HIGHLAND HEIGHTS — A lecture by Dr. Cornel West, an African-American philosopher and race theorist, “Healing Through Justice: The Challenge to Our Torn Community,” scheduled for Friday at Northern Kentucky University, has been canceled due to illness.

Thomas More fund boosted by $750K
        A foundation that supports some of the brightest undergrads at Thomas More College this week added $750,000 to its endowment.

        The Crestview Hills Catholic school announced the gift from the James Graham Brown Foundation last week.

        It brings the foundation endowment up to $3.35 million, college spokesman Bob Edwards said.

        The endowment provides full tuition scholarships — worth $13,200 this year — to a total of 15 students at any one time.

        In addition to classwork, recipients participate in special seminars, community experiences and advanced research under honors program professors.

        Typically, scholars are chosen from sophomore and junior classes but exceptional freshmen also are eligible.

        Mr. Edwards said the Louisville-based foundation began its support with a $1 million challenge grant in 1980.

Bunning's baseball spikes on display
        FRANKFORT — A pair of spikes U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning wore as a baseball player are in a new sports display at the Kentucky History Center.

        Mr. Bunning, a Republican and Southgate native, played Major League Baseball from 1955 to 1971. He was inducted into Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame in 1998, the same year he was elected to the Senate after serving six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.

        Mr. Bunning's spikes from his days with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he played in the 1960s, are part of an exhibit sponsored by the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame and Kentucky Farm Bureau Insurance. It will be dedicated Thursday.

        Other items in the display include:

        • A Green Bay Packers jersey worn by Hall of Famer and Louisville native Paul Hornung.

        • A bust of boxing great Muhammad Ali of Louisville.

        • Uniforms, magazine covers and other memorabilia from Kentucky sports legends, including Olympian swimmer Mary T. Meagher, University of Kentucky basketball stars Frank Ramsey and and Ralph Beard.

Voters get more time to change parties
        FRANKFORT — The deadline for changing political party affiliations to qualify to vote in the May 2002 primary is Dec. 31.

        The new deadline was set after a decision in a lawsuit said the previous deadline of roughly 18 months before an election was too strict.

        Secretary of State John Y. Brown III said voters can change their party affiliation at any time but must do so by the end of this year to vote in the coming primary. Registration books for new voters will be open until April 30, 2002 for the May 28 primary.

        To change party affiliations, voters must fill out a new registration card and turn it in to their county clerk by Dec. 31 or have it postmarked by that date. The cards are also available on the secretary of state's Web page at http://www.kysos.com.

Christmas tree ceremony coming
        CRESCENT SPRINGS — The city will sponsor a Christmas tree lighting and caroling at 7 p.m. Thursday at the city building.

        Music will be provided by St. Joseph Choir, and Santa Claus will pass out treats for children. Refreshments will be served.

        Voluntary donations of canned goods or an unperishable food item are sought for distribution to local social service agencies.

Nuclear workers learn claims process
        CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Former workers at a now-closed nuclear weapons storage facility at Fort Campbell, Ky., are learning how to get $150,000 in compensation from the Department of Labor for radiation-related illnesses.

        About 100 workers from the facility they dubbed the “Birdcage” gathered at a restaurant Sunday to listen to Paducah Resource Center site manager Stewart Tolar.

        The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Act took effect July 31, and the Paducah office has taken more than 800 claims since then, Mr. Tolar said.

        He detailed what sick workers and their families, even those who died decades ago, can do to get the money.

        “We're taking claims every day,” Mr. Tolar said. “We're the closest (government-contracted) place people have to help shepherd them through the process.”

Memorials planned for heart patient
        FRANKLIN — A memorial service for Robert Tools, the world's first recipient of a self-contained artificial heart, will be here Saturday.

        The Rev. Dennis Holly will officiate at the 1 p.m. CST service at St. Mary of the Woods Catholic Church on North Main Street. Members of the Tools family are expected to attend the local service.

        Mr. Tools died Friday, 151 days after receiving the implant at Jewish Hospital in Louisville. He was 59.

        Jewish Hospital said a memorial service is being planned for Friday in Louisville.

        The family has requested that expressions of sympathy take the form of donations to The Robert Tools Benefit Account at all Integra Bank locations.

Wildlife refuge plan is on hold
        HENDERSON — A plan to create a federal wildlife refuge probably won't become a reality until a new U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service director is appointed, an official in Washington said.

        Frederick Milton, a wildlife biologist in Washington who has been shepherding the proposed Green River Wildlife Refuge, said he doesn't expect a new director appointed until the first of the year.

        “But at least we'll have it sitting on his or her desk, and they can make that decision,” Mr. Milton said.

        President Bush has proposed Steve Williams of Kansas as the agency's new director, but a Florida senator has placed a hold on that appointment.

        Rachel Levin, a staffer with the wildlife service in Washington, said Sen. Bob Graham placed a hold on Mr. Williams' appointment three weeks ago.

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