Charges dropped against ex-UA football player

Former UA football player Leo Mills avoided prosecution for allegedly running into a gas station owner with his car on March 5.

Prosecutors declined to press charges last week, but may still do so later if further investigation turns up new leads.

The incident occurred when Mills apparently pumped gas into his car and began to leave the Texaco at 1380 W. Prince Road. Police were told the owner stood in front of the car and told Mills to pay for the gas, but that the former running back, 22, hit him and slightly injured him.

Mills, a journalism junior, used up his eligibility last year and will not return to the football team this fall.

A resource for renters

The 2002 Renter's Resource Book & Childcare Guide is now available for UA departments to distribute to students.

The Renter's Resource Book is the University of Arizona's primary source to inform incoming and current students and their parents about housing in the Tucson area.

UA faculty and staff can also find information on housing and childcare resources.

This year the book arrives amid a dorm housing cap that will force most upperclassmen to leave residence halls and find housing off-campus next semester.

The book is available through Commuter Student Affairs.

Faculty Senate election fails to fill seats

Sixteen positions on the Faculty Senate are still empty despite an election last week.

The seats, all college representative positions, were not filled because no petitions were filled for them.

Two Committee on Committees positions were also left empty.

Barbara Bixby, Lynne Borden, Adrian Esparza, Edella Schlager, Chestalene Pintozzi, Roger L. Miesfeld and John P. Willerton were all elected college representatives in the election.

A runoff election March 22-April 5 will elect representatives to the College of Pharmacy and the College of Engineering and Mines.

Most of the colleges that still do not have representatives do currently have "at-large" senators.

The Committee on Committees' current membership submits nominees for the two open positions and forwards their names to Jory Hancock, chair of the faculty senate, for approval.

Memorial service honors former editor of UA public relations

A memorial service Saturday honored Robert Bruce Stirling, an assistant to former administrator Marvin "Swede" Johnson and editor of Lo Que Pasa, the university's staff and faculty newspaper.

Stirling died March 3 at age 80.

Stirling, born in Romeo, Mich., went to college at the University of Michigan where he worked for the Michigan Daily.

Later, he enlisted in the Navy and flew F6F Hellcats and F4U Corsairs in World War II.

He returned to Michigan and married in 1946 before coming to Tucson and landing a job as a reporter for the Tucson Citizen.

"He always struck me as the quintessential news hound," said Dianne Bret Hart, a former editor of Lo Que Pasa who also worked with Stirling at the Tucson Citizen.

"He should have worn a fedora and had his sleeves rolled up," she said. "He was a very good reporter. He was a character."

Stirling was appointed to the U.S. Information Agency and worked in several central and South American countries.

He returned to Tucson and accepted a position as editor of the Tucson Territorial newspapers until he went to work for Johnson in University Relations in 1970.

In the 1970s, Stirling held a contest to name the faculty-staff newspaper.

The winning entry was Que Pasa, but was later changed to Lo Que Pasa. Stirling was also editor for the Jubilaci—n, a UA retirees' newsletter.

He remained at UA until his retirement from Human Resources in 1982.

Lecture to address Tucson's growing role in optical sciences

In an effort to educate the public on the complexities of Tucson's increasingly important role in the optical sciences, the Optics Valley Lecture Series Committee will present their eighth lecture installment.

Thomas Meyer, associate director for Strategic Research at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, will present a lecture on Friday at 3 p.m. titled "Science and National Security at the National Laboratories."

Meyer is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Meyer, who is considered one of the most highly cited chemists in the world, has published nearly 500 papers and holds three patents.

He received his bachelor's and doctorate degrees in chemistry from Ohio University and Stanford University.

Workshop to assist small towns

The Community Planning and Design Workshop has issued its year 2002 Request for Proposals for designs that will assist communities.

The intent of the request is to help small towns and rural communities that need assistance in community planning and designing.

This year, funds are available to support projects that focus on the needs of the elderly.

The Community Planning and Design Workshop is a part of the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture.