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Auburn University

Monday, August 21, 2006

Good morning! Here's today's summary of news coverage of Auburn University.
NOTE: Any errors in text are due to formatting by the publication.

Total Clips: 4

Headline		Date	Outlet
	Gee's Bend ferry carries symbolic weight	08/21/2006	USA Today
	Tie should be OK with Alabama, Auburn folks	08/21/2006	Talladega Daily Home
	Colleges invest in lobbyists	08/21/2006	Montgomery Advertiser
	Local home creating quite a buzz	08/20/2006	Clanton Advertiser


Gee's Bend ferry carries symbolic weight 08/21/2006 USA Today Mike Linn		Return to Top
David Carter, an associate professor of history at AU is quoted in this story. GEE'S BEND, Ala. — Willie Quill Pettway, 78, wants one more ride across the Alabama River on the Gee's Bend ferry, even if he has to be helped on board. Pettway, who has trouble walking, knows about the Gee's Bend ferry. He operated it for 10 years before Wilcox County officials discontinued the service in 1962. The official reason for shutting it down and starting a service upriver was to help paper mill employees get to work. The unofficial reason was to keep blacks from registering to vote, says Hollis Curl, chairman of the Gee's Bend Ferry Commission. One thing is certain: It took 15 minutes to travel to Camden, the county seat, to buy groceries, go to the doctor — and to register to vote — while the ferry was operating. It took about an hour after the ferry stopped running. If all goes as planned, Pettway will get his wish Sept. 18, the day this poor, south-central Alabama community of 700 — many of them descendants of slaves — is scheduled to get ferry service after nearly five decades. "I told them I wanted to be the first one to ride it when it comes back," Pettway says. "I hope they hurry up and get it, because I do want to ride on it, just one time." The high-profile symbols of Alabama's role in the civil rights movement of the 1960s include Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and "Bloody Sunday" on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. Historians, though, unfortunately haven't paid enough attention to Gee's Bend and its place in civil rights history, says David Carter, an associate professor of history at Auburn University. To people living in the Gee's Bend area at the time, shutting down the ferry "was the high point of the (civil rights) movement," Carter says. "They justifiably felt like they were being singled out for economic and political retaliation because of their sympathies, but in terms of national attention to what was happening in Alabama ... it was sort of a blip on the radar." Pettway says he remembers taking civil rights workers back and forth across the river to protest and sign up black voters in Camden. Much of that stopped the day the ferry stopped running. The community has inspired writers and artists, but it might be best known for the bold, distinctive quilts crafted by the women of Gee's Bend. They have been displayed in museums across the country, and the U.S. Postal Service will dedicate a series of stamps this week honoring the Gee's Bend quilters. Many Gee's Bend residents carry the name Pettway, the last name of a slave owner who obtained a 10,000-acre plantation from the Gee family. The slaves retained the Pettway name, but the land was named after the Gees. Nancy Pettway, one of the quilters, says she goes to Camden only twice a month because of the drive and the high cost of gas. "I'll ride the ferry if it ever gets into operation," she says. For years, the distance has been an inconvenience for the community, prompting Congress in the mid-1990s to allocate money for a new ferry and $2 million for operations. The project didn't move quickly. The Alabama Department of Transportation hired Hubert Bonner, a central Alabama boat builder who had never built a ferry. When Bonner, who is now deceased, tried to deliver the finished product in 2004, it got stuck on a sandbar, angering county residents gathered to greet it. It also didn't pass Coast Guard inspections, says Tony Harris, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation. The department then hired the Indiana-based Hornblower Marine Services, which finished the ferry in May. Dredging could begin as early as today, Harris says. "We're sorry it has taken this long to get to this point, but we're glad we're here now," Harris says. "The people of Wilcox County have been waiting a long time for this." He says the ferry can hold up to 149 people and 20 vehicles. Gee's Bend resident Dwight Carey, 25, says he would use the ferry to get to and from his job in Camden, but he has his doubts about it operating. "I'll believe when I see it," he says. "I haven't seen it yet."
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Tie should be OK with Alabama, Auburn folks 08/21/2006 Talladega Daily Home Editorials		Return to Top
If this were a gridiron clash later this fall, supporters of the University of Alabama and Auburn University would be none to happy with a tie. But in rankings just released, Auburn and Alabama are tied for 39th in the Top 50 universities across the country, and supporters of both schools ought to be cheering. After all, it puts both schools in an enviable position in higher education. Presidents of both schools were proud of the ranking that puts the state's top two universities in an elite class with the top universities in the nation. They cite the ranking as a means to attract the best and brightest to their campuses, and they note that it reflects a solid academic reputation. Auburn President Ed Richardson says the ranking calls attention to his university's "rising academic reputation and programs." Alabama President Robert Witt sees it as an indicator of his school's "commitment to excellence.” The ranking will be featured in Newsweek magazine's "America's Best Colleges" issue, which goes on sale Monday, and it is based on graduation and retention rates, class size, faculty and financial resources as well as alumni giving. Those who bleed crimson and white or orange and blue have plenty to boast about now that has nothing to do with football. As for the tie? We suspect they would be happy about that, too.
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Colleges invest in lobbyists 08/21/2006 Montgomery Advertiser Ben Evans, Associated Press		Return to Top
This AP story also appeared in the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Opelika-Auburn Newss, Herald Tribune (FL), Gadsden Times, Tuscaloosa News and the Thibodaux Daily Comet (LA). WASHINGTON -- Alabama's public universities shelled out at least $1.3 million to lobby Congress in 2005, more than double what they spent five years earlier, according to financial disclosures. The University of Alabama System and its three member campuses in Tuscaloosa, Huntsville and Birmingham led the way in spending with a total of $610,000. Most of that went to Van Scoyoc Associates Inc., a Washington firm well-stocked with former aides to Alabama lawmakers like Republican Sen. Richard Shelby and Democratic Rep. Bud Cramer, both members of the powerful appropriations committees that write spending legislation. University officials said they were proud of their efforts, insisting that lobbying has been critical in winning federal funding to improve the state's higher education system and economy. "The return on investment would strike me as being an excellent value for the taxpayers," said Kellee Reinhart, spokeswoman for the University of Alabama System. "We're a $2.5 billion enterprise. We are the largest employer in the state. The volume and complexity of projects for which we seek support certainly benefit from having a streamlined channel of communication." Along with the University of Alabama System, South Alabama, Montevallo, West Alabama, Auburn, Troy, Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Jacksonville State and North Alabama used lobbyists in 2005. The Alabama schools are hardly alone. Universities, local governments and other public agencies across the country are increasingly spending public money to lobby lawmakers for a larger piece of the federal spending pie. The practice is raising questions among critics who say it's creating an "arms race" environment in which public agencies feel required to spend more and more public money on lobbying to get the most federal funding they can. The funding, which often comes in the form of "earmarks" that lawmakers tack on to spending bills for projects in their districts, is driving up budget deficits and perpetuating a highly subjective process for deciding what projects get funded, the critics say. "It's really about how we get to the point where we're going to live within our means," said Sen. Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican who has launched a crusade against the lobbying-for-earmark system. "We have to be making priorities." Coburn recently wrote letters to more than 100 universities across the country -- including the University of Alabama campuses, Auburn University and the University of South Alabama -- requesting a list of their congressional appropriations since 2000 and questioning their use of lobbyists to get them. He said he targeted universities because he believes research spending in particular should be based on objective needs, not politics. The Alabama schools, which have ranked highly in federal funding in the past, said they have not yet had time to respond to Coburn's request. But an Associated Press review of federal lobbying disclosures shows that Alabama's public universities spent at least $1,342,800 in 2005, versus $560,000 in 2000. The totals are likely higher because organizations are not required to list amounts less than $10,000. Officials from Auburn and South Alabama universities did not return phone calls from The Associated Press. But Reinhart said the rapid increase in spending reflects the expansion in the state's universities and economy. "I think it's looking for opportunity," she said. "The increase runs parallel to the growth and increased complexity of our system, as more and more federal issues affect us and as each of our campuses has gotten more involved in federal projects and federal regulation." Reinhart pointed to the university's recently opened biomedical research center in Birmingham. Federal funding spearheaded the $100 million project, which is named after Sen. Shelby and his wife, Annette. The center, scheduled to be completed next year, is expected to provide 1,000 jobs for the area, Reinhart said. Alabama has three lawmakers on appropriations committees: Shelby, of Tuscaloosa; Cramer, of Huntsville; and Rep. Robert Aderholt, a Republican from Haleyville. Their offices either did not respond to questions or declined to comment on university lobbying and Coburn's inquiry. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile, said he respected Coburn's goal of trying to contain spending. But given the size and complexity of the state university system, he said, lobbying can be a helpful tool. "I think he's raising the concern that it's a vicious cycle of using taxpayer money to lobby for more taxpayer money, and I think there's some truth to it," Sessions said. "But in many ways it's very helpful to me and my staff to have a first-rate presentation from an institution like a state university about what they'd like to accomplish. "A lobbyist is not a dirty thing," he added. "A good lobbyist knows what's possible, knows what his client would like to do and tries to help the congressional delegation figure out ways to achieve that goal." Van Scoyoc Associates, which handles most of the University of Alabama's lobbying as well as the University of West Alabama's, employs several people with strong ties to Alabama's appropriations members. Those include Shelby's former state director, Ray Cole, and his former Intelligence Committee counsel, Mary Pat Lawrence, as well as former Cramer chief of staff Michael Adcock.
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Local home creating quite a buzz 08/20/2006 Clanton Advertiser		Return to Top
Entomologists at Auburn University are investigating a large yellow jacket colony that was discovered in a historic home on County Road 37 recently. Dr. Charles Ray of the university's Plant Diagnostic Lab said the colony is much larger than most yellow jacket colonies because it is a perennial nest that survived the winter. Most colonies, he said, die out annually and start over with 2000 to 3000 workers. "Last winter was very unusual because it never got really cold," Ray explained. "This allowed the colony to survive throughout the winter months when it normally wouldn't have." The result is a metropolis of yellow jackets consisting of more than one queen. Typically, a colony would only have one queen, he said. "The primary thing I'm trying to do is document it," Ray said. "It's uncommon in southern parts of the state, but we are seeing more and more of them." There has been evidence of 56 such nests throughout the southern two thirds of the state, with the farthest north showing up in Talladega County. The mild winter conditions of the last year have resulted in not only yellow jackets but also other types of insects showing up in south Alabama, many of which don't normally survive north of Orlando, Fla. "It's a very unusual situation, and if we return to anything resembling a normal winter, that colony will die," Ray said. The nest on County Road 37 is an above ground nest. Ray said yellow jackets can build nests either below ground or above ground. When the queen starts to look for a potential nest, she seeks out either a natural hole in the ground or some other type of cavity. "They're looking for a cavity, and they can find that cavity above ground," he said, adding that colonies actually have a better chance of surviving above the ground because cold air sinks to the ground. The nest itself is made of paper the wasps form by mixing their saliva with wood fibers. They can obtain wood fibers from tree bark or old wooden buildings. While that might sound complicated, Ray said it's actually a lot less complicated than it sounds. "They've been making paper a lot longer than we have," he joked. Ray added that many homeowners elect to have the nests removed. However, he warned, that's a job that should be left up to professionals. "In cases like this, we don't recommend that owners try to remove the nest themselves because there are too many wasps involved. Products available to the homeowner are not intended for use with something this large," he said. While most people don't want yellow jackets around, Ray did say they are beneficial insects. "They do eat a large number of insects, many of which we would consider pests. For instance, they feed caterpillar to their larvae," he pointed out. Ray said a researcher at Georgia Tech would be looking at the genetics of the colony. He asks that if anyone should happen upon one of the nests to contact him at Auburn University. The phone number is (334) 844-4000.
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