1986-09-19; Central Michigan Life

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4 Central
Michigan
FRIDAY
September 19,1986
Officials await damage total before
weighing insurance, aid possibilities
BY MARK ALLEN
UFE Copy Editor
University officials say it is too early to assess whether insurance
will pay some or all the estimated S3.5 million damages from last
week s storm.
President Arthur Ellis said it would be a few weeks before insurance
possibilities and other options would be evaluated.
Itll be two to three weeks for it to all shake out," he said. "We're
going to have to make an evaluation."
Jon MacLeod, assistant vice president for Physical Plant, said it
could be months before final damages are known.
Ellis agreed.
"We have not really made a cost estimate," he said, adding that the
coat would probably be between $2 million and $4 million. But, he
City department links
water contamination to
submerged softeners
aaid, "that's just pulling something out of the air."   -
Civil defense officials estimated campus damages at $3.5 million.
Ellis said tuition or housing fee increases will not be used to cover
costs.
The answer is W Categorically I'll say that. I think students have
been abused enough," he said.
Ellis said before any state aid is granted, University insurance
representatives need to assess damages.
"I believe that they (federally) are not going to shirk their
responsibilities," but that they, too. are waiting to see what insurance
will cover," he said.
Most federal disaster aid comes in the form of low interest loans,
Ellis said. He doesn't know if such loans could be useful or if the
University is eligible to receive federal aid.
Jerry Sooby, director of Business Services, said information on
insurance is either unavailable or not ready for public release.
Studerits loolqn £ |6rdama^f
payments may be put of lack:
BY MARK ALLEN
UK Copy fetter
raalikaly iwtm -iaawsae*
Students hava little chance'
of rearming 1 oases from last
week's storm, a local insurant*
agent aaid.
Tha only way studenta would
be corarad for damagea is if
thay hart flood insurance, or
homeowners inauranca which,
covers floods and extends to
apartments, aaid Tom Wyatt,
branch claim managar for AAA
Insurance, 2149 8. Miasaon. It is
deal cower flood insurant*,"
Wyatt added. 'It's highly
onlikary aayeom nwld hay*
flood tnsqraaaca anyway.» ;
anaa ia a, fadaragy mheWiml
lnaoranea araba&teT «uy to
peopl* Bringrin dsaignatad
»«* ajmaU^ge)^^
. Please See WO* Page \6
Water softeners submerged
during last weekend's flooding
may have resulted in contaminated water.
The city's water department
Wednesday sampled water from a
submerged water softener. The
sample tested positive for contamination. Water Department
Superintendent Carlton Phillips
said.
"Contamination could have
occurred only for those who had
softeners in their basements
which were completely
submerged," Phillips said.
Softeners that submerged
should be put on bypass or all
water should be boiled. Residents
should not drink or use this water
in food preparation.
Mount Pleasant is offering free
testing for city residents who have
water softeners. Those people who
want tests run on their softeners
should call 773-7971, extension
37.
'Well take down their name
and address and get to them as
soon as we can," Phillips said.
City and CMU campus water
was rumored to be contaminated
because of the flooding. Of seven
city wells, only four were operational during the heavy rains. One
well was down for repairs and two
others were damaged in the
storm. However, city and University officials denied any water
contamination occurred.
Weeklong battle nears end
for Physical Plant workers
BY MARK LaROSA
LIFE Sutf Wmer	
After seven days of fighting. Physical Plant employees may have
won the war.
Although cost estimates are not available, most of the damage from
last week's storms has now been repaired, said Jon MacLeod,
assistant vice president of Physical Plant.
"We're 95 percent up. We have already won the war, we just have a
few minor skirmishes left to fight," Macl^eod said.
Isolated problems remain, he said.
"It's mostly a circuit here and there, or a problem that has not
revealed itself yet. Many of the problems have been found but the
parts are not readily available."
Please See UPDATE Page 16
?~S*2
Wet warriors
^^.^v>t.J^^^^.^^^^^^^^rti Early vacation 'bums' frosh,
class catch-up lies ahead
Student sandbaggers turn in stellar performances during flood
BY THOM CUNK
LIFE Staff Writer
BY MARY FRANCIS
LIFE News f d-tor
Bob Videau says his body still
hasn't recovered from his activities during last week's flood.
But it's not from u hangover, the
Grand Rapids senior said. Videau
spent Sept. 11 "saving" Physical
Education Professor Carole
Howard's home from the raging
waters of the Chippewa River.
"My body's still sore, and we
still have to go back over to do
some clean-up." Videau said.
Howard said she woke up last
Thursday morning to find flood
waters had inundated the
driveway to her home on the
Chippewa's north branch. The
water was moving toward the
house, so she called Videau and
John Kastran, Rochester senior.
They sandbagged the house
from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Videau
said.
"For them just to get to my door
to find out what was wrong they
had to wade across a river 25 feet
wide," Howard said.
In return, the men got a
homemade turkey dinner at
Howard's house, but she says
shell be forever indebted.
"They saved my house. Ill call
(dances atl their weddings. III
bless their children They want to
go to Florida? Take my car." she
said.
Howard said she was particularly upset about an article
printed in Sunday's Detroit Free
Press, headlined "CMU greets
storm with beer, good cheer." She
said she wrote a letter to the
paper's editor because the story
did not mention students who
volunteered to help combat flood
damage.
Kaslran said he agreed
drinking was not the only activity
during the unplanned vacation.
"Granted, there were some
people out getting drunk, but
there were a lot of people out
helping, too," he said.
Dorothy Osterman, an
American Red Cross stafT member
who worked at a temporary
service center in Mount Pleasant,
said CMU students volunteered to
work at the center up to 10 hours a
day before school resumed.
"The ones we had here certainly
were not drinking — they did a lot
of hard work," Osterman said.
The service center is located at
120 S. University and is open from
9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Students helped Physical Plant
workers sandbag campus buildings during the storms
Athletic Director Dave Keilitz
also said students were instrumental in keeping Rose Center
dry- Numerous students helped
piled sandbags on Rose's east side
to keep water from rolling down a
hill into the racquetbalt courts.
Keilitz said he also was upset
that students' volunteer work
went unpublicized.
"For every bad instance we had
100 good ones," he said. "I felt our
students came out in a time of
need.. .what we had was bad, but
they helped it from being much
worse."
Central's rainout vacation left many students, including several
freshman, feeling washed up about the new school year.
The 1986-87 academic year began with a rocky start, at least in the
eyes of some freshmen who have seen two mayor power outages.
"It bums me out," Jack Price, Edmore freshman, said. The week off
was fine, but now things are going to be hectic trying to catch up. It's
going to bo really difficult."
The expectations of some freshmen have been altered during these
first few weeks.
"I never thought college would be like this," said Corie Hadder, Six
Lakes freshman. "I was really surprised they had to shut down with
the rain and all."
Hadder said the two blackouts have caused her negative attitude
toward the University.
"I was glad at first," she said. "Then I found out how hard it was
going to be."
"It's had a negative effect, but not too much," Ben Jeakoeo, Lapeer
freshman, said. "I didn't expect it to be like this. I didn't expect any
breaks at all."
But freshmen are not the only ones to react negatively to the
flooding problems.
"I'm disappointed with the way the school is being run," said Detroit
Please See REACTION Page 2
LIFE LINE
Briefly
Students wishing to take courses
this semester on a credit/no credit
bub must return their request cards
today lo the Registrar's Office.
Warriner 260.
INSID1
Turning the tables
A Senate wants ne_ president n office six      ,|-j —
rror^eaiVT than TruSeespian suggests /i 3fJ6 O
Sold out
UrivcnUy Even- h_fc h_ packed boats in
at-tory
/Page 6
Bring on the FalcowPage 12
^Y :'Yvv^*-ft*£*$v
■*■■»■*-yv"-
Chasing ghosts
CMU foo&al  learn hopes to avenge
tough '85 lost lo BouAng Green
Flood fallout
/Page 12
Campus. coRtnunfty s_ b—BIng
eSeca of las week's n*r>
/Pages 10-11
INDEX
UFE-wire psgt2
CMY0U page3
Comment page 4
Boom County page4
Entertainment page 6
Bg Guy on Campus P»9*6
Court Reports P*9*7
Sports. P*9«12
Poles Report pag* lb
SpotMe....-   pagtl5
Q»«ti»fr4f   page 15