Yesterday's sunrise provides a backdrop to Fraser Hall. With spring approaching, the sun has begun to come up early and set later. Photo by Graham K. Johnson/KANSAN
Sneakers dangle from a telephone wire on the west side of the parking lot behind The Wagon Wheel Cafe. They have been hanging there for more than two months. Photo by Robyn Brooks/Kansan
A magnolia tree blooms along the south side of the Chi Omega sorority house, 1345 West Campus Road. The first consistent stretch of spring weather has brought many types of flowers and vegetation out of their winter slumber. Photo by Graham K. Johnson/KANSAN
Lawmakers meet weekly to fire off stress, tension
BISMARCK, N.D. — When he's looking to unwind after a tough day, State Rep. Rex Beverly reaches for his pistol.
start off by blowing away just a couple of boxes (of ammunition), just to get settled down," the Republican said Monday. "I can tell if we've had a bad day. It takes me a while to get relaxed."
Byerly is one of a group of lawmakers who meet weekly at the indoor range at the Bismarck Army National Guard armory to shoot the breeze—and paper targets 50 feet away.
since the National Guard's invited loc
Since the National Guard demands, Maj. Gen. Keith Blerke, invited legislators to use the range, some haven't missed the weekly target practice.
Most shoot between 75 and 200 rounds a night, and they buy their own ammunition. The Guard furnishes Ruger Mach One .22-caliber pistols, although some lawmakers bring their own handguns.
"If it wouldn't be for this, tension and depression would take over," said Rep. Ole Aarsvold, a Democrat in the GOP-controlled Legislature. "especially being in the minority. (Republicans) make our lives stressful."
Ice cream flavor honors school's 150th anniversary
MADISON, Wis. — "Praise to Thee, Our Almond Mocha" was the spoons-down winner in a contest to choose an ice cream flavor honoring the University of Wisconsin's 150th anniversary.
The flavor created by Allen Rupilinger, 28, of Waukesha, is made of vanilla ice cream with a chocolate mocha ripple dotted with crunchy almonds.
It's name is a play on "Praise to Thee, Our Alma Mater," a line from the reverential school song "Varsity."
Rupilinger's flavor beat nine other finalists Monday as 10 testers, including University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor David Ward, tasted each flavor and wrote down
their rankings.
their rankings.
The winning ice cream will be introduced during Alumni Week, May 2-7, and served through 1999 at the on-campus ice cream counter in Babcock Hall.
State considering school for C-average students
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. — Everyone has heard of special schools for gifted students and special schools for slower pupils.
Now the local board is considering a charter school for the average students.
The Millennium Secondary School would focus on C-average students in grades six through 12.
"This is going to require strong marketing," said Pat Levens, executive director of secondary instruction for the Capistrano
Unified School District.
To work, the school would need about 800 students.
"It's aimed for the kid in the middle who doesn't make a connection, who doesn't participate in extracurricular activities and who, as a result of that becomes unmotivated," Levens said Monday.
Since many of those kids have trouble concentrating early in the morning, the new school would start classes later in the day.
PHILADELPHIA — A massive, inflatable Liberty Bell so big that 5,000 people could stand inside — would make a great centerpiece for the city's New Year's celebration, a Philadelphia architect says.
day.
Pat Chiladek of the State Department of Education said charter schools may focus on any type of student. But he said he hadn't heard until now of a special school for mediocre students.
"We're always looking for things that are
Architect proposes balloon for New Year's celebration
unique and fun,
said Amy Needle,
a city official who is
partly
responsible
for the
celebration.
"This, certai-
"This certainly sounds like it is both of those things."
those things.
Architect Alan Johnson, 56, estimates that the 200-foot-tall bell would cost about $1 million, including its creation, site preparation and the rental of sound and light systems for a year's worth of use.
So far, neither the city nor any private benefetor has come forward to pay for it.
Johnson has made a model of the bell in his basement and has projected historic scenes onto the inflatable model, including the invention of plastic, the toilet and the atom bomb. He proposes using the giant bell as a screen for displaying similar pictures.
"It's goofy," he said. "But what about the big ball that drops in New York?"
A tradition more than a century old is ending this year as Atlantic City's Easter Parade and Pageant moves indoors
Johnson said the bell could be built from polyester-reinforced vinyl, which is the same material used to make the Garfield and Bullwinkle balloons that appear in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving parade.
Parade moves from seaside to indoor Atlantic City mall
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — No more bonnets on the boardwalk.
Since 1876, thousands of women in bonnets and men in their Sunday best dress have paraded in front of waving crowds in this resort city. This year, organizers are holding the event in Atlantic City's only mall. The Shops at Ocean One, The Press of Atlantic City reported Sunday.
The move inside has angered purists.
Louise Johnson, 80, said the parade was part of Atlantic City history.
"it's ridiculous. I couldn't believe it when I heard," he said.
Atlantic City planning official Regina Armstrong said the indoor venue would eliminate the risk of bad weather and make it easier to judge the outfits.
Medical mix-up delivers wrong casket to funeral
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Edner Doirin
finally got to say goodbye to his late wife.
Because of a mix-up at the Palm Beach Medical Examiner Office, the bereaved widower attended a funeral for another woman March 13.
Doirin, of Rocky Mount, N.C., said Saturday that he knew when he saw the body in the open casket two Sundays ago that it was not his wife.
But on Saturday, the slight woman buried in the white chiffon dress, silk gloves and gold earrings was given a proper burial attended by her husband of two years.
Michaela Dienjueuvre, 25, of Port-au-Prince in Haiti, drowned March 6, along with other Haitian refugees, 26 miles off the coast of West Palm Beach in a botched smuggling attempt.
The funeral mix-up was blamed on a labeling error at the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's office. Two employees were suspended because of the error.
High school reverses position on gay student's Prom attire
The 6-foot-plus Rice had worn women's clothing before, but this time he had to fight to wear a dress to the dance Saturday night.
PIERSON, Fla., — Charles Rice had on a perfectly matched outfit for the Taylor High School senior prom. He wore high-heeled shoes, a rhinestone necklace and a floor-length gown in red satin.
The principal at Taylor High School had said earlier in the month that Rice could not attend the dance in drag, citing concerns for the teen's safety and the potential for a disruption of the prom.
Rice, who is gay, said he thought he was being discriminated against because of his sexual orientation. He was in the process of hiring an attorney when the school reversed its decision last week.
Superintendent Bill Hall said decision was changed based on advice from school district attorneys who had said they were not in a favorable position legally.