September 15, 16 & 17,
2003 Utah State in the News
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
FUN WITH FUSION:
FRESHMAN'S NUCLEAR FUSION REACTOR HAS USU PHYSICS FACULTY IN
AWE
A widespread belief among physicists nowadays is that modern
science requires squadrons of scientists and wildly expensive
equipment. Craig Wallace and Philo T. Farnsworth are putting
the lie to all that. Wallace, a baby-faced tennis player fresh
out of Spanish Fork High School, had almost the entire physics
faculty of Utah State University hovering (and arguing) over
an apparatus he had cobbled together from parts salvaged from
junk yards and charity drops. The apparatus is nothing less
than the sine qua non of modern science: a nuclear fusion reactor,
based on the plans of Utah's own Philo Farnsworth, the inventor
of television. (Deseret News, 09/16/03) Click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510054502,00.html
GOOD MORNING,
LOGAN: 'TODAY SHOW' MAY FEATURE AREA AS FALL DESTINATION
Yo, New York! Over here! Yeah, that's right, it's Logan. The
Big Apple might not hear much from Cache Valley, but next week
some producers at "The Today Show" will get the local
scoop. Area producers have submitted a videotaped segment for
consideration on the morning show as it plans a series on unique
fall travel destinations. "It's a little-known destination,
and this would give it more publicity," said Nicole Allen
of Richter7 advertising agency in Salt Lake City. ... The former
Utah State University student received an e-mail earlier this
month from a contact she had worked with in the past, who happens
to be the travel producer at the NBC morning talk show. (Herald
Journal, 09/16/03)
USU HAS WATER-USE
PROGRAM
Utah State University has measured about two inches of precipitation
this summer. That has professors in the College of Agriculture
finding validation for a new degree program in the grim statistic.
Eight students are already enrolled in USU's new Master of Professional
Studies in Horticulture: Water Efficient Landscaping Specialization,
a program designed to serve horticultural students who want
careers in water conservation. ... Utah State's new degree is
the only one of its kind in the country, Kjelgren said. The
one-year, non-thesis program requires students to fulfill a
summer internship, which provides hands-on experience. (Desert
News, 09/16/03) Click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510054494,00.html
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
LOTS OF BUILDING
NEEDS — BUT NO CASH: LAWMAKERS MAY BOND FOR HIGHER ED
FACILITIES
How to meet Utah colleges' building needs will all come down
to a cash-strapped 2004 Legislature, which will soon be bombarded
by myriad funding requests. The State Board of Regents and the
State Building Board heard as much when Kevin Walthers spoke
at a meeting of the two boards Friday. Walthers is with the
Utah Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst. "There's
no cash," he said after the meeting. Legislators, then,
may decide to bond for any number of building project needs
presented this week by presidents of Utah's 10 colleges and
universities. Just for construction and remodeling costs, the
Legislature could be tapped for about $163 million if all the
higher education projects make it past a vote of the State Building
Board next month. Higher ed projects will also have to compete
with highway requests, which last year landed $106 million to
higher education's $48 million in state funds ($40 million went
to Utah State University alone). (Deseret Morning News, 09/14/03)
Click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510054143,00.html
HALL: 'WE ARE
SINKING': USU PRESIDENT PLEADS WITH BOARD OF REGENTS FOR INCREASED
FUNDING
The presidents of Utah's two largest public universities say
that if they are to maintain their role as top-tier institutions,
then they need more money — including tuition increases.
That was the message Thursday, the first of two days of meetings
with the Board of Regents and legislators to hear budget requests
from presidents of Utah's nine public colleges and universities.
Regents were told that funding reductions, more students, inadequate
tuition increases and higher utility costs have left the University
of Utah and Utah State University in dire straits. "We
are not treading water; we are sinking," said USU President
Kermit Hall. (Herald Journal, 09/13/03)
OFFICIAL FACE
UNCERTAINTY AS BUDGET SESSION BEGINS
An uncertain political climate in higher education won't hamper
efforts by officials at Utah State University to secure funds
from legislators in the current budget session, they said. "It's
worth noting that we’re in a pretty unusual state of things,"
said USU President Kermit Hall. ... There is a tremendous amount
of uncertainty in the current set of circumstances," Hall
told the USU Board of Trustees recently. (Herald Journal, 09/13/03)
LOCAL ACTIVIST
WINS PRIZE FROM MEXICO
Hector Mendiola, local community activist and a columnist for
the Herald Journal, has won the Ohtli Prize, given annually
by the government of Mexico to a citizen living abroad who has
worked to improve understanding between Mexican immigrants and
the community in which they live. ... Mendiola, a retired physician
and college professor from Mexico City who works as an extension
educator for Utah State University, has been instrumental in
starting computer-assisted literacy, computer skills and English
as a second language courses around the state. (Herald Journal,
09/13/03)
ANNEXATION LAND HO!: LOGAN'S WESTWARD PUSH RAISES
ISSUES
As raindrops fell on alfalfa scattered in a field along 2000
West in Logan, Marsha Israelsen looked out the window of her
maroon Buick with concern. Part of her worried for the farmer
who would now need over a week to dry the crop before bailing
it; another part was concerned about the farmland, and a way
of life that she worries will slowly start disappearing from
the area west of Logan. ... One of the consumers of multi-family
residences is the transient student population at Utah State
University, and the large number of students off campus has
filled the apartments and condos in town. Only 18 percent of
students live on campus, leaving the rest to compete with citizens
in the rental market. (Herald Journal, 09/14/03)
CITY COUNCIL MADE
WISE APPOINTMENT
Newly appointed Logan Municipal Councilmember Randy Watts will
just barely have enough time to say hello to everyone around
the city before he says goodbye. Last week, four remaining Logan
municipal councilmembers picked Watts out of a crowded field
and appointed him to serve the remainder of Karen Borg’s
term, which is up in January. ... Instead the council rose above
those temptations and picked Watts, whose ties to both the business
community and Utah State University may bring the council new,
even if temporary, insight. (Herald Journal, Our View, 09/14/03)
AREA FOURTH-GRADERS
EXPLORE NATURE
Dressing your classmates up like a beaver or a bug might not
seem like what the stern-sounding core curriculum requires educators
to teach their students a variety of science principles. Then
again, you don't have to be an education expert to see the enthusiasm
and the curiosity that area fourth-graders have when spending
one day at the annual Natural Resources Field Day in Logan Canyon.
The event is put on through Utah State University Water Quality
Extension, USU Extension, the U.S. Forest Service, the soil
conservation service and several other collaborating groups.
(Herald Journal, 09/15/03)
WASATCH-CACHE
NATIONAL FOREST PLAN HIDES A SUCKER PUNCH
This new industrial-strength trail system will veer toward
uncontrolled recreation, thrust upon a landscape by an agency
with visions of a major ORV destination attraction, rather than
the long-term health of the land and its human communities.
A few months ago, the Wasatch-Cache National Forest released
its long-range management plan, which is intended to guide the
forest for the next 10-15 years in such myriad issues as wildlife,
watershed, timber, recreation, grazing and travel. However,
one surprising provision included in the plan is the Shoshone
Trail System, which would comprise at least 500 miles of interconnected
off-road vehicle trails across the Logan and Ogden Ranger Districts
of the Wasatch-Cache. (Salt Lake Tribune, Charles Romesburg,
Professor in the College of Natural Resources at Utah State
University, 09/14/03) Click on: http://www.sltrib.com/2003/sep/09142003/commenta/92109.asp
USU SEEKS VENDORS
The 18th Annual Utah State University Holiday Fair is accepting
applications for vendor booths. The fair will be held Nov. 22
in Ogden at the Weber State University Union Building. Vendor
booths are in 8-foot sections and cost $75. Limited numbers
are available. Applications will be accepted from Sept. 1 through
Oct. 31. The Holiday Fair will feature 15 workshops and keynote
speaker Kim Bytheway talking about family traditions. Call USU
Extension at 801- 399-8200 for more information. (Deseret News,
09/15/03) Click on:
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,510054428,00.html
ART SHOW AT
CAPITOL
The Lieutenant Governor's 4th Annual Invitational Art Exhibition
will be on display in the Capitol rotunda through Sept. 25.
This year's exhibit honors artists Kent Miles, Joe Ostraff,
Gaell Lindstrom and L'Deane Trueblood. Born in Salt Lake, Miles
studied art when young but changed to photography after taking
a class in the subject at the University of Utah. He graduated
from the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles —
Ansel Adams handed him his diploma. Miles worked in California
for several years and then returned to Utah, where he has been
working for nearly 25 years. Born on the 4th of July in 1919,
Lindstrom graduated from the U. in art; LeConte Stewart was
his mentor. Lindstrom received his M.F.A. from the California
College of Arts and Crafts and began teaching art in Cedar City.
In 1957 Lindstrom joined the art faculty of Utah State University.
(He retired in 1986). He has traveled extensively, incorporating
much of what he saw in his paintings.(Deseret Morning News,
09/14/03) Click On: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510053817,00.html
ART CANVAS
Utah State University will begin this year's Visiting Arts
Program on Monday at 7 p.m. in the Eccles Conference Center,
Room 216. Robert Cottingham, painter and printmaker, will discuss
his work spanning 30 years. For more information call 435-797-7373.
(Deseret News, 09/14/03) Click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,510053812,00.html
LOGAN GROUP
PLANS TO HAIL CONSTITUTION
For 12 years, a citizens group in Logan has made sure Sept.
17 doesn't pass by as just another work day. On Sept. 17, 1787,
at 2 p.m., the Constitution of the United States was signed,
and the Constitution Commemoration Foundation is planning a
week's worth of activities this year to commemorate the event.
"We seek to sustain the United States Constitution in the
proud tradition of those who pledged their lives, their fortunes
and their sacred honor to establish this nation," said
foundation spokesman B.J. Tueller. "This is a great opportunity
for the entire family to learn more about the Constitution of
the United States of America." ...A pageant, "A Day
to Remember," will be held Friday and Saturday at the Utah
State University Kent Concert Hall, depicting Valley Forge and
other Revolutionary War events. (Deseret News, 09/14/03) Click
on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510054173,00.html
17 UTAH PATENTS
INCLUDE ELEVATED CABLEWAY SYSTEM
Seventeen patents were awarded to Utah inventors on Aug. 19,
including: Textured whey protein product and method. Marie K.
Walsh, North Logan; Charles E. Carpenter, Wellsville, Cache
County. Assigned to Utah State University, North Logan. Filed
June 16, 2000, claiming priority to provisional patent Application
No. 60/140,280, filed June 18, 1999. Patent No. 6,607,777. (Deseret
News, 09/14/03) Click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510053793,00.html
A CALL TO ACTION
Cameron Woolf, a Utah State University student and president
of the Students Serving Utah Network, urges Westminster College
students Friday to "Get a Life" by getting involved
in their communities through volunteering, voting and lobbying.
In a one-day marathon "Fun Bus Tour," student representatives
held rallies at colleges and universities around Utah. (Deseret
Morning News, 09/13/03) Click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,510053941,00.html
CLONE IS ONE
OF A KIND IN HEARTS OF NEW OWNERS
When cc, short for carbon copy, arrived, some wondered if she'd
spend her life locked in a cage - a lonely laboratory specimen.
But the world's first and only cloned kitty, who was born Dec.
22, 2001, at Texas A&M's College of Veterinary Medicine,
frolicked like an ordinary feline from the first. And now she's
purring contentedly in the home of Duane and Shirley Kraemer.
The Kraemers recently adopted cc. She has the run of their house,
close to the College Station lab where the incredible cloning
journey began. Days are filled with scratching posts and carpeted
cat trees, snoozing on the coffee table and hunting catnip mice
on the kitchen counter. ... Already, animal cloning is going
on worldwide with increasing frequency and success. Cloned mules
recently came into the world at Utah State University's Biotechnology
Genomics Research Center. Italy has reported the first cloned
horse and, along with cc, A&M has produced cattle, goats
and pigs and is expecting an equine clone in November. (San
Antonio Express-News, 09/14/03)
GARDEN VARIETY
Many years ago, I spent some time at the correctional facility
at Point of the Mountain. Now, don't go spreading any rumors
or trying to imagine what horrible crime I committed against
the plant kingdom. I was simply invited to take a look at the
facility's gardens and greenhouse programs. As I walked through
the well-kept landscape, I passed a resident who was munching
a small pepper like it was candy. He offered me one. I foolishly
took it (kind of like a rabbit taking a carrot from a coyote).
After one bite, I knew I had been suckered. This small Thai
pepper had enough heat to melt the polar icecaps, and there
was no 7-Eleven within running distance, where I could grab
a bag of ice and a liter-sized bottle of something cold to drink.
(Standard Examiner, Jerry Goodspeed , Utah State University
Extension Service, 9/13/03) Click on: http://www.standard.net/standard/news/print_story.html?sid=00030912141510502039
NEWS BEAT: BENNETT
VOTES FOR UTAH EQUIPMENT
Senate appropriations said yes last week to more than $3 million
requested by Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, a member of the Senate
Appropriations Committee, for enhanced weather monitoring facilities
and high-tech crime fighting equipment in Utah. Included in
the request was $500,000 for a Utah State University weather
and climate database management system. The press release states
that following Senate passage of the funding measure, it will
be reconciled with the House version in a House-Senate conference.
(Standard Examiner, 09/13/03) Click on: http://www.standard.net/standard/news/print_story.html?sid=00030912231011463765
THE SAFE WAY
TO CAN YOUR FRUIT
Check Your Health: Mary learns the safe way to can your fruit.
You need a 1990 or newer book, such as USDA or Kerr to tell
you the safest way to do it. (KUTV newscast, 5 a.m., Pauline
Williams, RD, USU Extension, 9/12/03)
UTAH'S TWO LARGEST
COLLEGES NEED MONEY
The Presidents of Utah's two largest colleges say they are
in desperate need of more money. Today legislators, the Board
of Regents, and college presidents meet to discuss the issue.
(KSTU newscast, 9 p.m, 9/12/03)
UTAH'S COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ARE ASKING
FOR BIGGER BUDGETS
Utah's colleges and universities are asking for bigger budgets
to deal with growing enrollments, construction projects, better
salaries for professors and higher utility costs. University
of Utah President Bernie Machen says the state will have to
pay the price for quality higher education. Utah State University
President Kermit Hall says he is tired of losing qualified professors
to better paying schools. (KUTV newscast, 5 p.m., 9/13/03)
UTAH'S TWO LARGEST
UNIVERSITIES IN DIRE NEED OF CASH
The president’s of Utah's two largest universities say
they are in dire need of cash just to pay the bills and keep
faculty. Utah and USU say they want bigger budgets to pay for
new buildings, more students, and high utility costs. (KSTU
newscast, 5 p.m., 9/13/03)
Monday, September 15, 2003
MIDDAY UPDATE:
UNIVERSITIES MAKE PITCH FOR MORE MONEY
The presidents of Utah's two largest public universities say
that if they are to maintain their role as top-tier institutions,
then they need more money - including tuition increases. That
was the message Thursday, the first of two days of meetings
with the Board of Regents and legislators to hear budget requests
from presidents of Utah's nine public colleges and universities.
Regents were told that funding reductions, more students, inadequate
tuition increases and higher utility costs have left the University
of Utah and Utah State University in dire straits. "We
are not treading water; we are sinking," said USU President
Kermit Hall. Hall said USU faculty salaries are 17 percent to
25 percent below their colleagues at other research universities,
and that last year alone, nearly 20 faculty left for other institutions
that pay more. The compensation issue is USU's No. 1 priority
in his request for $4.2 million for across-the-board salary
hikes, Hall said. (Standard Examiner, 9/12/03) Click on: http://www.standard.net/standard/news/print_story.html?sid=00030912125501264466
SPEAKER:
FIRE PLAN REQUIRES TOOLBOX
Stephen Pyne has studied a lot of wildfire management methods
and found that all share a common trait — they don't work.
At least none of them work as neatly and completely as land
managers and government officials would like, he said in a presentation
at Utah State University on Wednesday. Pyne's suggested solution,
formed during his career as a firefighter, author and Arizona
State University professor, is a combination of the four primary
control methods: leave it to nature; suppress everything, burn
it ourselves; or reduce the combustibility. (Herald Journal,
09/12/03)
ARMY CHOPPERS
FLY IN FOR ROTC TRAINING
When two Blackhawk helicopters landed on the Quad at Utah State
University on Thursday, students had an opportunity to ogle
the birds up close. The aircraft were not there for fun, though.
They had a job to do. Army helicopters may be "way sexy"
as Lt. Col. Rand Curtis put it, but cadets in USU's Army ROTC
may someday depend upon them in combat. The future soldiers
needed to know how to form a security perimeter around a landing
zone. They needed to be comfortable running up to a helicopter
with its rotors turning and strapping themselves quickly into
a seat. And they had to know that once they are strapped in,
it could be a fast, wild ride. (Herald Journal, 9/12/03)
STUDENTS PLEDGE
TO VOLUNTEER IN TRIBUTE
Organizers of a service drive wanted to get Utah State University
students to pledge at least 3,031 hours of volunteer time this
school year. That's one hour for every victim lost in the Sept.
11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon. Nellene Howard, the Val R. Christensen Volunteer Service
Center advisor, said pledging volunteer time would be a helpful
way for students to remember the solemn day. (Herald Journal,
9/12/03)
PATRIOTS' PRIDE
Constitution Week will be celebrated from Sept. 14 through
Sept 20. This will be the 12th annual celebration put on by
the Constitution Commemoration Foundation of Logan. On Wednesday,
Sept. 17, the presentation will be an F-16 fly-over coinciding
with the annual "Bells Across the Nation" event. The
flag ceremony will be at 1:30 p.m. at the Logan LDS Tabernacle
with the Utah State University ROTC presenting the colors. (Herald
Journal, Cache Magazine, 9/12/03)
NEW EXHIBITS
OPEN ON CAMPUS
The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art at Utah State University
ushers in the fall of 2003 with three new exhibitions: "In
the Spirit of the Times," "New to the Collection:
2002-2203" and "Clay West: 2003 Intermountain Invitational."
Each of the exhibitions features a wide range of artwork with
broad appeal, said museum director and curator Victoria Rowe.
(Herald Journal, Cache Magazine, 9/12/03)
IT’S TIME
TO CELEBRATE THE ARTS
The third annual free Cache Valley Arts Festival will be held
Sept. 17 to 20 at Cache Valley Center for the Arts, 43 S. Main,
in historic downtown Logan. ... Free performances include Cache
Youth Symphony featuring the Fry Street Quartet, Margarita Mendiola's
4-H Dancers, Center Stage Ballroom, LaShars Dance Image, Pauni
Polynesian performers, Valley Dance Ensemble, Dance Source,
Center Stage Celtic Dancers, Shadow Ridge, Cinnamon Creek Singers,
Sassafras, The Better Half and Musica Reservata. (Herald Journal,
Cache Magazine, 9/12/03)
SPECIAL GUESTS
The Fry Street Quartet and the Utah State Symphony Orchestra
will team up for a free performance at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 20 in
the Ellen Eccles Theatre as part of the third annual Cache Valley
Arts Festival. The arts festival is an afternoon of free performances,
hands-on arts activities and demonstrations from 11 a.m. to
3:30 p.m. at the Cache Valley Center for the Arts, 43 S. Main.
(Herald Journal, Cache Magazine, 9/12/03)
KEN BREWER, OTHER
LOCALS INCLUDED IN GREAT SALT LAKE BOOK FESTIVAL
Utah's Poet Laureate, Ken Brewer, an emeritus faculty in Utah
State's department of English, will present a reading on Saturday,
Sept. 13, at 2 p.m. at the Salt Lake City Library. Brewer is
author of "Sum of Accidents: New and Selected Poems,"
"To Remember What Is Lost" and "Hoping for All,
Dreading for Nothing." (Herald Journal, Cache Magazine,
9/12/03)
MEET THE NEW
COMPOSER ON THE BLOCK: USU'S DIRECTOR OF BANDS BRANCHES OUT
INTO MUSICAL CREATION
Dr. Thomas P. Rohrer is a lot of things. He's the director
of bands and music education at Utah State University. And with
a title like that you’d expect him to be a musician, which
of course he is. He's both a jazz fan and a Utah Jazz fan who
says his love of both predates his transplantation to the Beehive
State from Ohio over a decade ago. (Herald Journal, Cache Magazine,
9/12/03)
VISITING PRINTMAKER
Five distinguished artists and one art writer travel to Utah
State University this year as part of the department of art's
Visiting Artist Program. The program brings nationally and internationally
known artists and writers to campus for three- to five-day visits,
interacting with students, faculty and members of the community.
All guest present an evening lecture that is free and open to
the public. (Herald Journal, Cache Magazine, 9/12/03)
OIL & GOUACHE:
INSIDE THE STUDIO WITH USU'S CHRISTOPHER TERRY
If you are looking for a stereotypical artist, then his is
not your man. Christopher Terry will be the first to inform
you he doesn't fit most stereotypes when it comes to describing
artists. The award- winning Utah State professor doesn’t
burn the midnight oil and is fine with working 9-to-5. He also
doesn’t like to concern himself with having control over
how his work is displayed in a gallery and, despite the time
it takes to complete a project, he is not patient. (Herald Journal,
Cache Magazine, 9/12/03)
UNIVERSITY CHIEFS
WANT $164 MILLION FOR NEW BUILDINGS: ALL ARE NEEDED, HIGHER
EDUCATION LEADER SAYS
Hey, Legislature. Can you spare about $164 million? Didn't
think so. That's about how the presidents of Utah's universities
and colleges might envision such a conversation if all were
to submit their requests for money to fulfill their most "desperate"
building needs. Utah's higher education leaders met Thursday
with the Utah Board of Regents to come up with a more palatable
request, which first must pass muster today with the state Building
Board. Then the pleas for money move on to the Legislature.
"They're all needed," higher education commissioner
Cecelia Foxley said. "How do you draw a line anywhere?"...
$4.5 million for a renovated animal sciences building at Utah
State University. (Deseret News, 9/12/03) Click on:
http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510053654,00.html
BLACKHAWK VISITS
USU
A Blackhawk helicopter from the Utah Air National Guard's 112th
Combat Aviation Battalion takes off near Utah State University's
Old Main Wednesday. The helicopter was flying a training mission
and visiting the ROTC program at the school. (Desert News, 9/12/03)
Click on: http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510053652,00.html
PLANTS CAN THRIVE
IN SUMMER HEAT: CONSERVANCY GARDENS SHOW HOW IT'S DONE
The gardens, located at 8215 S. 1300 West, West Jordan, are
a must-see for anyone who wants to get a jump-start on planning
a water-wise garden for next spring. Homeowners can carry out
a few simple changes to transform their yards into more water-conserving
landscapes by using the right plants in the right places with
the right watering system. And the conservancy gardens are the
best place to learn more about this concept. My latest visit
there included a chat with conservation horticulturist David
Rice. Rice, who has a master's degree in water efficient landscaping
from Utah State University, knows a lot about drought, having
grown up in Monticello, Utah. (Desert News, 9/12/03) Click on:
http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,510053523,00.html
COUNTY LINES:
TRAINING AVAILABLE TO GATHER HISTORIES
Those interested in being trained to gather oral histories
of America's veterans can receive free training. The Brigham
City Library, which is a partner with the Library of Congress
in the veteran's History Project, will be holding a class from
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25. The project seeks to
gather the personal histories of veterans or war workers during
World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and
the wars with Iraq. Training is being funded by the Veteran’s
History Project and will be conducted by Elaine Thatcher of
Utah State University's American West Center. Registration is
required. For more information, or to register, call (435) 723-5891.
(Standard Examiner, 9/12/03) Click on: http://www.standard.net/standard/news/print_story.html?sid=00030911231021653147
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