Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 15

LOCAL NEWS DETROIT FREE PRESS I WWW.FREEP.COM THURSDAY, JAN. 31, 2002 3B NAACP aims to build up cities By M.L ELRICK FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER Trapp family worries that killer will go free By SUZETTE HACKNEY FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER T7 National figures will be invited to participate. Anthony said he hopes the weekend will help lay the groundwork for a Detroit-based urban affairs think tank called the Freedom Institute. He said no other chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has tackled such an ambitious program. "We have a record of being out there first and taking a daring role," Anthony said of the Detroit branch.

$200,000 to promote the event nationwide. Compuware Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Peter Karmanos Jr. has contributed $150,000 to underwrite the event. The City of Detroit and Ford Motor Co. also are helping to produce the event.

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpat-rick, who joined Anthony in announcing the event in the mayor's office, said: "Let's strengthen our inner cities, because when our inner cities are strong, America is strong. "And there's no better place to start this than Detroit." According to a tentative agenda, the event will showcase Detroit's historic and cultural sites as well as offer lectures, workshops and discussions on issues such as political activism, coalition-building, faith-based initiatives and entrepreneurship. The Detroit Branch NAACP -will host an unprecedented 4-day focused on the social, economic and political empowerment of inner cities, organizers said Wednesday. "We believe that Detroit is the mecca for African Americans and minority economic development land opportunity for the realization of dreams that are often deferred in other locations," said the "Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the branch.

The event, dubbed Freedom Weekend, will begin April 25 and with the organization's Freedom Fund Dinner on April 28. Radio One, a national radio network that owns several Detroit stations, pledged air time worth the brain, and never recovered. After Trapp's death, homicide detectives investigated. "The facts of the case were reviewed," said Inspector William Rice, head of the homicide unit. "The investigation was completed and George Trapp's case isn't decided yet, prosecutors say.

For more information, contact the Detroit Branch NAACP at 313-871-2087. The organization's Web site is www.detroitnaacp.org. Contact ML. ELRICK at 313-223-3327 orelrickfreepress.com. charging decision." Still, Trapp's daughter, Toria Trapp, 25, said it's her understanding from police that the man who lived with her father will not be charged.

"I want to see justice be served for my father's death? she said. "You just don't Btab people and get away with it. Itto not fair." George Trapp, a basketball star at Highland Park High School before a college career at Pasadena City Junior College and Long Beach State, played for the Pistons in 1973-77. The Pistons gave up their first-round draft pick in '73 to get him from Atlanta, where he had played two seasons. He was instantly popular with Pistons fans, and his nickname Instant Heat reflected his value as someone who could score points quickly.

Contact SUZETTE HACKNEY of 313-222-6672 or hackneyfreepress.com. Family members of former Detroit Piston George Trapp say they are outraged because they've been told by Detroit police that the man accused of fatally stabbing Trapp will not face criminal charges. But Wayne County prosecutors said Wednesday that the investigation into Trapp's death is ongoing and no decision about charges has been made. Trapp, 53, died Jan. 21 at Sinai-Grace Hospital of complications from stab wounds suffered Jan.

11. Detroit police said Trapp and his 49-year-old roommate fought at their home in northwest Detroit. The roommate was struck with an ashtray, and Trapp was stabbed in the stomach, police said. The roommate was treated and released, but Trapp needed surgery to repair his colon. While hospitalized, Trapp developed pneumonia and lack of oxygen to mm- everything was submitted to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office for their determination and decision.

If any new evidence surfaces, the investigation will gladly be reopened." Kevin Simowski, chief of operations for the prosecutor's office, said: "We are still awaiting the autopsy report from the medical examiner's office. That information, as well as all the relevant information in this case, has to be reviewed before we make any lift E-mail threats lead to lesson IV Man must work with Arab group he messaged By NIRAJ WARIKOO FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER liTIm if P-- DAVIO P. GILKEYDetrolt Frae Press Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick tries to help in the destruction of four dilapidated homes by grabbing the controls of a backhoe from Bobby Ferguson of Ferguson Enterprises on Wednesday. CLEANUP I Homes near school fall CESS, was one of the five who received the note. "We were already in shock from the Sept.

11" attacks, she said. "It was disturbing, to say the least, to receive the e-mail on top of it" Savoie met Snyder on Wednesday. "He seemed like a nice man," she said. "It's hard to imagine such a hateful thing coming front him." The Wayne County Sheriff's Department tracked down who sent the e-mail after contacting the Internet service provider and a California police department. In October, Snyder was charged by Wayne County prosecutors with five counts of ethnic intimidation, one for each copy he sent.

Wayne County Prosecutor Mike Duggan said that the case "started off as hatred and turned into an opportunity to combat ignorance and ethnic intimidation." Contact NIRAJ WARIKOO at 734- Offering proof, he says his daughter once dated an African American, his son a Chinese American, and one of his best friends is of Mexican descent But about 12 hours after planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, he fired off hate e-mail with messages of violence to five members of ACCESS, one of the largest social-service groups in Michigan. "It was a knee-jerk reaction," Snyder said. On Wednesday, Snyder apologized to them and pleaded guilty in Wayne County Circuit Court to one count of ethnic intimidation. In addition to the week of service, he was given 18 months' probation. After sending the e-mail, he said some responded, writing that people of Arab descent are Americans and were horrified by the terrorist attacks.

Kathryn Savoie, environmental program director for AC A California man who sent hate-filled e-mail to an Arab services group in Dearborn on Sept. 11 received his sentence Wednesday: He must spend a week working with the group he targeted. Douglas Snyder, 46, must perform community service with the Dearborn-based Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS), where he sent the anti-Arab messages. After Snyder was charged with ethnic intimidation in October, directors at ACCESS recommended that Snyder be asked to meet and talk with Arab Americans in Dearborn. They wanted to educate, rather than punish.

The plan worked. "They're actually an American community," Snyder said Wednesday after talking with people at ACCESS. "The experience has been real good. They're great." Snyder says he's not racist. From Page IB bies walk past," Kilpatrick said as crews tore into the houses on the 4500 block of Montclair.

The mayor said his mission is restoring quality of life in Detroit and pride in the community. "It's impossible if you have to look at places like this," he said as a backhoe smashed a burned-out to bits. By Friday, Kilpatrick said he hopes to have 90 abandoned homes destroyed. He did not say, however, how he will pay for his ambitious program. Although Mayor Dennis Archer stepped up demolition of derelict homes, Kil-patrick's plan will cost far more than Archer budgeted for this year.

Kilpatrick said he did not know how much the program will cost, but said he would find the money, "We will be putting our dollars where our priorities are," he said. If the city can come up with the money, contractor Bobby Ferguson said crews will have no problem keeping pace with the agenda. Ferguson, whose Ferguson Enterprises crew knocked down the houses on Montclair, served as co-chairman of the Kilpatrick transition team's Emergency Clean-up and Beautification Task Force. In the past, Ferguson said, the chief barriers to demolition were getting the city and utilities to work together on shut-offs at (he vacant homes. "You might get a proceed on Feb.

1 with five houses and you might not get another proceed until April said Ferguson, referring to orders to begin the teardowns. Better communication between the city and utilities and a partnership with Detroit Edison should streamline that process, he said. Beauford said she hopes that's true. "We want the whole east side done," she said. Contact M.L.

ELRICK at 313-223-3327 orelrickfreepress.com. Your Faith FRAME THE MEMORIES and Charity Every Wednesday in Section HOMES I State seeks more vigilant care For just $34.95 you can decorate your home with 14 posters saluting championship teams and memorable events, from the 1979 Spartans through the final game at Tiger Stadium, the MSU champs and the Comerica Park opener. Charge by phone, 24 hours a day, at 800-245-5082. Or click on www.freep.combookstora On Jan. 13.

a man walked out of ftfnrtfmrinfc Ortrmt rtr Pirw Iktusewirming trarKi nnaie State of glory BELIEVE! 1 From Page IB dents who wander have dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Home administrators try to guard against such incidents by a variety of measures, from installing locks and alarms on doors to encouraging walking within the facility. All four of the confirmed incidents of nursing home wanderings are under investigation by the state. Here are a few details, pieced together from police reports and state documents: On Dec. 31, Oliver Pope, 74, wandered from Madonna Healthcare Center at Schaefer and Fen-kell on Detroit's west side.

He was found dead New Year's Day near 14 Mile and Ryan in Warren lying face down in the grass by two 17-year-old boys riding their bikes to work, said Warren Police Sgt. Gary Johnson. Although the temperature was 20 degrees, Pope was barefoot. His socks and slippers were on the ground, near his body. He wore blue jeans, a shirt, baseball cap and thin black jacket.

"This was not neglect," she said. "It was one of those freak things." Nationwide, the number of people wandering from nursing homes is going up as the homes try to treat their residents with more respect and give them more freedom, said Janet Wells of the National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform, a group based in Washington, D.C. "Traditionally, nursing homes have tied people to chairs and beds," she said. "Now we're trying to treat residents as people, not problems. So there's probably more" wandering.

"It's always terrible when it happens," she added. "Like everything else with nursing homes, it comes down to the fact that there just aren't enough staff members to work with the residents and sometimes not enough staff training." Contact EMILIA ASKARI at 313-223-4461 or askarifreepress.com. Free Press staff writer Wendy Wendland-Bowyer contributed to this report. the LaSalle Nursing Home on1 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit. He was found frozen to death a couple of days later, Dankert said.

Other details were not released. On Jan. 15, a resident wandered out of the Eaton Manor nursing home in Charlotte and was hit by a car in the home's driveway, sustaining minor injuries. Another resident was killed at the same facility in November when he wandered out into the parking lot and was run over by a delivery van. Last week, Tommie Lee Butler, 83, drowned in Lake St.

Clair after wandering from E. B. James Nursing Center on East Grand Boulevard in Detroit. Butler's body, dressed in work pants, four shirts and slippers, was discovered by a jogger. Administrators of the three Detroit homes could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Linda Welch, administrator of the Charlotte home, described Wednesday how upset she and her staff were. I GOT MYi VISION BACK! PARKS I Challenges await new director For stories that offer solutions and hope, look for the Children First handprint. We're proud of these stories, plus many more initiatives for children: Yak's Corner, our award-winning 8-page tabloid section for kids Summer Dreams, an annual campaign that funds children's summer activities Gift of Reading Newspapers in Education, the nation's best program for providing quality classroom materials to elementary, middle and high school students Join the crusade to improve the lives of Michigan's children with a subscription to the Free Press. Call 800-395-3300 www.freep.oam From Page IB unavailable or inadequate. Some projects also had to be eliminated because of cost overruns, according to the audit.

In 2000, voters approved a 5-year renewal of the tax levy. Cole Ion per eye 4 Price may vary if hish 1 vision correction is needed I Low Monthly Payments Slotlmuni JmtUutt Dr. Rahman Kh ivrd thousands of successful 'J recreation in Detroit as Belle Isle," said Chiasson, interim head of the university's department of health, physical education, recreation and dance. "But the heart and soul is their community centers and parks." Chiasson and others in the recreational field say Coleman is a good choice for the job. "I think Hurley is just a very gifted person, a prayerful man, and that's going to be an asset in his current position," said Michael Tenbusch, executive director of Think Detroit, a nonprofit organization that reaches children through sports and computer training.

Coleman has a proven track record, Tenbusch said. "He took a dilapidated park system," he said. And now "we have this wonderful LightFest and clean and safe parks everywhere in Wayne except Detroit." Coleman and his wife Sandra are the parents of three teenagers. Staff writer M.L. Elrick contributed to this report.

Contact DENNIS NIEMIEC at 734-432-6503 or niemvfreepress.com. LAS1K procedure, it i no that he been recognized as among the top 5 rnt I Si ms Nationwide. man declined to comment on the audit Wednesday. Vic Chiasson, an assistant professor at Eastern Michigan University, said Coleman's biggest challenge in Detroit will be finding resources to meet demands. "A lot of pc jle view parks and call re 734)67v Visit our.