1991-12-09; Central Michigan Life

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News
In Brief
STATE
Jackson escapee
still on run
JACKSON, Mich. — A
nationwide search was on
Sunday after a 24-year-old
man facing trial in four
states on charges including
rape, kidnapping and murder escaped from the Jackson
County Jail.
Gregory Allen Figei used a
makeshift knife to overpower
a guard Saturday morning,
said Sherri Lovitt, an operator at the Jackson County
Sheriffs Department.
Figel forced the guard to
take him through a tunnel
connecting the jail and
county courthouse, Zavislak
said. The guard returned to
the jail unharmed, but the
sheriff couldn't say if the
guard escaped or Was set
free. Guards at the county
jail do not carry guns, Lovitt
said.
Figel, of Adrian, was
believed to be in Tennessee
late Sunday afternoon after a
Jackson man kidnapped
Saturday was found there,
said Assistant Chief Dwight
Osborn of the Jellico, Tenn.,
police. Jellico is about 150
miles northeast of Nashville
on the Kentucky border.
Steen back home
after seizure
CLARK LAKE, Mich. —
Freed hostage Alann Steen
was cheered by friends and
family when he arrived at his
wife's home Sunday after
being released from a hospital where he was treated
after suffering a seizure.
"Finally I got him home,"
Virginia Steen told about 30
people who turned out to welcome her husband. "I
thought last night... I was in
tears knowing all the people
that were here waiting for
him, but finally he's home."
Steen, 52, spoke only
briefly before he and his wife
went into the house, which
was decorated with signs,
ribbons and American flags.
NATIONAL
Defense witness in
Kennedy trial discredited
WEST PALM BEACH,
Fla. — A criminal evidence
expert hired by the defense in
the William Kennedy Smith
rape trial admitted under
cross-examination Sunday
that his testimony was based
on visual examinations and
guesswork.
Henry Lee, chief criminalist of the state of Connecticut, had said the alleged victim's clothing showed no
signs of grass stains or other
damage consistent vsfcth the
struggle on the Kennedy
estate lawn described by the
woman.
INTERNATIONAL
^ Libya claims it will
\ try two agents
%     DAKAR, Senegal — Libya
y will try two men charged by
U.S. and British authorities
in the bombing of Pan Am
% Flight  103  and will deliver
:. the severest punishment —
death — if they are guilty,
Libya's foreign minister said
•\ Sunday.
'%.; Earlier, an official in
£ Libya's Information Ministry
": said the two Libyans went on
£ trial Sunday, but he likened
| the proceeding to an investi-
§ gation rather than a trial.
Compiled from the
Associated Press and staff
.reports
pttrw
Playing for charity
Michigan musicians perform for benefit
Page 8
Double image
Men's hoops splits in weekend tourney
Page 10
CM LIFE wishes all a
happy holiday. CM LIFE
will resume publication
on Wed., Jan. 8,1992
Central
Michigan
LIFE
MONDAY
December 9, 1991
Nancy Lewis-Bogart is one of many handicapper students who find it difficult to get   Around on campus in snowy conditions.
LIFE Photo/Bonnie Morrison
Snow has chairs spinning wheels
Handicappers
have tough time
covering campus
in bad weather
By Brian D. Beli
LIFE Assistant News Fditor
Some students skip classes
because they don't want to
brave blizzards or ice. but
winter conditions prevented one
CMU student from even enrolling in spring semester courses.
Winter campus conditions
and unavailability of handicappers* parking spots prevented
Mount Pleasant sophomore
Nancy Lewis-Bogart from taking classes for spring semester
and might do the same this
year.-
It's currently difficult to get
around campus in her wheelchair and things don't get better
as   winter   progresses.   Lewis-
Snow removal team always ready
By Ken Welsch
LIFE Staff Writer
Rising temperatures might
take care ofsnow removal in the
immediate future, but CMU's
grounds crew workers remain
on call for the next heavy snowfall.
The crew consists of 13
employees. And, depending on
what time snow accumulates,
they take on the task of clearing
campus with a strict set of
priorities, said Earl Morrow,
director of facilities operations
for Facilities Management.
"We have different priorities
for the different pieces of equipment we have and depending on
what time the snow comes,"
Morrow said.
"If the snow falls at night, we
target the parking lots first
because once cars get in them
they're almost impossible to
clear," he said.
The various pieces of equipment used to remove snow
include two front-end loaders,
pick-up and dump trucks loaded
with blades and snowblowers.
Sidewalks and parking
spaces reserved for handicappers also top the priority list, he
said. Building entryways are
not responsibility of the
grounds crew.
"All   of   our   custodians   are
responsible for cleaning the
entrance ways about 14 feet
from the doors." Morrow said.
"The rest we try and do by
machine."
Although the crew has scheduled work hours, employees
sometimes are called on at night
or during weekends to clear
campus snow.
The process of entirely clearing campus can take up to three
days, and often the snow falls at
a rate quicker than workers are
able to clear, he said.
"If we get five inches of snow,
we figure it takes three days
and two nights to clear," Morrow said.
Bogart said.
"If I'm having this much
problem getting around now
and we just had a week of bad
weather, do I want to go through
the hassle to get to class every
day?" she said.
Lewis-Bogart, who first
attended CMU in 1979, lost her
left leg from the knee on down in
an accident on M-20 in February 1989.
Before that, she was a
paremedic for Central Michigan
Community Hospital, 1221
South Drive. She was transporting a patient to St. Mary's
Medical    Center    in    Saginaw
when the ambulance was struck
by a car and rolled. The patient
and car driver were killed.
She has an artificial leg enabling her to walk, but she uses a
wheelchair during the winter
because she is afraid of falling.
A wrheelchair sometimes isn't
enough to get her around,
though.
Thursday on her way to a 9
a.m. class in Pearce Hall, she
didn't have trouble getting her
wheelchair down a snow-
covered incline east of Anspach,
but getting back up the incline
after class was impossible.
"Going down was slippery but
OK," Lewis-Bogart said. "Going
up was two hours later so there
was quite a bit of snow and I
couldn't get up it."
She only was able to make it
up the hill through the assistance of a friend who walked by
stopped to help.
See SNOW Page 2
Trustees face retirement issue
By Karen Emerson
I IFF  Frtitor
No one knows how much success a proposed faculty early
retirement program will bring.
But administrators and leaders across campus seem to agree
the program has potential and
could help solve some money
problems.
"I think the true test of how
successful this is going to be is to
wait and see who wants to take
advantage of it," said Rod Kirk,
Faculty Association president.
The Board of Trustees is
expected to vote on the program
at its Friday meeting. The meeting is  10:30 a.m.  Friday in the
■ "-*"& y..
RIECKER PLACHTA
President's Conference Room in
Bovee University Center.
This is the second time in two
months the issue has come before
the Board for action.
Many people were shocked and
chagrined after the Board of
Trustees' Nov.  8 meeting when
Board members delayed voting
on the issue. They gave no specific reason for the delay.
At the November meeting, several trustees voiced concern
about the program because it
allowed faculty to retire anytime
before May 1993. The updated
program would require faculty to
retire by May 1992.
Faculty who wanted to get in
the program would have had to
let CMU know between Nov. 15
and Dec. 13. The dates will
change to reflect the new deadline.
Both of these things have
changed, said Board Chairwo-
See BOARD Page 7
Spring break offers
can scam students
By Mary Church
LIFE Staff Writer
CMU delays reply in Breen case
By Lori Robinson
UFE Staff Writer
CMU asked for postponement
of its deadline for answering a
case brought against the University by former student Cassandra
Breen.
The University's legal reply to
allegations of mishandling
Breen's sexual assault -case
would  have been due early this
week if not for postponement.
The University obtained the
extension "sometime last week,"
said Steven Martineau, CMU's
attorney. Martineau, a Mount
Pleasant attorney, said he plans
to file an answer on behalf of the
named defendants by the Dec. 20
deadline.
He said he requested the deadline extension so he could have
enough time to collect sufficient
information for the defendants'
answer.
"It's just really standard procedure," Martineau said. "Among
lawyers, it's not even worth noting."
Breen, a Grand Haven resident,   brought  suit  against the
See CASE Page 2
While many students might only think about exams or the
holidays this time of year, others are starting to plan spring break
getaways.
Joy Kinney, Shepherd senior, is one of. them and hopes to get
other students thinking about warm vacations, too.
She works through Campus Marketing, Inc., trying to sell spring
break packages to Daytona and Panama City.
And while Kinney says her packages are guaranteed through the
company, many students over the years have given over their
savings for scams when they thought they were getting great deals
on a cheap vacation.
"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," said Barb Andres,
travel counselor with Midland Travel, 1028 S. Mission.
She said the fake packages often are offered through an advertisement in a magazine or a postcard sent directly to the student
with.the incredible offer.
The companies generally target college-aged people, Andres said,
adding her son, who is a college student, often receives these offers.
"Most are not legit, as far as I know/* she said.
Many of her regular customers question Andres about outrageous offers they've received, she said.
"I tell them to call the Chamber of Commerce where the card's
been issued out of or the Better Business Bureau," she said. "Nine
■ times out of 10 it's not (legitimate.)"
o   One company affected by illegitimate offers is Oasis International Hotels in Cancun, Mexico, which often falsely is advertised
See TRIPS Page 2
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