February 2001

News

Palmer, Leavitt in runoff for ASUSU president
02/24/01 Vote totals for the Associated Students of Utah State University primaries, as announced Friday evening by ASUSU. / By Steve Day

Sunday snow at Bryce: A weekend snowstorm frosts the red rocks at Sunset Point in Bryce Canyon National Park, 350 miles south of Logan. The park is open all year; visitors can cross-country ski or snowshoe (snowshoes can be borrowed from the park's visitor center) all around the rim of the canyon. Or, visitors can drive the 18-mile main park road and stop at any or all of the 13 overlooks, which rise from about 7,800 feet to more than 9,100 feet. No snowmobiles are allowed in the park, though you can use them on groomed trails in the rest of the Dixie National Forest. / Photo by Nancy Williams

Cox Electric given 60 days to comply with law on busineses in homes
02/16/01 The Millville City Council voted unanimously to grant Millville resident Earl Cox, owner of Cox Electric, 60 more days to comply with all of the city's ordinances for home-operated businesses before granting him another occupation permit. / By Sharalyn Hartwell

Nibley approves 29-home low-income subdivision
02/16/01 The homes and a park are being built in cooperation with the Neighborhood Nonprofit Organization, and they will help the city meet its low-income housing requirements, according to Patricia Blau, the city clerk and treasurer. The subdivision will be at 6200 W. 3200 South. / By Natalie Larson

Diversity training not required in gay display incident, USU says
02/16/01 According to USU Chief of Staff Craig Petersen, the training was only suggested, but never mandated, after some employees of the cashier's office had a barrier erected so they would not have to see a Pride Alliance display. This is contrary to information printed in the Herald Journal and Statesman. / By Jen Burnett, via Aggie TV

Smithfield wants cheap or free webmaster to create overdue Internet page
02/16/01 The Smithfield City Council will start looking for someone to help get Cache Valley's second-largest city on the map -- the Internet map. / By Katherine Romney

Amalga grumbles, but gives ex-mayor extra time to construct subdivision
02/15/01 Brett Jensen, chair of the Amalga Planning and Zoning Committee, said he was frustrated that Keith Jorgensen started the project, "then up and left." / By Reuben Wadsworth

Make boulevard a one-way street, residents tell River Heights
02/15/01 River Heights residents want River Heights Boulevard to be turned into a one-way street, and the city has agreed to look into the idea. Safety concerns include the narrow, curved pavement. / By Matthew Flitton

Western Rural Development Center reaching out to a surprising audience
02/14/01 Surprisingly, the states with the highest rural proportion are in the Northeast and the states with the lowest rural proportion are in the West, the director of the Western Rural Development Center told faculty of the USU College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Tuesday in the department conference room. / By Reuben Wadsworth

Romantic Hyde Park Lane soon may have a more mundane name
02/14/01 Have you ever taken a drive down romantic Hyde Park Lane? If you haven't had the opportunity yet, you had better hurry because it won't always be Hyde Park Lane. / By Rachel Irvine

County restaurant tax benefits small towns, made Nibley's Bowery possible
02/13/01 If it weren't for the County Restaurant Tax, a popular family picnic area wouldn't have been possible for the city to afford. Eighty percent of the funding for the Bowery, in the park at 750 W. 2600 South, came from a tax on restaurants. / By Natalie Larson

Wellsville concerned about its vistas and its taxes, but endorses Cache Valley Initiative
02/12/01 After asking a number of pointed questions, the Wellsville City Council voted unanimously last week to support a countywide plan aimed at preserving the quality of life. / By Will Bettmann

Millville moving toward ending distinction of being without a sewer
02/12/01 Discussion of the new sewer facility to be put in Millville continued at the City Council meeting last week. The project originated as an "interlocal agreement" with Nibley, said Mayor Gale Hall. / By Sharalyn Hartwell

Lewiston planning and zoning chairman gets another year
02/12/01 The Lewiston Planning and Zoning Board was reorganized in a meeting last week, and Bruce Karen remains the chairman for another year. Karalee Morrison was sworn in as a new member of the board; she will serve a five-year term. / By Curtis McInelly

The Double V logo designed by the Pittsburgh Courier, largest black newspaper of World War II, urged two victories for America.

Black press agitation of World War II set stage for civil rights fight, historian says
02/12/01 Black soldiers in World War II demanded that if they fight totalitarian forces abroad, they also should fight such forces at home, setting the stage for the civil rights movement of the 1950s, according to an award-winning press historian. Patrick S. Washburn recalls the nearly forgotten Double V Campaign of World War II. / By Kevin King
02/16/01 "'Kill a cracker in Germany, or kill one in Georgia, what's the difference.' The government got real excited about those words," says Dr. Washburn. Click here for a complete transcript of Dr. Washburn's remarks.

Owner of corner lot in Richmond is forbidden to split it in two
02/08/01 Two landowners met with the Richmond City Planning and Zoning Commission to discuss property divisions Tuesday night. Although the outcome for one landowner was positive, the other landowner's property does not meet the criteria for land division. / By Jennifer Pinnock

Trenton angry over shooting of dogs
02/07/01 Residents of Trenton are outraged at the treatment of animals in their community. Apparently, some dogs have been shot in the street while they were causing no harm. The subject will be discussed at the next town meeting. / By Emily Aikele

North Logan to begin curbside pickup of green waste
02/05/01 The proposal calls for green waste, which includes grass, leaves, garden remains and produce peels, to be picked up once a week along with garbage. The service would be optional for residents and would cost $48 per year. / By Holli Gunnell

Hyrum votes for food and fun to make the Elite the place to meet
02/03/01 Hyrum soon will seek Elite Hall employees such as waiters and waitresses, janitors, maintenance, vendors, entertainers, and security, meaning the new Elite Hall could take until next year to be ready. There is some repairs still to be done to the inside of the hall, including a finish to the new balcony area. / By Jamie Baer

Development is top priority for new dean of grad studies
02/03/01Dr. Thomas L. Kent began his duties Jan. 1 as the dean of the School of Graduate Studies at Utah State University. Kent said that the decision to accept this position was difficult because it was a change not only in jobs, but in environment as well, and it meant leaving his home of 17 years. / By Jennifer Pinnock

Providence resident proposing park at 300 South, 300 West
02/03/01Dean Hurd is proposing that the city builds a 1-acre park near a new subdivision. Meadow Ridge Park would cost an estimated $56,345. Labor for the project is placed at $11,227, but Hurd said he would like to see the labor donated by people and businesses who want to see the benefits of a new park. / By Tyra Leonard

Nibley to add a well to accommodate town's growth, water demands
02/02/01Every year there are enough people who are either born or come to Utah to add a city the size of Logan to the state population. This rapid increase has left many cities searching for resources to accommodate their swelling populations. For Nibley, the shortage could be water. / By Natalie Larson

Historian to speak Feb. 8 about government pressure on black press of World War II
02/01/01The author of one of the most significant mass communication books of the century will speak about the black press next week on the Utah State University campus. In his book, A Question of Sedition, Patrick S. Washburn of Ohio University exposed a massive investigation of black newspapers by the U.S. government during World War II. / By the USU department of journalism and communication

TOWNS LOOKING TO JOIN LOGAN GREEN-WASTE COLLECTION
02/01/01
"Green waste is filling up our landfills," says Kate Christensen, a member of the Curbside Green Waste Program. The Logan program aims to enlist nearby towns to ask residents to pay a monthly fee for curbside collection of yard clippings. See the reaction in Smithfield and Hyde Park. / By Katherine Romney and Rachel Irvine

Hyrum program bridging language barriers to teach parenting, high school classes
02/01/01 It started when E A Miller in Hyrum wished to overcome the language barrier in the workplace, an idea that lacked availability and money. Today it's a thriving community program teaching more than 60 families how to speak English and Spanish, a program to earn their GED, a parenting class, and workshops to keep the children busy while the parents learn. / By Jamie Baer

North Logan debates road widths, landscaping
02/01/01 The Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council met in a joint meeting last week for a discussion of an initiative to develop roadways and set standard road designs for future renovation on North Logan roads. / By Holli Gunnell

Features

Skiers' paradise: The abundance of snow in the last few weeks has turned the ski slopes into joyland. The view north from Powder Mountain, at the southern tip of Cache Valley, is breathtaking. / Photo by Mike Sweeney

The KFC restaurant in Hefei on the right is a favorite hangout of D'souza's. Hefei is the capital of Anhui Province in eastern China. The city was a quiet market town before 1949. Today, Hefei is a thriving industrial center. The street is Changjiang Lu, a throughfare that cuts east-west through the city. It is the main commercial district. Notice the many billboards. They are but one face of Chinese commercialism. Burgers, fries, and Pepsi! Ah! America is never far away!

An Aggie in China: Surprised by cell phones, Backstreet Boys and Western flair
02/26/01As I walked the streets of Guangzhou, I recognized the same aggressive, Western-style capitalism I have known all my life. The Chinese are effervescent and persuasive salespeople with an uncanny ability to entice even the most cautious shopper. Virtually every commodity has a market here -- from traditional handicrafts to absurd food items. / By Leon D'souza

Aggie once known only as 'Deaf Boy' argues for intelligent ways to teach the hearing-impaired
02/26/01 Elementary school is hard enough when you don't speak the language and you don't have an interpreter, says Curt Radford, 27-year-old graduate student at Utah State University. But during his three years in "hearing school," Ririe (Idaho) Elementary School, Curt didn't even have a name. / By Bryce Petersen Jr.

A much-younger Eddie the Circus Dog, right, happily endures another indignity.

Good-bye to a drooling, flopping, unconditional-loving Circus Dog
02/22/01Circus Dog is dying. No more stupid human tricks, like the birthday hats we inflicted on him, or the reindeer antlers at Christmas. He's a pleaser, and even as the strength ebbs from him, the will to please glows strong. But we can see him slipping away. Now that he has to die, he's doing it with a grace that I hope I remember when it's my turn. Editor's update: Eddie left this life shortly before 4 p.m. Feb. 22, about seven hours after this story was posted. / By Ted Pease