• COMMUNITY CALENDAR

THIS WEEKEND • Renaissance Faire will be

held Saturday and Sunday in River Oaks Park near Galesburg. The event has a medieval flavor and fea-tures entertainment, childrens' games, plays, artisans, feast, and mock battles. Admission is $8 for adult's. $7 for children 7-15. and lit-tle ones are free. The event is from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.. rain or shine. The park is on M-96 west of Galesburg.

• Cornweirs Turkeyville IJ.S.A. will be the site of a flea/an-tique market Saturday and Sunday at 18935 154-Mile Road. Marshall. The event is free. Formore infor-mation. call 7814203.

• The ninth annual MOPARS at the Red Barn's car show will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the (xilmore-Classic Car Club Museum. The event features more than 300 Chrysler show cars, swap meet car corral, craft show, MO PAR model car contest, slot-car racing (for kids only), food, ice cream and soft drinks. Admission is S5 for adults. $4 for seniors over 65 and AAA members. $2 for ages 7-15 and children under 7 are free. Parking is free. The museum is lo-cated midway between Kalamazoo. Battle Creek and Grand Rapids. 1 mile north of Gull I^ike on M-43.

PUBLIC MEETINGS MONDAY • Calhoun County Board of

Health. 8 a.m.. Marian E. Burch Daycare Center 966-1210.

• Calhoun County Family Independence Agency Board, noon. 1150 E. Michigan Ave.. 966-1413.

• Albion Board of Education, 7 p.m.. Washington Gardner Building.

• Homer Village Council. 7 p.m. • Coldwater Board of Education.

7:30 p.m.. Roosevelt Building. • Hastings City Council. 7:30

p.m.. City Hall. • Olivet Public Schools. 7:30

p.m.. Middle School. • Charlotte City Council. 8 p.m..

Municipal Building. • Coldwater City Council, 8 p.m..

City Hall. • Eckford Township, 8:30 p.m..

Town Hall.

SPECIAL INTERESTS • Full Gospel Business

Men's Fellowship International, 6:30 p.m. today, Custer American Legion Post 54.

• Interaction Of Kalamazoo, Inc. (for single adults), 7:30 p.m. today. People's Church, 1758 N. loth St., Kalamazoo.

• Battle Creek Bike Club, 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Bellevue Junior High to Vermontville. . • Transformed Toastmaster^,

11 a.m. Sunday, First Wesleyan Church, room 207. Call 965-1413.

• Greater Kalamazoo Christian Singles, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Third Reformed Church, 2345 N. 10th St.

SENIOR CITIZENS • Blood-pressure screening,

9 to 11 a.m. Monday, Burnham Brook Center.

• Senior meals, dining senior-style lunches served by Elder Services Department of the Community Action Agency are available 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday in Springview Towers. Bedford Manor. Franklin Center. Washington Heights United Methodist Church and Mercy Pavilion Lakeview Center; 11:30 a.m. Monday. Wednesday and Friday in the Springfield Senior Fellowship Center at the Battle Creek Area Math and Science Center. 765 Upton Ave. Make reservations the previous open day 963-1212.

TO SUBMIT INFORMATION • Please send items to

Community Calendar. 155 W. Van Buren St.. Battle Creek 49017-3093 or fax them to us at 964-0299. Please include your name and phone number.

SETTING IT STRAIGHT • Polling places for the

Springfield recall election Tuesday are Springfield Public Safety Building. 601 Avenue A. and Battle Creek Area Mathematics and Science Center. 765 Upton Ave: Also. Yvonne Mclntyre and Marian Hoffman told the Enquirer on Thursday that they no longer are members of the pro-recall Citizens For Better Government.

The Battle Creek Enquirer cor-rects errors of fact. To report an er-ror, call 966-0674.

HOW TO REACH US Have a story tip or idea? Here's how

to reach us 24 hours a day: • Reader hotline: 966-0681 • Fax: 964-0299 • Great Lakes Free-Net: Leave a

message iivthe Battle Creek Enquirer conference area. ! • E-mail: enquirer@mail.tds.net

LOCAL . „ t i R « I m ..

FRIDAY. JULY 2 5 . 1 9 9 7 BATTLE CREEK ENQUIRER. 3 A

FOCUS: OUR COMMUNITIES

Traffic island is no paradise Dowling residents say potholes are more bothersome

Q U E A H H A B E R N .

Hie Enquirer

DOWLING - A few mornings ago. Richard Avery walked down the front drive of his store on M-37 and fell into a hole, slamming his shoul-der.

"I've got potholes out here like crazy." said the owner of Dowling Corner Store on M-37

But potholes, always a major in-convenience for him and his cus-tomers. are nothing compared to what's going up outside his store these days.

It's big, it's yellow, it's ugly, and it's no island paradise, he said.

The Michigan Department of Transportation is putting in a giant blacktopped parking island in front of Avery's store and three others in Dowling to keep motorists from parking on M-37.

"They don't need to waste that blacktop. They don't have to do any-thing as hideous as this," said Avery, who wants that material used to fill the potholes.

Tom Catsup, crew leader for the project, said the island will keep parked cars off M-37 and allow other drivers to see when turning corners.

"I'm just following orders," he said. "I'm not doing it to hurt any-body, I'm doing it the best I can do."

Avery said no one is happy with the eyesore.

"What it does, it blocks my semis from coming in. All my deliveries are with semis," he said. "(The is-land) is really too big."

KEVIN HARE/THE ENQUIRER

Richard Avery says the parking island in front of his Dowling General Store is an eyesore and blocks delivery trucks. Highway officials say the island keep cars from parking too close to M-37.

Cecilene Barrus, 55, a Dowling native, said the parking islands were poorly planned.

"Ft's dangerous. (Cars) have nowhere to go or pass and what's the snowplow going to do?" she said. The potholes are just as bad.

"I took two spills myself in those holes and my knee hurt where I fell," she said. "You shouldn't have to watch where your feet walk, you should be able to walk across a state highway without falling."

Avery has complained repeatedly about the island and potholes. He said state officials are not listening.

"I know I'm barking at the moon. but 1 tell you. our tax dollars could be used a lot better," he said.

s

Til trade a Holso for a Munster'

CHRISTENS0N

The Michigan Battle Cats have them.

Pilots competing in the Team U.S. National Hot-Air Balloon Championship have them.

Now Battle Creek police offi-cers have them.

About 30 offi-cers now have trading cards. similar to base-ball greats Mickey Mantle and Henry Aaron (although not as valuable).

The 31/2-by-21/2-inch cards have a color photograph of the officer on one side and some biographical informa-tion and sometimes a safety message

- o n the back. Several other area police depart-

ments distribute cards and Battle Creek officers in the DAR.E. pro-gram have been distributing their cards to children for nearly two years. . Sgt. Michael Sherzer said Battle Creek saw other police departments using the cards and decided to pro-duce their own.

The newest cards are for city patrol officers and sergeants, he said.

Participation was voluntary, he said. Hie photographs were taken by de-partment personnel and printed by EPI in Battle Creek.

Each officer has been given 500 cards.

Officers selected their own poses:

NEIGHBORS PLUS

i

Officer Mike Bradley. FOR THE ENQUIRER

• K-9 Officer Mark Holso is pic-tured with Dino. his 2-year-old German Shephard.

• Officer Michael St. John is stand-ing near the waterfall across from the WK. Kellogg Foundation with his three-wheeled motorcycle and bicy-cle.

• Officer Ron Munster is pictured on his horse.

• Sgt. Neal Vanderbilt is crouched in front of a patrol car with his three granddaughters.

Sherzer said the cards are being distributed to the officers, who then pass them out as they like.

Most of the cards will be given out

Officer Brent Woodward.

to children and often the officer will use them as incentives in anti-drug and antkrime messages.

"We will be using them for public re-lations and to develop some pride in the community." Sherzer said.

Sgt. Patrick Alspaugh, who received his cards Monday, said he believes of-ficers will be able to use the cards to calm children in the middle of stress-ful situation, like domestic violence between their parents.

"I think we could use them at crime scenes and get their thoughts away from the trauma." Alspaugh said.

Alspaugh said he will hang onto a few to trade.

FOR THE ENQUIRER

And while a Pat Alspaugh card might not be traded for an Detroit Tiger A1 Kaline rookie card. "I could trade with other police officers." the officer said.

Trace Christenson's column appears each Monday and Friday.

T R A C E C H R I S T E N S O N

Battle Creek Enquirer 155 W. Van Buren Battle Creek, Ml 49017 Phone: 966-0685

Prints of caretaker on belt, jury told

TRACE CHRISTENSON The Enquirer

Sharon Zachary's thumbprint was on the belt of a murdered elderly Emmett Township man.

A jury will have to decide when it was put there.

A Michigan State Police lab techni-cian testified Thursday that Zachary's left thumbprint was on the belt worn by Robert Rogers when he was beaten to death April 26. 1996.

And Detective Sgt. Gregory Michaud testified he was surprised the print was on the belt.

"Fingerprints are very sensitive and won't last too long." Michaud told the jury in Calhoun County Circuit Court. He said the print was on the front of the belt a few inches from the buckle.

He said it's the first time he has ever found a fingerprint on a belt, suggest-ing that the fingerprint must have been left after Rogers was killed.

"If it is not touched or used, it might exist," Michaud said. "But with the everyday use of a belt, it is not likely to exist there. The use that a belt would get in a normal day. it is not likely a fin-gerprint would exist there."

'ITie fingerprint is the first physical evidence introduced by Assistant Calhoun County Prosecutor David Wallace that links Zachary to the mur-der.

And the testimony was clearly dam-aging to the defense case. When Defense Attorney John Hofman had a chance to question Michaud, the first topic was the fingerprint.

"You are unable to date a finger-piint," Hofman suggested.

'That's true," Michaud replied. Wallace's theory is that Zachary

beat Rogers to death with a metal pipe and then grabbed the belt to turn him over.

Dr. Laurence Simson, a pathologist, testified Rogers' body was turned over after he died from 25 to 30 blows to the head.

In earlier hearings testimony, her at-torney said that Zachary gave the belt to Rogers and sometimes laid out his clothes.

Zachary. who was caring for Rogers and was the sole beneficiary for his $500,000 estate, has denied any role in his death.

Hofman has noted that Rogers was a victim of several burglaries and rob-beries and could have been a target for several people.

More laboratory technicians and police officers are expected to testify today as the trial concludes its second week.

In other testimony: • Simson said Rogers held up his

hands and arms to ward off some blows before he died. Any one of the blows could have killed him, the doc-tor said, but Rogers was alive during much of the attack.

He said Rogers was likely dead sev-eral hours before his body was dis-covered about 4 p.m.

• Lt. Thomas Headley testified that in July 1994 he sought a warrant for another man who was alleged to have assaulted Rogers during an armed robbery. Headley said the elderly man was struck several times in the face and head with a pistol during that rob-bery.

• Investigators did not find any fin-gerprints on the pipe believed used to kill Rogers. The pipe was found in a pond behind his Raymond Road home.

Leadership academy helps build teens' skills Nine members of the Youth

Leadership Academy (Y1J\) put in 27 hours of volunteer work earlier this month at the newly built Habitat for Humanity house

STEVE SMITH

VOLUNTEER AND INFORMATION SERVICES INC.

Valerie Slocum shovels dirt to landscape a hill in the back yard of the new Habitat for Humanity house on New Moon Terrace.

at 11 New Moon Terrace in Springfield.

The Youth Leadership Acad-emy consists of. nine individuals who have previ-ously completed a minimum of 40 hours of service through the Youth Engaged in Service (YES) program. Academy sessions include both classroom and community service components, with the Habitat for Human house being their first major project. Participants who completed this service project include Justin Archie, Angie Haider, Doug Kachman, Faith

Leatherman, Lauren Sickle, Valerie Slocum and Jessica Vogel.

The requirement upon completion of the Youth leadership Academy is to take on one of three responsibilities throughout the following school year. Participants must either serve in a leadership position at their individual schools (class president, student sen-ate. etc.). sit on a nonprofit board, or implement a community service pro-ject of their own. Through the Youth Leadership Academy, participants are learning about servant-leadership in their community and the many re-sources that are available to them.

Youth Leadership Academy ses-sions have included character educa-tion and its implementation in Battle Creek Publ ic Schools, Battle Creek neighborhoods through Neigh-borhoods Inc., city government, and service-learning. Coming events in-clude a tour and information about Battle Creek businesses, nonprofit or-

ganizations and board leadership, and a final retreat with- Kalamazoo VolunTeens.

For more information about the Youth Leadership Academy or YES, contact Jennifer Hilgendorf at Volunteer and Information Services at 965-0555.The YES program is co-sponsored by Volunteer and Information Services and the American Red Cross-Calhoun County Chapter, both United Way partner agencies.

GIVE US A CALL Neighbors Plus is a supplement to the

weekly Neighbofs section, which is published eo(h Monday. If you have news for Neighbors or Neighbors Pkis, call Sieve Smith at 966-0663 between 6:30 d.m. and 4 p.m., Monday-Frkloy, or fox the information to us at 964-0299.

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