Vol. 34, No. 75 / August 11, 2003

Tuesday is judgment day on local tax 'freeze'

A close vote is expected Tuesday (Aug. 12) when the State Senate decides whether to override Gov. Doyle's veto of a proposal mandating a statewide property-tax freeze. One undeclared senator, Jeff Plale, D-South Milwaukee, announced Monday he'll vote with the governor. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ventures an opinion as to how other swing votes might go at http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/aug03/161428.asp.

No word yet on Space Grant balloon launch

A six-member student launch team was scheduled to release a balloon "satellite" in Eau Claire Monday morning as part of a project coordinated through the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium headquartered at UW-Green Bay. The NASA-funded research allows college students to send a payload 100,000 feet high to the edge of space. The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram newspaper has more at http://www.leadertelegram.com/story.asp?id=30099.

Correction: first test was 'lost in space'

Last week's LOG ONLine article touting the upcoming release of the "first" test balloon was misleading. While the next launch will be among the first, it won't be the very first. That honor went to a July 27 flight that is believed to have ended with the payload's parachute descent somewhere in the remote reaches of the Black River State Forest. (Tracking devices lost contact.) At least that's what we read on the front page of Saturday's newspaper under the headline "Lost in space." A version of that story is archived at http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/states/wisconsin/6497816.htm.

Library Friends group announces debut of all-campus book club

The Friends of the Cofrin Library are excited to announce UW-Green Bay's first One Book, One Campus initiative. One Book, One Campus is a campus- and community-wide reading and discussion program that encourages all faculty, staff, students, and community friends to read the same book at the same time to create a book club. Unlike most other "One Book, One Community" programs, which pre-select the books to be read and discussed, YOU get to choose the book! (See following item.) The program is co-sponsored by the Friends, the Phoenix Bookstore and Dave's Book Center. Book discussions and other related programs to be announced will take place between Sept. 1 and Oct. 15.

First book club selection? Cast your ballot here

Recognizing that there are thousands of notable books, an advisory committee selected five worthy titles for your consideration. The five titles are listed on the Friends' web page (http://www.uwgb.edu/library/friends.html) with links to reviews. Cast your vote and help choose the book we will read. Please vote only once! Voting closes Sept. 12. The selected book will be announced during the week of Sept. 15.

Recap on Clerks, Treasurers Institute: a record year

UW-Green Bay played host to record attendance at last month's annual Municipal Clerks and Treasurers Institute. About 275 clerks and treasurers from across Wisconsin enrolled in the weeklong continuing education program offered through the Office of Outreach and Extension. For photos and more, see http://www.uwgb.edu/univcomm/news/photoarch/events/clerks.htm.

Event celebrating life of Prof. Emeritus Baker is Aug. 30

A celebration of the life of Bela Baker, associate professor emeritus of Social Change and Development (Psychology) will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30 at the Ecumenical Center. Prof. Baker died on Thursday, Aug. 7 in Madison. He was 77. A California native, he earned his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining UW-Green Bay, he had been promoted to the rank of associate professor at San Francisco State College, and spent four years as an administrator with the Peace Corps. Through his work with the Peace Corps office of selection, he traveled to many foreign countries, first as a field selection officer and later as assistant director for program operations. Prof. Baker came to UW-Green Bay in 1969 as an assistant dean of the College of Community Sciences, and later was promoted to associate dean of the then-four colleges. When the University discontinued the college organizational structure, he joined the faculty full time. He retired in spring 1991. Prof. Baker is survived by his wife of 52 years, Jean; two daughters, Jacqueline V. (Manuel Villarreal) Baker of Madison, and Sandra (Josie Palmer) Baker of Geyserville, Calif.; a son, Steve Baker of Sun Prairie; two grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and a sister, Donna Jean Argo of Eureka, Calif.; and many good friends.

Here's where to send gifts to honor Bela Baker

Prof. Baker's friends and colleagues remember him for his love of jazz, cooking, and books, and for his compassion for people. He lent his expertise and energy to a wide variety of community programs. Memorial opportunities reflect his varied interests and concerns. Gifts may be directed to any of these organizations:

American Indian Relief Council
P.O. Box 6200
Rapid City, S.D. 57709-6200
(www.airc.org)

American Indian Youth Running Strong
8815 Telegraph Rd.
Lorton, Va. 22079
(www.indianyouth.org)

Southern Poverty Law Center
400 Washington Ave.
Montgomery, Ala. 36104
(www.splcenter.org)

Wisconsin Research Center for Pluralism, Inc.
P.O. Box 510051
Milwaukee, Wis. 53203
(wrcinc@execpc.com)

Wisconsin Public Radio
P.O. Box 14197
Madison, Wis. 53714-019
(www.wpr.org)

Helm takes helm at Stevens Point

Virginia Helm, provost at UW-Stevens Point, will serve as interim chancellor while a search is conducted to find a successor to Chancellor Thomas George, who has accepted the top job at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. A UW System announcement is at http://www.wisconsin.edu/news/2003/r030805.htm.

Chamber seeks exhibitors at Career Expo for high school students

The Partners in Education program will host 4,000 high school sophomores at the 11th Annual Career Expo on Dec. 2. The site will be the county's exposition center, ShopKo Hall. The event is billed as a great opportunity to highlight your career to students from 10 area school districts. The Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the expo, is asking those with an interest in volunteering as exhibitors to reserve their booth space through staff member Kristin Phillip at 437-8704, ext. 14.

UW-Extension announces 'cross-divisional' grants

UW-Extension has announced the recipients of $150,000 in cross-divisional grants for collaborative, statewide projects in 2003-04. Although we didn't see any UW-Green Bay mentions on this year's list, the special projects do give a flavor of what Extension is about. See http://www1.uwex.edu/provost/documents/2003xdiv.cfm.

Payday ritual is e-liminated

Retirees who remember the every-other-Thursday or first-of-the-month routine of someone from Payroll walking the checks around might be interested to know that the practice is now history. With the ascent of direct deposit and the need to achieve greater efficiency, the Human Resources Office has announced that delivery of paper paychecks is out. Employees without direct deposit will be required to collect their pay at designated times in CL 830.

Uneeda 'Aida' discount?

Reminder: Afternoon performances of "Aida" on Aug. 14 and 17, along with the evening show on the 17th, come with a special deal for UW-Green Bay faculty and staff. Buy one ticket, get a second at 50%. Call ext. 2217 or go to the Weidner Center box office.

Reminder: Aug. 15 sendoff for Jerry Rodesch

The Office of the Secretary of the Faculty and Academic Staff invites all to a going-away gathering for retiring Prof. Jerrold Rodesch. The hours are noon to 3 p.m. Friday (Aug. 15) in Cofrin Library Suite 825.

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