The Modesto Bee from Modesto, California • 14

SECOND EDITION B-2 The Modesto Bee LOCAL NEWS FRIDAY MARCH 15 2002 Merced conference focuses on youth UC Merced chooses science division dean By MICHAEL MELLO BEE STAFF WRITER MERCED With the focus of making youth leaders the Merced County Youth Council begins a first-of-its-kind conference today bringing teen-agers and young adults from across the state to learn to help other young people Every county in the state has a Youth Council a coalition of individuals who together provide at-risk youth further education and opportunities to develop work skills tools back to tht oils so they are able to communicate more effectively with their youth" Vega-Ramirez said The conference at Golden Valley High School begins today and runs through Sunday It is the first in the state to focus on younger members of the Youth Council Vega-Ramirez said were encountering some problems getting youth on the said Gary Derr of the Private Industry Training Department The Youth Council administers programs such as tutoring Although the programs have worked well Vice Chairwoman Mayra Vega-Ramirez and committee chairwoman Suzanne Nunez saw a problem after attending a Youth Council gathering last year: went and there was a youth conference but no Vega-Ramirez said So a year ago they began planning a conference where the few young members of the Youth Councils could gather and discuss ways to increase their numbers hope they will take some Drivers miraculously survive head-on crash force a group of faculty from throughout the UC system guiding the academic development of the campus She also served on the advisory team for the science and engineering building The UC Board of Regents approved the position this week filling the second dean position this year Jeff Wright formerly an associate dean at Purdue University joined UC Merced in September as the dean of the engineering department University officials hope to select a dean of humanities social science and the arts before the end of the fiscal year June 30 have been long ongoing said Sheryl Lich-tig Wyan UC Merced spokeswoman Searches are under way for a director for UC Sierra Nevada Research Institute and for a vice chancellor for research who will also act as the dean of graduate students The university plans to open with 1000 undergraduate and graduate students in fall 2004 In addition to developing programs and courses between now and opening day the new deans and other administrators will lead the search for the 80 founding faculty members Cancer researcher served on advisory task force By ALEJAN0RA NAVARRO BEE STAFF WRITER The University of California at Merced has selected a renowned cancer researcher to head its science division Maria Pallavicini a faculty member at the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine will join the leadership of the planned campus on July 1 as the dean of natural sciences She will make $178500 a year She will be in charge of developing the science division which will include classes in biology chemistry mathematics and physics Pallavicini 49 is in the UC San Francisco departments of laboratory medicine and radiation oncology She also is a member of the Comprehensive Cancer Center Pallavicini received a degree from the University of California at Berkeley and a doctorate from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City Her experience includes working at the Ontario Cancer Institute in Toronto and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory She already is familiar with the Merced campus She served on the UC Merced advisory task Amtrak adds BEE STAFF REPORTS Amtrak will launch its sixth San Joaquin train Monday doubling direct service between Bakersfield and Sacramento The new train will travel north in the morning from Bakersfield and return south from Sacramento in the afternoon It will be the second round-trip train between those cities Four other San Joaquins operate between Bakersfield and Oakland Celebrations are scheduled along the route Monday City and county officials legislators businesses and representatives from Amtrak and the California Department of Transportation will take part in the planned events By MOLLY DUGAN BEE STAFF WRITER Officers responded to what looked like a deadly collision between a large delivery truck and small pickup on Highway 4 east of Farmington on Thursday afternoon But both drivers survived something the California Highway Patrol officers termed nothing short of miraculous The truck slammed head-on into the pickup just after 1 pm then overturned on a narrow two-lane portion of the road snarling traffic for hours But the drivers of both vehicles survived The CHP said Brian Edward Nolan 35 of Copperopolis was driving the pickup and David Wayne Finley 43 of Stockton was driving the truck Nolan suffered severe injuries and underwent surgery Thursday night at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto He was listed in serious but stable condition late Thursday a nursing supervisor said Finley was treated for minor injuries at Oak Valley Hospital in Oakdale and released a nursing supervisor said Officers said it was a miracle that Nolan was coherent when paramedics arrived at the scene guy (Nolan) was lucky He ought to be thanking the mentoring summer employment opportunities and skill training to 1100 people ages 14 to 21 It has just published a Resource which lists more than 100 places where youngsters can take advantage of free services from abuse counseling to employment assistance The list will be distributed to schools around the county and soon will be available on the Web site For more information on the Youth Council or county youth programs contact the Private Industry Training Department at 385-7324 MOLLY DUGANMANTECA BUREAU accident on Highway 4 on Thursday tried to steer to the side of the roadway but he avoid the collision Had the big rig hit the pickup a foot closer to the center the CHP said Nolan probably would have died instantly remaining electrical and plumbing fixtures and work toward restoring the natural flood plain Just as consistently some including Rep George Radanov-ich R-Mariposa have urged the possibility of rebuilding the campgrounds just want to make sure they're removed for the right Radanovich said Thursday are a lot of people who want those campgrounds to remain in the At request park officials are studying what it would take to return the Merced River campgrounds to operation even though they still intend to restore the area to natural habitat Park plans call for campsites to be replaced outside of Yosemite Valley The project list includes $21 million for a parkwide campground study which is supposed to be finished in December Department of Transportation workers clean up the wreckage from an Spending breakdown listed for Yosemite plan By MICHAEL DOYLE BEE WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON taken a while but Yosemite National Park officials have nailed down how they intend to spend $105 million in federal funds Most campgrounds will still have to wait The biggest-ticket items include rebuilding Yosemite Lodge for visitors and Curry Village dormitories for concession employees meet The accident occurred when Nolan who was driving west on Highway 4 moved into the east-bound lane to pass another vehicle the CHP reported Officers said Finley was eastbound and gress this week identifies the 15 park projects expected to be completed by September 2004 At an estimated cost of $33 million the Curry Village dormitory construction amounts to the single most expensive plan rebuilding Yosemite Lodge will take another $243 million Some projects even have a price tag yet The project list for instance states that an "Indian cultural center" will be designed by May 2003 in with Indian but no final price is identified the campgrounds though that have prompted some of the most intense interest both in California and on Capitol Hill The Merced River flood wiped out 374 of the 849 campsites available in all of heavily trafficked Yosemite Valley They haven't been replaced Park officials have said consistently since the flood that they intend to pull out the river camp- valley train Special activities are planned aboard the train from raffles to guest appearances by sports mascots from cities throughout the Central Valley The new train will leave Bakersfield at 7:15 am and stop in Wasco Corcoran Hanford Fresno Madera Merced Tur-lock-Denair Modesto Stockton and Lodi before arriving in Sacramento at 12:30 pm The train will stop in Merced at 10:08 am Turlock-Denair at 10:34 am and Modesto at 10:49 am Reservations are required For reservations fare and schedule information call (800) USA-RAIL visit wwwamtrakcom or see a travel agent ixi SNO LAWYERS! 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Divorce $1 89S349 Bankruptcy $1 25 Incorporation $399 Living Trust $399 Est 1985 Probate Services Available 1347 McHenry Offices Comer of McHenry Nationwide PpHHIP Ave Orangeburg ldaooi4 irte rtxFfit- (2091523-8227 IN BRIEF stars and everything else that he Sgt Emmett Morell said Morell said fatalities are common on this portion of Highway 4 where Stanislaus San Joaquin and Calaveras counties Replacing the dorms and fixing the popular visitors lodge damaged in a 1997 Merced River flood will account for nearly half of all the flood recovery money Congress has provided the new report to Congress shows looking forward to implementing the Yosemite spokesman Scott Gedi-man said Thursday think the visitors will benefit and the park will The Valley Plan Project List" submitted to Con- Brother sister shot MERCED A shotgun blast fired from a passing car injured a brother and sister Thursday night as they sat on their front porch in Merced police said The attack occurred at about 7 pm in the 600 block of 10th Street near Street Cmdr Tom Martin said The victims whose names were not available were a 21-year-old man and his 15-year-old sister They were in stable condition late Thursday at a local hospital and their wounds didn't appear to be life-threatening Martin said The shooter was in a 1980 to 1993 white Ford Taurus with black bumpers and narrow black stripes down the side DUI check Saturday Drivers in north Modesto on Saturday night might encounter a California Highway Patrol sobriety checkpoint The checkpoint will operate from 10 pm to 2 am The exact location wasn't revealed Drivers will be delayed only a few moments the CHP said unless of course they are under the influence All in the Same Gang COMPUTER Search for bodies moves SONORA A search for bodies in Don Pedro Reservoir will be expanded to New Melones Reservoir where a remote-control submarine will start aiming its camera in the next few days FBI spokesman Nick Rossi said sonar equipment has picked up several images at New Melones that merit closer inspection Divers on Monday searched about 140 feet below the surface of Don Pedro but found only debris The submersible vehicle should provide a clearer look at the New Melones sites Rossi said "and may even be used to retrieve a body or bodies" But it will take a few days to deploy the equipment he added An organized-crime investigation from outside the area is what got the reservoir search going in the first place That investigation turned up information that one or more bodies may have been dumped into Don Pedro and authorities suspect a body found last October in New Melones may be connected to the case The body was of a man whose hands were bound and whose head was covered by a plastic bag His identity has not been made public Vtv- Svru Introduction to Computer! 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