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March 2006 News

Marquette General restructures health care

By Paula McCambridge  Posted 03/31/2006  

MARQUETTE, HANCOCK -- Local health care system leaders are declaring their commitment to keep all local services up and running as they face the impact of cuts by Marquette General Health System. Plagued by budget problems and recent layoffs, Marquette General Health System is unloading two local health care services that will include its dialysis center located in Portage Health System and Mercy Ambulance Service, and plans are to make the changes within the next three months. Marquette General CEO Bill Nemacheck said that it is his intention to transfer ownership of these services rather than to close them and also to retain most jobs. more

MTU's Engineers Without Borders helps Bolivian school

Posted 03/30/2006  

HOUGHTON -- Just a little more than a year old, Michigan Tech's chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB-MTU) completed its first international project in November 2005, when seven students and two MTU Professors, David Watkins and Kurt Paterson, both faculty in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, spent about a week building a sewage treatment system and bathroom facilities for the Buen Samaritano (Good Samaritan) School in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Much of the assessment and design components of the project were completed by Michigan Tech International Senior Design (ISD) students who subsequently founded EWB-MTU. Some of the students in the group are also MTU Peace Corps Masters International students. The three groups work together on projects; and EWB now has 75 members volunteering their time, raising funds for future projects and doing outreach in the local community as they become better engineers and citizens of the world. EWB members share their experiences and two pages of  photos. more
Photo: EWB member Laura Oman poses with her new friend, Erman, during a break in the November 2005 EWB construction project in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. (Photo © 2005 Kurt Paterson. Reprinted with permission.)

MTU's President Mroz salutes U.S. Peace Corps on 45th Anniversary

Posted 03/03/2006  

HOUGHTON -- The U. S. Peace Corps, founded by President John F. Kennedy on March 1, 1961, has been celebrating its 45th anniversary this week, through March 5. In honor of Peace Corps Week, Michigan Tech University President Glenn Mroz issued a statement recently in Tech Today, noting the three goals of the Peace Corps: "to provide volunteers who contribute to the social and economic development of interested countries; to promote a better understanding of Americans among the people whom volunteers serve; and to strengthen Americans' understanding about the world and its peoples--to bring the world back home." Mroz noted MTU "is proud to partner with the Peace Corps in the advancement of its mission through the Master's International program, which enables our students to combine studies toward master's degrees with Peace Corps service." Presently MTU has Peace Corps Master's International programs in forestry, civil and environmental engineering, geology and education. Visit the U.S. Peace Corps Web site for more information. Read President Mroz's statement in the March 2 online issue of Tech Today. Photo: Amber Kenny of Houghton, an MTU Peace Corps Master's International volunteer, with a family in her village in Togo. Click here or on photo for larger version. Watch for coming articles on MTU Peace Corps Master's International volunteers. (Photo © 2006 Amber Kenny and courtesy MTU Forestry Dept.)

Rich Brown appointed ranking Democrat on Appropriations Committee

Posted 03/02/2006  

LANSING -- State Representative Rich Brown (D- Bessemer), who is serving his third term as 110th District Representative, was recently appointed as Minority Vice-Chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. Brown brings a wealth of appropriations knowledge to the position, having been a member of the Committee for over five years. "I am very glad to have the opportunity to serve as the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. The next few months will be very challenging as we deal with a shortfall of revenues to the state budget," said Brown. “I look forward to working with members of both parties and Governor Granholm to fix our budget problems while preserving essential services for the people of Michigan and the Western U.P.” more

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