1992-04-24; Central Michigan Life

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Central
Michigan
FRIDAY
April 24, 1992
[VOLUME 74, NUMBER 83
MOUNT PLEASANT, MICHIGAN 48859
c 1992 CM LIFE
(517) 774-3493
16 PAGES
i
Park Place saga is still unfolding
By TJ Bucholz
ttFE Assistant News Editor
^* Park Place residents wondering about allegedly shady
maneu vering can breathe a sigh
-*3of relief — the government has
stepped in.
ItThe United States Bankruptcy Court in Grand Rapids
ruled in favor of a motion for the
appointment of a trustee or
investigator to review records to
clarify • payment of bills by
Mount Pleasant Limited Partnerships April 20. * j>
t^:The Office of the U.S. Trus- ;
tee decided to appoint a trustee
to investigate the payment of;
bills that were paid in the ordinary course of business," said
James Bonfiglio, general partner of MPLP. "In my judgment,
there were no preferences made
for (the order in which the) bills
that were paid, and real services were provided for each of
them/'
Paula Reeves, former general
partner and limited partner in
MPLP, said the motion could
clear up the partnership's past
business ventures.
"We wanted the examination *
of the records .. . we got what
'. we wanted," Reeves said. £5
Bonfiglio j said , most * of\ the
legal bills in question in the
records Reeves searched
through were incurred because
of expenses brought on by her
own litigation.
"She helped write the limited
partnership   agreement   while
she was a general partner, and
one of the stipulations Written
into that agreement were democracy   rules,"   Bonfiglio   said.
Those rules state that all of the
limited partners can take a vote
to ;remove "the  general; part-
, ners.*\ ^*^0^^%M^^^f
MfsLHe added when ihe/lliiid^edtl
\ partners attempted -jto.;; wga&Crtw
iboth "himself anbfJ^Ree^s^1
nmna.lirfjli'il'iiii iiuir.ij
attempted to block that man-
uever in court. ^  ♦
**I think there's some motive
behind all of the litigation she is
bringing up against the partnership/' Bonfiglio said. "It's,
probably as a result ofher being •
removed from the general part-
nership." -   " -    -
One of the major points of the ;
investigation will look into a *  .
relationship with Vendex Corporation. ^ • ~££* *~>?,; -J-\s    c^^liV:
^ <: Mount   Pleasant   Limited % v-
**"' Partnerships, - 'sififf ;K«i»^fi|0d a ***
: motion' '<te>?rejlfct^ coMtractT-^r^
Jreje^oaJ of^y^d*^'^C^e^>rBr I
Reeves 'wM^"«il^taini»^^^
operates laundry facilities for
both Park Place and Meadow-
brook Townhouses in Mount
Pleasant.
In a court brief filed on March
16, MPLP states that Vendex
refuses to remove laundry
equipment from the premises,
and refuses to return keys to
laundry equipment which is
owned by MPLP.
Reeves  said she wanted  to"
remove the equipment, but was
prohibited " from  entering  the
property due, to a temporary
restraining  order   which   was :
"entered ,'in the Eaton County ;
See MPLP Page 2
City is confident in
growth of wetlands
IN  YOUR  FACE
By Lori Robinson
LIFE  Staff Writer
Nothing has come up yet in
downtown Mount Pleasants
newly constructed wetland, but
soon the bullrushes and cattails
should begin to sprout, insects
will hatch and wood ducks may
arrive to nest.
Disagreement among experts
over- constructed wetlands —
called mitigation projects — is as
common as mosquitos. While the
city's new wetland near Mill Pond
Park seemed to be alive and well
last fall, it's long-term success
remains to be seen.
Cit\r Buildings and Grounds
Supervisor Greg Baderschneider
is confident the mitigation project will achieve ecological success. Project construction began
in 1990 to replace .12 acres of
wetlands modified that year to
accommodate a bridge and swimming ponds created for the recreational park.
In fact. Baderschneider and
DNR officials are so confident
that they may propose waiving a
requirement for yearly monitoring of the project.
But Gerould WilheJm, research
field taxonornist at Morton
Arboretum in Lisle, 111., says
most restorations fail.
"We have the technology to put
back holes in the ground and fill
them with water and a few cattails, but that doesn't make them
wetlands," Wiihelm said.
Baderschneider said the mitigation project is a product of conscientious thought.
"The last thing I would do as a
professional or as a person is to go
in and destroy something that I
wouldn't make a conscientious
effort to replace.
"Look at how much was
destroyed before we began regulating," he said. "If we could figure out how to reclaim it all,
shouldn't we try to do it?"
A   local   environmental   leader
has mixed feelings about the project.
"As a member of the Audubon
Society, of course I would rather
save a natural wetland than
destroy it and mitigate," said
Dave Shepherd, CMLT pharmacist, chairman of the Sierra Club
Wakelin McNeel Group and
Audubon Society member.
"But the city has done a good
job with the project," Shepherd
said. "Very few towns have such
an expansive parks system as
ours."
The mitigation project is only
one aspect of a larger two-phase
plan to provide a recreational
facility in Mount Pleasant's
downtown area. The plan was
first drawn up in 1985.
By 1986, the first phase of the
project was complete. Phase I
entailed the construction of
paved paths, a picnic area, canoe
launches, parking areas and
safety railings on bridges.
The second phase of the project, completed last December,
involved renovations to Mill Pond
Park.
There the city spent $224,000
in local and state funds to dredge
out ponds, and create walkways,
docks, and a picnic   area.
The area in which the ponds
were dredged out is where the
natural wetlands previously
existed. Baderschneider said
although permits required the
city to mitigate .44 acres of land,
about .75 was actually mitigated.
The process of reclaiming the
lost wetland began in Jan. 1991,
when contractors stripped seed
material from the original wetland and began digging the mitigation area.
The new wetland's terrain was
"kept extremely irregular to
accommodate different species of
plants," Baderschneider said.
Digging the new wetland con-
See WETLAND Paqe 16
Jed Welder, Sheridan senior, gives Military Science Instructor Mary Gild a pie
afternoon. The pies were raffled off to raise money for the Queen's Guard Dri
LIFE Photo/Ken Willow
n the face Thursday
II Team.
Forecast to
alter gentle
celebration
By Christopher Richardson
1  "-I-   St.iff Wr-tpr	
Although Gentle Friday —
traditionally a day of outdoor-
celebration — will chiefly be
observed in the Student Activity
Center today, its significance
remains the same as it was in
1967.
That was the year the staff of
CM LIFE decided to do something about the conflict and
uneasy feelings which pervaded
the campus that year-.
Gentle Friday can best be
summed up by the immortal
words of the May 16. 1969 edition
of CM LIFE — "Everyone let
loose and join in helping the
celebration. Admit that probably
all you're going to get out of life is
what you give it."
To promote a spirit of good will
and fellowship among ail members of" the campus community.
CM LIFE requested then-Gov.
William Milliken declare the last
Friday before exams "Gentle Friday" across the state of Michigan.
The request was granted, and
to celebrate, the LIFE staff'dist ri-
buted i'rvi} ice cream cones in
front of the Bovee University
Center- all afternoon — a tradition following staffs have kept for
the past 24 years of* Gentle Fridays.
But that's not the only Gentle
Friday tradition passed on from
year to year.
Free music has been a pari of
Gentle Friday since 1969, when
"The Midnight Shift" first entertained students.
Music has traditionally been
handled by Program Board, and
this year is no exception.
Dwain Brennan. Program
Board president, said bands will
See FRIDAY Page 2
INDEX
News  3
State, Nation. World   3
Opinion  4
Police Blotter  7
Arts, Entertainment  8
Sports  10
Comics  14-15
Classified Ads  14-15
Crossword  15
WEATHER
Showers likely with a thunderstorm possible Friday. Highs in
the low to mid 50s. Northwest
winds 5 to 15 mph. Chance of
rain 70 percent.
DPS officer gets degree after 24 years
By Crystal Harmon
I If-F- Staff Writer
Persistence soon will pay off for Lt. Ron Griffiths. After matriculating at CMU 24 years ago, he plans to graduate May 2.
Griffiths, assistant director of CMU's Department of Public Safety,
did not let his dematriculation after his first semester in 1968 stop him
from pursuing his education.
"My first semester was not very successful," Griffiths said. "I was
rather immature and didn't know what I wanted to do."
After flunking out with a grade point average of .64, Griffiths joined
the army and became a military police officer. In 1973, he was hired by
DPS and shortly thereafter began taking advantage of the tuition
waiver granted to University employees.
Taking one or two classes nearly every semester, Griffiths will earn
his bachelor of science degree with a GPA above 3.5. His major is
industrial management and his minor is psychology.
Griffiths attributes the marked improvement in his level of scholarly
success to increased maturity.
"I wasn't ready for college when I first came here," he said. "I am
much more organized now."
Officials give review
of decade-old report
See GRADUATE Page 2
LIFE Photo/Brent Henderson
Lt. Ron Griffiths, Department of Public Safety, graduates May 2
with a Bachelor of Science degree twenty-four years
By Jennifer Chrisman
LIFE Staff Writer	
- Almost a decade ago, Michigan was in the midst of a recession and higher education had
needs the state couldn't meet.
•^Then Gov. James Blanchard
created a commission of 25
Michigan residents in September   1983  to   closely  examine
'higher education, pinpoint
problems and offer recommendations.
&*" In the opening letter of the
.pecexnher 1984 report, the Com-
mission on the Future of Higher
^ducatiop in Michigan outlined
the state's status — and pointed
out primary concerns.
"Our higher education system
is in jeopardy, true; but Michigan's institutions of learning
are firmly in place, their leaders
are aware of the changes that
must be made to ensure Michigan's preeminence in the field of
education," the report stated.
"The recommendations we set'
forth must be implemented to
preserve the integrity and
balance  of a   superior  higher
See REPORT Page 2
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