Arizona Daily Sun from Flagstaff, Arizona • 14

nnyHiig( 14-ARIZONA DAILY SUN, Flagstaff, Arizona, Thursday, December 31, 1998 sr NAU reached out with Navajo treaty i have to watch their step and pay attention to the signs that say, Do not enter, hard hat area only. NAU again landed in fourth and last tier of US News and World Reports college and university rankings. Of the 223 colleges ranked, NAU fell into the category ranked lower than 173. NAU is ranked in the national university category and university President Clara M. Lovett said NAU will probably never be able to compete with some of the larger national universities.

In an Aug. 23 interview, Lovett attributed the lower ranking to the differing admissions policies of the higher-ranked universities. NAU accepts students in the top 50 percent of their high school graduating class, she said. Other universities, only accept students in the top 10 percent, which leads to very different graduation rates and performance levels, she said. On the other hand, NAUs engineering program was the runner-up for the Outstanding Boeing Educator Award, an award given to universities that have outstanding programs focusing on the real-life application of engineering theories.

NAU continued to crackdown on alcohol policies, partially in response to the Aug. 2 shooting of an NAU student said to be related to several bar fights. The Good Neighbor Task Force, started in the fall semester of 1997, focuses on the relationship between the university and the community. It involves the NAU Police Department, Flagstaff Police Department, NAU students and residents and business owners on the south side of the rail- road tracks near campus. The task force was developed in response to complaints from Southside business owners and residents of noise and vandalism during the weekend when students are walking home from the bars.

NAU also started the First-Year Experience program, intended to raise retention rates. The program puts first-year students in' a group who have all their classes together and attend an extra class together, led by an older student and intended to offer help with everything from academics to social pressure. The university built a learning center in Sechrist Hall for the program. NAU also hired two new deans and one vice president. Ron Evans, former CEO of Best Western International, the worlds largest hotel chain, started as the dean of the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management in June.

Susan Peterson Mansfield was replaced by James Blagg as the dean-of the College of Health Professions. Norm Hintz retired as the vice president of business affairs and was succeeded by Michael J. Mullen. Tuition continued to rise, with the state Board of Regents approving a 5 percent in-state increase for 1999-2000 as the year drew to a close. filed by former transportation director Susan Weiss.

Weisss contract was not renewed at the end of a year in which 30 bus drivers did not show up for work on the first day of school. Transportation problems continued throughout the year, from buses not showing up at all to being almost 45 minutes late. Weiss claimed she was fired by Shira because she pointed out major problems with the bus bam, or blew the whistle. Hearing officer Jim Dykes, attorney for W.L. Gore and Associates, did not agree and handed a decision to the school board in favor of Shira.

The Students First bill provides $374 million during its first year of implementation to eventually bring all Arizona public schools up to state construction standards. It also limits local bonding for those districts that participate. The Nov. 3 election saw current board President Julianne Hartzell re-elected for a third term. Retired Northern Arizona University professor Florence Karlstrom was the leading vote-getter won the only other seat up for election.

She will replace Joshua Mihesuah. Both terms begin Jan. 1 and last four years. FUSD responded to charter schools by opening the Renaissance Magnet Middle School, a separate school at Mount Elden Middle School focusing on arts and technology. South Beaver also converted to a magnet school, focusing on academics and character, including uniforms.

In Leupp, parents settled a longstanding discrimination complaint against the district, getting commitments from district officials to boost program funding and explore the creation of a new high school in the area. Charter schools boomed in growth in Flagstaff this year, stretching class sizes and getting creative with building space. Flagstaff Junior Academy raised its class size limit from 16 to 18 to accommodate a growing waiting list. Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy set up another temporary CRASH From Page 1 sponsible for $2 million. FUSDs insurance paid for $10 million of the bill.

However, with other students claims included, the remaining amount still totaled $18 million. Amidst the angry complaints of parents, FUSD implemented a truancy policy that fines and potentially jails guilty parents or their child. ATTEND, modeled after a successful program in Los Angeles, states that after 10 absences, excused or unexcused, parents and children have to meet with the county attorney, school officials and social services organizations. If they cannot provide legitimate excuses, the fcnts or the child can be fined $500 or sent to jail for 30 days. The program is being piloted at Christensen Elementary School and Mount Elden Middle School.

However, after much protest from parents, FUSD agreed to wait to fully implement the policy until meetings had been held with parents to redefine what constitutes, and excused absence. The program has already started to take effect. Savino Ontiveros, prinicipal at Christensen School, said attendance has improved by about 30 percent each day. A new superintendent took the helm in July, replacing retiring superintendent Kent Matheson. Larry Bramblett, from New Hampshire, came just in time to fight off the backlash from the settlement and the truancy program.

He also lowered class sizes at Knoles and Weitzel elementary schools from as high as 35 to as low as 20 within the first month of school. After hearing that classes were bursting at the seams, Bramblett immediately hired three new teachers, two at Knoles and one at Weitzel, to alleviate the problem. Assistant Superintendent Lowell Shira, an unsuccessful candidate for the superintendents post, left FUSD, but not before having to answer a whistleblower complaint New FUSD Superintendent Larry Bramblett. building to house two more classes of students. And with 140 students, it is also creeping closer to the maximum number of students allowed under its charter: 145.

Northland Preparatory Academy also set up a temporary building to house three more classes. It now has 130 students. Both schools are making plans for a permanent structure. The owners of the Flagstaff Montessori Schools, Jim and Mar-lane Spencer, actually took out a personal loan to fund a new building for the Montessori program. They, too, have outgrown their current space.

Next year, charter schools may be dealing with the ramification of legislation to be introduced in January that would cut charter schools up-front funding. In an academic showdown in Ash Fork, Superintendent Kathleen Karol was ousted in May by a school board that didnt see eye-to-eye with Karols educational phils-ophy and methods. By MELANIE BOYER Sun Staff Reporter The year 1998 at Northern Arizona University featured a borrowed exhibit from the National Archives on display in the campus library. The Navajo Treaty of 1868, the only treaty between the United States and a Native American tribe, was lent to NAU for one year. Thousands came to see the treaty, including a schools from the Reservation.

Two NAU professors were recognized in Nature magazine for discoveries they made about the stars. Caitlin Griffiths was recognized for discovering clouds on Titan, one of Jupiters moons. Stephen Tegler also discovered that our solar system does not end with Pluto. Tegler discovered two different types of surfaces on objects in the Kuiper Belt, comet-like bodies beyond Pluto. Teglers discovery led to the idea that Pluto is not the end of our solar system, but one of the largest members of the Kuiper Belt.

Tegler conducted his research with University of Oklahoma professor William Romanishin. Millions of dollars in construction projects also greeted Northern Arizona University students this fall. The university broke ground for a new $14 million biochemistry building, which is taking shape on north campus It also started taking apart the Performing Arts building piece by piece in a $5.5 million renovation project that generated asbestos-handling citations from OSHA. Students SOCIETY From Page 1 Lake. He said once he started helping in the organization, he was hooked.

I like doing it because its a good thing for the community and a good thing for my religion. My religion asks me to do this, and I feel good when I do it, said Tegeler. Hebets said in addition to overseeing the organizations work, Tegeler also drives to Phoenix at least once a month to bring supplies for food boxes and other needs for the Flagstaff operation. He is the backbone of SL Vincent de Paul. Without him, wed be in trouble, she said.

Just before Christmas, Tegeler, wearing a baseball cap and blue windbreaker, stood outside a truck filled with several hundred turkeys and 10-pound bags of potatoes being given to people along with food boxes piled high with staples such as GROWTH From Page 1 able New York would have been next in line, Brace noted, followed by Pennsylvania, Wisconsin. Mississippi and Colorado. The population shifts to the South and West in recent decades have the architecL she said. Well be starting the whole process of con- -i struction of the new campus. CCC will also be gearing up for the reaccreditation process.

CCC will also start the new year with new faculty members, both at the Page and Flagstaff campuses, as I well as a new president, she said. ccc From Page 1 Current board member Williams, a former FUSD superintendent and director of the Center for Educational Excellence at NAU, will serve as interim president until a new president in chosen. Nathaniel Nat White was elected to the District 1 seat in November. 2000 will be a busy year for CCC, said board President Val Gleave. Next year well sell the bonds and weve signed the contract with NnmiMN Srocess Brief photographs.

Special highlights They feed and clothe the needy, but much more, Bader wrote. SL Vincent de Paul joins previous Organization of the Year recipients which have been recognized since 1975. Previous recipients are: Victim Witness of Coconino County, 1997; American Red Cross, 1996; Northland Family Help Center, 1994; Flagstaff Family Food Center, 1993; Northland Hospice, 1992; the American Legion Auxiliary, 1991; the Flagstaff Sunrise Lions, 1990; the Flagstaff Elks Lodge, 1989; Soropti-mist Club of Flagstaff, 1988; Flagstaff Sheriffs Posse, 1987; no winner 1986; Flagstaff Exchange Club, 1985; Assistance League of Flagstaff, 1984; Big BrothersBig Sisters of Flagstaff, 1983; Pilot Club of Flagstaff, 1982; Flagstaff Corps, Salvation Army, 1981; Board of Directors, Flagstaff Symphony, 1980; Flagstaff Civitans, 1979; United Way of Flagstaff, 1978; Sunshine Rescue Mission, 1977; Flagstaff Hospital Auxiliary, 1976; and Coconino County Search and Rescue, 1975. Four states lost two House members Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Losing one each were Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey and West Virginia.

Other gainers were Florida, up four, Texas, up three, and one additional seat in the House went to Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington. be offset by the fact that the bonds could be sold for a lower interest rate as buyers would know there would be no dcfaulL Paid Obttuaiy OBITUARY BILL CASH Douglas Scott Bill" Cash, age 50, died December 27, 1998 of a heart attack at his home in Fredonia. Bom July 25, 1948 in San Rafael, California to Bonnie Viola Scott and Jesse Vernon Cash. Married Sandra Jean Carpenter April 12, 1980 in Fredonia, Arizona Bill moved to the Fredonia-Kanab area in 1973 to work on the Glen Canyon Transmission Line; He stayed and has worked as an electrician for the last 22 years. He enjoyed hiking in the area.

He was the most wonderful husband and father that ever was, and lived for his family. Survivors include his wife Sandy of Fredonia; children Jesse Cash and Jcanna Cash of Fredonia; brothers Ken, Bob, and Jerry Cash and sister Jean malloy. He was preceded by both of his parents. Funeral services were held Wednesday, December 30, 1998 in Fredonia, Arizona, with burial in the Fredonia City Cemetery under the direction of Mosdcll Mortuary of Kanab, Utah. oatmeal, 5-pound bags sugar, cans of tuna fish, Campbell's soup and Chee-rios.

A man waiting in line for a box said he was very grateful to be receiving the food in time for Christmas. I have arthritis in my legs and I cant work so this really helps out a lot, the man said. The nomination of SL Vincent de Paul for Organization of the Year was supported by several community members. Flagstaff resident George McCullough said that the active members have provided many services for those in need. In many cases, (St Vincent de Paul) has been the resource of last resort, McCullough wrote.

JHelp us. help is their motto, short and sweet and effective, he said. Flagstaff resident Lou Bader wrote of the societys help in paying rent to prevent a mid-winter eviction and aiding runaway teen-agers who land in Flagstaff without funds or a place to sleep. transferred congressional power in that direction with large House gains in such states as California, Texas and Florida at the expense of the industrial Northeast and MidwesL Following the 1990 Census, for example, 13 states were affected by shifting House seats with California the big winner, adding seven seats, and New York suffering the greatest loss, giving up three. refused to issue bonds to spread out the debt after Assistant Attorney General Chartes Pierson said the move would be illegal.

He said the commission can only refinance existing loans, not make new ones. The district filed suit but withdrew it when an understanding was reached with the commission: If the district borrowed money from someone else first, that would remove the legal impediment. That resulted in the district getting the line of credit from Nor-wesL Hull said she wants FUSD's experience to be a lesson for other school districts and, potentially, the basis for new legislation. The school district was uninsured for a case like this, the governor said. Hull said lawmakers should enact requirements for higher minimum liability coverage.

Hartzcll told Hull the district already has increased its coverage to $20 million and is still shopping for an insurer who will write at higher limits. Although the bonds are being issued by the state, it is FUSD's obligation to repay them. West said he feared that there might be some unforeseen circumstance resulting in the district being able to make the payments leaving state taxpayers on the hook. His proposal would have allowed his office to divert state school aid payments earmarked for FUSD, using the proceeds instead to make the bond payments. Rosenfeld said the district expects to purchase insurance to guarantee repayment.

District officials said the additional cost of the insurance would WITH EVENTS ALL YEAR LONG This section published in the Sun will contain the following: entennial calendar of events during the year on campus and statewide. EE eatures stories on Northern Arizona University alumni and community projects. color cover. history, lots of guest speakers and of an expanded commencement exercise. BONDS From Page 1 state taxpayers.

It could take more than a month, though, before the deal is completed. State law contains various requirements for advertising a bond sale. Members of the districts governing board still have one more chore to perform. Fred Rosenfeld, one of the school districts attorneys, said a meeting is set for Tuesday to decide the appropriate repayment period. The district has been looking at spreading payments over 1 1 years, though he said a period as short as eight years might be appropriate.

The cash crunch follows the district's decision to settle lawsuits filed by two Sinagua High School students seriously injured in a 1996 rollover of a FUSD bus on Interstate 17 south of Flagstaff. B.J. Carlson was left a quadriplegic and apparently never will be able to be employed; Jonathan Dowding suffered permanent brain damage and will forever be institutionalized. Board members agreed to pay $28 million to the pair, $18 million more than the district's liability policy. Interest on that balance began accumulating Dec.

1 at $5,000 a day. With the Norwcst loan, it now stands at $2,100 a day. Julianne Hartzcll, president of the school board, said trying to pay off the entire judgment in one year wasn't a realistic option, with the onetime spike in tax bills having the potential to put some small companies out of business. Last month, the Loan Commission Published: Friday, January 22nd, 1999 Ad Deadline: Thursday, January 7' 1999 A IMjySim 774-4545 I TI1II.W R.W I.