"No sleep, no
sleep," was the cry of supporters and Democratic leaders at a "Get
Out the Vote rally," Saturday.
"You are going to be on the street," said Michigan Attorney General
Jennifer Granholm. "We will not rest until victory on Tuesday."
Granholm said every Democrat must work overtime since Michigan is a key state
this year’s election.
"We’re here because Michigan is ground zero," she said. "This
is really where people’s one vote can make a difference."
"The stakes could not be higher," said House Democratic Leader
Michael Hanley.
Hanley introduced the speakers who included Granholm, Sue Smith, democratic
candidate for State Representative for the 99th District; former attorney
general Frank Kelly, former U.S. Sen. Don Reigle and U.S. Sen. Carl Levin.
Approximately 50 to 60 people gathered in Warriner Mall.
Granholm said students should vote for Smith because her opponent, incumbent
Sandy Caul, voted in favor of mandatory voting in townships where students
are registered to vote.
"We’re making history next Tuesday," Levin said.
Levin said he and U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Debbie Stabenow, who was
at the rally, agree on voter concerns.
"She’s with me on the issues and more importantly she’s with you on the
issues," he said.
Levin attributed the positive aspects of today’s economy and low employment
rate to Democratic leadership.
Reigle said of the rally, "What it’s really all about are moments just
like these."
Social Security and new supreme court justices were two critical issues, Reigle
said.
"Social Security is a federal program," he said, presidential
candidate George W. Bush needs to realize this. (Social Security) is one of
the most important things Americans have done," Reigle said.
A trillion dollars cannot be taken out of Social Security and spent on other
things, he said.
"Who is on the Supreme Court does matter," Reigle said.
The race in Michigan this year could be decided by 10, 15 or 20 votes, Reigle
said.
Considering the presidential race is a close one, Reigle said the attendees
of the rally have the power to decide who will sit in the White House.
Frank Kelly, former Michigan attorney general, said when Social Security was
passed, only one republican voted in favor of it, and yet Republicans still
say they will fix the Social Security system.
"That is like being in the hospital really sick and the funeral director
comes and says, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you’," he said.
Hanley said accusations against Sue Smith in Caul’s campaign ads are false.
"Aren’t you glad those accusations are false and Sue Smith is running an
issue (oriented) campaign?" he said.
"OK folks, we know the issues," Smith said when she took the stand.

Education, patients’ bill of rights and the cost of prescription drugs, were
the issues to which Smith referred.
"We know what we need to do, let’s go out and do it," she said.
Gilda Jacobs, assistant floor leader, said she was wearing army green because
there is a war going on.
"I feel that we are in guerrilla warfare right now," she said.
Sandy Caul and her "cohorts" made it more difficult for students to
vote, she said.
"We’re going to search out every democrat and bring them to the polls
and then we’re going to destroy the Republicans," Jacobs said.
"People died for us to have the country we have today," he said.
"We Democrats know how to work," said Kwami Kilpatrick, Democratic
floor leader.
Mike Plutschuck, College Democrats president and Fraser sophomore, said he
attended the rally because "I want to make sure the Democrats win on Tuesday.

"Who is in office now is doing a bad job, it’s hard for us to vote right
now."
Grand Rapids senior Melissa Gill, vice president of College Democrats, said,
"Central Michigan needs Sue Smith in the House to fight for students
because she generally cares."

Jerry Hoffman

Rita Videtich, Ferris
State University senior, received the glittering Miss Greater Central Michigan
2001 crown Sunday afternoon in Warriner Auditorium.
Videtich, 23, competed against 14 other contestants in the pageant, now in
its 36th year.
This was Videtich’s last year to compete because the pageant rules restrict
contestant ages to 17-24. Because it was her last year to compete, she said,
winning was even more exciting.
"It was really a surprise because everyone here was so great in every
aspect of the competition," she said.
"My platform is Vision for the Future," Videtich said. "I’d
just like to promote regular eye exams, donation of used eyeglasses, signing
organ donor cards and then promoting services for the visually
impaired."
Getting to know the other contestants was the best part of the competition,
she said.
Videtich said being voted Spirit of Miss America by her fellow contestants
was almost as good as winning the title.
"I just hope that people view this program as one that promotes
scholarships and service and doesn’t concentrate on outer beauty."
Stacey Goosen, FSU senior and first runner-up, said she was happy with her
placement.
"We worked so hard and it’s nice to see it all pay off," she said.
Goosen said the best thing about the competition is, "the pride you can
take in your accomplishment."
Amy McFarland, Auburn freshman at CMU and second runner-up, said she wasn’t
really nervous since she has competed since she was 6 years old.
"I guess preparing for the interview would be the hardest thing,"
she said.
Each contestant had a private 10-minute interview with the judges prior to
the pageant.
Physical fitness in a swimsuit counted for 15 percent, talent presentation
made up 40 percent and evening wear was 15 percent of the competition.
Ericka Olgaard, Alma College sophomore, said placing fourth in the
competition was "wonderful."
Olgaard’s platform was the Importance of Immunization.
"I’m a pre-med student and I believe immunization is really, really
important," she said.
Megan O’Brien, Trenton senior at CMU, was the third runner-up in the pageant.

Kim Brown and Debra Slaggert served as co-executive directors of the pageant.

Slaggert said it provides many opportunities to participants.
"It offers young women between the ages of 17 and 24 additional
opportunities to earn scholarship monies and to pursue higher education,"
she said.
Slaggert said she thought this year’s program was excellent.
"We’re happy with Rita (Videtich), but we’d have been happy with any of
the young ladies on stage tonight," Slaggert said.
People helping out at the pageant are volunteers, she said.
"I love it. It’s a lot of fun," Slaggert said.
Just helping the participants makes the effort worth it, she said.
Jordan Carson, Miss Greater Central Michigan 2000, said farewell as she
relinquished the crown to Videtich.
"Friends are what made my year so memorable," she said.
"Looking back at all of my memories it is hard to see it all come to a
close."
Carson said the past year was full of activity.
"I kept myself very busy," she said.
Carson’s advice for Videtich was to take advantage of the opportunities her
accomplishment has brought.
"Have fun," she said.

A new $110-million initiative is providing laptop computers and technology to Michigan teachers.
Approved last summer by Gov. John Engler and the Michigan Legislature, the Teacher Technology Initiative is designed to assist teachers through the provision of personal computers, software, remote Internet access and Web-based professional development.
“I think the intent of the program is to ensure that Michigan kids have every advantage,” said T.J. Bucholz, Michigan Department of Education spokesperson. “Providing teachers with technology such as laptops is a step in the right direction.”
But not everyone agrees with Bucholz.
Chuck Weston, a teacher at Renaissance Public School Academy, 2797 S. Isabella Road, said the initiative “shortchanges” both the taxpayer and student.
“I just think that the kids and the taxpayers are being ripped off big time,” he said. “This is a selfish thing.”
Weston doubts the computers will be used solely for teaching and education purposes.
“I’m sure there are things that will be purchased that they won’t use in a million years,” he said. “I think that to the tune of that amount of money you can inconvenience yourself and drive back to school to use a computer.”
Engler is trying to appease the Michigan Education Association and Michigan teachers before he is out of office, Weston said.
“Why didn’t he do this five years ago when we needed it?” he said.
“We’re continuously getting kicked in the face,” Weston said of Engler’s actions toward teachers.
Schools are teaching kids how turn on a computer but not how to read and write anymore, Weston said.
“We’re losing a lot of skills that are really important by pushing technology.”
Weston said students’ reading skills have worsened in the last 10 years.
A cooperative attitude between the governor and teachers would solve problems like this, he said.
“If I accept anything it’s going against what I believe in,” Weston said.
State Sen. Joanne Emmons, R-Big Rapids, said it is up to individual schools to decide how they will use the technology.
“Everybody recognizes that if the students aren’t technology-wise they’re shut off from a lot of places they need to go,” she said.
Emmons said if teachers are not trained in technology, they cannot educate their students adequately in that area.
“I think the governor is very sincere and has a clear understanding that technology is a necessary knowledge for every single student in the state of Michigan,” she said.
Emmons said new technologies intimidate some people.
“It’s hard to make this change,” she said. “If you don’t know the possibilities within the technology system, you’re not going to pass that on to students.”
Emmons said new technologies bring drastic changes, “very much like changing from a horse and buggy to an automobile.”
The initiative is managed by the Michigan Virtual University, a private, nonprofit organization created by the governor to meet work force education and training needs of Michigan businesses and industries, according to its Web site.
Bucholz said vender solutions are still being considered, both Macintosh and PC platform options are possible.
In general, teachers are willing to try new things, he said.
“I think that there has been a mixed response,” Bucholz said. “They want to be able to use technology appropriately.”
Giving teachers a laptop is a step in right direction, he said.
“I think in the long term, this is a wonderful opportunity for districts.”
About 3,500 students are enrolled in Mount Pleasant public schools, Bucholz said.
Cost of laptops for a district with a staff of 300 at approximately $1,500 per teacher would add up to $450,000, he said.
That much money is a big hit for any district, Bucholz said.
“Any assistance that the state can provide a district is welcome,” he said.
“We haven’t had all the questions answered yet, but we will and the goal here is to provide each teacher in Michigan with the necessary tools they require to educate children successfully, and I think that’s the bottom line of this program.”
School applications for initiative money must be submitted by June 30, 2001.

Aromatherapy addicts, candle collectors and scented lotion lovers won’t have to trek to the nearest mall to assuage cravings for exfoliants and massage oils.
Because Bath and Body Works is coming to Mount Pleasant soon.
Tony Vodicka, regional leasing manager for Developers Diversified Realty in Ohio, said Bath and Body Works is opening in the store that formerly housed Play-It-Again Sports, 4128 E. Bluegrass Road.
“The chain sells soaps, shampoos, candles, massage oils, exfoliating gloves and makeup; all kinds of stuff,” Vodicka said.
The store will open near the end of February, he said.
Vodicka said Developers Diversified markets the spaces it owns.
“Bath and Body Works was interested in the market,” he said.
The headquarters for Bath and Body Works is located in Columbus, Ohio.
Jessie Kauffold, East Lansing sophomore, said she is glad Bath and Body Works is opening in Mount Pleasant.
“I love that store,” she said.
It is a good thing the store is opening because Kauffold said she knows a lot of people who use its products.
“I think it would do pretty well here,” she said. “I’ve tried to go shopping in Mount Pleasant. It’s pretty limited though.”
Kauffold said she shopped at Target Stores, 4097 E. Bluegrass Road, for gifts last Christmas, but usually shops at home.
Old Navy and American Eagle were Kauffold’s picks for shopping havens.
Susan Hubbard, Hastings freshman, said shopping options are limited in Mount Pleasant.
“There’s not really that much near here,” she said. “If you didn’t have a car, you couldn’t go very far or get very much.”
Hubbard said she usually shops at Wal-Mart, 4208 E. Bluegrass Road.
She said she is looking forward to the opening of Bath and Body Works.
“It’s pretty cool; then I don’t have to go home to get the stuff that I usually get.”
Old Navy and American Eagle are two clothing stores Hubbard said she would like to see come to Mount Pleasant.
Adam Fedewa, Lansing sophomore, said Mount Pleasant needs “trendier” stores like Mr. Rags or American Eagle.
Fedewa said he usually goes home to shop.
“I’ve gone in (to Bath and Body Works) with friends before,” he said.

Michigan labor leaders will meet the press this morning to discuss their endorsement of Sue Smith, candidate for the 99th District seat in the Michigan House of Representatives.
Danny Hoffman, communications director for the American Federations of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization, said issues such as prescription drugs, school funding, patient rights and nursing-home reform will be addressed at the meeting at 9:30 a.m. at the Isabella County Courthouse, 200 N. Main St.
Mike Premo, Smith’s campaign manager, said health care, prescription drug cost and education are key issues in the 2000 election.
“These are going to be critical issues for working families,” he said.
“Some districts feel they are not getting their fair share,” Hoffman said of school funding.
Nursing-home reform, such as hiring more nursing home inspectors and posting citations for the violation of nursing-home regulations on the Internet, will also be addressed.
Hoffman said when he served as vice mayor of Ypsilanti, home of Eastern Michigan University, he was surprised at the number of students who did not vote.
“I was always amazed at the apathy of the students,” he said.
Students may not think the cost of prescription drug affects them, but it could, Hoffman said.
“Students may have elderly parents they may have to care for and this becomes an issue. I think that students should be very concerned about some of the issues,” Hoffman said.
“Education is a key issue that affects working families,” Premo said.
Mid Michigan Community College receives the lowest amount of per-pupil funding in the state, he said.
Mark Gaffney, Michigan AFL/CIO president, and Smith will speak and answer questions, Premo said.
Hoffman said he hopes this election year brings a more balanced array of both Democrat and Republican representation.
“The balance of power in the state is so out of whack,” he said.

The scramble for student housing begins soon with area complexes set to sign leases in the next few weeks.
Faye Thering, owner of Bellows Street Apartments, 906 and 910 E. Bellows St., said that although most complexes are forcing current residents to sign now, people in her complex won’t have to decide until December.
“I do not rush my kids. I think that’s ridiculous,” she said.
December is “plenty early” for residents to decide whether or not to stay, she said.
Thering said interested students started calling her in August looking for housing for the 2000-01 academic year.
“I’m assuming I’ll have some (units) but I’m not sure,” she said.
Bellows Street Apartments offers two-, three- and five-bedroom apartments that lease for nine months. The units come furnished and include all utilities except for electricity, telephone and cable.
For more information, call Thering at 772-1454.
Edgewood Apartments, 712 Edgewood Drive, begins leasing Nov. 23.
Carme Schafer, manager, said two-, three- and four-bedroom units are available, but they fill up quickly.
“Last year we filled up in five days,” she said.
Bedroom units include heat, water, cable, and are completely furnished including a five-inch TV.
Edgewood’s 10-month lease starts Aug. 1 and ends May 31.
“Current residents are signing leases this week,” she said. “We usually have about half of our residents stay.”
For more information, call 772-5942.
Chip Village Lease Manager Sue Denman, said the complex’s five-bedroom units go fast.
“They fill in so quick,” she said.
The five-person apartments have a 12-month lease, which runs from August to August and costs $260 per person, per month.
The units are unfurnished except for stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, garbage disposal, washer and dryer.
Eleven units are available at this point, Denman said.
Chip Village is located at 1825 S. Crawford Road. For more information, call 773-1794.
The Forum, 950 Appian Way, has two and three-bedroom units available, and lease signing begins Nov. 1.
The 10-month leasing period begins Aug. 1 and ends May 31 for both furnished and unfurnished apartments. Furnished apartments include living room, dining room, bedroom sets and appliances.
Manager Jana Schafer said apartment officials are still taking renewals so she doesn’t know how many apartments are available for next year.
Rent for both furnished and unfurnished apartments is the same.
A two-bedroom apartment costs $315 per person, three-bedroom apartments cost $245 per person.
For more information, call 772-5252.
Timber Creek Apartments, 3300 E. Deerfield Road, begins leasing Nov. 1, but is now taking renewals.
The one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments are unfurnished with all utilities included except phone service and cable television.
Assistant Manager Kelly Rider said people should call after Nov. 1 to make appointments because that is when things “start bustling.”
The units run in nine and 12-month lease increments. Nine-month leases run August through May and 12-month leases are from May to May or August to mid-July, Rider said.
For more information, call 773-3300.
Diane Lance, secretary for M & D Investments, 510.5 N. Main St., said the company owns rental units, which are leased to students.
Lance said two two-bedrooms apartments and two one-bedroom apartments are available. One four-bedroom upstairs unit, a two three-bedroom duplex and a 10-bedroom house are also available.
Lease signing opened Friday to non-residents, Lance said.
Once students are informed about available housing, she said, the apartment and houses go quickly.
Residents have an option of a 10- or 11-month lease, which begins Aug. 8 and ends either in June and July.
For more information, call 773-9664.

Mount Pleasant native, devoted Red Wings fan and father of three, Jon Joslin, is running for city commissioner.
His purpose for running is simple.
“Basically just to get involved with the way the City is run,” he said.
Joslin has served on the Mount Pleasant Planning Commission for a year and a half, and the zoning board of appeals for two years.
As the first person to serve on both committees concurrently, the experience has enabled him to be more involved, he said.
If elected, Joslin said he wants to rectify housing issues in Mount Pleasant, particularly in the rental market. Rentals can create problems when they are occupied by more people than they were designed to hold.
“We gave a lot of unlicensed rentals,” he said.
In family neighborhoods, Joslin said, rentals are usually designed to be rented to families with no more than two unrelated people. Parking and overcrowding become problems when more people move into a housing unit than it was intended to hold.
“We have a lot of neighborhoods that are upset about it,” Joslin said.
Student housing is also a concern as an increase in enrollment at CMU pushes many students into the community in search of housing.
“Where do you put the students?” Joslin said. “The City and a lot of the people in the city talk about the students as if they’re some kind of disease.”
People want to preserve their neighborhoods, but “you can’t preserve your neighborhood and ignore the students,” Joslin said.
“We depend on them just as much as they depend on us.”
But a new housing development, located behind Kmart, 2125 S. Mission St., may help alleviate some housing problems. The new apartment complex was approved by the planning and city commission fall of 1999 and can house 852 people, Joslin said.
Another one of Joslin’s goals is to create ways to bring revenue into the expanding community. Joslin said as Mount Pleasant expands, more services, such as police and fire personnel and equipment, are needed.
But funds for those services are not available.
“I’m all for growth, just controlled,” he said.
Joslin said the City should not depend on the 2-percent allocation funding that comes from the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe’s slot revenues.
“I hate to see us become so dependent on that money,” he said.
The city commission is currently looking at a possible city income tax. But Joslin said until further research is completed on the concept, he cannot decide if he would support or oppose the tax.
He also would like to see more communication and cooperation between Union Township and Mount Pleasant.
“We’re right on top of each other,” he said. “What they do and what we do affect each other so we have to work together.”
But Joslin said he enjoys the community and thinks the city is a good place to raise children.
“Everybody here pretty much gets along,” he said. “It’s still a very safe city.”
Joslin attended Mount Pleasant elementary and middle schools and Mount Pleasant High School. He graduated from CMU in 1994 and works as a bookkeeper for a family business.
His wife, Janelle, also a Mount Pleasant native, and their three children, Stephenie, 7, Neal, 5, and Savannah, 4, live in downtown Mount Pleasant.
“Our whole family’s big Red Wings fans,” Joslin said.
Even at an early age Neal Joslin would rather watch a Red Wings game than cartoons, Joslin said.
Joslin, who is currently trying to remodel his house, also describes himself as a fix-it kind of guy.

Like many cities in Michigan, Mount Pleasant residents drink and use fluoridated
water.
But some city residents feel that the city’s water is unsafe due to its fluoride
content.
Alan Gamble, life science professor at Mid-Michigan Community College, said people
should be afraid to drink city water because fluoride tests have been done in
Mount Pleasant.
“There’s an enormous amount of evidence that calls into question the
widely held assumption that fluoride is perfectly safe in the amounts that we’re
getting now.”
Gamble said studies, like the ones conducted by The Ecologist, Sept. 2000; the
Earth Island Journal, winter 1997-98; and the Christian Science Monitor point
to possible dangers of fluoridation.
But residents like Gamble have yet to convince city officials of their claims.
“We’ve had several city referendums on this,” said Malcolm Fox,
Mount Pleasant’s water treatment plant superintendent; the mandates of those
referendums are to maintain fluoridation.
Fox said fluoride has been used in the water since the early ’60s.
Central Michigan Citizens Opposed to Water Fluoridation sued the city this summer
because members said they could not drink the water. Fox said they wanted the
city to pay for bottled water for them.
In August, the case was dismissed but the debate continues.
“We are interested and concerned that our water is safe,” Fox said.
Fox said the plant does follow the scientific community’s research on the
issue.
If information contrary to what the plant is doing is presented, he said, the
plant would change accordingly.
Fox said the plant adheres to recommended procedures made by the Center for Disease
Control, the American Water Works Association and the Environmental Protection
Agency.
“Locally, the EPA guidance comes through the Michigan Department of Environmental
Quality,” he said. “They carry out the EPA’s directives on a local
level.”
The fluoride used in Mount Pleasant’s water is hydrofluosilicic acid.
“It’s waste product from the manufacturing of phosphate fertilizer,”
said Calvin Tormanen, chemistry professor. “The public in general doesn’t
know that.”
Fox said hydrofluosilicic acid is used because it comes in liquid form and it’s
easy to transport.
The plant’s methods were reviewed by the MDEQ this spring, Fox said, and,
“Their evaluation showed that we were doing everything correctly.
“Without good quality tap water you have a hard time staying healthy,”
Fox said.
“We’re concerned,” he said. “If there’s a problem, we
want to know about it.”
Fox said Mount Pleasant’s plant bases its decisions on studies, which are
peer-reviewed by other scientists. Studies presented by the side opposing water
fluoridation have yet to be reviewed, he said.
Gamble said his concerns with fluoridation not only include drinking the water,
but also skin exposure to it.
There is always this assumption that people are only getting fluoride topically
and internally, Gamble said.
But according to George Glasser of The Ecologist, 64 to 91 percent of exposure
to water-borne contaminants occurs via dermal absorption and no studies have ever
been done to determine the toxicity of fluoride used in water fluoridation, he
said.
“It’s something that gradually builds up in the system,” Gamble
said.
Fluoride doesn’t just affect the teeth, he said, it also interferes with
enzymes and makes bones brittle.
Anybody who questions this is looked on as a “quack” or a “conspiracy
theorist,” Gamble said.
“We’re not saying you should be against fluoride, but you should look
into the evidence on both sides.
“People who have tried to publish studies on fluoride get fired,” Gamble
said, citing Phyllis Mullinex, head of toxicology at Forsythes who did a study
on the effect of fluoride on rats.
The study indicated that rats treated with fluoride had a lower IQ and all of
Mullinex’s funding was pulled, Gamble said.
Gamble wants the City to keep a file resource on the pros and cons of water fluoridation
to allow residents to make educated decisions.
“It’s extremely controversial and it should be,” Tormanen said.
He said the general public isn’t as concerned about fluoride in the water
because residents are not very informed about it. People need to educate themselves
on the issue instead of just believing what the government says.
“It’s up to the average person to decide what’s right,” Tormanen
said.
“We know that our water is as good as any city in Michigan,” Fox said.
Fox said he believes tap water treatment in Mount Pleasant makes the water even
better than bottled water and “1,000 times cheaper.”