1985-02-11; Central Michigan Life

              Js* ■■'■■•■''','■'
SS*:',":''""* :' -■
£*::
4.    ■'   *■.   J.
:a>-" =
^-. jm
sr ~
■ rji ,c* .  *>   ':
■.rf-*«-»-sy ■- r. •> *
r 'fe* *■'
'1
■     -    v   *-" ,   "
■;-a
ft s     . V-.-;   1 \1   .   >   -
T< y   ';■■
Mount Pleasant. Mich   48859
VoL68No.63
leaves students homeless
byTOMWICKHAM
IJFl Copy Editor
A fire raged through Forum
Apartment*' D Building Sunday night, leaving almost 100
CMU atudenta homeless and
causing an undetermined
•mount of damage.
. No one was injured but
several firefighters were treated for smoke Inhalation. SgL
Duane Hazelton said. Chief
Martin Trombley, director of
the Department of Public Safety, said. Residents in nearby
buildings were evacuated as
firefighters attempted to control tbe fire, which reportedly
started in a wall on the first
floor just before 5 p.m.
Students living in the nearby
buildings were able to return to
their homes late in the night
Residents scampered out
into the cold, some clad only in
shorts and warm-weather clothing after the fire was detected. Few were able to salvage anything from their
apartments, while others stood
wrapped in blankets and
watched firefighters attempt
to control the fire.
"We didn't know the extent
of it and we left with nothing,"
Pauline Monton, Pentwater
sophomore, said. "We could
have grabbed a few things."
Monton, Who lives in Room
10SD, adjacent to the reported
origin of the fire said she first
u
I expect to lose
everything I ever
worked for.
—Jamie Riley,
Riverview junior
99
noticed something was amiss
when smoke began pouring
into the bathroom. She said
maintenance workers and
plumbers had been working
for the past week to find a suspected leaking pipe.
"We saw a guy going by our
window with a fire extinguisher," she said. The person
later was identified as Ron
Lamerand, a plumber working
in Room 106D, attempting to locate a leaking pipe, when the
fire started.
Students were being assisted
Sunday night by the University
to find alternative housing, but
that was little consolation to
some, who watched helplessly
as the fire swept through the
building, destroying their
♦See Tire"—page 14
Leaking pipe
blamed for fire
-?• y-i5nd cou^9 ""fighters resorted to the city's hook     building Sunday night, which left dozens of students home-
and Udder truck to reach a fire at the Forum Apartment's D   less and caused an undetermined amount or damage.
Audit finds no ox&cuth/o wrongdoing
byTOMWICKHAM
LIFE Copy Editor
A leaking pipe, which
maintenance workers and
plumbers had been searching
for since Thursday, is suspected of causing an electrical
fire at Forum Apartments' D
building Sunday night.
No one was injured in the fire
at 950 Appian Way, but about
100 students were left homeless and lost most, if not all, of
their belongings.
Fire investigators continued
their work into the night to determine the cause of the fire,
which residents and plumbers
working in the building said
was caused by a leaking pipe.
Earl Lamerand and his
father, Ron, were working in
Room 106 of D building at 4:30
p.m. trying to locate the leaking pipe. Earl said he heard a
click and the power went out.
When he switched the circuit
breaker to restore the power,
he noticed the fire.
"There was a hole in the wa-
♦See "Cause" — page 14
3r PAUL MASON
FE Managing Editor
An audit of University officer expenditures, fringe benefits
and automobile program shows no wrongdoing on the part of
CMU's four executive officers.
But several trustees said those University practices and procedures may have to be reviewed.
The audit by Ernst and Whinney, of Saginaw, was conducted
at the request of Trustees Rachael Moreno, of Lansing, and Bill
Odykirk, of Mount Pleasant.
Provost John Cantelon; Arthur Ellis, vice president for Public
Affairs; Jerry Tubbs, vice president for Business and Finance;
and James Hill, vice president for Student Affairs, have followed University practices and procedures, the audit report
stated.
Trustee Raymond LaBounty, of Ypsilanti, said the audit report will be reviewed by the Board of Trustees' Finance Com
mittee. '■-••"'    '        •,::"-^J'   *■-'■»'■.'•  '-.;-;..■--'
"I don't feel there's noncompliance with tbe procedures, but
the procedures need to be revised,"LaBounty said.
LaBounty said there were some "disturbing" things in the
audit but said he would not be specific.
Moreno called the audit "very glossy."
"I think the audit itself served as notice that sort of thing
(procedures and practices) is going to be reviewed," Moreno
said.
"The simple fact that the IRS is changing its policies for chief
executives and top administrators is an indication ... of the
abuse of vehicles," she said.
The executive officers expenses, fringe benefits and automobile use, were audited for a three year period ending June 30,
1983.
In terms of expenditures, Ernst and Whinney, the University's external auditor, took samples of disbursements paid
♦See "Audit" — page 20
'■■:x>-
Two found guilty in 6-week murder trial
Abduction case
inquiry dosed
The Mount Pleasant Police
Department closed its investigation into the abduction of a
15-year-old girl Jan. 31. citing
lack of evidence.
Det. Howard Sageman said
the department received
numerous calls about a 30- to
45-year-old male who allegedly
abducted the girl as she walked
her dog. She later escaped unharmed on the city's east side,
she told police.
Chief Martin Trombley,
director of the Mount Pleasant
Department of Public Safety,
said lack of evidence about the
man led to the closure of the
case. He declined to comment
on about whether there was
suspicion that the abduction
may have been fabricated.
"Because of the age of the
victim we owe it to her to say no
more," Trombley said. "We're
very concerned about protecting the lady."
Information about the incident was sketchy from the outset, and police declined to give
the location of the abduction
for the girl's protection.
The girl told police that on
Jan. 31 she was walking her
dog betwen 4:30 and 5 p.m.
when a man approached her in
a car and pulled a knife on her a
report stated. The girl was not
injured but said the man slapped her. She escaped when he
stopped the car, she said.
by WENDY GAGER
UFE Ass'L News Editor
Two men face life in prison
after being found guilty Friday
in the longest trial ever in
Isabella County.
Dan Mark Noah, 23, and
David Nichols, 22, were found
guilty of two counts of first-
degree felony murder and one
countofarsoninaMay 13 trailer fire which killed Dan Mark
Noah Jr., 2, and Russelle
Nichols, 4.
In the six-week trial Isabella
County Prosecutor Joseph Barberi called more than 70 witnesses. The longest trial previously had been three weeks
and the greatest number of witnesses had been 37, Barberi
said. The trial was also the first
first-degree felony murder
conviction in Isabella County.
Sentencing in the case is
scheduled for March 15. First-
degree felony murder carries a
mandatory life in prison sentence.
44
I'm surprised. I didn't think the evidence was there for a first-degree felony
murder.
—Thomas Anthony,
defense attorney
 99
The arson charge will be
dropped because it included
the murder charge, Barberi
said.
The only chance for Noah
and Nichols to get out of prison
is to be pardoned by the governor, Barberi said.
Charges of open murder
were dropped by Circuit Court
Judge Paul F. O'Connell on Feb.
1. He said premeditation and
deliberation had not been
proven.
The seven-woman, five-man
jury deliberated for six-and-a-
half hours before reaching a
verdict. The jurors were very
somber as the foreman read
the guilty verdict. Members of
the Noah family cried while the
jury was polled individually.
Thomas Anthony, Noah's
attorney, said he did not plan
an appeal for his client but his
client could appeal the decision.
"I'm done with it," Anthony
said.
He also said he did not expect
the verdict.
"I'm surprised." he said. "I
didn't think the evidence was
there for a first-degree felony
murder."
Daniel O'Neil, Nichol's attorney, could not be reached for
comment.
Barberi was pleased with the
verdict.
"It's one for the criminal justice system," he said. "It's one
for justice."
Barberi said there were two
areas of testimony which he
said were key in the guilty verdict.
The first was the five witnesses who testified about the defendant's and Debbie Noah's
and Ruby LaLone's actions and
appearance while the trailer,
was burning.
The testimony showed they
stood by and did nothing ta
save the boys.
He said gasoline was poured
throughout the trailer, located
at lot 19 in Chippewa Trailer
Park, and a box of clothes was
put outside the door trapping
the boys inside the bedroom:
The women were to get the
girls out and the defendants'
the boys.
When one of the boys'
appeared in the window
♦See "Trial"—page 22   :
In
John Ward, professor of history, will speak
on "Aristocracy in an Industrial Society: The
British Experience" Tuesday at 8 p.m. in the
Bovee University Center Lake Superior
Room. The Speech is part of the Humanities
Year Speaker series.
Inside
The School of Business will toughen
admittar"" requirements.
page 3
See more Forum
fire stories and
photos.
page 14 and IS
Sports
Wrestling assistant
coach Tom Minkel
has been selected to
coach a national team
on its trip to Cuba.
page 14
Weather
Snow and little
temperature change
today.
-u---^--- »-«-
 *■ ■