Old Newsboys continue charitable work in Lansing

Lansing - Mayor David Hollister came down from his 10th floor office Wednesday to buy a paper from an Old Newsboy. Since 1924, the Old Newsboys Newspaper has been raising money to buy footwear for needy schoolchildren by selling newspapers with spoof news stories about people in the public eye. The paper is printed and written by the Lansing State Journal. On Friday, more than 400 Old Newsboys sales people will be stationed throughout the city selling the papers. Tom Shiels has been with the organization since 1968 and was a past president. He said the tradition began in 1910, when truancy officer George Palmer, noticed many children were not attending school in winter because they had no shoes to wear.

Holiday wrappings on display in exhibit

Wrapping paper is something that’s usually found shredded and buried at the feet of anxious children on Christmas day, but the MSU Museum is preserving it instead. The museum is presenting the Packaging Christmas: American and International Holiday Containers exhibit until February 2002.

Olin creates ribbons for suicide awareness

The Community Action Team at Olin Health Center will be tying on yellow ribbons this week to increase awareness about suicide prevention. “We’re doing this because it’s important to bring awareness to the students,” said Olin Health Advocate Heather Bradfield, who coordinated the project. “There’s been instances, even on my own floor, in my own dorm, where people have attempted suicide.” Bradfield, a nursing sophomore, said she has always been interested in mental health issues and wanted to steer her project toward a topic that is often overlooked, such as depression. Advocates on the action team distributed 1,000 ribbon cards containing a yellow ribbon attached to a poem.

Complex to open first apartments for residents in January

Heather Locklear probably won’t be interfering in the love lives of residents in these Melrose apartments.The first apartment of Melrose Communities will be available in January.The apartments, located at 16789 Chandler Road, will be allowing students to move into the partially finished complex on Jan.

Heathcote honored with court

Coach Jud Heathcote won MSU a Big Ten title on Breslin Center’s floor in its first year.Now he will have a court named after him.The former men’s basketball coach, who led MSU to the 1979 national title, will be honored with “The Jud Heathcote Gymnasium” in Breslin’s newly renovated and expanded Alfred Berkowitz Basketball Complex.The MSU Board of Trustees is expected to approve the naming of the gym and “The Forest Akers Trust Gymnasium” during Friday’s meeting.

Group seeks volunteers for senior citizen program

Using a helping hand to spread some cheer may be appreciated by some local senior citizens and individuals with disabilities this holiday season. Volunteers of America Michigan, 430 N.

Center to provide variety of features

The rooms and hallways of the East Lansing Hannah Community Center are still filled with workmen and tools of the trade, but a feeling of excitement is mounting among city staff.The center, 819 Abbott Road, now scheduled to open in mid-January after originally being scheduled to open Saturday.

Officials to oversee historic ornament creation for White House Christmas tree

Four pieces of Michigan’s heritage will dangle from the White House Christmas tree over the holidays.Each state donated four ornaments to adorn the tree for this year’s theme, At Home for the Holidays, which was chosen by First Lady Laura Bush.

U Extension helps community celebrate Christmas together

A group of Upper Peninsula residents gathered for the first time as a community to celebrate Christmas on Saturday.The party included their first Christmas tree lighting and Danielle Bammert, community coordinator for the Sawyer Community Association, hopes it isn’t the last.The community association is located at the former site of K.I.

WMU, Cooley partner to offer joint degree

Officials of Western Michigan University and Thomas M. Cooley Law School announced a partnership that will combine the two schools’ resources.Western Michigan President Elson S.

Forum offers information on civil rights

The questioning of 5,000 Middle Eastern men by the U.S. Department of Justice for information about Osama bin Laden’s al-Quaida terrorist group. MSU will be hosting a forum today for those who are seeking information about the governmental questioning. The forum will be held at 8 p.m.

Summit discusses global food safety

Heather Fisher returned from Tokyo last month with authentic green tea, blueberry bubble gum and a dedication to work on international food issues. Fisher, an MSU dietetic intern, attended the International Students Summit on Food, Agriculture and the Environment in the New Century at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, a sister school of MSU. “Many of the issues they deal with (in Japan) we are also concerned with in the United States and at Michigan State University,” Fisher said. Genetically modified foods and animal diseases such as mad cow and foot-and-mouth were international concerns discussed at the conference. Students from countries such as Korea, China and the Netherlands attended the summit, which recognized the 110th anniversary of the Tokyo university. Upon closing the conference, Fisher said the students adopted the Tokyo Declaration and began work on an e-mail network. “The deceleration says we as students and future professionals in our field will work together to solve some of these issues,” she said.

Trees to remember 9-11 victims

Families of Pentagon and New York rescue personnel might find delight from branches of green on Christmas night.Michigan Christmas tree farmers are donating 750 trees to Pentagon military rescue personnel and to surviving family members of New York firefighters, police and rescue personnel killed in the Sept.

IAH adds new classes, Web site to address terrorism issues

Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, new classes and an MSU Web site have been popular among faculty and students.Some classes being offered next semester, which are sponsored by the Center for Integrative Studies in Arts and Humanities, involve issues brought up since the attacks.IAH 211B, Area Studies and Multicultural Civilizations: Asia Focus on India, Pakistan and Bangladesh is the only new IAH course being offered.

GEO strike at Illinois highlights U dispute

A recent strike by graduate assistants at the University of Illinois has brought more attention to MSU’s Graduate Employees Union, which is in the process of bargaining for its first contract. The Graduate Employees Organization at the Urbana-Champaign campus of Illinois voted early last week to have a two-day strike as a protest against union constraints. Todd Mireles, organizer of MSU’s union, said a similar strike at the university is unlikely but not out of the question.

$6.3M to improve city transportation

Congress passed legislation Friday that would hand over about $6.3 million to improve Lansing transportation.The bill gives the city $3.33 million for reconstruction of the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge, $750,000 for the Intelligent Transportation System and $2.25 million for Capital Area Transportation Authority.If the bill passes the Senate and is signed into law by President Bush, CATA’s portion of the money will be used to buy new buses, update equipment and fix fare boxes onboard.“We are very pleased,” said Brad Funkhouser, director of service development for CATA.

LCC trustees work to turn practices into bylaws

The Lansing Community College Board of Trustees will meet at noon today to ink out some familiar ground rules.The group has been operating without bylaws for several years after changing to more of a forum type of governing body.

Democrats seek new leader

State House Democrats will elect a new leader today.With Minority Leader Kwame Kilpatrick, D-Detroit, packing his bags for his new job as mayor of Detroit, the Democrats will fill the void of his departure.State Rep.

Police briefs 12/04/01

U job market looks shaky

The job market after college hasn’t been looking so good, and it’s not going to get much better - at least not right away - the 31st annual Recruiting Trends survey found. The survey of more than 280 employers, conducted by MSU’s Collegiate Employment Research Institute, found graduates with bachelor’s degrees could see a 6 to 13 percent decline in hiring.