News

Richmond creates procedure for deposits, awaits audit
01/31/01 Bookkeeping issues are a serious matter, the Richmond City Council learned Tuesday as it prepared for an audit. A city judge says the city is expecting auditors sometime next week, and all court money is not accounted for because the treasurer has failed to give the court receipts for all deposits. / By Jennifer Pinnock

Providence urged to support Cache quality-of-life plan
01/31/01 Rick Lungman, Cache Chamber of Commerce member, asked Providence for its endorsement for the Cache Valley Initiative during last week's council meeting. / By Tyra Leonard

HASS dean to become provost Feb. 1
01/27/01 USU President Kermit L. Hall announced Friday the appointment of the university provost. Stan L. Albrecht, dean of Utah State's College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, accepted the offer to serve as chief academician and second in command as executive vice president. / By USU media relations

Faculty candidates interview with JCOM department
01/26/01 Two new faculty candidates recently gave lectures to journalism and communication students in Professor Nancy Williams' Media Smarts classes. See what these two women had to say. / By Kevin King

River Heights says no to tax on cell phones
01/26/01 Reasoning that the town is not in the cell phone business, River Heights rejected a tax on the phone service at the Tuesday night council meeting. / By Matthew Flitton

Efforts to censor Hollywood nothing new, professor says
01/24/01 A USU journalism professor examines the collision between free expression and pop culture as part of a new book on the American entertainment industry. Ted Pease, head of the journalism and communication department at Utah State University, says free expression has often been more threatened in entertainment -- movies, radio and television -- than in newspapers and TV news. / By the USU Journalism & Communication Department

Journalism professor's book examines censorship of World War II's biggest secrets
01/24/01 USU journalism professor Mike Sweeney has published what some historians are calling the most comprehensive and compelling work to date on censorship of the American press during wartime. Among the revelations in Secrets of Victory: journalists who knew about the atomic bomb project kept it secret for two years, and the director of censorship refused to nationalize the commercial radio industry. / By the USU Journalism & Communication Department

President Hall, more than 100 attend King vigil
01/18/01 The annual Candlelight Vigil celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day was powerful and prophetic. In attendance was USU's newly appointed president, Kermit L. Hall, who could instead have attended the State of the State address given by Gov. Mike Leavitt at the Legislature or even a basketball game at the Smith Spectrum. "I am not here tonight because other presidents were not, I'm here because it's important to me," said Hall. / By Kevin King

Features

Flocks on the blocks of Millville
01/31/01 There just might be a whole new reason why the chicken crossed the road. For Oscar and Leora Monson and Wayne Iverson of Millville, it is because dusk is falling and the chickens are ready for bed. Together the neighbors own 30 guinea hens that roam the neighborhood during the day, but come home every night at dusk to sleep. / By Sharalyn Hartwell

Everton Publishers helping folks with genealogy
01/29/01 The old church stands apart from the rest of the scenery when entering town. It seems a little out of place amid the small-town convenience store, typical homes and open spaces. It's not a church any more -- it's the home of Everton Publishers. / By Natalie Larson

Amalga: small-town haven and cheese heaven
01/26/01 Though it's a cheese town now, Amalga didn't used to be -- at first it was sugar beets. The cheese plant was converted from a sugar beet processing plant. When the sugar beet business was thriving back in the 1920s, Munk said the town was home to a hotel and sugar beet company housing where the town park now stands. People live there now for the rural atmosphere. / By Reuben Wadsworth

Utah culture makes if difficult for women like Jamie to find peace, acceptance
01/26/01LOGAN -- Jamie sits at a round, black table in the Cafe Ibis, drinking spicy Chai tea. She often hangs out here on Federal Avenue, in the valley's only alternative coffee shop. No one is denied friendly service at the Ibis, not even the girl with the short-as-putting-green hair, the pine-colored, plaid bandanna and the muddy, second-hand store hiking boots. No one stares at Jamie here. No one gives her dirty looks and no one throws her up against the wall. / By Lizzy Scully

 

The object of his affection: The green of Ireland, seen here at the Cliffs of Moher on the west coast. / Photo by Kenna Dyches, sister of the author.

Going home, to a place he'd never been before -- land of Grandpa, Guinness and green
01/23/01 Part One of a series: I'm near the bus station in London, waiting for 8 o'clock. I didn't fly all this way to see Buckingham Palace. I've been in London three days and I still don't know where the palace is and I don't much care. I want to see cliffs and birds and the dense, lush verdure of the countryside. I want to hear singing and everyman poets in shamrocked Irish pubs. I want to touch the hair of an Irish maiden and kiss her in the constant rain. / By Bryce Petersen Jr.

Crystal Inn born of diesel fuel marketing and Harvard MBA
01/19/01 Jay Call, then 55-years-old and founder of "Flying J", the highest-volume marketer of diesel fuel along the nation's highways, decided to try his hand at the hotel business. He came across a 2-acre piece of land for sale in Salt Lake City. There he built his first hotel--a 175-room business traveler's hotel, the Crystal Inn. / By Laren Hawkins

Baby Watch keeping a lookout for special kids, like Hayden
01/19/01 Hayden Olsen peeks out from behind the couch, wary of the visitors entering his home. Curt Phillips rushes over, sweeps Hayden off the floor and tries to play. At first the 17-month-old Hayden arches his back in physical protest to his captor. Eventually, he remembers who Phillips is and begins to play. Hayden and Phillips play "karate chop" with Hayden's brother Colby, the recipient of Hayden's assisted, round-house kicks. Phillips is a physical therapist. Hayden has Down syndrome. / By Kendal Bates

Furnace job is to 'boil water,' but that doesn't mean there's no pressure
01/16/01 Five fire-breathing monsters live on the side of Utah State University's Old Main Hill, just a little north and west of the Haight Alumni House. Their masters say they're fairly well-behaved, for monsters. We feed Œem, water Œem. They're noisy and stinky and make a huge mess, but we keep Œem happy and they're harmless, mostly. Mostly? Well, if you know what you're doing, nothing's going to go wrong. And if you don't? / By Lara Gale

Printer's family collects antique 'Eighth Wonders of the World'
01/16/01 Keith W. Watkins' 1936 Linotype typesetter looks like an H.G. Wells time-machine. And when you consider the 1831 Otis Tufts press and the 1860-70 Gordon self-inking presses that keep the Linotype company, the time-machine comparison seems appropriate. Watkins has always loved printing. When he was 10, he completed his first printing job . . . club-membership cards for his Junior G-Man "Gang." Now printing is a family business, steeped in histsory. / By Kendal Bates

LDS funnyman pokes gentle fun at carrots in Jell-O, five-parent families
01/13/01 PROVO -- Scott Murphy carries a notebook and whenever he sees humans behaving like humans he can't help but see it as humorous and he jots it down. He says true-to-life situations get the best response. Most people don't take themselves so seriously that they can't admit when a joke applies to them. He coaxes big laughs out of audiences in the heart of Mormon Utah. / By Derrick Frazier

Logan's high-energy DJ N-I-K aims for the big time . . . will he be able to combine Barry Manilow and rap there?
01/10/01 It's 7 p.m. and if the radio dial is turned to 94.5 VFX, it's DJ N-I-K (pronounced "en-aye-kay" ), an energetic radio personality playing the Top 40 hits. Add a "C" to N-I-K and it's the same friendly 21-year-old guy making a living at what he loves to do. Meet Nick Thomas, who started with three speakers at high school dances and now aims at the big time. / By Jennifer Brennan

Sports

Aggies block Vandals despite lackluster play
01/29/01Saturday night's 71-57 victory over the University of Idaho was a landmark game for Utah State University. The Aggies tied the 1959-60 team for the best start in school history with an 18-2 record and ran their conference-winning streak to 26 games. / By Casey Hobson

Aggies keep streak alive as they down Pacific
01/27/01The Aggies made it 25 wins in a row in the Big West Conference by defeating Pacific, 62-51, in Stockton, Calif. / By Doug Layne

USU remains unbeaten in Big West with victory over Boise State
01/22/01The Aggies came out fired up in the second half and took control of the game as point guard Bernard Rock, who had only made four 3-pointers all season long, nailed back to back three pointers to help USU go on a 9-0 run. / By Doug Layne

Aggie big men prove that size does matter
01/22/01 The Utah State University basketball team proved Saturday night that size does matter, as it defeated Boise State University 82-64 in the Spectrum. / By Casey Hobson

7-footer's driving layup against BSU will not get in playbook anytime soon
01/21/01 Utah State head coach Stew Morrill was surprised. Boise State defenders were surprised. Even USU center Dimitri Jorssen was surprised, and he was the one who made the play. "I think I took about two steps to get to the hoop from the three-point line," Jorssen said with a smirk on his face. / By Reuben Wadsworth

USU forward Shawn Daniels rises above the Riverside defense to score in the first half on Tuesday night in the Spectrum. The Aggies beat the Highlanders, 75-45. / Photo by Liz Hobson

22-6 start helps USU race past UC Riverside
01/18/01 The Aggies did not have much trouble with the UC Riverside Highlanders in the Spectrum Tuesday night, winning 75-45 to remain perfect in home games. / By Doug Layne

Aggies wake up, destroy Idaho to extend conference streak to 21
01/09/01 After an agonizingly slow, inept start, in which the Aggies turned the ball over 15 times, USu erased a six-point deficit to defeat the University of Idaho, 80-58. / By Doug Layne

Opinion

Why America rocks: It celebrates being crazy . . . like a fox
01/24/01 Fresh perspective from a high-tech savvy student from India: It takes two hands to clap. The other hand in the New Economy is a culture that celebrates entrepreneurs and glorifies those who dare the risk of failure ­ a way of life that has long been at the heart of America¹s ethos and economy. America has attracted some of the finest risk-takers, and has created the perfect environment for them to thrive. / By Leon D'souza

The dot-com fiasco: Anatomy of a (temporary) disaster
01/19/01 Three years ago, it was heralded as the new nirvana. New economy "prophets" delivered persuasive orations outlining their fancy utopian vision of the emerging dot-com society. Dot-com was the way of the future. What happened? / By Leon D'souza

Religion, Marxism and the human genome: Are we playing God?
01/10/01 Some members of the scientific community suggest sardonically that if the human genome is really God's "instruction book," then it is not very well written. An astute designer would never have written such a convoluted set of instructions that are so difficult to read, they contend. / By Leon D'souza

Lifestyles

Big Dogs on the bar, 'ugly' animals on the wall part of the ambiance of the rowdy Owl
01/31/01 It's the middle of the night. Melanie Barney's bedroom is full of tables and smoke. She lies down again, desperate for rest. But a customer calls from the hallway. "Hey, I'm trying to sleep," Barney says. "Can I have another Budweiser?" / By Bryce Petersen

ENJOYING THE FREEZE (while it lasts): Skaters pause at Logan's Merlin Olsen Park, which has been open for ice skating for many days, thanks to the unusual, unbroken stretch of icy weather. / Photo by Jennifer Pinnock

How couples fight is key to staying together or divorcing, professor says
01/19/01 Two years ago, Bob's wife of one year, decided she wanted a divorce. Bob was shocked. The divorce has taught him that life is fragile and anything can change suddenly. / By Jennifer Brennan

Dieting: Some facts for the college figure
01/12/01 College students can give many reasons for not living a healthy lifestyle, but the fact is that even when the body is young, it must be kept healthy. The word "diet" is misleading; the proper term is weight management, which involves lifestyle changes and behavior modification, not just weight loss. / By Jennifer Brennan

They're not skis, and they're not a snowboard. They're skiboards
01/10/01 If you get on the slopes, you might happen to see some people on mini-skis or skiboards pulling out a few tricks. You might see a bio 360, where the person grabs the ski boards while completing one full rotation. Better yet, maybe you'll see a corkscrew, which is a sideways front flip with a 180-degree twist, landing backwards. You might even see a yoda, which is when the rider goes into a cross-legged position in the air, or combine the yoda with the bio and you've got a yoda 360. / By Dusty Decker

Are your scales groaning after the holiday?
01/03/01 The numbers seem to be stacked against you. Are there really people who've lost weight and kept it off? How come they did it and you can't? We've all heard the alarming numbers: the majority of conventional weight-loss diets offered today do not work, and within 12 months 95 percent of dieters regain the weight they initially lost. / By Robyn Touchard

Arts

From Bing to Ozzy, Nugent and Creed, new rock station broadcasts in Cache Valley
01/31/01 The transition from Bing Crosby to Ozzy Osborne has apparently been a smooth one for 95.9-FM, KLZX, which began its initial broadcast on Nov. 1 playing nothing but Christmas music 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It took only a few days for the word to spread throughout Northern Utah. / By Scott Garrard

Review: Hanks is great, but 'Cast Away' best experienced with a sofa and a fast-forward button
01/26/01 Tom Hanks could give CBS Survivor cast members a run for their money as he proves he is the ultimate survivor with his fascinating and realistic performance in Cast Away. / By Jennifer Pinnock

Review: Carter's act hits Logan hard, then fizzles
01/19/01 Utah wasn't the only place comedian Darren Carter made fun of during his hour-long show Wednesday night in the Taggart Student Center. "Pocatello sounds like it's something you don't want to catch," Carter said, supposedly referring to some kind of disease. "I've got to rub some Orem on that." / By Reuben Wadsworth

'Barney Fife' turned teacher urges photographers to stretch their talents . . . even if they have to find a hairy, fat guy
01/13/01 There he sits, in an old burnt-orange recliner, gently rocking back and forth, as a dozen students gather around him, waiting to hear what he has to say. The chair seems to be his throne, and he seems to be the king of this classroom. "Next!" yells Mark Dungan, trying to be heard over NPR. A girl in a red feather coat steps a little closer, and Dungan grins and warns, "This better not be dumb." / By Ruth Turner

Top Lexus and Sunkist ads, major publications owe a debt to USU professor's creative (and tough) class
01/10/01 Jon Anderson's great-grandfather was a pioneer who came across the Plains, took the wheels off his wagon and lived in that wagon for a year. Anderson's grandfather started the First National Bank in Logan and became the mayor. Much like his forefathers, Anderson was also a pioneer and innovator when he journeyed to Utah State University to create a unique commercial art program from scratch. / By Kendal Bates