News briefs

Campus briefs:

Pianist Jon Schmidt to perform at UVU:

Utah Valley University presents the second annual fall concert, “An Evening with Jon Schmidt,” Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. in UVU’s Ragan Theatre, located in the Sorensen Center (SC). The concert is provided by Envision, UVU’s Winter Guard Club, to raise money for traveling expenses to the Winter Guard International World Championships in Dayton, Ohio, in April 2009.

Last year, Schmidt played here to a sold-out crowd, and more than $2,200 was raised to help students involved in the Envision Winter Guard program — a huge success, according to those involved in the campus club.

Tickets are $12 for general admission and $10 for UVU faculty, staff and students. Tickets can be purchased at the UVU Campus Connection or by calling (801) 863-8797. Find information about the UVU Envision Winter Guard at www.envisionguard.com

International Service-Learning Conference at UVU:

The International Service-Learning Conference will be at UVU on Oct. 2-3. The conference is for campus teams and individuals involved in or interested in international service-learning. The 150 expected participants will engage in a variety of workshops, panel discussions, poster presentations, plenary sessions and other activities that will teach them about the best practices of international service-learning.

Additionally, participants will have an opportunity to develop a campus plan for international service-learning programs and academic courses. This is the first year the International Service-Learning Conference is at UVU; previously, it has been held at IUPUI-Indianapolis and Elon University in North Carolina. The conference is in collaboration with UVU Academic Service-Learning, International Center, Utah Campus Compact and the International Partnership for Service-Learning and Leadership (IPSL).

The keynote speaker of the event is Margaret “Peggy” D. Pusch, chair of the board of trustees of IPSL. She will be speaking Oct. 3 at 8:30 a.m. in Centre Stage in the Sorensen Center.

To see a schedule of events and to register, visit www.uvu.edu/volunteer.

National briefs:

HELENA, Mont. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reconsidering removing the gray wolf from the endangered species list.

The federal agency removed the grey wolf from the list in March and has asked a federal court judge to vacate the decision.

Last March, Judge Donald Molloy of Federal District Court in Missoula, Mont., gave a temporary order to the Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the wolf from the list, citing that the wolf population had fully recovered in the Northern Rockies.

Environmentalists filed a lawsuit challenging the wolves’ removal from the endangered species list until the matter receives further study.

The first wolf-hunting season, scheduled for this fall, has been delayed due to Judge Molloy’s order.

ATLANTA, GA. – The Supreme Court granted a reprieve two hours before an inmate was to be executed.

The inmate, 39-year-old Troy Davis, was convicted in 1989 of slaying an off-duty security guard at a bus station while he rushed to help a homeless man who had been pistol-whipped at a nearby parking lot.

The security guard, Mark MacPhail, was shot twice when he approached Davis and two other men.

Lawyers claim that new evidence will prove Davis’ innocence and that he has been a victim of mistaken identity.

Also, three witnesses have recanted their testimony saying that Sylvester “Red” Coles, who testified at Davis’ trial, confessed to the shooting.

WASHINGTON D.C. – Truckers protest fuel prices on Capitol Hill
More than a dozen truckers drove their rigs to Capitol Hill, honking their horns in protest of high fuel prices.

The truckers, who are members of Truckers and Citizens United, drove from FedEx Field to Capitol Hill for the rally.

Organizers expected about 200 members to show up, but high fuel prices affected the turnout.

World Briefs:

CANADA – A man died in Winnipeg, Manitoba, after waiting 34 hours in the emergency room. The wheelchair-bound man died from a bladder infection and blocked catheter, which rendered him unable to urinate for 24 hours. Brian Sinclair, 45, had taken a taxi from a community health center to the Health Sciences Center and was found dead after midnight when someone in the waiting room alerted the hospital staff. Officials said that apparently he had not been assessed by a triage nurse and was not registered as a patient seeking care, so they did not know he was there for help.

ENGLAND – Yves Rossy, a Swiss pilot, plans to fly across the English Channel with a homemade jet-propelled device. Rossy plans to leap from a plane flying more than 2,700 yards above the ground, then travel the 22 miles from Calais, France, to Dover, England, in 12 minutes. The trip traces the route of French aviator Louis Bleriott, the first person to cross the Channel in an airplane 99 years ago. The jet pack weighs 121 pounds when filled with fuel. Rossy uses his body movements to control the movements of the pack.

SPAIN – A woman in her 60s was determined to have died from the human form of mad cow disease. Her son had died of the illness recently. This is believed to be the first case in the world where members of the same family have died from the disease. The illness has caused four deaths in Spain since 2005. Spain has taken the steps to avoid mad cow disease, and officials say that eating meat presents no danger. Health officials say that ten years can pass from eating contaminated meat to the time the human form of the disease appears.