August 27, 1998
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m^^f^p^p • ' 'I" 3 •• I. I i p K\i John Glenn Rockets drop opener, CI Homelown ) IIHHIWII^ IH>N)« NH f XDHK* Putting you in touch Thursday with your World :; August 27,1998 : Serving the Westland Community for 34 years •<-:&" V- ; VOIIIME 34 NUMBER 24 WESTLAND. MICHIGAN • 70 PAGES • http://observer-eccentric.com SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS O ltM HoawTown C«nay.lc«U(»4 Network, Inc. IN THE PAPER Cable TV TODAY Discounts, more movie channels, free gro capable of serving. customer losses to Americast have been ceries, high-speed Internet access and digital "We probably wouldn't reveal that for. offset by new subscribers. / / television are among the services touted by competitive reasons," Americast spokesman Geoff Potter said from his Keeping secrets local cable companies as current and future Chicago office. - ^ '•. ••'(,:_ Westland Cable Commission mem SPECIAL SECTION benefits for customers; But he indicated that Americast bers say it has been impossible to give BYDARRELLCLEM Internet; access and - still toycome - :hopes to offer services citywide by early an early assessment frdiri the cable TV Pigskin preview: Look for STATPWRITKR; digital television and competitively next year,;; .-''.!' battlefield. Americast hasn't revealed priced local telephone service. ; Mediaphe isn't flinching ~ publicly, how many subscribers it has signed up, yourlidmetoivn teams in .•;• A cable TV war has erupted in West- at least. Spokesman Bill Black said the and MediaOnej too, has become more land with newcomer Americastpromis-' /There's not going to be any panacea the High School Football in savings but* because we have compe company, still has about 25,000 West- secretive about its customer base, cable irig senior citizen discounts, more land customers - a number that he Commissioner David Mbranty said." Preview•in Sunday^ mqiyie channels and eVen free groceries tition, .it's going to be good for the cus tomer," Westland Cable Commission said has remained stable despite Amer Moranty, a longtime MediaOne critic Westland Observer, The to try to loosen MediaOne's customer icast competition. ' • who has switched to Americast, said stronghold. - Chainnan Ed'Turner said. ' . special sectionincludes a Americast - a cable service offered by "We haven't lost any. customers in the new company in town has been ButMediaOne has fired back by that area yet," Black said- .', received^tremendously,'' team roster, schedule for touting advances such as high-speed Ameritech New Media - won't reveal the season and story and how much of Westland it is already He maintained that any Westland Please see CABLE, A2 pictures on local prep teams. Korn Kampaign COMMUNITY LIFE Second time around: Cou ples who kave survived failed first fndrriageilare finding help and suppdrt tprruih^ BY BARBELL CLEM the second time around, STAFF WRITER thanks toJWardEvangeli An upscale Westland billiards club is cal Presbyterian Church's gearing up to host top wheelchair pool players from around the world, who Remarried Ministry./Bl will compete starting Friday in back- to-back national and international championships. The Electric Stick, tucked in a strip AT HOME mall on thenorthwest corner of Hunter and Wayne roads, will be in the inter By design: Michigan national spotlight when ESPN films, a world championship game during the Design Center iri Troy highly competitive event. 4- invUe$you'tO'vi.siiit$ ."'• "We've been painting and cleaning and getting ready for it," operations showrooms oh a special manager Geo Marvaso said Tuesday. Saturday to discover the "We're making siire we're all prepared best of interior design for ESPN and television.'' •/.y'".."-i- < : Some: lOO^competitors will square .off through tqiirs, lectures during a three-day national contest and a fre& design consul that will be followed by a three-day tation. /D6 international championship. Reigning state champion Bob Calderon, a double amputee from Livo nia, said spectators can watch games ENTERTAINMENT for free except for international finals, scheduled for 7 p.m. next Wednesday, Admission for that event is $10, Jazz: Local musicians Calderon said. including Reolford pianist .... The first round of fun will be Friday Gary Schunk are looking STATF PHPTOS BY BRmMrrma through Sunday during the National Surprise appearance: Wheelchair .Pool Players Association's.•* forward to the FordMon- championship, ireux Detroit Jazz Festi .. Move, MTV VJ Jesse Calderon, president of that group, vals /El Camp greeted some of S*ate said spectators will.be allowed to watch the 2,000 guests, iv—t:- games that he said are expected to be including Rachel Cih- i£LJ 0CK?AG played between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Popular music: Atomic pak, X 6, of WesHand The three-day national contest will Fireballs jump into SINCE 1 be followed by the first-ever Olhausen and Monica Sparks, 16, International Pro Wheelchair 9-Ball major4abel action/EL of LiVonia, waiting in Championship on Monday through line to meet the hard .Wednesday. rock hand Korn at Rock Again, spectators may watch those REAL ESTATE bfJigei in Garden City games for free from roughly 10:30 a.m. to 5:30:pirn, each day, except for t)ie . Monday. Some fans $ld-per-person finals, Calderon said. Do it yourself: Real estate waited inline as long "We are welcoming people to come pros face the same chair as 13 hours to see the and watch all week long," he said. leiiges as laymen when :•'•. band. See story on Top wheelchair players, from across today's Community Life the United States will compete with selling a home./fX challengers from countries such as frdht, Page Bl. England, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Ireland and Sweden, among others. INDEX Please see POOL, A4 Obituaries ^ ••-. A2 Classified index _7„;:.':-*4 . JReal^Estate _ _ _ F4 0 Crossword F6 BYDARRELLCLEM marketing manager Claudia Frederick evening and stayed off until about . Jobs G5 STAFF WRITER said, '.'••: '• ;'•'' • 7:15." : . -..-'. '" EDISON WOES fc Homo & Service H8 Kroger customers couldn't go Kroger- The stores couldn't operate without Kroger us.ed generators,to keep per . their power," she said/ / ishables fresh, he said. Automotive -:':•_ J3 >ng- • The weekend-to-Monday transition At Kroger on Ford Road, shoppers Westland public library patrons Opinion - _ A12-13 Library patrons couldn't get books. was made even niore difficult this week seemed puzzled that automatic doors seemed equally confused, and some Mall-gOerS couldn't shop at Westland when 1,200 Westland residences and Calendar B4 wouldn't open, despite a window adver people who wanted to go inside resort Center. .••.' '•"".<••". businesses lost power- twice, in some tisement touting around-the-clock ed to dropping their return books in an Sports CI paytimo television viewers couldn't cases,' ';'v... ,' •.•.••."'•••.•.."'. hours. >••; outside bin. Real Estate Fl keep up with.their soap storylines or. "We had a power line problem,'' "We lost power two times,"store Unlike Kroger, many places like the watch Clinton-Lewinsky reruns. Detroit Edison spokesman Low Laytoh manager Andy Gerben said. "It went mail reported only one power outage. Many Westland residents couldn't said. '•' off once around 7:15 in the morning Some city buildings, such as the even retreat from a hot August day to Westland Center shoppers had to Westland Police Department, used gen- the cool of their air-conditioned homes. and came back on around 10:45. Then HOW TO REACH US leave the city's busiest retail spot for it went off again around 5:50 in the And it was a Monday, of all days. about two hours Monday morning, Plcaso see POWER, A4 Newsroom: 734-953-2104 Newsroom Pax:734-591-727.9 f/naf/.bJachmartOoe.homdComm.net Cooper reunion promises day of memories .'.''•"' NigWine/Sports: 734-953-2104 ' Reader Comment Line: 734-953-2042 BY BETH SUNDRLA JACHMAN ' which will be held 8 a.m."to dusk in Hines Park near teachers, principals and students knowing everybody. Cfossified Advertising: 734-591-0900 STAFF WRITER Ann Arbor Trail and Ilines Drive across from Nankin ^1 absolutely loved it," she said. "1 loved all of my . :. Display Advertising: 734-591-2300 Jt was a close-knit community hc\d together by a Mills.;- •;•;.;•' '"'•,v'- '•'.'•••".'":• teachers."-. ' : • She called the experience challenging and extreme Homo Delivery; 734-591-0500 common bond-Cooper School. hast year's reunion, which was the first Cooper That bond la continuing as Cooper alumni and staff reunion in recent years, brought together some 200 ly stimulating."We would never think of skipping members plan to gather Sunday^ Aug. 30, in Hi'ucs students from allover the United States including school," Bates Crawford stud. • Utah, California and Arizona,'Bates Crawford safd. She lived with her family near Ann Arbor Trail/and Park in Westland, for a reunion. / "I really feel it's going to be a total success,"Gaylc .: Bates Crawford says tlitJ reunion makes for inter Middlebelt in what she called "a wartime neighbor Bates Crawford, a Cooper alumna, said. esting conversations. She attended from about 7:30 hood" and attended Cooper fro'm'1940'to 195L a,m. to about 9:20 p.m( last year. "I was not bored for ^he teachers seemed to take a jwrsonal interest," Students and staff members who attended or ,f worked at the schoolbetwccn 1930 and "1980juvd. two 8QCopds, she said, HIVO fiaid, ''•'"•' ; • . ', :~ Sheattributes the closeness of the community to ¢43174 1Q0U .6 their families are invited to attend the reunion; _______ plcaso see COOPER, A4 AS|W|, tk* Observer & Eccentric/ THURSDAY, AUGUST 27,1998 -* N OBITUARIES from page Al LMUlil JJ J LMU L mittal. Officiating was the Kev. JQNH W. fVUIRlUN DrexelE. Morton from St. A funeral service and Mass of Michael Lutheran Church. "I'm getting more channels for less Black emphasised other measures that "I'd say they already have about a third of the Resurrection for John Fuller- Mr.