1994-01-31; Central Michigan Life

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MONDAY
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German invasion
Exchange student loving stay
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Sound of musio
. The weekend in rock
Page 8
Road kill
Women's hoops ends road woes
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TUESDAY
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L: zero to 5
becoming cloudy,
chance of snow
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Central
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VOLUME 76, NUMBER 53
MOUNT PLEASANT, MICHIGAN 48859
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JUt'19
Trustee Cholakian dies of heart attack
By Karen Joseph
l ihh Riitor
Trustee Marty Cholakian suffered a fatal heart attack Saturday evening after attending an
Extended Degree graduation
ceremony in Alberta. Canada. He
was 52.
A member of CMU's Board of
Trustees since April 28, 1989,
Cholakian is most remembered
for his enthusiastic involvement
with the university.
Trustee* Gordon Lambie, who
was very close to Cholakian,
described him as a "great trustee
and a great individual."
"We were both great Chippewa
fans," Lambie said. "When I was
with him just a few weeks ago, he
made a comment about the
basketball team having not won
very many games. He said that
we should go up to one of the
games and tell the coaches that
the trustees still support the
team and were not fair-weather
fans."
Cholakian was committed to
the entire university*, Lambie
added, not just athletics.
"Marty was a very strong trustee and very committed to the
university/'
Russ Herron, secretary to the
Hoard and vice president for University Relations, said Cholakian
attended three to four Extended
Degree commencement ceremonies a year.
"He just loved to do those
things," Herron said. "He'd do
them    anyplace.    In    fact,    you
couldn't find a place that was too
distant for him.
"He really just loved to go out
and meet the people."
MaryKaye Murphy» administrative assistant for the Board of
Trustees Office, said she spoke
with Cholakian earlier this week
and chided him about traveling to
Canada for the commencement
with the extreme temperatures
Michigan had been experiencing.
"I said, 'Are you sure you want
to go any further north in this
weather?* But he wanted to go."
President Leonard E. Plachta
said he was impressed with the
"time and energy" Cholakian
devoted to CMU.
"He was very interested in the
Extended Degree Program and
he took pride in knowing about
it/* he said.
Herron also noted Cholakian's
time and energy.
"He was a guy who didn't really
know CMU when he was
appointed to the Board, but he
got totally involved and just
threw   himself into   it,**  Herron
said. "He was always on the
phone and always coming up for
events.**
Herron said Cholakian had
some heart problems in the past
and had undergone an angio-
plasmic procedure seven years
ago. Cholakian told Herron he
had felt poorly for the past two or
three weeks and was scheduled to
have another procedure Thursday.
Cholakian's    position    on    the
See CHOLAKIAN Page 2
MARTIN CHOLAKIAN
2 CMU students
killed in car wreck
By Christopher Richardson
I If-r   St.iff Writer
Dirah Martin, Sterling Heights freshman, and David Gonzales,
Shelby Township sophomore, were killed in a car crash Thursday on M
20 just east of Currie Parkway in Midland.
According to a Midland City Police Department report, Martin was
driving her vehicle east on M 20 when she lost control of her car on the
icy road and si id into the westbound lane. Her vehicle was broadsidedat
about 6:45 p.m. by a vehicle driven by Hans Karsten, 32. of Mount
Pleasant.
Martin, 19, and her passenger, Gonzales. 21. were pronounced dead at
MidMichigan Regional Medical Center in Midland a short time later.
Karsten was treated for minor injuries at MidMichigan Regional
Medical ('enter and released.
A police official said icy roads seemed to be the main cause for the
collision, but-the case is still under investigation.
Martin and Gonzales were carpooling home, said Laura Martin Dirah
Martin's mother.
"She took her responsibilities seriously and by hook or by crook she
was going to be to work Friday/' she said.
Dirah Martin had a job in Sterling Heights which she went home for
See FATAL Page 2
Finch could house
community center
or ice hockey rink
Lighting the way
Nancy Kruse of Mount Pleasant replaces candles in between formal shows during Bridal Expo '94 at
the Comfort Inn Conference Room, 2424 S. Mission, Sunday afternoon.
By Marjory Raymer
l \h\- Assistant News Kl-tor
Finch Fieldhouse is destined
for changes.
The administration is exploring the possibility of converting
the old gymnasium into a community center or an ice hockey
rink, according to Kim Ellertson.
vice president for Business and
Finances.
President Leonard E. Plachta
asked Ellertson to study the two
possibilities this year.
If the university decided to
change the building into a community center, the alteration
could come in the "very, very near
future." Ellertson said, while an
ice rink would be "a bit more in
the future, because it is a little bit
more of an imposition." But both
ideas are in the preliminary
stages, he said.
Representatives from the city
suggested the community center
idea after developing a feasibility
study, Ellertson said.
Some concerns exist that the
building might become too available for the community instead of
the university, he said, but he
believes the issue can be settled
"in the spirit of compromise/
Ellertson said area businesses
and "hockey enthusiasts" have
contacted   the   university  about
See FINCH Page 5
Kabell won't be charged in death of wife
By Todd Fettig
Llf-fc Staff Wnter
The Isabella County Prosecutor's Office denied a request Wednesday from the Isabella County
Sheriffs Department to charge
Ian Kabell with negligent manslaughter in the death of his wife
Mara Nou, a CMU Centralis
scholar.
Cambodian-born Nou, Mount
Pleasant senior, died at Central
Michigan Community Hospital
at 12:15 a.m. Jan. 5 from injuries
sustained in a car accident
caused in part by icy roads,
according to an ICSD report.
Prosecutor Larry Burdick said
his office denied ICSD's request
to charge Kabell because of a lack
of sufficient evidence.
The office notified Nou's
mother of the decision Thursday.
Nou was a passenger in a 1989
Dodge Colt headed east on M-20
near South Lincoln Road, driven
by Kabell, 21.
Kabell, Mount Pleasant graduate student, stated in an FCSD
report that he was traveling at 55
to 58 mph when he braked for a
deer. The braking caused his car
to slide to the shoulder of the road
and across the center line, where
the vehicle was struck by a 1991
Ford Taurus driven by Amie
Reibel, 57. of Mount Pleasant. -
Reibel told officers she was
traveling at about 35 mph and
could not avoid striking KabelFs
vehicle.
Officers at the scene did not
discover any fresh deer tracks,
the report stated.
Nou, 22. was taken by ambulance  to CMCH.  where doctors
Sophomore awaits
sentencing for false
personation of officer
pronounced her dead.
Kabell told officers Nou was
wearing a shoulder restraint
because the lap restraint was
broken and he could not afford to
fix it Kabell, who was wearing
shoulder and lap restraints, suffered minor lacerations and chose
not to seek treatment.
Reibel told officers she was
only slighty shaken up and was
taken to CMCrf by her husband.
Nou moved to Mount Pleasant
in 1981 to escape a civil war in her
homeland. She became a U.S.
citizen July I, 1988.
Jason EickhofT, Mendon sophomore, pleaded guilty in 76th District Court Friday to a charge of
false personation of a public
officer.
CMU Department of Public
Safety officers arrested EickhofT
Friday on the high court misdemeanor charge and he was
arraigned a short time later. The
charge stems from a Jan. 15 complaint by a resident in Kewadin
Village who said a man claiming
to be a DPS officer called her and
asked questions about her husband.
According to a DPS official,
DPS was able to trace the call
through Telecommunications
and find the suspect.
EickhofT was released on a
$1,000 persona) recognizance
bond and ordered to return to the
district court probation department for a preliminary investigation.
EickhofT faces up to one year in
prison and/ or a $500 fine.
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