THE VOLANTE
NEWSBRIEFLY City officials team up
HIV cases up in SD
By TJ Jerke
The AssoCiated press
University and Vermillion city officials will meet in Old Main Saturday in an effort to bring governing bodies together, City Manager John Prescott said. Forty members of various governing bodies will be on campus in a joint effort to develop a common understanding within Vermillion, Prescott said. The groups include the Vermillion City Council, City Planning Commission, Chamber of Commerce, school board, County Commission and USD faculty members. “We haven’t done this before,” Prescott said. “I hope it is not something that you go to in the morning and nothing comes from it.” The four hour session will include the use of clickers to help answer questions and surveys, Prescott said. The City Council also approved a bid that will begin the downtown streetscape improvements as part of a federal grant. According to the master plan for the overall improvement, the goal is to provide a safe and inviting experience for downtown businesses, city residents and visitors to the area. Reintroducing downtown Vermillion as an exciting and essential part of the city and building upon the timelessness and historic character of downtown are also aspects of the plan.
South Dakota reported 34 new cases of HIV or AIDS in 2008, including two cases in newborns. The largest one-year number of HIV/AIDS cases was 37 in 1989. The Health Department said the five-year median for new cases is 25. The Health Department said only five other infants in South Dakota have been found to have HIV since 1985. “Timely HIV testing and treatment of pregnant women can prevent infant cases of HIV,” said Lon Kightlinger, epidemiologist in the Department of Health. The department’s 2007 Perinatal Health Risk Assessment Report found that 46 percent of new mothers in South Dakota said they were given information about HIV/AIDS while they were pregnant. Kightlinger said the department will continue working to make health care providers aware of the recommendations for routine HIV screening of all pregnant women. An estimated 365 South Dakota residents are living with HIV or AIDS; 70 percent of them are males and 66 percent are ages 25-44. The department said blacks have a disproportionately high percentage of the cases. Blacks account for 22 percent of the cases but less than 1 percent of the state’s population.
The Volante
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Wednesday, February 4, 2009
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Crowning Achievement
John Larson / The Volante Sophomore Morgan Peck and Senior Rachel Miller were crowned Miss USD and Miss Vermillion, respectively, Saturday evening. A field of eight contestants competed for the crowns, with the winners advancing to the Miss South Dakota Pageant held June in Hot Springs, S.D.
VERMILLION
PIERRE
OMAHA
SIOUX FALLS
Becvar named dean of USD grad school
USD students to present research
USD students to meet with billionaire
Lawmakers debate casino amendment
Laurie Becvar has been named dean of the graduate school of USD. USD’s Office of Academic Affairs announced that Becvar, who is currently dean of the Division of Continuing and Distance Education, will be dean of the graduate school and Division of Continuing and Distance Education effective Feb. 1. Becvar has more than two decades of experience in higher education. She joined USD as dean of the Division of Continuing and Distance Education in 2004. Becvar received a doctorate and a master’s degree in educational administration from USD and earned a bachelor’s degree from Wichita State. She replaces Barbara Yutrzenka.
Two undergraduate students from USD were selected by the faculty for their research accomplishments to be recognized at the South Dakota Capitol rotunda in Pierre on Tuesday, Feb. 17. Seniors Andrea Gorden, a chemistry major from Milbank, S.D., and Keenan Thomas, a physics and mathematics major from Rapid City, S.D., are among 10 students from colleges and universities in South Dakota invited to display their research in poster form. The Pierre Poster Session is an opportunity for undergraduate students statewide to showcase their research and for universities to highlight the state’s investment into research and graduate education.
Twenty-seven students from the Beacom School of Business at USD will have the opportunity to meet with Omaha, Neb., businessman Warren Buffett Friday. Although the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway limits his meetings with college students and faculty each year, this will be the third time in four years that Buffett has met with representatives from USD, including students from the university’s Financial Management Association International chapter. In addition to a 90-minute question and answer session with Buffett, the USD students will also dine with him at Piccolo Pete’s in Omaha. Look for the students’ reactions in next week’s issue of The Volante.
(AP) — A proposed constitutional amendment could lead to a major casino in the Sioux Falls area in response to a planned large-scale casino resort just across the border in Iowa. Two state senators from Sioux Falls, Democrat Scott Heidepriem and Republican Gene Abdallah, are proposing SJR1, a constitutional amendment allowing the Legislature to authorize new casinos to counter operations in states that border South Dakota. “If we can change the Constitution, can you imagine anyone investing in the one in Iowa?” Abdallah said. Their proposal would require an amendment to the state Constitution and a statewide vote before gaming could be expanded to Sioux Falls.