Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan • Page 15

Capitol Lansing State Journal Sunday, August 22, 1999 3B Capitol Question: George W. Bush Texas Gov. and presidential candidate George W. Bush has been under pressure to reveal whether he has ever taken cocaine. Other" candidates have answered the question.

Do you feel Bush should answer it? Responses are due by Thursday, with results published in Sundas-newspaper. You can: Call 485-5463 and press 8978 to leave a voice-mail message. Fax it to 377-1298. Send E-mail to: candrewslansing.gannett.com Capitol Question Associated Press Highlights of last week's action at the Capitol: Counties statewide apparently are shelling out millions of dollars to add space for new jail beds. Since 1991, counties statewide have added 5,400 beds, boosting county jail capacity from 11,600 in 1991 to 17,000.

Such expansion parallels Michigan's prison buildup. The state is expected to add more than 6,000 beds to its corrections system in the next 18 months, it was reported Monday. Rep. Joseph Rivet, D-Bay City, said he wants to change Michigan's campaign finance law so state officials cannot use state resources to campaign for federal candidates. Rivet's complaint came after the Department of State ruled that a letter House Speaker Chuck Perricone, R-Kalamazoo Township, wrote in support of George W.

Bush's presidential campaign didn't violate state campaign finance laws. House Republicans will introduce legislation this fall that would ban guns from schools and churches, House Speaker Chuck Perricone announced Monday. Perricone spokeswoman Lorri Rishar said the speaker is responding to shootings at a Jewish community center in Los Angeles, Columbine High School and other schools. Cancer is striking fewer people and causing fewer deaths in Michigan, Gov. John Engler said Tuesday.

According to statistics from the state Department of Community Health, the number of cancer ognize potentially violent students, talk to children with guns and diffuse anger. About 200 police officers, teachers, administrators and school-board members from across the state gathered in Lansing Tuesday for a one-day conference. House Democrats on Wednesday proposed banning guns from schools, churches, sports arenas and other public areas in a move that re-ignited partisan sniping on the gun issue. Although Democrats endorsed the call Monday by House Speaker Chuck Perricone to ban guns from schools and churches, they said the Republican leader didn't go far enough to protect children from firearms. A new "virtual" university that will offer job training and academic classes to students and workers through computers and distance learning opened its headquarters in Lansing on Wednesday with a virtual ribbon cutting.

When Margaret Holtschlag wanted to teach her fourth-grade students about wetlands, she didn't turn to a science book. She took the students to the school grounds, and together they brought in water, trees, grass and flowers and created a working ecosystem that is now home to bugs, butterflies and frogs. On Thursday, Holtschlag was named the Michigan Teacher of the Year in recognition of her creative instruction. The state has awarded a $45,000 contract to a Boston consulting firm to study whether Michigan's bottle deposit law should be revised to include noncarbonated drink containers, the Lansing State Journal reported Friday. Capitol Question is an opportunity for readers to voice their opinions on questions before the Legislature and state government.

Responses run Sundays. What we asked: Gov. John Engler has traveled to Iowa and other states to boost the presidential candidacy of George W. Bush. How active should he be in Bush's campaign? What you said: "He's entitled to be as active as he wants to be and to show his support if he wants to.

I applaud him for speaking out on who he believes to be the right person for the presidential position." Paul McNamara, St Johns "If Gov. Engler is traveling to other states to support Bush, I hope he's paying for it out of his own pocket. We certainly don't need to support him going to support Bush. We do not need another Bush." Madatean McDonald, Holt 'The governor should stay home and tend to the business of the people of the state of Michigan. It is ironic that the same day this question appeared in your paper, there is an article about Republicans complaining about Debbie Stabenow campaigning out of her district for the Senate.

This is a contradiction for the Republicans if they think if OK for Gov. Engler to travel in support of Bush." Don Powers, Lansing "I think Gov. Engler should be as active in Gov. Bush's campaign for president as he can be. Especially when President Clinton travels to Lansing under the veil of Medicare and Social Security reform and Debbie Stabenow uses it for every opportunity she can for political gain of her own state campaign." Kevin Shannon, Dimondale 'The governor should remember all the criticisms he had of Jim Blanchard and remember all the promises he made about what a great governor he was going to be to stay within the state and do state business and drive his Oldsmobile." Glenn Freeman, Delta Township "Where does this pompous governor of ours get the idea that he is a volunteer in pushing for Bush's campaign? When I heard him say on TV that he was a volunteer, I about flipped.

At his salary? I bet the expense of traveling went on our expense account." Ed Mills, Lansing 7rr i I Local State Digest Locally Haslett Road stretch opens MERIDIAN TWP. Drivers sick of detours are getting a little relief. The Ingham County Road Commission has opened up a one-mile section of Haslett Road, between Meridian and Shoeman roads in Williamstown Township, while crews finish recon-t struction of the two-lane road. Residents asked to conserve water MASON Homes and busi- nesses here should curb water use while the city's biggest well is closed for repair. Administrator Marty Colburn said Saturday.

A blockage in the well that produces 60 percent of Mason's Water was discovered by work- ers about 9 a.m. Saturday, Colburn said. Workers found the blockage at 274 feet underground. The blockage will be cleared Monday, at which time special cameras will be lowered to examine the well to determine how it should be repaired to prevent future blockages, Colburn said. Four other wells are piping water into the city's elevated storage tank, Colburn said, and there has been no water pressure problem.

The water is safe to drink, he said. The 3,000 homes and busi- hesses that use Mason water are asked to avoid car washing and lawn sprinkling until the main well is restored, Colburn said. He did not estimate when that might be. Lansing residents injured in crash WAPAKONETA, Ohio The 32 people on board a bus carrying members of a Lansing youth ministry and their families suffered minor injuries in a collision with a tractor-trailer Saturday on Interstate 75, the State Highway Patrol said. All 32 were treated and re- leased at Memorial Hospital in Lima, said nursing supervisor Rella Zachariah.

Sgt. Frank Faulder of the patrol's Wapakoneta post said both vehicles were southbound on I-75, just north of a rest area, about 10:15 a.m. when the bus struck the truck's left rear corner. The truck went off the road, while the bus crossed the median into the highway's northbound I lanes and struck an embankment. Faulder said the driver of the bus, Tommy Ray, 54, of Detroit was charged with improper passing.

Michigan Deadly gas killed worker DEARBORN A worker who died while performing routine maintenance work at the Rouge Steel Co. plant died of carbon monoxide poisoning, an autopsy fcjevealed. Three others were treated at hospitals, officials said. A fifth worker was treated at the plant following the 5 a.m. incident Thursday, according to a statement released by Rouge Steel and Metro Industrial Con- tracting Inc.

of Oak Park, the employer of the five men. John Hancock an attorney for Metro Industrial, said that on Thursday night the company located two children of the worker who died, Francis Kidd, 44, of Gladstone. The men were performing routine maintenance on a gas scrubber, which removes impurities from natural gas and returns it to the blast furnace to be burned again, Hancock said. From staff writers Sally Tato and John B. Albright and wire reports Capitol highlights Under the dome Here is a daily look 1 at activities of the Legislature and state govern- ment.

If you've got pj ideas for stories, call Chris JIEfcL Andrews fiiTissfilf at 377-1054. deaths in 1996 was 19,563, dropping to 19,504 in 1997. There were 44,023 cases of invasive cancer diagnosed in 1995, but that dropped to 42,629 in 1996. The state's two major utilities said Tuesday they intend to follow state regulators' plan to open Michigan's electric market to competition. Their decision opens the way for a small number of electric customers to bid next month to buy power from suppliers other than Detroit Edison Co.

or Jackson-based Consumers Energy Co. The initial group of state lawmakers settled into their new digs Tuesday, as legislative aides competed with dusty workmen for elevator space and directions in a new state office building across from the Capitol. In addition to the typical preparations for a new school year, educators also are learning how to rec- ey's younger sister. That was Vera-Ellen. "Nobody could really sparkle like Vera-Ellen did on the screen," Dennison said.

"I want people to remember her because she's too important a part of Hollywood to forget. She was too good a dancer to be forgotten. I'm not prejudiced when I say she was the best, absolutely the best." Not that Dennison's interests are one-dimensional. When he retired after 31 years of teaching world geography in Niles, he moved back in with his mother, Marleah, in Hastings and had an attached garage converted to a parlor to display his many collections. The room exudes Dennison's passions: Royal Doulton statues, Waterford crystal.

Hummel figurines, dolls dressed in period costumes, Lladro Spanish porcelain figurines, photos of his many trips abroad. In one corner is his shrine to Hollywood idols. "I usually have these covered PLUMBING HEATING AIR We Work On All Makes Models Anytime, Anywhere Including: Drain Cleanina Garbage Disposals Water Gas Repairing Slab Leaks Much More! Old Fashion Service But with all the latest technology. OVER 21 YEARS OF SERVICE 24 HOURS 7 DAYS ALWAYS PROMPT RELIABLE ARMOUR Rental: E. Lansing considers buyback of rental licenses St', i 4, i -'TA t4T2T 1 l'-- jft, a .1 1.

-lib II JON M. BROUWERAssociated Press Mementos: Terry Dennison poses with some of the dresses and other memorabilia he's collected over the years in his home in Hastings in this June photo. The collector is a fan of Vera-Ellen, the slender dancer who played Rosemary Clooney's younger sister in "White Christmas." Man holds dear memories of actress from earlier time ond highest number, Avondale, has 138. City Councilman Sam Singh said high rental areas near MSU could be considered. "Obviously you always want to have a strong balance in neighborhoods of rental and family or owner-occupied," Singh said.

"Our intent is to take a look at an area we would like to have families living in as it relates especially to school attendance." Both Bailey Elementary School and Central Elementary School were closed in 1984 because of declining enrollment in their neighborhoods. However, no school is in danger of closing today. Bailey resident Norman Hayner said he sees the benefits of rental housing for students and newly married couples but said the buy-back plan might help reduce the high concentration of student rentals in his back yard. He said doing that could prevent problems such as the March 27-28 riot, when thousands swarmed the city and MSU campus, uprooting trees and house property to fuel bonfires. "It may be something the city wants to experiment with," Hayner said.

"I don't mind a moderate amount of taxpayer dollars to be used in the process." Continued FROM 1B The buyback plan is just one initiative the city has brainstormed to curb the sprawl of rental housing in recent years. In 1997, the city passed Ordinance 900, which allows only two unrelated people or a family to live in a home with a rental license obtained after the ordinance was passed. The city is also approving rental licenses for new high-density apartment complexes, such as Capstone Commons on Abbott Road, north of Lake Lansing Road, to offer students places to live other than neighborhoods. Capstone will open its doors today to 654 student tenants. There are 1,606 rental licenses for homes, duplexes, apartments and properties such as sorority and fraternity houses in East Lansing, according to city information compiled in 1997, the most recent year available.

Obtaining a rental housing license from the city costs $1,535, plus the cost of bringing the house up to code after the city inspects it. Annual renewal fees are $85 plus inspection fees. Bailey one of the closest neighborhoods to Michigan State University has the highest number of rental properties with 775. The neighborhood with the sec frJ1 V1 7 fTi inr nik A at, with plastic," he saidr switching on the overhead track lighting. A cookie jar shaped like the head of the Wicked Witch of the West from "The Wizard of Oz" sits on a table.

Dress forms fill the costumes once worn by his favorite actresses. He has Jane Powell's dress from "Two Weeks With Love," June Ally-son's from "Words and Music," Marilyn Erskine's from "Westward the Women," and, of course, Vera-Ellen's from "The Belle of New York," One was missing. Dennison lent the dress Judy Garland wore in "Easter Parade" to the Gerald R. Ford Museum for its American Century exhibit. "I never dreamed I'd own that dress someday," he said.

"And my friends who've seen it can't believe it either, that someone in Hastings, Michigan, owns that dress." He bought the costumes several years ago at an MGM auction "just because I wanted to have a piece of Hollywood memorabilia," he said. Leisure Living Companies Desser.i Punchy 1 1 Cops and courts By Pat Shellenbarger Associated Press HASTINGS It is the late 1940s, and a boy of 8 or 9 sits in Hastings' Strand Theater, captivated by the young dancer on the screen. Fifty years later, Terry Dennison hasn't forgotten her, though most of the world has. "I've been a fan of hers for a long time. I hate to say how long," said Dennison, who declined to reveal his age, although simple math suggests he's approaching 60.

"She was perky, just a wonderful dancer. She could do ballet. She could do tap. She could do it all. She was athletic and cute.

She reminded me of my mom." She was Vera-Ellen, and Dennison wants people to remember her name and her talent. Never heard of her? If you've seen the seasonal favorite "White Christmas," you know it starred Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and a slender dancer who played Cloon- Fiero were not hurt. It's unclear who was driving the Cavalier, but no one in the car was wearing a seat belt. The accident is still under investigation. Lansing Bus collision injures one: A Lansing man was taken to Sparrow Hospital after the car he was driving was hit by a bus.

According to Lansing police, the driver of a Ford Thunderbird was traveling south on Pine Street when he was nit by a bus from Iowa that ran a red light on Oakland Avenue. The uninjured bus driver was ticketed ana refused to comment. Lansing Hospital fire put out: Maintenance workers used two fire extinguishers to put out a fire in a clothes dryer Saturday night in a Sparrow Hospital laundry room, Acting Lt. Matt Peacock of the Lansing Fire Department said. The fire was reported about 9:30 p.m.

but was out when firefighters arrived, Peacock said. No one was injured. The fire was confined to the dryer. From staff writer Sally Tato Eaton Rapids Twp. man dies after car hits tree irCvfnl Aug.

25th ,4 to 7 pm 'Ife Lansing State Journal EATON RAPIDS TWP. An Eaton Rapids Township man died about 3:30 a.m. Saturday after the car he was driving along Kemler Road hit a tree. John James, 18, died instantly in his 1989 Oldsmobile 98, said Eaton County sheriffs Sgt. Rod Sadler.

He was wearing a seat belt. The accident is still under investigation. Leslie Twp. Collision sends three to hospital: Two men and a woman are at Sparrow Hospital in fair condition after their car hit other car on Fitchburg Road. According to the Ingham County Sheriffs Office, the three adults were in a 1990 Chevrolet Cavalier at a.m.

Saturday when the car rear-ended a Pontiac Fiero. The Fiero was pushed into a ditch on the side of the road and the Cavalier rolled into the ditch, throwing its passengers and driver from the car, said Ingham County Sgt. Mike Perez. The driver and passenger of the OLBLELRnrV (COULRTLT 77 Solon Rd. DeWitt, Ml (517) 484-6980 Quiet, serene country setting Physician on staff Private semi-private rooms Medication monitoring Various levels of assisted dispensing living, including 20 bed Long short term Alzheimer's facility residency 24 hour supervision Planned activities Home cooked meals Barberbeauty shop Laundry housekeeping (Formerly Hughes Country Care) 1939 I Results Online www.

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