1982-02-19; Central Michigan Life

              Central Michigan LIFE
Vol.63 No.59
1982 CM LIFE
Mount Pleasant. Mich. 48859
12 pages
Friday. Feb. 19.1982
Estranged husband arrested in slayings
CMUttU *r»»
It was quiet at the George Post residence Wednesday after seven family members were
murdered Tuesday evening outside of Farwetl. northwest of Mount Pleasant.
IPCD
hearing a
volleying
match
bySANDY McHUQH
LIFE Aaa't. News Editor
The postponement of an administrative hearing between Central
and the Ohio Board of Regents marks
the fifth time President Harold Abel
has been all dressed up with nowhere
to go.
Maybe Abel should dress for tennis
instead.	
The hearing
is a result of
Central being
denied permission     by     the
Board   to offer  "—
classes in Ohio through the Institute
for Personal and Career Development,
but remarks volleyed from various officials   involved   leave   one   believing
News
Analysis
by MARK RANZENBERQER
UFE Staff Wrltar
FARWELL-The prime
suspect in the killing of seven
members of a central Michigan
family was arrested Thursday in
Tennessee.
Robert Lee Haggart. 31. a
former Mount Pleasant High
School student, is the suspected
murderer of his estranged wife
and six members of her family at
their home outside Farwell, 15
miles northwest of Mount Pleasant.
The seven were found Tuesday night shot and possibly stabbed to death at their farm. The
mass-murder was the worst in
the past decade in the state.
Police said they had Haggart
under surveillance since he was
named a suspect earlier
Thursday.
A spokesman for the Marion
County, Tenn- Sheriffs Department said Haggart was arrested
at 6 p.m. in Jasper, on Hogjaw-
Joller Road. A roadblock had
been set up to catch the suspect.
Haggart had been recognized
earlier in the day by Marion
County Sheriffs deputy Pat
Hood, the spokesman said.
The arrest was made as Haggart tried to turn around after
being stopped at the roadblock,
the spokesman said. Marion
County Sheriff Lloyd H?nd
made the arrest.
The bodies of three children
were found inside a shot-riddled
pickup truck at the farm on a
rural road about three miles
west of Farwell in Clare
County's Surrey Township.
The body of their mother was
draped across the bodies of the
children as if to protect them, according to Clare County Sheriff
Gus Aleck.
Inside the white and red
frame house at 5603 Rock Road,
they have just witnessed a tennis match.
It all started in July when the Board
refused Central's application to offer a
Master of Arts Management and
Supervision degree at the request of
two agencies in Cleveland and Columbus.
With the refusal came Central's
right to a hearing, and CMU requested
the hearing be moved from August to
October to have time to make a case.
In October chancellor of the Board
decided he wanted the hearing
postponed until December because the
lawyer for the Board had a lot of work
to catch up on.
In December the hearing was pushed
to   January   and   from   January   to
February because the lawyer for the
(See "IPCD"—page 12)
George Post
three more bodies were found.
The only survivor of the mass
murder was a 1-year-old girl,
found by sheriffs deputies inside the pickup truck.
A divorce between Haggart
and his wife Garnetta was to
become final Wednesday, accor-
< 1968 photo)
Robert Haggart
ding   to   Clare   County   Clerk
Kathleen Dent.
Besides Mrs. Haggart, the
dead have been identified as
George Post, 53, and his wife
Vaudrey. 47. Also killed was
another of the Post's daughters.
(See "Murder"—page 11)
Residents react
to murders
by MARK RANZENBERGER
LIFE Staff Writer
FARWELL-Lake Village Postmaster Wilbur McLane thought
something must be wrong when Clare County Sheriff Gus Aleck
called him Wednesday morning and told him to get a substitute for
Georg4 Post's mail route.
Alecks did not say why Posl would not be in for work, but MeLane
soon found out.
Post was a victim of the biggest mass-murder in Michigan since
1971. Post, his wife, two daughters and three grandchildren were
shot to death at Post's rural Farwell home Tuesday night.
(See "Reaction"—page 11)
Competency
plans delayed
by NICK ASSENDELFT
and KALLIE BILA
LIFE Staff Writers
A decision concerning University competency requirements
has been delayed by the General
Education Subcommittee and
sent back to the Academic
Senate Executive Board for
clarification.
"The     proposal     was     in
complete. We don't have enough
information to act on the proposal." committee chairman Jim
Schmiechen, assistant professor
of history, said. "We don't even
know the rationale for this
change."
"The   Executive   Board   sent
the proposal to us, in hopes that
we would set a time limit. But
we didn't know the facts on the
(See "Competency"—page 2)
Petition requests Michigan move south
by ANDREW HELLER
LIFE Staff Writer
For visitors strolling into "Mope" Gishpert's
copy center in Anspach Hall there is no shortage
of unusual eyecatching articles.
There's a collection of animal posters with sayings like, "Wake me for the weekend." There's
"Mope's animal farm," a series of Polaroids of
stuffed animals with names like "dog." And then
there's Mope himself, the 35-year-old director of
the copy center decked out in frayed blue jeans
and a yellow T-shirt with "Hot to Trot" emblazoned on the front.
Then, if you look closely you'll see an 8 by 11
inch piece of paper, taped carefully to the service
counter, with a map of the United States drawn
on it- There it is — Michigan displaced from its
normal position atop the U.S. and hanging by the
benefit of the Upper Peninsula onto the east coast
of Florida.
The map depicts what the United States would
look like if Ron Gishpert and his "Committee to
move the State of Michigan farther south" had
their way.
The committee, actually just Gishpert himself,
is determined to move Michigan, a "great state"
in his estimation, to the Sun Belt, out of the way
of miserable winter weather.
"This winter has too much cold, wind, and
snow," he said. "The winter weather is just yec-
chh!"
Gishpert plans to move Michigan by means of a
petition that is taped on the counter next to the
map. The petition — 61 signatures strong including many professors — he hopes will force
the governor to put his idea to a statewide
referendum, a direct vote by the people.
"One copy of the petition will go to the governor and one to Rand-McNally." Gishpert said,
grinning and pushing his glasses up to their proper position on his nose. "Rand-McNally is the
company that makes all the maps."
"The governor will get a kick out of it." he said.
"Either that or he'll send the men in the white
coats after me. I figure if (tax slasher Robert)
Tisch can have his proposal then I can have mine.
'Tm sure Fll hear from him. It'd be a lot less
problems for him, that's for sure. It'd help the
economy," Gishpert said.
Gishpert said the Rand-McNally Co. would be a
"logical place" to send a copy of the petition
because the company makes the maps for the
world.
In a letter that will accompany the petition
Gishpert wrote, "We are tired of Michigan's
winters (especially this one) so have decided to
ask that the State be moved to the Sun Belt. We
love our state and don't want to leave it, so the
next best thing is to move it."
The drive to move the state started right along
with the cold weather. To publicize  his aims,
(See "Sooth"—page 2)
,;a_^^^
CM urt/Mmmcr CW——T
In Brief
The Home Economics Organization is sponsoring an Economics Career Awareness Day
Feb. 2610 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Wightman Hall.
Campus
The Mount Pleasant
Good Neighbors Task
Force wants to make
sure local landlords
obey the housing code,
page 3
Thirty high school
jazz bands will compete in Central jazz
weekend.
page 6
Sports
The CMU women's
basketball    team   advances in tournament.
page 8
Arts and Leisure 6
Classifieds n
Comment 4
Doonesbury 4
Off the Wire 2
Sports 8
Spotlife 11
Weather u