April 5, 2010

The DigestWhat’s Happening at KVCC

What’s below in this edition

‘The Rookie’ (Pages 1-3) Latvia, Rwanda (Page 13) New health academy (Pages 3/4) Poetry by Boyer (Page 13) Fred and the 50s (Page 5) Sweet Adelines (Pages 13/14) Student Art Show (Page 5) Reading Together (Pages 14/15) Hospitality III (Page 6) KVCC documents (Page 15) Songwriter supreme (Pages 6/7) Exercising (Page 16) Bad credit (Page 7) Internship update (Pages 16/17) Relay for Life (Pages 7/8) The ‘Governator’ (Pages 17/18) Charlie Brown time (Pages 8/9) ‘Play ball!’ (Pages 19/20) Wellness screens (Pages 9/10) Let’s talk teaching (Page 20) Clean-up crew (Page 10) Let’s talk race (Pages 20/21) IRS aid (Pages 10/11) Speech contest (Page 21 PeaceJam (Pages 11/12) C-SPAN clips (Page 22) Pink Floyd show (Page 12) Our 49ers (Pages 22/23)

And Finally (Pages 23/24)☻☻☻☻☻☻

Ex-Major Leaguer to keynote KVCC fund-raiser“The Rookie” is coming to Kalamazoo.Not actor Dennis Quaid who brought to the screen the amazing story of a high

school baseball coach whose shelved dreams of pitching in the Major Leagues were revived by his team of players as he urged them to follow their dreams.

Jim “The Rookie” Morris, the beneficiary of this miraculous form of quid pro quo, will keynote the Kalamazoo Valley Community College Foundation’s sixth annual Opportunities for Education (OFE) fund-raiser on Wednesday, May 12.

The banquet, designed to raise scholarship dollars and underwritten by PNC, will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Radisson Plaza Hotel and Suites in downtown Kalamazoo.

Morris came out of Brownwood, Texas, as a highly regarded left-handed pitcher with blazing speed. Standing 6 foot 3 and weighing 215, he was the fourth overall pick in the 1983 Major League Baseball draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.

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Beleaguered by arm injuries and an admitted lack of maturity, Morris was released by the Brewers four years later, failed as a free-agent signing of the Chicago White Sox, and found himself on the baseball scrap heap.

Realizing his dream was dead, Morris charted another career path, one leading to marriage, fatherhood, a community college degree, and a job as a science teacher and baseball coach in a financially depressed part of West Texas.

Eleven years later, his long-buried dream was regenerated by the players he was charged with coaching. Not a very accomplished squad that had compiled a miserable record, the players received a pep talk about the value of hard work, the importance of dreams, and striving to reach them.

“What was your dream, coach?” came the question. The answer was the long-dormant desire to pitch in the Major Leagues. The hypocrisy exploded - you want us, coach, to pursue our dreams, but you have dropped yours like a bad habit.

The wager was on - the players reach their goal of winning a district championship and Coach Morris will have to try out with a Major League baseball team - a dozen years after he had basically hung up his curveball. In trying to give something to them, they gave him back something.

Once the trophy was in the case after the “from worst to first” turnaround, Morris, accompanied by his three small children, trucked to the nearest try-out camp - one being staged by the latest baseball franchise, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Chided by the “what-are-you-doing-here-old-man” taunts of the youthful big-eyed hopefuls, Morris patiently waited his turn and threw 12 consecutive strikes at 98 mph, 10 mph faster than when he was a high school phenom.

The first miracle was that Morris was signed to a Devil Rays contract. The second was that, after only three months with teams in minor leagues, he was pitching in “The Show” against the Texas Rangers in his home state before friends, family and the players he had coached. He struck out an all-star in his debut.

Thirty-five-years-old at the time, Morris pitched in 21 games during the 1999 and 2000 seasons. In 15 innings, he gave up 13 hits and 12 runs, eight of them earned for a career earned-run average of 4.80. He struck out 13 and walked nine.

Released by the Devil Rays after the 2000 season, Morris got a free-agent “look-see” from the Los Angeles Dodgers, but that didn’t work out and he left the game, dream fulfilled and intact.

While the baseball world knew his remarkable story, the rest of the United States became clued in when the Disney Studios released “The Rookie” in 2002 with Quaid in the lead role. "The Rookie" would take in excess of $150 million worldwide and won ESPN’s first ESPY for Best Sports Film of the Year.

With a few bumps in the road during childhood to flash back to, as well as the challenges he faced as a young man and father trying to make financial ends meet, Morris has evolved into a motivational speaker whose topics include self-esteem, peak performance, family, setting goals, and taking advantage of second chances. He and his family live near San Antonio.

Tickets for the Opportunities for Education fund-raiser are $125 per person. A corporate sponsorship for a table of eight is available for $1,500. About 80 percent of the cost is tax-deductible.

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The KVCC Foundation was formed in 1980 and has accumulated $8.6 million in assets. Its mission is to enhance educational opportunities and the learning environment at the college by supporting the academic, literary and scientific activities of KVCC students and faculty.

Its assists the college’s Honors Program, minority enrollees and non-traditional students through scholarships, and awards grants that promote innovative approaches to learning.

The foundation funds the college’s internship program, and supports such initiatives at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum as the Mary Jane Stryker Theater programming, the Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival, special exhibits, and the “Friday Night Highlights” series of concerts and movies.

“Because KVCC’s tuition is among the lowest of the state’s 28 community colleges and fees are practically non-existent,” said Steve Doherty, executive director of the KVCC Foundation, “scholarship dollars take students a very, very long way toward their goals. We want to help even more in the coming years, now that state and federal sources of scholarships are either drying up or are in jeopardy because of budget cuts.”

In a typical semester, the foundation is able to assist about 250 students, with scholarship and grant assistance averaging around $350,000 an academic year for tuition, fees, books and supplies, as well as for the child-care and transportation costs that students face in pursuing a degree or a new career.

“That represents a minimal fraction of the dollar value of scholarships that are available through the KVCC Office of Financial Aid,” Doherty said. “That type of assistance has federal and state sources that carry restrictions. So do some of those scholarships established by organizations or individuals. And all of those are very important.

“Ours, however, are more open-ended, less restrictive, and available to a broader representation of students who choose to attend KVCC,” Doherty said. “They are what our ‘Opportunities for Education’ event is all about.”

While the unprecedented, nationally recognized gift to this community that is The Kalamazoo Promise is a blessing to families living in the Kalamazoo Public Schools district, Doherty said, during a typical semester no more than 15 percent of KVCC’s enrollment are Kalamazoo graduates. That means a large segment of the other 85 percent still need various levels of scholarship assistance.

For more information about Opportunities for Education, how far scholarship dollars go at KVCC, and tickets for spending an evening with a former Major League baseball player, contact Doherty at sdoherty@kvcc.edu or (269) 488-4442 or Denise Baker (dbaker@kvcc.edu) at (269) 488-4539.

Co-sponsoring the event along with PNC and the foundation are AM 590 WKZO, the Radisson, and Paw Paw Wine Distributors.

New academy offers training in health-care fieldsKVCC’s new Patient Care Academy will train people for entry-level positions in

the growing health-care industry while introducing them to possibility of career enhancement in its various fields.

Scheduled to start June 21 and run through Aug. 31 at the M-TEC located on KVCC’s Groves Campus, the academy is now accepting applications for the 12 slots.

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The training sessions will be held Mondays through Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for 10 weeks.

The fee for the academy is $1,995. Financial assistance is available through the Michigan Works! “No Worker Left Behind” initiative and The Kalamazoo Promise.

“One of the many factors that make this patient-care approach unique,” said Lesa Strausbaugh, KVCC’s director of academies, “is that this program provides a more comprehensive training experience in several different patient-care careers, while presenting the foundational knowledge and hands-on familiarity needed to be successful in a health-care career.”

That’s why, she believes, there have been several inquiries about this academy that will join the M-TEC’s stable that offers targeted workforce-development training in automotive technology, wind-energy technology, hospitality and corrections.

Over the 10 weeks, enrollees will be trained in medical terminology, anatomy, workplace ethics and behavior, health-career exploration, communications, diversity, legal issues, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, first aid, and other specific patient-care skills.

The Patient Care Academy will provide job skills that prepare enrollees for employment as a certified nurse assistant, a patient-care assistant or technician, a ward clerk, or a medical-records clerk.

Graduates are competent to seek jobs in long-term care, rehabilitation centers, in a hospice environment, medical offices, and hospitals.

Among the spectrum of duties and tasks are providing basic patient care to those who require minimal assistance or who are totally dependent in their daily lives. This may include feeding, dressing and grooming.

Patient-care technicians take temperature, pulse, respiration and blood-pressure measurements. They can administer basic tests, assist in physical therapy, collect blood and tissue samples, sterilize equipment, and provide assistance in medical procedures.

Among the eligibility criteria are a high school diploma or G.E.D., a driver’s license, an ability to handle 50-pound loads, the ability to read, write and interpret instructions, have an energetic and positive attitude, be felony or misdemeanor free, pass a medical examination, and meet immunization requirements, and be at least 18 years old.

The instructional manager will be Sally Kidman, who earned her degree as a registered nurse from Southwestern Michigan College and a bachelor’s in nursing from Spring Arbor College.

Kidman has professional experience in cardiac, medical, surgical and gerontological nursing, and has worked in a variety of settings including acute, ambulatory and long-term care. She has also worked in cardiac and surgical divisions at hospitals.

“This academy,” Strausbaugh said, “can be a springboard to careers in other health-care professions. For example, those on a waiting list for nursing can get this training in the interim and begin working in health care before beginning their nursing studies.”

Applications can be found online at www.kvcc.edu/training.For more information, contact the Career Academies Office at (269) 353-1289 or

careeracademies@kvcc.edu.

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It is a very good year for Fred ToxopeusIn 2010, things are going like 50 for Fred Toxopeus.The pioneer math instructor plans to hang up his slide rule on July 31, capping off

50 years of teaching his brand of science, 50 years of marriage, and the 50th anniversary of his graduation from Michigan State University.

Toxopeus was the first faculty member hired in February of 1968 by Dale Lake, KVCC’s founding president. “I have a half century of teaching math and I’ve love every minute of it,” he says.

Toxopeus served as the chairman of the KVCC Math Department from August of 1969 to the fall of 1986. He’s been guiding the department’s part-time instructors since then.

“All three of our children are KVCC graduates and have professional jobs,” he said. “Our oldest grandson Devin Toxopeus is currently attending KVCC full time.”

Before coming to Kalamazoo, he taught eight years in Muskegon Heights and Mona Shores high schools in his former home town. He plans to do volunteering tutoring in the KVCC Math Center when he “retires.”

Student Art Show opens WednesdayKVCC students will be showcasing their best efforts in calligraphy, drawing, oil

and acrylic paintings, watercolors, mixed media, ceramics, sculpture, in black-and-white, color and alternative-process photography, and digital graphics at the college’s annual art show on the Texas Township Campus next week.

The 2010 Student Art Show will open for public viewing with a reception for the artists, family and friends from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Student Commons Forum on Wednesday (April 7). The awards ceremony is set for 7 p.m.

The Student Art Show will be in place through Friday, April 16.The deadline to enter the juried show was Friday, April 2. Students had to drop off their entries in the Forum between the hours of 9 a.m.

and 1 p.m. that day. They will be vying for prizes for best-of-show, and for first-place, second-place

and honorable-mention selections in each category. Faculty will also be choosing recipients of merit awards for students who have

demonstrated growth in ceramics, photography and two-dimensional art.The limit was two entries per student. The juror is Ginger Owen, assistant professor of photography in the Gwen Frostic

School of Art at Western Michigan University. “Her artwork derives imagery from narratives and themes of family history, race,

gender and color,” said David Posther, who is coordinating the KVCC show. “Her interdisciplinary practices include installation, sculpture, and digital, traditional and non-silver photographic processes.

Owen has exhibited her creations at the Houston Museum of Art, in Tokyo, at Texas Tech University, and the Center for the Living Arts in Mobile, Ala.

Her photos are in art collections in Houston, McNeese State University in Lake Charles, La., the J. Paul Getty Museum, and the Conservation Institute in Los Angeles.

Refreshments will be served at the opening reception.

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Third Hospitality Academy set for May 10 startThe third edition of KVCC’s academy to train personnel for the hospitality

industry is scheduled to begin on May 10 in the M-TEC on The Groves Campus and run for seven weeks.

Lesa Strausbaugh, director of career academies, reports that students will meet Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. for seven weeks through June 24.

The fee is $800. Payment is due two weeks before the start of the academy. During 157 hours of instruction, students learn the workings of the rooms division

and food-and-beverage division in hospitality, which includes front-desk management, reservations, housekeeping, bells services, restaurant service, and banquet organization.

A major component will be seven days of field experience in different hotels and other hospitality-related businesses. Guest service, professionalism, ethics and job-search skills are also covered.

Those who complete the academy receive a certificate in hospitality from KVCC and a globally recognized certificate from the American Hotel and Lodging Association.

“It’s been proven that certificates and diplomas from the educational institute of the association open doors to graduates looking for careers in the lodging industry,” Strausbaugh said. “We’re excited to offer students this opportunity.”

Additional information and applications can be found online at www.kvcc.edu/training or by calling the calling the KVCC Career Academies Office at (269) 353-1253.

Artists Forum books Darrell Scott April 17Instrumentalist Darrell Scott, who has composed chartbuster songs for Faith Hill,

Tim McGraw, Keb Mo, Garth Brooks, Travis Tritt and The Dixie Chicks, will close out the KVCC Artists Forum series for 2009-10.

Accompanied by bassist Bryn Davies, Scott will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 17, in Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Dale Lake Auditorium.

Tickets for the concert are $15 and are available at the college’s bookstores on the Texas Township Campus and in downtown Kalamazoo’s Anna Whitten Hall. They will also be sold at the Lake box office.

Artists Forum is co-sponsored by KVCC and the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation of Kalamazoo. The series began with the 1987-88 academic year.

Born on a tobacco farm in London, Ky., in 1959, and raised in East Gary, Ind., Scott was raised by a steelworker worker who was a songwriter at heart. The Scott clan moved to Southern California when Scott was 11. He and his three brothers became part of their dad’s band, getting on-the-job training in country music as they played its hits on the stages of roadhouses and taverns as far north as Alaska.

Scott eventually left the band and California, paying some more musical dues in Toronto and in Boston, and earning a degree in poetry from nearby Tufts University where he also studied literature.

With his lyric skills sharpened and his abilities on guitars, banjo and other instruments already road-tested, Scott migrated to country music’s Ground Zero, Nashville. His key to entering Music Row’s inner circles was, at first, his string-slinging skills starting in 1992.

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As his "day job" as a picker flourished, Scott channeled his other creative energies into his own songwriting and recordings. He released his debut CD in 1997. Eventually, Scott’s original songs were much in demand by singers looking for more than "big hat" bragging or slick country-pop.

The Dixie Chicks’ recording of his “Long Time Gone” was not only a hit for the group but garnered a 2003 Grammy nomination for "Best Country Song.” In 2001, he was named Songwriter of the Year by the Nashville Songwriters Association International, an honor repeated by ASCAP in 2002.

USA Today praised his “brilliantly clever songs.” Entertainment Tonight raved about his “powerful songwriting, passionate vocals and masterful picking.” Rolling Stone compared him to Bruce Springsteen “at his best.” Performing Songwriter went all the way, dubbing him “the best of the best.” In 2003, Scott launched his own label, Full Light Records, and his first move as owner was to produce an album of traditional, mountain country for his that finally showcased the senior Scott’s original songs. Scott has been the “artist in residence” with Orchestra Nashville.

Scott plays more than 50 shows a year, including prestigious festivals in the United States and Great Britain. He conducts songwriting workshops around the country.

Eat lunch and learn about woes of bad creditAs part of Financial Literacy Month, KVCC will be hosting a lunch-and-learn

session on “Hooked on Credit.”Featuring remarks by State Rep. Larry DeShazor (R-Portage) and Barb Heinonen

of First Community Federal Credit Union, it will be held on Wednesday (April 7) in the Student Commons from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Heinonen will provide a basic overview of the importance of establishing and maintaining good credit.

The presentation is sponsored by the Student Success Center. Those KVCC’ers and students planning to attend should e-mail Mary Johnson at mjohnson@kvcc.edu so that there will be head count for lunch.

Johnson, student activities and programs coordinator, can also be contacted at extension 4182.

Relay for Life cancer-whipping team seeks membersKVCC is participating in the 2010 Relay for Life, the annual fund-raiser of the

Kalamazoo County Chapter of the American Cancer Society, and the Cougar team is looking for at least 60 staff, faculty and students to take part in the quest to raise $3,500.

This year’s event will be staged on Saturday and Sunday, May 22-23, over a 24-hour period from 11 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Kalamazoo County Fairgrounds, which will be open for the duration of the event.

KVCC’ers, along with their friends and family, can camp on the grounds and take turns walking or running the track over the 24-hour period.

Co-captains Mary Johnson, Lynne Morrison and Ruth Baker are also coordinating a returnable-can/container collection as part of the fund-raiser.

Receptacles for the 10-centers are located in the Texas Township Campus cafeteria, the technical wing, the Student Commons and the faculty lounge.

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While the teams are coming together for a very serious issue - - the fight against cancer - - there is a great deal of fun and camaraderie for teams of family, friends and co-workers who choose to camp out for the entire event.

“Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times as a reminder that cancer never sleeps,” Johnson said.

There is entertainment and family activities, plus the victory lap by survivors and the luminaria ceremony at dusk that remembers those that have faced cancer.

“If you are or know any survivors,” Johnson said, “please send me their name and address for an invitation to the survivors luncheon.”

Volunteers can sign up for a time to walk at http://classes.kvcc.edu/relayTo sign up as a participant and walk with Team KVCC or pick up a donation

packet, contact Johnson at extension 4182 or stop by her office in the Student Commons. Morrison can be reached at 4164 and Baker at 4492.

The Relay for Life supports those who have lost a loved one, offers encouragement to those who are currently battling the disease, and celebrates life with those who have survived.

But most of all, it is an inspiration to all who participate. All dollars raised go toward supporting services for cancer patients and their

families, providing education and early-detection programs, and funding cancer research.Kalamazoo is one of more than 4,000 communities across the continent that stage

Relay for Life events in the fight against cancer. More than $1 billion has been raised. Traveling the world with Charlie Brown

“Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown” is next in the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s series of free Saturday-afternoon showings of documentaries and films on April 10.

It will be shown in the Mary Jane Stryker Theater at 1 p.m. Before or after the showing, museum visitors can tour the “Peanuts at Bat” exhibit

in the first-floor gallery. It chronicles one of the worst baseball teams – at least in cartoons – in history.

“Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!) is a 1980 animated film produced by United Feature Syndicate for Paramount Pictures.

It was the fourth and last full-length feature film to be based on the Peanuts comic strip, and was followed three years later by a 1983 television special, “What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?” in which the gang sees memorials and places related to World Wars I and II.

Unlike most other Peanuts animated adaptations, this film is one of the few to prominently feature adults in both on-screen and speaking parts, without the use of the signature trombone speech ("wah-wah") sound effect.

The four adults who are featured include a London cab driver who takes Snoopy to Wimbledon, a waiter in a London restaurant -- with such a strong Cockney accent that the kids cannot understand him -- a French teacher, and the Baron, who is seen only as a silhouette.

The scene in the classroom involving an escalating confrontation between Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty, who are forced to share a desk, was based on a series of Peanuts strips originally published in 1975. Charlie Brown and his friends were sent

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across town to Patty's school after their own school collapsed (or "committed suicide", as Sally maintained).

Sunday-afternoon jam sessions are also part of the museum's musical attractions. The K'zoo Folklife Organization will gather at 1:30 p.m. on May 2, while the Kalamazoo Valley Blues Association takes over on April 18 and May 16.

These begin at 1:30 p.m. and are free. Concerts and workshops are on the billing, while musicians are invited to bring in their instruments for a bit of impromptu jamming.

Here is the rest of the documentary schedule: “Paper Clips” at 1 p.m. on April 17 “The Hidden Child” at 3:30 p.m. on April 17 Films that are applicable to the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival at noon

May 3-6 A two-weekend festival dedicated to film versions of Jane Austen classics –

“Persuasion” at 10 a.m. and “Mansfield Park” at 1 p.m. on May 15; “Miss Austen Regrets” at 10 a.m. and “Northanger Abby” at 1 p.m. on May 22.

Employee-wellness assessments continuingSue Avery, a registered nurse assigned to KVCC by Holtyn and Associates, is

conducting free wellness screenings and counseling through Friday, April 16, for full-time KVCC employees and their spouses who are both new to the college’s program or continuing participants.

KVCC’ers and spouses can booked their own appointments through their own computer instead of making a telephone call. This can be done by going to the Holtyn website: www.holtynhpc.com. and following the directions.

Appointments span 30 minutes, meaning the available time slots are on the hour and half hour.

Here are the Texas Township Campus dates and times, all in Room 6044 in the Student Commons:

Monday (April 5), Tuesday, (April 6), and Wednesday (April 7) – 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Thursday (April 8) – 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.Avery will be at the Arcadia Commons Campus for employees in Anna Whitten

Hall, the Kalamazoo Valley Museum and the Center for New Media on these dates: Monday, April 12 – 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 13 – 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 14 – 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, April 16 – 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For those appointments, Avery will be based in 325 Whitten Hall.While payoffs in the past have focused on one’s personal and individual health, it

is now starting to pay off in the pay checks of employees.The one-on-one appointments include a glucose analysis, an HDL and cholesterol

evaluation, a blood-pressure check, a body-composition reading, an assessment of cardio-respiratory fitness, an overall health survey, an individual fitness assessment, and a personal consultation.

The 30-minute screenings can be done on work time. For more information, contact Avery at (269) 267-3712 or savery@holtynpc.com. She can be contacted for

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assistance in enrolling in the wellness program for the first time and in registering spouses.

All full-time staff, faculty and administrators – and their spouses -- are encouraged to sign up for this college-sponsored program, even if previous screenings had not identified any health risks.

Participants should wear comfortable, loosely fitting clothing. Short-sleeve tops are recommended. Fasting is not required, but it is advised not to consume caffeinated beverages two hours prior to the assessment and to refrain from smoking.

The testing is paid for by the college.

KVCC clean-up crew ‘On the Road Again’ April 17 Are you appreciative of those litter-filled plastic bags you see along Michigan’s highways and freeways, and of the folks who give of their time to clean up after some people’s thoughtlessness?

You can turn appreciation into action by joining the KVCC Faculty Association in its participation in the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Adopt-A-Highway program. Steve Walman, who can be reached at extension 4136, is gathering a cadre of volunteers to clean up a section of state road on Saturday, April 17. Faculty, staff and students are invited to gather by 9 a.m. at the intersection of M-43 and M-40 west of Kalamazoo in the car-pool lot and share a cup of joe in the Outpouring Coffee Shop. Walman reports that volunteers only need to bring a pair of gloves. Trash bags and safety vests will be provided.

Kandiah Balachandran, Natalie Patchell and Theo Sypris have signed up so far.

Income-tax-filing aid ends on FridayWith the deadline looming for Americans to make good their income-tax IOUs to

Uncle Sam, free return-preparation assistance is being made available at KVCC for students and staff whose individual or family incomes were $49,000 or less for 2009.

Working in conjunction with the Kalamazoo County Tax Counseling Initiative’s “Helping You Keep Your Money” program, the college's Student Success Center is hosting the assistance that is supported by the Internal Revenue Service, which provides the software, training, and certifications needed to operate these sites.

As of Jan. 15, people could dial 211 on their telephones to get details on items and information to bring, the locations throughout Kalamazoo County including KVCC, assistance in setting up an appointment, and tax-preparation times.

The tax assistors will be on the Texas Township Campus from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday (April 9) for the last time.

Another way to schedule an appointment is to go online at www.gryphon.org and click on “tax calendar.” That will take the user a list of locations, dates, times, and items to bring.

The service is provided by IRS-certified community volunteers from the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. E-filing will be available at all locations.

In addition to KVCC, partnering with the Kalamazoo County Tax Counseling Initiative are:

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The American Association of Retired Persons, Bowers Manufacturing, Goodwill Industries, the Greater Kalamazoo United Way, Guardian Finance and Advocacy Services, Gryphon Place, the Kalamazoo County Community Action Agency, the Kalamazoo County Department of Human Services, the Kalamazoo Public Library, the Volunteer Center of Greater Kalamazoo, and the W. E. Upjohn for Employment Research.

Among what must – or should – be brought to an appointment to assist in the process are a copy of the 2009 return, a photo ID, Social Security card for the filer and dependents, all W2s and/or 1099s (Social Security), and information about student loans. A full list of documentation is available on the web site.

PeaceJam seeks volunteers to be mentorsThe Great Lakes PeaceJam is seeking volunteers for its annual kick-off event, the

2010 PeaceJam Youth Conference, that will feature 1976 Nobel Peace Prize winner Betty Williams.

The conference is set for Saturday and Sunday, April 17-18, at Western Michigan University. It will attract hundreds of high school students from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and throughout Michigan.

Volunteers ages 18-28 will serve as mentors to high school students during the two-day conference where they will co-facilitate discussions, activities, and games. Mentors will also participate in service projects and workshops exploring social-justice issues alongside students.

PeaceJam is an international education program that brings young people together with Nobel Peace Prize winners to inspire them to address the world’s greatest problems. The goal of PeaceJam is to inspire a new generation of peacemakers who will transform themselves, their communities, and the world.

Participants will spend the weekend learning from Williams, doing service-learning projects, and participating in workshops. They will also learn about the culture and food of Williams’ homeland of Northern Ireland.

Two training sessions are required to be a mentor and to attend the conference. Volunteers may choose from among these introductory training sessions:

Tuesday (April 6) from 6 to 9 p.m.at Kalamazoo College. Wednesday (April 7) from 6 to 9 p.m. in Room 105 in the Bernhard

Center at WMU. Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek – date to be determined.

The second training session is set for Thursday, April 15, from 3 to 9 p.m. in Room 105 of the Bernhard Center. A limited number of mentors are needed.

Reserve spots by visiting www.greatlakespeacejam.org or contacting Carolyn DeChants at cdechants@greatlakespeacejam.org.

PeaceJam is built around 12 Nobel Peace Prize winners, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Jody Williams, and The Dalai Lama. These laureates work personally with youth to pass on the spirit, skills and wisdom they embody.

Since 1996, more than 500,000 teenagers have participated in PeaceJam worldwide. Participants have developed and implemented more than 300,000 community-service/peace projects.

Great Lakes PeaceJam, based in Kalamazoo, is housed by the non-profit Seeding Change . More than 2,300 young people have participated in Great Lakes PeaceJam

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programs since its inception in 2002. Funders of Great Lakes PeaceJam include the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Fetzer Institute, Kalamazoo Community Foundation, and the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation.

“We need college mentors to make our events work,” says Zach Wood, president of the KVCC PeaceJam Club. “They are an integral part of the conference. I was a college mentor myself and I can attest that it is an amazing experience. Any students who participate would benefit greatly from it.”

Wood is also the Poverty to Peace Coordinator for Seeding Chance. He can be located at 625 Harrison St. His telephone number is (269) 492-7750. Wood, a Plainwell High School graduate, is majoring in psychology. Williams won the Nobel for her work in Northern Ireland to help end the conflicts between Protestants and Catholics there. She will be making a series of presentations on the Western Michigan University campus April 16-18, some of which will be open to the public.

“We use the model of education, inspiration, and action to help enact lasting change in our communities,” Wood said. “We teach students ways to make a difference, inspire them through meeting and learning about how the Nobel laureates did their wonderful work, and then help them perform service-learning projects in their communities.”

Pink Floyd, the sun are planetarium offerings The music of Pink Floyd and three new shows are the latest attractions in the

Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s new, full-color Digistar 4 planetarium. There is a $3 fee for planetarium shows, although admission to the museum and

its exhibitions are free. With a laser-light show in full color streaming across the planetarium's 50-foot

dome, the 35-minute production, complete with 3-D animated images, will feature the classic hits of Pink Floyd. Rotating on Friday nights at 8:30 p.m. through May 28 will be the group’s songs from the albums “Dark Side of the Moon,” “Wish You Were Here,” and “The Wall.”

The planetarium's spring-program schedule features “Bear Tales,” “The Artists’ Sky,” and “Secrets of the Sun.” They will be shown through June 18.

“Bear Tales” takes family audiences on an imaginary spring camping trip where constellation stories are told around the campfire as the stars are identified in the sky. The program is shown weekdays at 11 a.m., on Saturdays at 1 p.m. and on Sundays at 2 p.m.

“The Artists' Sky” offers a sample of how artists, poets and musicians have been inspired by the heavens as it guides visitors through the spring sky.

Reading a star map and star hopping or using familiar patterns to find other constellations are discussed along with the planet Saturn that will shine in the evening sky this spring.

Targeted for aspiring stargazers, this program will be shown on Saturdays at 2 p.m.

The feature show “Secrets of the Sun” describes the star at the heart of our solar system from the power plant at its core to the gossamer atmosphere that surrounds the sun.

The program also looks at interactions between the sun and planet Earth. This program is offered daily at 3 p.m.

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More information is available at the museum’s web site at www.kalamazoomuseum.org.

Latvia, Rwanda, Tanzania next in global seriesStudents, faculty, staff and the public are able to get a passport full of information

about 11 nations, their people, cultures and food without leaving the community during the second half of the 2010 winter semester.

The KVCC program in international studies has booked a series of presentations about the countries featuring presenters who have been there for a variety of reasons – as citizens of the country, as students, as visitors, or as workers.

All of the presentations will be held in either Room 4370 or 4380 off of the cafeteria on the Texas Township Campus.

All are free and open to the public. Here is the itinerary, the dates, times and the presenters:

Latvia – Wednesday (April 7) at 11:30 a.m.; Svetlana Stone. Rwanda and Tanzania – Thursday (April 8) 11:30 a.m.; Barbara Ciufa. Ecuador – Monday, April 12, 2 p.m.; Jarek Marsh-Prelesnik. Russia – Wednesday, April 14, noon; Theo Sypris, director of the KVCC

program in international studies. Haiti – Monday, April 19, 3:30 p.m.; KVCC biology instructor Jack Bley. The West African nation of Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire) – Monday,

April 26 at 1 p.m.; Julien Kouame. Vietnam – Wednesday, April 28, 12:15 p.m.; Huan Le and Thuc Thi

Tran.Earlier in the semester, Palestine, Turkey, Germany, Austria, China, El Salvador,

Costa Rica and Argentina were “visited.”

Boyer set for April 13 poetry reading Retired KVCC communications instructor Marion Boyer will be reading from her

latest collection of poetry on Tuesday, April 13, at the Kalamazoo Public Library.Sponsored by the Friends of Poetry, the 7 p.m. reading from “The Clock of the

Long Now” is free and open to the public. Boyer has written a poetry chapbook, “Green,” that was published in 2003.Boyer’s poetry has appeared in numerous literary journals including Hayden’s

Ferry Review, Spoon River Poetry Review, Permafrost, Midwest Poetry Review, Crab Creek Press, and the MacGuffin.

Her poem “She Seemed So Quiet” won first place in the 2008 international poetry competition sponsored by the Science Fiction Poetry Association.

Another of Boyer’s poems was nominated for the 2007 Pushcart Prize and Rhino awarded her first prize for “Endlessly Blooming with Clouds and Birds” in its 2006 competition.

Boyer lives among Van Buren County’s vineyards and orchards, and credits her poetry success to wonderful writing groups in Kalamazoo and countless cups of strong English tea.

Sweet Adelines to sing at free concert

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The Mid-Lakes Chorus of Sweet Adelines International will have its “Friends and Family Night” on Tuesday, April 13 at the Plainwell Community Center on Bridge Street. The event is free and starts at 8 p.m. The center is located about a half block east of Plainwell Ice Cream.

“We'll sing a few songs, including our competition package,” says math instructor Sue Hollar, “and have a couple of quartets perform as well. Rumor has it that cookies and punch will also be provided for the attendees.”

‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ events winding downTimed to coincide with a fall major exhibit on race booked for the Kalamazoo

Valley Museum, one of the most acclaimed books about prejudice is the Kalamazoo Public Library’s 2010 Reading Together selection.

“Snow Falling on Cedars” by David Guterson was the winner of the 1995 PEN/-Faulkner Award for Fiction and the 1996 American Booksellers Association Book of the Year.

Scores of special events/programs are being held to promote discussion about the book and its themes.

“Cedars” is set against the backdrop of a courtroom drama in the Pacific Northwest when a Japanese-American man is charged with the murder of a local white fisherman. It is steeped in the World War II forced internment of these citizens, an interracial love story, and post-war politics.

Among the events was a look at the U. S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the legality of interning U. S. citizens of Japanese heritage – referred to as “The Darkest Hour of the U. S. Constitution.” Upcoming is a presentation about how what happened to these citizens seven decades ago can steer this nation on the right path toward equality and diversity.

Here is the schedule of events: “For the Sake of the Children” -- Through April 14 in the Kalamazoo

Central Library. This photography exhibit documents four generations of Japanese-American life on Bainbridge Island in Washington and inspired Guterson to write the book. Exhibit hours – Sundays, 1 to 5 p.m.; Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“Go for Broke” – Through April 14 in the Kalamazoo Central Library. This photograph exhibit from the National Archives contains images of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The largest Nisei unit during World War II, the 442nd is the most decorated combat unit of its size in the history of the U. S. Army. Its story has been told in several Hollywood movies. Exhibit hours – Sundays, 1 to 5 p.m.; Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

How the Past Can Help Us Live in the Now – Thursday, April 15, at 6:30 p.m. in the First Baptist Church, 315 W. Michigan Ave. What can history teach about solving today’s conflicts? Presenting his thoughts will be Frank Kitamoto, president of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community BIJAC). Bainbridge Island’s Japanese American residents,

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many of them U.S. citizens, were the first to be incarcerated in War Relocation Camps by the federal government. Kitamoto was a toddler when his family was sent to internment camps...Kitamoto suggests that “lessons from the past help us not just to survive, but to come alive in a multi-cultural community...diversity, equality and humanism are the true strengths that make the United States of America so special and admired in the eyes of the world.” Following Kitamoto’s presentation will be a performance of Japanese-style drumming by Kalamazoo College’s Taiko Drumming Troupe. This Reading Together wrap-up event is co-sponsored by the WMU Race Exhibit Initiative.

KVCC’s Jim Ratliff is a member of the 24-member, communitywide committee that makes the choice of a Reading Together volume.

This year’s book selection was driven in part by a request from the Race Exhibit Initiative of Southwest Michigan, which asked the library to choose a book that could help foster discussions about race in advance of an October 2010 unveiling of the traveling exhibition “Race: Are We so Different?”

The exhibition features photographs, movies and interactive displays — all of which explore the history of race in America, the biology of race and experiences of living with race. It will be on display at the museum from Oct. 2 to Jan. 2, 2011.

Previous “Reading Together” titles were: “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury in 2003; “Nickel and Dimed” by Barbara Ehrenreich in 2004; “The Color of Water” by James McBride in 2005; “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien in 2006; “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Mark Haddon in 2007: “Animal Dreams” by Barbara Kingsolver in 2008; and New York Times columnist Rick Bragg’s trio of memoirs this year.

Reading Together invites people of all ages from all walks of life to read and then discuss important issues raised by a selected book. Thousands of county residents have participated in seven previous Reading Together programs.

The Kalamazoo Public Library leads Reading Together with the collaboration of libraries, educational institutions, health and social service agencies, cultural, civic and religious organizations, businesses, the news media, and local governments throughout Kalamazoo County.

The Kalamazoo Community Foundation helped the library launch Reading Together with funding for the first three years with grants from it Better Together initiative. The library now provides major support for the program. Foundation grants, gifts and contributions from collaborating organizations make it possible to offer Reading Together to all of Kalamazoo County. The Fetzer Institute has stepped forward to help support this year’s edition. Archives offers fingertip-access to documents

The KVCC Archives now offer access to many college documents in electronic form, reports Director of Libraries Janet Alm.

“From the comfort of your own computer,” she said, “you can view the agendas and minutes of many college meetings, including the KVCC Board of Trustees and the cabinet, as well as past issues of The Digest.”

To view the archives’ online documents, go to the libraries’ home page at http://www.kvcc.edu/library and click on “KVCC Archives.”

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For further information about the KVCC Archives, see the Archives Guidelines at http://home.kvcc.edu/hrmain/StffDev/Job_Aids/Manuals_Policies_Handbooks/ArchivesGuidelines.pdf or contact Alm at extension 4326 of jalm@kvcc.edu

Exercise ‘opps’ to end on April 30Offering proactive chances to pare off a few pounds before the need arrives to

slim down for summer apparel, the Wellness and Fitness Center’s line-up of free, drop-in activities to promote vitality and good health among KVCC employees is operational through April 30.

Here is the lineup for faculty, staff and enrolled students:Monday – swimming from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; total body conditioning, 1 to

1:55 p.m.; and dancing from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.Tuesday – swimming from 7 to 8:30 a.m. and zumba from noon to 12:55.Wednesday – swimming from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; and total body conditioning

from 1 to 1:55 p.m.Thursday – swimming from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.Friday – swimming from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and fitness cycling from 1 to 1;55

p.m.Saturday -- swimming from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.Except for the obvious site for swimming, these exercise opportunities will be

based in Room 6040 in the Student Commons. Zumba replaced yoga in the exercise activities.

For the exercise-knowledge challenged, zumba is an aerobic fitness program created by Miami-based dancer and choreographer Beto Perez and two entrepreneurs. It originated in Colombia in the 1990s and as of 2009 is taught by some 20,000 instructors in 35 countries. Classes use music based on salsa, meringue, cumbia, and reggae.

Zumba incorporates fast-paced music with cardio exercise.

Winter-semester internships continue to growThe college’s Community Partners Internship Program continues to arrange for

placements for students, giving them a leg up in future searches for employment.Lois Brinson-Ropes, the internship coordinator for the Student Employment

Services unit in the Student Success Center, reports that these workforce-development connections can be life-and-career changing.

Placed during this winter semester were: Drafting student Eric Bain -- The Outerwears Co. Inc. in Schoolcraft Marketing/business majors Chelsea Spencer and Aaron Tyler -- Global

Clinical Connections that is based in the M-TEC of KVCC Michelle Adams, a computer-programming student -- Kalamazoo

Regional Educational Service Agency Accounting student John Bell -- the Fire Historical and Cultural Arts

Collaborative that is co-directed by English instructor Denise Miller Jessica Holman, an accounting major – Borgess Health David Curtis, a graphic-design major – Paw Paw Wine Distributors Graphic-design/illustration student, Amy O'Donnell -- Wraps & Signs By

Trim It Brittany Bauman, another graphic-design enrollee – The Strutt

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Morgan Wellman as an administrative assistant -- Abies Chiropractic Clinic

Discussions have been under way for a computer programmer at Brave Industrial Fasteners in Otsego, a graphic-design major at Market Grasp Media, a marketing major at Treystar, and a heating-ventilation-air conditioning student at AIM Corp.

“It is such an involved process,” Brinson-Ropes said, “to find the companies, then the perfect student, then send the resumes, wait for the student to connect with the company, get all the paperwork signed and have the student register. Not complaining at all because it is a blast.”

Funded for a three-year period by the KVCC Foundation, the $100,000 project seeks to place at least 55 students over a three-year period with enterprises interested in a grow-your-own-workforce alliance.

The bulk of the grant funds is being used to pay up to 50 percent of the wages for each intern, with the companies they work for providing the balance. The program will last through December of 2011.

Salary terms are established on a case-by-case basis and agreed upon prior to the commencement of the internship. The pay can range from the minimum wage of $7.40 to $12 per hour.

An internship usually lasts 15 weeks, but students can apply at any time and be assigned year round.

“We see this internship program as the college’s wish to join forces with Southwest Michigan employers to produce and retain a highly talented and trained workforce,” Brinson-Ropes said.

For many enterprises -- and not just those in emerging businesses -- the No. 1 factor for achieving success is finding the right people to fit the right jobs. Internships are tried-and-true ways to “grow your own” and identify prospects with high potential.

Instructors should tell students that can apply when they have achieved the skills and education required by the company offering the internship, and when they have completed 50 percent of the course work in their respective majors.

They will also be required to complete pre-employment-skills training provided by the center’s Student Employment Services.

This training will include resume writing, effective cover letters, interviewing skills, professional attire, personal hygiene, promptness and dependability, communication skills, and non-verbal behavior.

Each company can request an intern based on the area of study, skills needed, duties expected, hours of work, and when the person is needed on the job. Each will select an intern based on the organization’s existing hiring methods and criteria.

Instructors can direct interested students to Brinson-Ropes in Room 1356 on the Texas Township Campus. She can be contacted at extension 4344 or lbrinsonrop@kvcc.edu.

‘Terminator’ invades museum, Celtic music is next The “Friday Night Highlight” for April 2 at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum is

“Terminator, ” starring the “goverrnator,” Arnold Schwarzenegger.Tickets to that 7:30 p.m. showing in the Mary Jane Stryker Theater are $3. The series switches back to live music on April 9 with the Celtic acoustic band

Embarr. Showtime in the Stryker is 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5.

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Also part of the "Friday Night Highlights" agenda is an 8:30 p.m. showing of the planetarium show featuring the music of Pink Flood. That has a $3 admission fee.

With a laser-light show in full color streaming across the planetarium's 50-foot dome, the 35-minute production, complete with 3-D animated images, will showcases the classic hits of Pink Floyd. Rotating on Friday nights through May 28 will be the group’s songs from the albums “Dark Side of the Moon,” “Wish You Were Here,” and “The Wall.”

“Terminator” was one of James Cameron’s early forays in science-fiction and techno action films in 1984. It has been followed by three sequels, video games and a television series.

Schwarzenegger is a seemingly unstoppable cyborg assassin who has been sent back from the year 2029 by a collective of artificially intelligent computer-controlled machines bent on the extermination of the human race. The Terminator's mission is to kill a woman whose future son is destined to lead a resistance against the machines. A human is also sent back from the future to protect her.

Looking like a human, the “Terminator” stalks the woman by killing all of the females of the same name listed in the telephone directory one by one. Hearing of the "phone book killer,” she seeks shelter in a nightclub and telephones her roommate to warn her, leaving a message on their answering machine indicating her whereabouts.

However, the “Terminator” has already killed the roommate and tracks her to the nightclub after hearing the message. The transported human also tracks her to the club and saves her from the attack.

He explains that in the near future an artificial intelligence network called Skynet will become self-aware and initiate a nuclear holocaust. The woman’s son will rally the survivors and lead a resistance movement against Skynet and its army of machines.

With the resistance on the verge of victory, Skynet has sent a “Terminator” back in time to kill her before the son can be born as a last-ditch effort to avert the formation of the Resistance. The plot moves on to attacks and counter-attack, claims of insanity, and a back-to-the-future style of physical relationship. Burned “flesh,” pipe bombs, and blown-up “bodies” add to the climatic mayhem. The ending has a unique twist.

“Embarr,” a magical horse in Irish mythology and also means “imagination,” is a quartet consisting of fiddler Veronica Cieri, vocalist/mandolinist Charlie Holleman, lead singer and guitarist Ginny Gibbs, and Daniel Bouwman, who plays the guitar and adds harmony.

Cieri, who hails from Dearborn, began taking violin lessons at the age of 7. She is currently earning her bachelor’s in performance at Western Michigan University. Holleman resides in Constantine. Gibbs is a native of southern Ohio and teaches at the college level. She majored in voice and creative writing in college. Bouwman is a health-care professional.

Here is the “Friday Night Highlights” schedule of movies, concerts by local combos, and special events through the first third of 2010:

April 16: The pop/rock music of We Know Jackson. April 23: Performer Rob Vischer and his California style April 30: Third Coast Ensemble, whose music spans many genres May 7: The 1979 movie “Battlestar Galactica May 14: The rock and blues music of Branden Mann and the Reprimand

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May 21: The 1984 comedy “Ghostbusters.” May 28: The improv comedy of Just Panda.

Celebrate opening day with ‘Baseball in Kalamazoo’Southwest Michigan’s romance with the national pastime will be the April 11

edition of the “Sunday Series” at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. “Play Ball! – Baseball in Kalamazoo,” a flashback to this aspect of community

history, begins at 1:30 p.m. in the Mary Jane Stryker Theater with Tom Dietz, the museum’s curator of research, calling the balls and strikes. All presentations are free.

As early as 1859, The Kalamazoo Telegraph was urging young men to sign up and help organize teams for a “base ball” league. The next year, the Kalamazoo Champions played a team in Schoolcraft. Kalamazoo accused the Schoolcraft team of “lawless” play while Schoolcraft complained of the “impudent interference of outsiders with the duties of the judges.”

The game’s popularity was such that Kalamazoo Village President Latham Hull, when he saw some young men playing ball Bronson Park, advised them to “go on and have a good time, boys, but don’t hurt the trees.”

Early baseball was not always respectable. One of the better known Kalamazoo teams was the Unas. After a game in Grand Rapids in 1870, the Grand Rapids Morning Democrat claimed the Unas were “a set of roughs, whose dirty linen does not surpass their ungentlemanly and dirty practice of playing the national game.” The paper also claimed the players were “gambling, insulting respectable people, getting drunk, running in the hall of a hotel naked, [and] visiting gambling houses and houses of prostitution.”

The latter decades of the 1800s saw a variety of semi-professional teams in Kalamazoo and surrounding towns. By the 1890s, professional minor league teams, some affiliated with major league teams, represented the city. Among the team nicknames were the Zooloos, the Celery Eaters, and the Celery Pickers.

When the Kalamazoo Celery Pickers joined the Michigan Ontario League, a professional minor league, in 1923, the featured speaker at the Opening Day banquet was the commissioner of major league baseball, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Minor league baseball appears to have ended in Kalamazoo in 1926.

But Kalamazoo was not without its baseball teams. Many companies and businesses sponsored teams during the first half of the 20th century. The Shakespeare Co., makers of sporting goods, sponsored a team as did the Checker Cab Co. Gibson Guitar had a team as did the Kalamazoo Corset Co., the Goodale Funeral Home, and the Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Co.

Perhaps the most prominent was sponsored by Sutherland Paper Co. That team twice won the World Amateur Baseball Championship, first in 1949 and then again in 1951 when Ron Jackson played first base. Jackson later went on to play six years for the Chicago White Sox and one year with the Boston Red Sox.

The national baseball spotlight shined on the campus of Western Michigan College in 1947 and 1948. The first two College World Series championships were played at Hyames Field in those years. The losing team each year was Yale, defeated by the University of California and then by the University of Southern California. Yale’s first baseman those years was George H. W. Bush, later the 41st president of the United States.

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The Kalamazoo Lassies moved to Kalamazoo from Muskegon in mid-season in 1950. They were members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The league had been organized by Chicago candy manufacturer, Phillip Wrigley, in 1943 to provide entertainment during the war years when many major league stars were serving the Armed Forces.

For four years, the Lassies called Kalamazoo home. The league declined in popularity after World War II, however, and the 1954 season was the final one. The Lassies made it memorable, however, by winning the final league championship.

Baseball remains popular today. Each summer, Kalamazoo hosts the Big League Softball World Series for young women. Since 2001, the Kalamazoo Kings of the Frontier League have played their games at Homer Stryker Field in Mayor’s Riverfront Park. And many fans daily follow Derek Jeter, a Kalamazoo Central High grad, who is now the New York Yankees star shortstop.

The final “Sunday Series” program for the 2009-10 season will be “Kalamazoo’s Musical Heritage” on April 25.

Faculty Success Center wraps up teaching seriesThe “Talking About Teaching” program will wrap up the 2009-10 academic year

with “Designing Appropriate Learning Activities and Lesson Planning” on April 20, April 21, and April 24.

The Faculty Success Center is operating under the auspices of Grant Chandler, dean of the Arcadia Commons Campus, to assist the college community in focusing time, energy, and conversations on high-quality teaching and learning.

This month’s presentations are slated for Tuesday, April 20, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 121, from 2 to 3:30 p.m., and Saturday, April 24, from 10 to 11:30 a.m.

All sessions are held in the lower level of the Center for New Media. Those who wish to attend can e-mail facultysuccesscenter@kvcc.edu. Refreshments will be provided.

Chandler can be contacted by extension 7849 or gchandler@kvcc.edu.The Faculty Success Center has also scheduled a new series of presentations

about instructional practices at KVCC that is under way.Nursing instructors Marie Rogers, Theresa Shane and Renee Mielke will discuss how to use “lecture capture” and group learning, as well as review some other outstanding instructional practices on Wednesday (April 7) at 1 p.m. in the lower level of the Center for New Media. The average person talks at 120 words per minute while the average student can only write at 20 words per minute. Several nursing classes are using lecture capture to enhance their students’ learning experience.

The other sessions, instructors and topics booked for the Center for New Media’s lower level are:

Philipp Jonas (economics), “Learning Teams,” April 17 at 3 p.m. Karen Matson (graphic arts), “Project-Based Instruction,” April 23 at 10

a.m.Serving on the new center’s advisory team are Chandler, fellow co-chair Schauer,

Lynne Morrison, Bill deDie, Jonas, Fran Kubicek, Jan White, Kevin Dockerty, Al Moss, Ron Cipcic, Theo Sypris, and Joe Brady.

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Final deadline for KVCC Foundation grant requestsThe KVCC Foundation has one last funding-request deadline for internal grant

proposals for the 2009-10 academic year.Those faculty and/or administrators seeking financial support must submit their

proposals by April 23, with a decision coming May 7 by the KVCC Foundation Board of Trustees.

For more information, contact Steve Doherty, KVCC director of development and foundation executive director, at extension 4442 or sdoherty@kvcc.edu.

Thanks to a KVCC Foundation grant of $2,200, dialogues on race, diversity and teaching at the community-college level are under way.

It is co-funding a three-hour workshop for faculty on “What the Best College Teachers Do to Promote Inclusion.”

Instructor Jan White is leading those sessions at 4 p.m. in the lower level of the Center for New Media with the next one booked for April 20.

The grant also led to the purchase of 50 copies of Beverly Tatum’s book titled “Can We Talk About Race?”

Instructor Marie Rogers is leading those talks according to the following schedule:

April 14 at 7 a.m. in Room 7334 on the Texas Township Campus April 15 at noon in the lower level of the Center for New Media April 15 at 3 p.m. in Room 7334. April 16 at noon in Room 7334.

KVCC’ers interested in participating in the “Can We Talk About Race?” sessions can obtain a copy of the book through Nancy Taylor.

All these discussions orchestrated by the Faculty Success Center will help lay the groundwork for the Kalamazoo Valley Museum hosting a major exhibition on race in the fall of 2010.

The exhibit will be the focal point for a communitywide examination of the racial issues that too often tarnish the nation’s democracy and Constitution.

Speech-contest deadline is MondayFormer and current communications students are eligible to take part in a speech

competition that focuses on “Origins,” or “Who Cooked Up That Idea?” Organized by the KVCC communications faculty, the fifth annual competition

will culminate with public presentations on Thursday (April 8) at 4:15 p.m.in the Student Commons Theater.

The top four finishers will share $450 in prize money.The competition is open to the first dozen students – presently or formerly

enrolled in a Communications 101 class -- who submit applications by the deadline at 5 p.m. on Monday (April 5)

Each speaker will present remarks on the origins of an idea, philosophy, organization, product, cultural phenomenon, musical style, sport, or event. The presentation must last between five and six minutes.

The Thursday event will be open to students, staff and the public.

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Visual enhancements using props and software are encouraged. Each presentation will be judged for creative and innovative content, effective delivery, and the quality of the visual enhancement.

The winner goes home with $150.Applications are available by contacting instructors Patrick Conroy or Steven Ott.

Complete C-SPAN archives availableResearchers, students, pundits, satirists, and muckrakers should know that C-

SPAN has placed its entire archives of more than 160,000 broadcast hours covering 23 years and five presidential administrations at their fingertips.

They can revisit Oliver North’s testimony for the Senate’s Iran-Contra investigation in 1987 or see President Obama sign the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.

Check it out at http://www.c-spanvideo.org/videoLibrary/.

Kalamazoo’s 49ers topic of TV episodeKalamazoo had its share of gold-seeking ‘49ers and their stories will be told in the

April installment of the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s TV show. Tom Dietz, the curator of research at the museum, will take viewers back to the

mid-19th century when get-rich-quick folks swallowed the lure of California gold hook, line and sinker.

The episode will be aired by the Public Media Network (formerly the Community Access Center) on Channel 22 on the Charter cable system at 7 p.m. on Sundays, 6:30

p.m. on Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. on Fridays, and 11 a.m. on Saturdays. “Gold Fever” took hold in December 1848 when President James K. Polk

confirmed in his State of the Union address that a substantial deposit of had been discovered in California, then a newly acquired former Mexican territory.

In the spring of both 1849 and again in 1850, several groups in Kalamazoo County – mirroring what thousands of young men were doing across what was then the United States -- organized and headed west across the Great Plains to California.

Crossing both Death Valley and snow-covered mountains, some nearly died on the trek. For each one who “struck it rich,” there were scores of young men who became discouraged and would return east if they could afford to do so.

John T. Clapp, having failed to find gold, returned to Kalamazoo and published the story of his trip to the gold fields. It provides an account of what Clapp called the “hardships and privations” of the cross-country trek.

He describes wildlife and the terrain. Buffalo herds can be seen in the distance and Clapp is fearful of the wolves that prowl at night when he is on watch. He frequently comments on the weather, “..a terrible storm arose, which sent down its torrents of rain…the flash of terror, and the din of rage, seemed threatening earth with ruin.”

They crossed the deserts of western Utah and Nevada where they encountered abandoned wagons and equipment, and the decaying carcasses of pack animals from parties who had passed through before them. They reached California’s gold fields in late July, nearly five months after leaving Michigan.

While Clapp’s quest for gold was not successful, others from Kalamazoo were more fortunate. Perhaps the best known was William Gibbs who went there in 1850 with his father, John. The younger Gibbs not only found gold but brought it back to

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Kalamazoo hidden in the secret pockets of a cloth vest he made to protect his treasure. That vest is now one of the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s prized artifacts.

After three years, Gibbs returned home. He took a ship to Panama, crossed the isthmus, and then sailed to New Orleans. There he converted his 14 pounds of gold into 164 $20 coins at the U.S. Mint. His gold, then worth about $3,300, would be valued at $150,000 today.

Gibbs sewed his coins into a vest that he wore between two shirts. At night, he opened the vest but never took it off, simply letting it fall to his sides. In that way, he made it more difficult for anyone to even know he was carrying that much gold, much less steal it from him.

With the gold, he purchased 240 acres of land near the I-94/U.S.131 interchange. He farmed there until retirement. Western Michigan University’s College of Engineering is located there.

And finally. . . New Mexico is known as a mecca for chili and routinely stages cookoffs around the state.

At a recent contest in Santa Fe, one of the three judges called in sick – probably because of too much chili the night before.

A visitor from Kalamazoo, who fancied himself as a chili aficionado, volunteered to be Judge No. 3. One of the benefits was that there would be free “social beverages” during the contest.

Here are the scorecard notes:CHILI No. 1: MIKE'S MANIAC MONSTER CHILI

Judge 1 -- A little too heavy on the tomato. Amusing kick.Judge 2 -- Nice, smooth tomato flavor. Very mild.Judge 3 – What the heck is this stuff? It could remove dried paint from

your driveway. Took me two beers to put the flames out. CHILI No. 2: EL RANCHO'S AFTERBURNER CHILI

Judge 1 -- Smoky, with a hint of pork. Slight jalapeno tang.Judge 2 -- Exciting BBQ flavor, needs more peppers to be taken

seriously.Judge 3 -- Keep this out of the reach of children. I'm not sure what I'm

supposed to taste besides pain. I had to wave off two people who wanted to give me the Heimlich maneuver. They had to rush in more beer when they saw the look on my face.

CHILI No. 3: ALFREDO'S FAMOUS BURN-DOWN-THE-BARN CHILIJudge 1 -- Excellent firehouse chili. Great kick.Judge 2 -- A bit salty, good use of peppers.Judge 3 -- Call the EPA. I've located a uranium spill. My nose feels like I

have been snorting Drano. Everyone knows the routine by now. Get me more beer before I ignite.

CHILI No. 4: BUBBA'S BLACK MAGICJudge 1 – Black-bean chili with almost no spice. Disappointing.Judge 2 -- Hint of lime in the black beans. Good side dish for fish or other

mild foods, not much of a chili.

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Judge 3 -- I felt something scraping across my tongue, but was unable to taste it. Is it possible to burn out taste buds? Sally, the beer maid, was standing behind me with fresh refills.

CHILI No. 5: LISA'S LEGAL LIP REMOVERJudge 1 -- Meaty, strong chili. Jalapeno peppers freshly ground, adding

considerable kick. Very impressive.Judge 2 -- Chili using shredded beef, could use more tomato. Must admit

the jalapeno peppers make a strong statement.Judge 3 -- My ears are ringing, sweat is pouring off my forehead and I

can no longer focus my eyes. The contestant seemed offended when I told her that her chili had given me “dain bramage.” Sally saved my tongue from bleeding by pouring beer directly on it from the pitcher. It really ticks me off that the other judges asked me to stop screaming.

CHILI No. 6: VARGA'S VERY VEGETARIAN VARIETYJudge 1 -- Thin yet bold vegetarian variety chili. Good balance of spices

and peppers.Judge 2 -- The best yet. Aggressive use of peppers, onions, garlic.

Superb.Judge 3 -- Can't feel my lips anymore. Is there a snow cone in the house?

Thank God for Sally.CHILI No. 7: SUSAN'S SCREAMING SENSATION CHILI

Judge 1 -- A mediocre chili with too much reliance on canned peppers.Judge 2 -- Ho hum, tastes as if the chef literally threw in a can of chili

peppers at the last moment. I should take note that I am worried about Judge 3. He appears to be in a bit of distress as he is cursing uncontrollably.

Judge 3 -- You could put a grenade in my mouth, pull the pin, and I wouldn't feel a thing. I've lost sight in one eye, and the world sounds like it is made of rushing water. My shirt is covered with chili, which slid unnoticed out of my mouth. At least during the autopsy, they'll know what killed me. I've decided to stop breathing. It's too painful. I'm not getting any oxygen anyway. If I need air, I'll just suck it in through the four-inch hole in my stomach.

CHILI No. 8 - BIG TOM'S TOENAIL-CURLING CHILIJudge 1 -- The perfect ending, this is a nice blend chili. Not too bold but

spicy enough to declare its existence.Judge 2 -- This final entry is a good, balanced chili. Neither mild

nor hot. Sorry to see that most of it was lost when Judge 3 passed out, fell over and pulled the chili pot down on top of himself. Wonder how he'd have reacted to really hot chili?

Judge 3 -- No report.

☻☻☻☻☻☻

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