Central High School - Centralia Yearbook (Bay City, MI)

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Did you ever wonder' how your Student Council President measures up? Brian's little brother Ricky Jaffe finds out he's too tall for him. But look! Brian's standing on his toes. Mr. Pat Brady, a neighborhood lawyer, walks with striking teachers Mr. White and Mr. Kanicki discussing the issues of the strike outside of Central. With the closing of Mercy Hospital came the opening of the new Bay Medical Center with ultra modern facilities for the community. Give me five, brother, shouts Kurt King to John Jones in the exciting hallways of Central High. Little Michigan, an amusement park project, is slowly becoming more than just a proposal. Bay City Commissioners granted S50,000 towards the project which will bring much growth to Bay County. The Michigan Department of State Highways and transportation has developed a computer traffic model which enables them to predict how many vehicles will be using major streets in years ahead. It is being used to study problems on replacement of the Third Street Bridge, widening of Trumbull and the possibility of a South End bridge. Sewer work on the West side, combined with construction on the widening of ' Wilder Road, made travel difficult this year and possibly will for another year. The S2 million project of widening Wilder Road will provide a good link between Independence Bridge and M-13 when completed. l n D A two month mlllage campaign with workers pushing a Let's Make it Happen theme were crushed when the results revealed a defeat of 13,000 NO, to 7,740 YES, as over 20,000 voters came to the polls to make their decision clear. The Bay City Times began expanding facilities by constructing an addition to house their new presses. The Bay City Police Force and the Bay-County Sheriffs Department merged together under one central dispatch center. They both now occupy the ultra modern Law Enforcement Center which was completed this Spring. A freak accident on Veterans Memorial Bridge left a man dead and a woman charged with his death. The vehicle driven by the woman hit the median, jumped over and struck the man as he walked across the bridge. Police on the scene found his one shoe in the grill of the car and the second on the bridge walk. -His body was found the following day after hours of dredging the Saginaw River.

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he 1977-78 academic year for the Bay City Public School District got off to a late start contemplating a teacher strike which lasted two weeks. The main issues were class size, salary and family health care. Teachers wound up taking no pay increase for the next three years, class size soared until courts ordered Elementery class size to be thirty students or less and final settlements on health -insurance was to use the same program as in previous years. The day after Thanksgiving Bay City greeted the joyous Christmas season with a dynamic new light display in Battery Park. The morning of December 10, a tragedy beyond belief occurred in downtown Bay City. The famous Wenonah building erupted in flames which destroyed the complete structure. The disaster resulted in nearly a dozen fatalities and over forty casualties. , The new year gusted in with freezing temperatures and plenty of snow. January marked the worst blizzard in Bay City since 1967, coincidentally on the same day. Just five years ago the Board of Directors of Mercy and General Hospitals decided to merge as one. This year the opening of the new Bay Medical Center was celebrated and full services for the community were made available. The widening of Trumbull was blocked by petition and even the widening of the intersection was opposed as too much. Bay City hired a consultant to come up with a design for a revitalized central business district. Working with the Downtown Authority a plan will be drawn up with recommendations for better building and space utilization, parking facilities, street alignments and transit service. A grant of 519,974,375 was given to Bay City for construction of sewer facilities by the Environmental Protection Agency. This money will ,Ji g N help finance the S333,400,000 Phase Two of the project to upgrade sewage collection and storage facilities. These funds are in addition to 3.5 million for federal funds for the project. The state is to furnish S22 million with the rest coming from the tax payers. eg!

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If ummer Celebration 77, ended mid- summer blues for over 10,000 rock concert fans with the first out door concert in Bay City. Central's Engel Stadium set the stage for the concert which featured groups such as Brownsville Station, Firefall and the ever popular REO Speedwagon. Central's Junior Boosters Club sponsored this outdoor extravaganza. Central High students had an extended summer vacation, as did all public school students, when the announcement of a teacher strike occurred. Two weeks later it was back to the books for everyone as teachers agreed to re- enter the classrooms. Three foreign exchange students, all seniors were hosted by Central this year. Manuel Situa Colas, from Barcelona, Spain, was known as the traveling exchange student. His stay here at Central was short lived, but his understanding of the English language improved greatlywhile socializing with many of the students. Leticia Letty Guerrero Perez, from the Villa Hermosa in the state of Tobasco, Mexico, made friends quickly and participated in many activities at Central. She played on the girlsbasketball team, bowled during the mixed bowling season, took piano lessons and sang with the A'Cappella choir. Marja Vandervorst came to us from Hilversum in the Netherlands. Marja adapted easily to the American way of life. She also bowled during the mixed bowling season, but particularly enjoyed the football season, being' athletically oriented herself. Juniors made up the largest class in Central with 596, as Central's total enrollment dropped from last year's 2,263 to this year's 2,2l4. The Freshman ranked next with a total of 548, 'Sophomores close behind with 544, and finally Seniors with a total of 532. Up With People, a non-profit group made up of students from countries world wide, came to Bay City to present two performances. One to the students of 'Central High, which generated great excitement, and another later that evening to the people of Bay City. ' ' English Honor Clubs, Ecclesia and CCC initiated males as well as females this year, due to the passage of Title IX, which states, No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or activity' receiving federal financial assistance . . . Often during classes the student services will call students to give them messages from Administra- tors, Rosie Askew smiles after hearing of her next year schedule foul up. The last few days for seniors were warm ones, John Castaneda pulls open the shade to let some of those bright sunny rays in on Randy Skibinski. Kurt Fogelsonger catches a few rays during his lunch hour in the student parking lot. 0 2-fy