June 16, 17 & 18, 2003
Utah State in the News
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
THE BIGGEST BARRIER
TO COLLEGE ISN'T RACE
The legal challenges to affirmative action now before the Supreme
Court have received unprecedented public attention and taken
on enormous symbolic importance for colleges. Yet what is rarely,
if ever, acknowledged is the whiff of elitism that pervades
the current debate. ... For more than a century, land-grant
colleges like mine, Utah State University, and other institutions
defined by open and broad-based admissions processes have provided
access and opportunity to the sons and daughters of farmers,
ranchers, salespersons, laborers, bankers, lawyers, and car
mechanics -- some of whom have been American Indian, Asian-American,
African-American, and Hispanic people. And often in our state,
those students have begun their educational journey in one of
Utah's highly accessible two-year colleges. (The Chronicle of
Higher Education, Kermit L. Hall, 06/20/03)
KSL NEWSCAST:
USU TEAMS UP WITH RESEARCHERS TO FIND WAY TO PROTECT US SPACE
SHUTTLES FROM INTENSE HEAT
The DOD wants to prevent damage from the build-up of heat on
rockets and shuttles - the same damage that caused the shuttle
Columbia to disintegrate. USU has teamed up with teams of researchers
to find a way to protect U.S. space shuttles from the intense
heat. Researchers say heat instantaneously melted through the
shuttle’s guidance wiring and other critical systems.
Researchers want to know more about the physics of this heat,
known as bow shock, to develop new shielding for systems. (KSL
newscast, 10 p.m., 06/16/03)
USU PSYCHOLOGIST
READS WEIR'S MIND: DR. RICH GORDIN HAS HELPED GOLFER WITH MENTAL
GAME
No one wins one major championship and finishes tied for third
in the next without a solid game and the proper mental approach
to match. Former BYU standout and Draper resident Mike Weir
is half way through the greatest season of his golf career,
winning the Masters in May and finishing tied with Kenny Perry
for third place at the U.S. Open over the weekend. And he’s
been quick to credit Dr. Rich Gordin for his recent success.
Gordin has been a sports psychologist and professor at Utah
State University for the past 22 years. He’s been working
with Weir since January of 1997. He also worked with other local
golfers -- such as Brett Wayment -- to pull their mental games
on par with their physical talents. (Standard Examiner, 06/17/03)
click on: http://www.standard.net/standard/news/print_story.html?sid=00030617003104916436
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
USU EXPERIMENT
FEEDS ASTRONAUTS' MINDS, TASTE BUDS
Last month cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko had an unusual duty for
someone orbiting 240 miles above the green fields of Earth:
picking a crop of fresh peas. Malenchenko, commander of the
two-man crew, gathered the legumes from a growing chamber called
Lada, designed and built by the Space Dynamics Laboratory at
Utah State University in Logan. The other resident of the station,
American astronaut Ed Liu, wasn't called on for the fun of space
farming. That might be because Lada is a joint project between
Russia's space program and USU. This is the third crop for the
device, named after the ancient Russian goddess of spring. The
first was a lettuce from Russia, mizuna, which did well. (Deseret
News, 06/16/03) click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510033215,00.html
TAX BOUNTY FLOWS
TO RURAL COUNTIES
Rural counties such as Piute, San Juan and Sanpete benefit
more from the redistribution of state tax resources than urban
counties surrounding Salt Lake City, according to the Utah Foundation.
Of the 29 state counties, Sanpete County residents receive $4.35
for every tax dollar they send to state coffers while only 12
cents is returned to Summit County residents. ... K-12 public
education expenditures for all counties take up the largest
portion of state resources except for Cache County, where higher
education expenditures surpassed K-12 spending because of Utah
State University. (Deseret News, 06/16/03) click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510033256,00.html
BUG THIS LADY,
PLEASE
Julia Tuck doesn't mind being bugged a bit. In fact, it's her
job to look at spiders and insects and figure out not only what
they are but how to get rid of them if they're showing up in
the house. Tuck also identifies weeds and monitors how much
watering a lawn needs. Bring her some turf, she says, "and
I can tell you if you have insects or a fungus. I can tell if
you're under- or overwatering." As the "Slow the Flow"
coordinator for the Utah State University extension office in
Utah County, Tuck schedules 700 water audits a year. She also
answers all kinds of questions. (Deseret News, 06/16/03) click
on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510033266,00.html
FREE WORKSHOP
ON BUILDING STRONG MARRIAGES
Failed marriages start many people on a path to poverty, whether
it be their own or their parents', notes the head of a Davis
County family support center. ... The center is offering a free
workshop on building strong marriages, called the Prevention
and Relationship Enhancement Program, or PREP. The workshops
are not therapy sessions, but educational classes that teach
skills and principles associated with successful relationships.
The workshop, developed nationally, is sponsored in Utah by
the Governor's Commission on Marriage and Utah State University.
(Deseret News, 06/16/03) click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510033160,00.html
SAVE PAPERS FOR
A WHILE, THEN ENJOY SHREDDING: BUT SOME SHOULD BE KEPT FOREVER,
INCLUDING WILLS, OTHER DOCUMENTS
It's summertime, which means you spend hours staring out your
office windows, wishing you were outside playing or relaxing
. . . heck, even mowing the lawn would be better than sitting
in that cubicle. But it could be worse. It could be tax time.
Most people aren't thinking of income taxes right now. Last
year's filing deadline is long past, and the next deadline is
not yet even a dark cloud on the horizon of your financial outlook.
I said most people. But not everyone. One recent caller to the
Morning News was concerned about which financial documents he
needed to keep and for how long. He didn't say he wanted the
information for tax reasons, but I assume the IRS played some
role in his query. Coincidentally, I had just received information
from Utah State University's Extension service on this very
topic. According to USU, there are some papers that should be
kept forever. Not surprisingly, this includes: your will; birth
and death certificates; marriage licenses; adoption papers;
military records; your health care power of attorney; copies
of your 401(k) and IRA participation plans; insurance policies;
property titles and mortgages; stock and bond certificates;
and employment contracts. USU recommends that these documents
be stored in a safe deposit box at the bank or in a fireproof
box in your home. (Deseret News, 06/15/03) click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,505040064,00.html
OGDEN SUPERINTENDENT:
DIVERSITY PROGRESS BEING MADE BUT DISTRICT ISN'T REPLACING STUDENT
SERVICES COORDINATOR
While attending Ogden High School, recent graduate Noemi Hernandez
said few teachers were Latino or spoke Spanish. "They treated
me good for the most part," Hernandez said, "but when
we try to communicate, they got frustrated because we could
not respond quickly." Hernandez is among the many students
changing the city"s cultural identity, and Ogden School
District officials have noticed most faculty members don"t
look like their students. ... At the end of this month, one
of the few ethnic faces in the district is leaving. Student
Services Coordinator Santiago Sandoval is retiring after 25
years. ... Because of Sandoval"s efforts, new hires get
ESL training at Utah State University and Weber State University.
(Standard Examiner, 06/15/03) click on: http://www.standard.net/standard/news/print_story.html?sid=00030615000624256693
COUNTY LEADERS
QUESTION TAX STUDY: REPORT CLAIMS MORE RECEIVED THAN PAID OUT
A study that shows Cache County receives $2.37 for every dollar
its residents pay in sales and income taxes to the state gives
the wrong impression about the county"s finances, the county’s
executive said Friday. Lynn Lemon said the study, released Thursday
by the Utah Foundation, doesn’t show that his county"s
largest industries are tax-exempt education institutions, mostly
Utah State University. USU pays a lot of salaries to people
who live in Cache, but it doesn’t pay any property taxes
to the county, putting more of the burden for running the county
on residents of the county who do pay them. (Standard Examiner,
06/15/03) click on: http://www.standard.net/standard/news/print_story.html?sid=00030614232003454081
PIONEER IN THE
FIELD OF CLONING - SECOND FOAL UNVEILED IN US
Two weeks after announcing the birth of the first cloned mule,
a US research team has unveiled a second cloned mule. The male
mule foal, named Utah Pioneer, joins his brother, Idaho Gem,
as the only equine clones in the world. Utah Pioneer, born last
Monday, was the result of work by researchers Gordon Woods and
Dirk Vanderwall, from the University of Idaho, and Ken White,
from Utah State University. Utah Pioneer's surrogate mother,
Idaho Rose, had a natural and unassisted birth. It followed
the birth of Idaho Gem, announced a fortnight ago. (The Sunday
Telegraph, Sydney, Australia, 06/15/03)
BALLAM'S OPERA
MIRACLE THRIVING
Turning a dilapidated theater well outside the arts hub of
the Wasatch Front into the headquarters of a nationally prominent
opera festival is a task most entrepreneurs would reject: too
little available funding, too much risk, not enough audience
for opera in Logan. ... The company recently was ranked by Money
magazine as one of the top 20 opera festivals in the world.
According to a Utah State University study, UFO's 2002 season
pumped $4.9 million into the local economy, despite the national
economic downturn. (Deseret News, 06/15/03) click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,505040068,00.html
KIDS AND COACHES
HAVE A BLAST AT FOOTBALL CAMP
A new camp at Utah State got off to a good start this past
week. Seventy youngsters showed up for the inaugural Big Blue
Small Fry Football Camp on the campus of USU. The Aggie football
coaching staff conducted the three-day camp, which ran two-and-a-half
hours each day. (Herald Journal, 06/15/03)
AN ECONOMIC CUSHION
Autoliv, Utah's largest manufacturer, is betting a new type
of air bag will help it reclaim some of the hundreds of jobs
lost in the state in recent years as the company struggled to
cut costs to cope with increased competition amid a worldwide
economic downturn. ... The Utah facilities have demonstrated
in recent years they can effectively do all these things and
are continuing to do them, said Ross E. Robson, executive director
of the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing Program
sponsored by Utah State University. Autoliv facilities in Ogden
and Brigham City were selected to receive the 2003 Shingo Prize,
named after a Japanese industrial engineer known for improving
manufacturing practices. The prize, given to companies in North
America, recognizes marked improvement in manufacturing operations.
(Salt Lake Tribune, 06/14/03) click on: http://www.sltrib.com/2003/jun/06142003/business/business.asp
AUTOLIV: RESULTS
ARE NO ACCIDENT: AIR-BAG FIRM MARKS PRODUCTION MILESTONE
If Autoliv employees ever wonder whether their work is worthwhile,
all they have to do is ask a couple of colleagues. Erika Anderson
and Jennifer Durrant are among car-crash survivors who credit
the auto safety company with saving their lives. ... The module
facility began operations in 1992. It and air bag inflator plants
in Ogden and Brigham City were among winners of the prize, which
honors world-class manufacturers among North American companies.
The award program is administered by Utah State University's
College of Business in partnership with the National Association
of Manufacturers. (Deseret News, 06/14/03) click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,505040145,00.html
DROP THAT BROOM;
OPT FOR BLEACH, DISINFECTANT
Hantavirus causes a nasty disease. But the virus itself is
downright "wimpy": The virus only survives a day or
two once it leaves its host and carrier, the deer mouse. And
a little bleach or household disinfectant will kill it off quite
nicely, local health and environmental experts say. "It
doesn’t take a whole lot to kill it," says Eric Hansen,
director of environmental health and safety at Utah State University
in Logan. Hantavirus is a respiratory illness transmitted through
the droppings, urine or saliva of deer mice. When dried particles
of this virus get stirred up, they may be inhaled by humans
and cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. (Standard Examiner,
06/14/03) click on: http://www.standard.net/standard/news/print_story.html?sid=00030613231100953234
CRICKET INVASION
TURNS DISGUSTING: DEAD, STINKING BUGS COVERING SOME ROADS IN
UTAH LIKE GREASE
When Nick Castleton took his morning run Thursday, he suffered
a nasty spill on the slick surface beneath his feet. "It
was like running on grease," Castleton said. ... Matt Palmer,
a Utah State University Extension representative for Tooele
County confirms statewide participation, including $300,000
in assistance. Current attempts to bait the crickets with insecticide,
however, can only do so much, he said. (Deseret News, 06/14/03)
click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,505040229,00.html
LEAVITT NOMINATES
NEW USU TRUSTEES
Gov. Mike Leavitt has proposed new trustees for Utah State
University, appointments which are subject to approval by the
state Senate. Leavitt recommended that R. Brent Nyman and L.J.
Godfrey be reappointed to the board through June 30, 2007. He
recommended that Richard Shipley succeed USU trustee Barre Burgon
through June 30, 2007. (Herald Journal, 06/14/03)
USU FUELS
SHUTTLE STUDY
New technology launched by rocket earlier this week was developed
in cooperation with the Utah State University Space Dynamics
Laboratory. The technology will produce data that could be used
to help prevent disaster like the Space Shuttle Columbia. (Herald
Journal, 06/04/03)
LYRIC
THEATRE’S ‘GOLDEN POND’ IS TRULY GOLDEN
The Old Lyric Repertory Co. borrows some powerful thrust for
the launch of its 37th season from the considerable talents
of company founder W. Vosco Call. The veteran actor returns
to the Lyric stage as Norman Thayer, a man obsessed with death
but clinging to life, in “On Golden Pond,” Ernest
Thompson’s humorous and heart-warming play about growing
old and growing up — in that order. (Herald Journal, 06/14/03)
RESEARCHERS
FIGHTING BAD BREATH IN CATTLE
If you think you have bad breath, just be thankful you're not
a cow - with breath that actually harms Earth's ozone layer
and contributes to global warming. The collective breathing
of cows accounts for nearly 20 percent of the methane gas released
into the atmosphere. To cut down on the 100 to 150 gallons of
the gas that a typical cow accounts for each day, University
of Nebraska researchers are developing an additive for cattle
feed. "The reason we're focusing on methane is because
it's a short- lived, highly potent greenhouse gas that needs
to be reduced," said biochemistry professor Stephen Ragsdale.
The methane produced in a cow's rumen - the first of a cow's
four stomachs - gets into the bloodstream and exits through
the lungs, said Ken Olson, a range livestock nutritionist at
Utah State University. Almost all of it comes from breathing,
though a tiny bit does escape when a cow belches, Olson said.
(Charleston Daily Mail, 06/13/03)
KSL NEWSCAST:
COWS ARE SUSPECT FOR THE METHANE GAS IN OUR ATMOSPHERE
Cows are suspect for the methane gas in our atmosphere, which
contributes to global warming. USU says feeding cows higher
quality food could lessen the amount of methane released. Researchers
are developing an additive which would be added to food to cut
down on the gas. (KSL newscast, 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 10 p.m., 06/13/03)
Monday, June 16, 2003
'SUN
CITY PEOPLE' WELCOMED IN LOGAN: ARIZONANS TAKE CLASSES, HAVE
FUN ALL SUMMER LONG
If familiarity really does breed contempt, then Cache Valley's
"summer citizens" are the smartest people around.
Every summer when Utah State University is out of session, 730
(or thereabouts) retirees drive up from Arizona and other Sun
Belt states to descend on Logan. They golf, they go to the theater
and opera, they play cards, they eat in the buffet restaurants,
they attend college classes and generally fool around in the
cooler temperatures of northern Utah. (Deseret News, 06/13/03)
click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,505039923,00.html
NOT ALL
GRASS REQUIRES A TON OF WATER
In the Western United States, water is often a controversial
subject — even more so in the middle of a drought. Federal,
state and local politics affect water availability, allocation
and use. And while an individual gardener might not have much
input in these processes, they can and do make a substantial
difference in how much and where water is used. ... Paul G.
Johnson, a turf grass professor at Utah State University, undoubtedly
knows more about turf grasses than anyone else in the state.
Johnson hails from a small farm in Iowa and comes to Utah by
way of University of Minnesota and the University of Nebraska.
Among the many aspects of his research, he is conducting replications
of national turf grass trials here in Utah. (Deseret News, 06/13/03)
click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,505039686,00.html
STATE
SELLS BONDS TO MERRILL LYNCH: UTAH GETS LOWEST INTEREST RATE
IN 38 YEARS: 2.8%
Utah state government sold $407 million worth of bonds to Merrill
Lynch & Co. this week for its lowest interest rate in 38
years: just 2.8 percent. The rate means the government will
spend millions of dollars less in paying interest, state finance
officials said. ... The $407 million in bonds were approved
by the 2002 and 2003 Legislatures. Among the items to be funded:
a new library at Utah State University; more roads coming out
of the Centennial Highway Fund; paying off some variable-interest-rate
bonds, thus saving even more interest payments; and allowing
Salt Lake County to build a variety of road projects. (Deseret
News, 06/13/03) click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,505039826,00.html
GORDIN
HAS WORK AHEAD WITH WEIR
When Draper resident Mike Weir won the 2003 Masters earlier
this year, one of the first people he thanked was his sports
psychologist, Rich Gordin. Gordin, a decorated psychologist
and professor at Utah State University for 22 years, has joined
Weir at this week's U.S. Open. And with a lot of luck, he'll
help Weir win the second of golf's major tournaments this season.
"Those are long days for me at the golf course," Gordin
said Thursday morning regarding following and instructing golfers
- including Weir - around a major event such as the U.S. Open.
"I'll start out with them on the range, follow and watch
them play their rounds. Then we'll talk a bit before and afterward."
(Standard Examiner, 06/13/03) click on: http://www.standard.net/standard/news/print_story.html?sid=00030613003030320298
LYRIC
SEASON IN FULL SWING
The Caine Lyric Theatre in downtown Logan (28 W. Center St.)
is open for business with the Old Lyric Repertory Company’s
37th season of theatrical entertainment. The season sports five
shows in place of the usual four playing in repertory through
Aug. 9. “We’re excited about the talent we are lining
up to produce this entertaining and substantial bill of plays,
and we look forward to a season of summer fun,” said OLRC
Artistic Director Colin Johnson. “As always, we look forward
to seeing our loyal patrons, along with new audience members,
this summer, joining us in the comfort of our refurbished theatre
where you can see five hot shows in one cool place.” (Herald
Journal, 06/13/03)
AIR BALLAM
As the 11th season of the Logan-based Utah Festival Opera Company
approaches, the opera’s founder and general director,
Michael Ballam, is busy launching a new program on Utah Public
Radio. ... Ballam said the idea for the program originated with
Utah State University President Kermit Hall. (Herald Journal,
06/13/03)
VOLUNTEER
OPPORTUNITIES AT USU
Lara Petersen, curator of Utah State University’s Museum
of Anthropology, is looking forward to meeting and working with
recruited museum volunteers beginning in late August. “We
could not do what we do without the enthusiastic support of
our volunteers and students,” she said. Assisting Petersen
are Curtis and Tricia Hancock, Utah State students and Logan
residents. (Herald Journal, 06/13/03)
KSL NEWSCAST:
MORMON CRICKETS ON THE MOVE
Perennial Pests: Grasshoppers and Mormon crickets are on the
move again. There is much contention in the debate of how to
best control the pests. In Tooele County, the state and BLM
have sprayed for crickets from the air. The Forest Service is
refusing to spray the crickets and is using poisonous bait instead.
Farmers say the bait program does not seem to work as well as
spraying. USU's extension service is undertaking a study to
see exactly what the crickets are feeding on. (KSL newscast,
5 p.m., 06/12/03)
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