was accused of murdering them, but a judge dismissed those charges and ordered him tried on assisted suicide counts. He already faces a Feb. 12 trial before another Oakland County judge in two 1993 deaths. Assistant Prosecutor Gregory Townsend ac- knowledged cases involving Kevorkian stir emo- tions, but said he was confident a jury would follow the law and find that Kevorkian helped the women commit suicide illegally. Study: Work tasksraiseiiskof premature birth STEPHANIE GRACE LIM/Daily Staring back Andreas Michas, an LSA first-year student, stares at a marble sculpture In the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology yesterday. Engler's Renassnc Zones to By Cathy Boguslasid Daily Staff Reporter Premature birth is one of the leading causes of infant mortality in the United States, but some University researchers believe they have foundways for women to reduce this risk. Standing for more than four hours, working more than eight hours per day and exposure to stress and noise can all be factors in premature births, said Bar- bara Luke, associate professor of ob- stetrics and gynecology at the Univer- sity Medical Center. "People tend to take pregnancy for granted because it happens so often - four million times a year. But it's really magic, and shouldn't be taken for granted," Luke said. "We need to have some old-fashioned common sense and take care of ourselves during pregnancy, because once premature labor has started, it's very hard to stop." The study gives guidelines for women, their physicians and public policy-makers, said Timothy R. B. Johnson, chair of obstetrics and gyne- cology and senior author of the study. Generally, pregnant women should not work more than 40 hours per week, or eight hours per day, he said. Limits on women's working time depend largely on what type of work women do, Luke said. "If you're a telephone-line repair person and you're climbing up tele- phone poles, you may need to cut back on your work sooner," she said. "If you're a receptionist in a fairly quiet office, you may be able to work up until your due date." Although the study only covered paid work, Luke cautions that women must cut back on all activity, not just time on the job. "Prematurity is the leading cause of infant mortality in the U.S.," Robinson said. Premature babies suffer from nu- merous health problems, and prema- ture delivery can increase health risks to the mother, he said. Other factors, such as a history of premature births, miscarriages, or still- born babies also can increase a woman's chances ofdelivering prematurely, Luke said. The study, published today in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, surveyed 1,470 nurses. It found that pregnant women who stand from four to six hours at a time increase their risk of premature delivery by 80 percent. Nurses were chosen for the study because they are "a homogeneous group of patients, they have a fairly rigorous work schedule, and as OB- GYN nurses they have a level of so- phistication that allows them to an- swer questions not necessarily tar- geted to the lowest common denomi- nator. Also, nurses probably have a fairly good memory of their own ob- stetrical history," Johnson said. be under construction LANSING (AP) - Bulldozers and construction crews should be flooding into some of Michigan's most blighted areas by next spring, Gov. John Engler predicted yesterday as he touted bills creating low-tax zones. Engler joined legislative leaders at a news conference to discuss details of the Renaissance Zones the governor first proposed in May. "I think you're going to see investment literally come pouring in," Engler said. The governor predicted that the plan to waive taxes in selected Renaissance Zones would settle once and for all the question of whether cutting taxes cre- ates economic growth. House Speaker Paul Hillegonds (R- Holland) said other states will copy the idea. "We don't know if every pilot Re- naissance Zone will succeed, but it's a risk well worth taking," he said. Senate Majority Leader Dick Posthumus (R-Alto) said half of the 18 bills setting up the zones will be intro- duced in the Senate Tuesday. The mea- sures could be on the governor's desk by Thanksgiving, he said. Engler said the state could have ap- plications approved in time for the spring construction season. The governor's proposal will let each county, plus Detroit and Grand Rapids, submit an application for a Renaissance Zone, for a total of 85. Up to eight will be selected- five in urban areas and three in rural areas. In those areas, major state and local taxes on businesses and individuals, except the sales tax, would be waived for up to 15 years, including a multi-year period to phase back in the taxes. The state would make up property taxes for schools based on existing property values. Local communities wouldhaveto give up the revenue from other taxes. A community could include up to 5,000 contiguous acres in its zone and cover commercial, industrial or resi- dential properties, or all three. Engler said that will not be costly to local governments since the blighted areas produce little revenue now. He compared prospective areas to a bare spot on the carpet. "There's nothing there. There's weeds, there's litter," he said. Engler said minor changes were made in the proposal since it was unveiled in by spring May. For example, taxes obligated to repay bonds would not be waived. And landlords would have to submit an affi- davit that they are in compliance with housing codes to get the tax break for rental housing. Doug Rothwell, head of the Michi- gan Jobs Commission, said he expects 15 to 25 applications. Suspects companions to be key witnesses DETROIT (AP) - The government will not charge four companions of bridge death suspect Martell Welch Jr., although they will be the main witnesses in his murder trial, Wayne County Prosecutor John O'Hair said yesterday. Welch, 19, is scheduled to appear for arraignment in Detroit Recorder's Court on Friday in the Aug.19 death of Deletha Word, 33. Witnesses say he attacked her after a traffic accident and she then jumped to her death in the Detroit River. Welch faces an open murder charge, meaning he could be convicted of first- or second-degree murder. If convicted of first-degree murder, he faces an au- tomatic sentence of life imprisonment without parole. O'Hair said his office decided to use the four companions as witnesses, rather than charge them, because they had little to do with the death and it was more important to build a strong case against Welch. Two of the companions tried to re- strain Welch, and the most any of them did was vandalize Word's car, O'Hair said. "Welch is the egregious offender," O'Hair said. "The proper focus of this case is the brutal death of Deletha Word and the outrageous actions of the one individual responsible for it." Had the companions been charged, they likely would have refused to tes- tify on grounds of self-incrimination, O'Hair said. Word's death attracted nationwide attention, in part because of accounts that dozens of onlookers did nothing and some even cheered as the woman was dragged from her car and beaten. Witnesses have said a few teen-agers may have cheered but that most people were horrified at the beating and afraid to intervene. Truck driver to face trial in death of A2 city employee &" ...University students may be able within ten years to study, write, listen to music, poetry and instruc- tors, and even watch filmstrips in study booths linked to computers. . "The computer will be used as a iaster teaching machine and will supply the student with whatever subject matter the teacher has en- tered into the system." The Associated Press A truck driver has been ordered to stand trial in the death of a city worker who was changing light bulbs in a traf- fic signal when he was hit was by an oversized delivery van. Ronald W. Miller, 42, is accused of sending Stephen Hantula plunging to hisdeath June 14 afterhittingthe "cherry picker" Hantula was standing in while working about 12 feet above the street. Hantula, 41, who was not secured to the bucket with a safety strap or wear- ing a hard hat, suffered a broken neck and a fractured skull in the fall and never regained consciousness before dying several hours later. Jeffrey Anderson, one of four wit- nesses during a preliminary hearing, said he was stopped at the intersection and saw Miller's truck hit the bucket. "All I was watching was the truck and the man in the bucket," Anderson testified. "The truck was going too fast through that intersection." Assistant Prosecutor Julia Owdziej called two police witnesses, Detective Sgt. Dennis Betz said he spoke with Miller about an hour after the crash, and Miller said he was about 150 feet away from the intersection "when he realized his truck would not go underneath the bucket." District Judge Elizabeth Pollard- Hines ordered Miller to stand trial in on a charge of negligent homicide, a felony that carries a maximum penalty two years in prison'if convicted. { 1#. I FRIDAY sored by department of geological iArchery Club, 930-0189, Sports sciences, Chemistry Building, Coliseum, Hill Street, 7-9 p.m. Room 1640, 4 p.m. Q~ "Prin Oda ie at toatami trail." t'1 a.-aw nw e . na..ti :ne:- by Hillel, Michigan Union, 7 p.m. 0 "HIlel Rededicatlon Ceremony," sponsored by Hillel, Hillel, 1429 Hill Street i n1m. """