TUESDAY April 30,1996 1996, Battle Creek Enquirer

35C

WEATHER Tonight: Rain mixing with wet

snow, low in

Oniid-30s. Wednesday: Cloudy with scattered rain \ \ \ \ \ i and snow

showers, high in 50s/1 OB

WALKIN' THE PLANK

S C O N E R S K I N E / T N E E N Q U I R E R

Ashley Boyd, a sixth-grader at Bellevue Ele-mentary School, helps classmate Kandis Brandt in a game called "logjam" at the Outdoor Education Center in Dowling. For more photos see page 7A.

NEWSLINE HEALTH

FDA approves new anti-obesity drug

WASHINGTON - Obese Ameri-cans may get extra help in losing weight this summer when the na-tion's first new anti-obesity drug in more than 20 years goes on sale.

The Food and Drug Administra-tion approved dexfenfluramine Monday, despite the objections of consumer advocates who fear it could cause brain damage or a rare but dangerous lung disorder.

But the FDA concluded that the brain damage so far has been found only in animals, and the lung ail-ment is very rare. Consequently, obese Americans can use dexfenflu-ramine by prescription longer than is allowed for any other appetite suppressant, the agency ruled.

BUSINESS

Tests on smokeless cigarettes go public

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Every two weeks since 1994, Dianna Prescott and her husband, John, have been given two carton^ of Eclipse smokeless cigarettes manu-factured by R.I. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

In exchange, they meet every six weeks with other smokers in the test group to discuss their opinions of the cigarette with RJR officials.

Today, RJR officials will discuss the findings of their two-year taste test in Chattanooga and describe a new marketing campaign slated to start in June.

TRENDS

25% of pregnant women abused: experts

DENVER - Up to one-quarter of pregnant women are beaten, kicked, slapped or otherwise physi-cally abused, doctors were told Monday.

And the abuse harms not only the women but often babies say experts here with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The college Monday intensified its call for doctors to ask every pregnant woman whether she's be-ing abused.

DEATHS Lucille R. Borchardt Emilia J. Burke Angela F. Goodrich Marie A Maddox Nancy J. Moore Freddie M. Powell Robert C. Rogers Naomi R Scott ON 4A: Obituaries

INSIDE Ann Landers 8A Classified 8-9B Comics 4B Horoscopes 10B Lifestyle 7A Local 2-4A Nation 6A Opinion 5A Sports 1-3B Television 8A

k

LOCAL: Ticket prices cut for Sunday's country concert/3^

SPORTS: Lakeview's Engel-hardt earns track scholar-hip to Notre Dame/IB

jSEWQI ItRER SPECIAL REPORT: POPULATION GROWTH IN SOUTHCENTRAL MICHIGAN

We've got to be ready* Growth affects schools, roads and social services

1 JZ WYATT The Enquirer

As the number of residents in southcentral Michigan grows, so does the need for new services and programs.

That's a common challenge as offi-cials in Calhoun, Barry and Branch counties look toward the year 2000 and beyond.

"It's growing all over and it's grow-ing older. And 1 think we have to meet this challenge and prepare for it," said Emmett Herrington, 77, a Barry County commissioner and vice chairman of the Barry County Futuring Committee, a group that plans for the county's future.

"We've got to be ready for this -it's going to affect our schools, roads, social services," he said. "We have to accept this. We can't isolate ourselves."

Isolation isn't likely since all three counties expect to see population numbers increase over the next 25 years, according to an Enquirer com-puter analysis.

BARRY COUNTY'S FUTURE

Celeste Dyehouse, 38, of Hastings, said her husband first bought a home in Barry County because of the low cost of living. Although she likes the population growth - about 5 percent in the 1990s - she hopes officials will monitor it.

"1 just hope they watch it and they do zoning. I hope they watch for mo-bile home parks and things like that because it can bring in renters and people who aren't here for the long term," she said.

County officials are trying to de-velop a plan to manage land use as well as coordinate splintered devel-opment efforts.

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K E V I N H A R E / T H E E N Q U I R E R

Rebecca Decamp, a part-time worker at the Altrusa Day Nursery, 195 North Ave., is glad to see gains in Calhoun County's population.

The Barry County Forum on Co-ordinated Community Development was recently held for various county groups and residents to discuss growth and development issues.

"We are sometimes missing the cooperation, whether it's between township or between departments," said James McManus, Barry County planning director and zoning admin-istrator.

Please see GROWTH, 2 A

THIRD OF THREE-PART SERIES ABOUT THE SERIES

Staff Writer Liz Wyatt did a computer analysis of population numbers to determine growth in Barry, Branch and Calhoun counties. Her series focuses on how population growth has changed each county and what residents can expect in the years ahead.

SUNDAY: The population in southcentral Michigan has grown during the 1990s with Barry County leading the way.

MONDAY: The region's 65-and-over population is growing, and that means in-creased demand for more services.

TODAY: Projections show population growth will continue into 2020.

Battle Creek

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

FUTURE POPULATION GROWTH Below graphic shows the projected increase in population in Barry, Branch and Calhoun counties.

BARRY COUNTY BRANCH COUNTY

54,600

47,200

48,200

CALHOUN COUNTY

142,900

144,400

145,500

146,400

147,200

.# # # # # ^ ^ (POPULATION)

# # # # SV ^ ^ ^

(POPULATION)

# (POPULATION)

SOURCE; Mkhigan Department of Management & Budget Jason R. Bennitt/Enquirer

Police: Dead man carried a lot of cash KHRISTINE E I J J O T T

The Enquirer

Police believe an 80-year-old man's penchant for carrying large sums of cash may have led to his beating death Friday.

Robert C. Rogers was found dead shortly after 4 p.m. Friday in a Ray-mond Road home he owned. Emmett Township police said they are investi-gating the case as a homicide.

On Monday, they asked for inves-tigative help from the Michigan State Police Battle Creek Post It hasn't been determined if anything was taken from the home, police said.

"We have a lot of suspects and a lot of leads," said Emmett Township De-

partment of Public Safety Director Murray Switzer. "He always carried a lot of money. He had been held up several times. Each time he was held up he had large sums of money. We tried to encourage him to not do this."

Police have at least five suspects. They are also looking for a light blue car that had three men inside and a red van. The van was seen in the area shortly before the broken door was reported. On Friday afternoon, Em-mett Township police responded to a report of a possible burglary at the home after an area resident noticed a broken sliding-glass door at the home and called police. Rogers wasn^t living at the house at the time of his death,

Switzer said. He owned many homes in the area.

It appeared Rogers had been hit in the head with an object, Switzer said. Police aren't releasing specific infor-mation on Rogers' injuries because those details may help them find the person or persons responsible, he said. Rogers died from injuries sus-tained in the assault, according to the autopsy performed Saturday at Spar-row Hospital in Lansing.

Over the past two years, Rogers had been assaulted and been the victim of armed robberies about five times in Emmett Township and twice outside the township, Switzer said. The crimes against Rogers began when

one person who bought one of his houses found out Rogers regularly carried a lot of money. The person later robbed Rogers, Switzer said.

"When the word was transmitted through the drug community that's when a lot of his problems occurred," Switzer said. "We're following through on individuals that were ei-ther involved in strong-armed rob-beries or armed robberies that were involved with Mr. Rogers."

Anyone with information is asked to call Emmett Township police at 968-9303, the Michigan State Police at 968-6115 or Silent Observer at 964-3888.

Freemen: Drop charges against 3

Enquirer staff, wire reports

JORDAN, Mont. - Former Green Beret Col. James "Bo" Gritz emerged from the Freemen compound Mon-day after three days of talks on an-other complicated offer of surrender.

The anti-government group wants charges dropped against three of their members, including a former Battle Creek woman who faces a Calhoun County bench warrant for her arrest.

"My sense is that there are some desperate people in there," Gritz said.

The Freemen want charges dropped against Gloria Ward, who brought her 8- and 10-year-old daugh-ters into the compound. Ward was a member of the House of Chaney, a self-described family of missionaries living at 280 Main St. in Battle Creek.

Ward, also known as Tammy Mangum, left Battle Creek in October after Juvenile Court Judge Gary Reed said she was not properly schooling the two girls. The woman's oldest daughter, 15-year-old Ariel Chaney, said she is the pregnant common-law wife of John Chaney, 39, who is con-sidered the leader of the House of Chaney.

Reed earlier this year removed Ariel Chaney from the household and placed her in foster care.

He also issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Gloria Ward for custodial interference with orders, and that if found, the two younger girls be placed in foster care.

John Chaney is in Utah awaiting trial on charges he forced his 13-year-old daughter to marry a 47-year-old man.

Gritz said the Freemen also want charges dropped against Dana Dud-ley and Russell Landers, a North Car-olina couple who are accused in Col-orado of filing phony property leins against officials they didn't like.

Gritz said the Freemen want sale passage to Helena, Mont., so that they am present their cast1 to the legisla-ture or the governor's representatives.

Gas-price probe is ordered

Enquirer s t a f f , wire reports

WASHINGTON - Republicans are urging repeal of President Clinton's 1993 gasoline tax increase, while Clin-ton orders an investigation of the re-cent price surge at the pump and moves to sell some of the nation s pe-troleum stockpile in hopes of taming prices.

AAA Michigan reported Monday that unleaded gas prices have reached their highest level since the Persian Gulf War in 1990. Battle Creek-area residents are feeling that same pinch - paying more for less gas. Suddenly, gasoline is an election-year issue.

House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., is promising a House vote on the tax issue by Memorial Day. And. thrown on the defensive, the White House says it's willing to discuss re-peal.

Meanwhile, Clinton on Monday au-thorized the "orderly sales" of about 12 million barrels of oil from the na-tion's strategic petroleum reserves, ii move that, by increasing supplies, might drive down prices. He also asked Energy Secretary /Hazel O'Leary to report within 4^ days "about the factors that led to the run-up in prices." /

Democratic lawmakers, scrambling Monday to keep the campaign focus on a minimum wage increase, sug-gested oil-company profiteering had more to do with motorists' pain at the pump than the 4.3-cent-per-gallon sur-charge.

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