1984-09-10; Central Michigan Life

              .'"  '^'-:'-"!r-.:
- *.
^ViAf V. •' ■* '
a-;J*':p
dMi:l
:*i;.
Vol.67 No.6
©1984 CM LIFE
14 pages
Mount PfcaMnt. Mich  48859
Monday, September 10,1984
t ■
City train speeds
could increase
Relaxin'
While his 18-month-old son Sam slept, Duke Yiost of Saginaw enjoyed the
11th annual Wheatland Bluegrass Festival Saturday afternoon from the
comfort of his hammock with the assistance of a portable radio. See related
story and more photos on page
Two students killed
Two students were killed and
two were in serious condition
after a two-car accident on M-
20 and Lincoln Road early Sunday morning.
David Bales, Dearborn sophomore, and Brian Seamer,
Mount Pleasant sophomore,
were pronounced dead at the
scene.
Eric Thorlund. Greenville
sophomore, and Kurt Harri-
gan, Manistee sophomore,
were listed in serious condition
at Central Michigan Community Hospital Sunday night
where they were taken by
ambulance after the accident.
Seamer was alone in one car
and Thorlund was the driver of
the other car. Bales and Harri-
gan were passengers.
Circumstances of the accident were not available at the
time, an Isabella County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman said.
Police are waiting to write
accident reports until statements can be taken from the
two surviving passengers, a
dispatcher said.
Deputy Barry DeLau said it
is difficult for the surviving
driver to talk because of a split
lip and the other survivor is in a
lot of pain.
DeLau said he surmised one
car was westbound on M-20
and the other was northbound
byTOMWICKHAM
UFE Asst Nsws Editor
The president of the Tuscola-Saginaw-Bay
Railroad said train speeds in Mount Pleasant
could be increased four-fold this fall if the railroad proceeds with planned renovation of its
track here.
However, University and city officials
would not speculate if an increase in train
speeds would warrant a change from yield
signs to stop signs or automatic crossing gates
at three railroad crossings on the west side of
campus.
PJ. DeWolf, president of the Vassar-based
railroad, said most of a S1.2 million state grant
will be used to upgrade the old Ann Arbor Railroad track from Ashley to Mount Pleasant beginning in October.
Freight trains carrying foundary sand primarily use the track.
He said the increase in train speeds is to save
money for the railroad which started in 1978
and operates nearly S30 track miles in
Michigan.
If renovation begins in Mount Pleasant, and
is completed before winter, the federal government could certify an increase in train
speeds from 10 mph to 40 mph, DeWolf added.
Renovation of the track includes "surfacing" or adding ballast rocks to anchor rail ties
and aligning the track to handle higher speeds,
he said.
The track is state-owned, but Tuscola-
Saginaw-Bay Railroad contracts it.
"I'm not altogether certain we're going to
run 40 miles per hour through campus," De-
Wolf said.
He said signals at the Broomfield Road crossing would need to activate sooner for faster
trains and he is unsure if the current equipment can be adjusted.
DeWolf said the railroad may opt to run
trains through the city at 25 or 30 mph depending on the setup of automatic crossing equipment at other intersections.
City Manager Tom Martin said he is uncertain if the city can regulate train speeds within
the city limits.
"This is the first I've heard about it," he said.
"We'll have to check."
♦See "Railroad"—page 14
No Cable
Football games may not be aired
on Lincoln Road and failed to
stop, but it cannot be confirmed yet.
Seamer's funeral will be
Tuesday at 11 a.m. at Stinson-
Helms Funeral Home, 330 S.
University.
Bales' funeral arrangements
are being handled by Howe-
Peterson Funeral Home on
Michigan Avenue in Dearborn
with arrangements being incomplete.
The funeral will be at Guardian Lutheran Church on Cherry Hill in Dearborn probably
on Wednesday, a family member said.
by STEVE KOWALSK1
UFE Staff Writer
No CMU football games will
be aired this fall through -Central's cable television station,
Moore Hall television, if things
remain as they are now.
MH-TV faces two concerns
detrimental to televising
games on cable stations across
the state, as it did last year.
The lack of enough money to
rent a mobile truck unit needed
to telecast games, estimated at
$2,000 per game.
The possibility of other "better known" cable systems purchasing rights to telecast CMU
games this fall amidst lack of a
television space at Kelly/
Shorts Stadium.
Last season, MH-TV produced, directed and announced
five CMU games for Cable Vision Inc., 915 E. Broomfield,
which "bicycled" the tape-
delayed telecasts to 11 cable
companies throughout the
state, unit manager Dave Antil,
Redford sophomore, said.
The money needed to rent a
truck to telecast CMU games
came from advertisements
'sold by the students, program
director Tim Jackson, Midland
junior, said.
This summer, however, not
enough funds were raised to
rent a truck for even one contest.
"This year Cable Vision did
not sell any ads, like they said
they would. MH-TV has just
the production part of the telecast," Antil said. "They (Cable
Vision) slacked off. The logical
result is we can't do any TV."
According to MH-TV officials, Mike Galvach, of Cable
Vision, told them last spring
not to worry about the
"marketing" part of the production.
Galvach did not deny that,
but said selling ads was not all
Cable Vision's responsibility.
"Marketing is not all raising
money. I said I'd get cable companies lined up," Galvach said.
"It's as much their responsibility as it is ours."
Galvach said he and Grey don
Hyde, executive producter at
MH, attempted to "secure"
funds, yet it was difficult, because MH-TV was not a big
money-maker.
"We tried to sell ads as a
snow-ball effect. If they like it
and it is an effective medium
for the advertisers, then they
could maybe sell their ads to
the larger cable companies,"
Galvach said.
He added last year's telecasts basically "broke-even"
from a financial standpoint.
♦See "Cable" — page 9
PB lands Jefferson Starship
Jefferson Starship is scheduled to appear in
concert Oct. 13 at Rose Arena, a Program
Board official said Friday.
Exact details such as ticket prices, starting
time of the concert and warmup act have not
been determined yet, PB Chairwoman Ann
Higgins said.
Concert arrangements wil be worked out
with promoter Brass Ring Productions of Detroit, Higgins, Ohio senior, said.
She would not discuss any more specifics of
the concert, adding details will be finalized by
today.
"We're happy (to have gotten the concert),"
Higgins said. "Concerts don't just happen four
or five months in advance. They (promoters)
bring the concerts to us."
Central's Brass Ring representative was on
vacation and could not be reached for comment.
Nuclear arms awareness Freeze Friday goal
; ti
■ i
by TOM KEATING
UFE Staff Writer
The stoppage of nuclear weapons production was the main
issue of a nuclear arms demonstration that took place outside of
Park Library Friday.
"We want to let people know we don't want a total disarmament but want to put a stop to more weapons being made," said
Ken Stern, a representative for the Central Michigan Creative
Peace Movement, the group that sponsored the demonstration.
The semester's first Freeze Friday included approximately
20 people carrying signs, distributing leaflets and armbands to
students and faculty as they passed the library between 11:45
a.m. and 1 p.m. Friday. A table also was set up between 9 a.m.
and 1 p.m. in the Bovee University Center where literature was
available and bumper stickers, pins and posters were sold.
"Raising the awareness level of the nuclear arms issue is what
we hope to accomplish by this demonstration." Stern, Mount
Pleasant graduate student, said.
Most of the 1,000 leaflets the group printed for the demonstration were distributed.
Making sure people register to vote and then vote for candidates supporting a freeze was the main topic of the leaflet being
distributed and the signs being carried by the participants.
"We want people to know that they can make a difference or
bring about a change by voting," Stern said.
"We hope people will vote for the pro-freeze candidate, but to
do that you have to be against President Reagan, because
Reagan is against the freeze and proud of it," he said.
As students passed by the demonstration, some volunteered
their services, many took the leaflets and the blue armbands to
show their support.
"I think communication, rational thinking and negotiating
must be the first step between human beings, instead of force
and might," Dennis Adams, Detroit senior, said.
♦See "Freeze" — page 14
In Brief
Tuition payments for students who added
nine or more credit hours at Drop and Add are
due Friday. Students who do not pay their bills
will be dropped from classes.
Inside
The 11th annual
Wheatland Music
Festival was this
weekend.
page 6
Sports
The CMU volleyball, soccer and
field hockey teams all
won for the first time
over the weekend.
page 8
Weather
Mostly cloudy with
scattered showers.
Highs in the upper
60s to mid 70s. Mostly
cloudy tonight with a
chance of showers.
Lows in the lower 50s.
■ft