---

Auburn Hosts First National Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology Conference

By Sarah Phillips/ Staff Writer | July 16

Auburn recently was host of the first-ever National Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology (BEST) Conference on June 18 through June 20.This was a first for Auburn, as it was recently named the national BEST headquarters in January thanks to the work of Mary Lou Ewald and George Blanks."Auburn has a rich tradition of outreach programs for K-12," said Ewald, director of outreach for the College of Sciences and Mathematics and Vice President and Regional Representative of BEST Robotics.

Lee County Sheriff's Office Web Site Provides Sex Offender Profiles

By Jaclyn Dunn/Staff Writer | July 16

The Sheriff's office of Lee County is offering a Web site that lists all registered sex offenders in the Lee County area.The Web site is available to all citizens, and it allows them to see all registered offenders living within two miles of any physical address.The site is updated daily, making it as accurate as possible.

ChaCha Texting Search Service Brings Competition to Google Text and Foy

By Courtney Johnson/Staff Writer | July 16

ChaCha, a new search engine, has danced its way into the competition to rival others like Google text and Foy.ChaCha (242-242) is a service that users can text with any question, and they will text you back with the answer within one to five minutes, said Brian Nunez, an undeclared sophomore in liberal arts who has worked for ChaCha.Nunez said users can ask ChaCha anything from movie times to sports scores and that they can answer pretty much any question regardless of the nature."If you work for them, you sign in on your computer and questions pop up, you look them up and then type them a message that answers their question," Nunez said.The major difference between ChaCha and Google text is that ChaCha is answered by a person said Blair Stapp, a senior in graphic design and employee of ChaCha."There are fallacies that come along with that, because as humans, we're always making mistakes," Stapp said.

Driveway Valet Takes Students and Cars Home Safely

By Natalie Nettles/Intrigue Editor | July 16

A night on the town can be an ideal way to relieve the stress of school, but often leaves students making poor decisions when it comes to driving home.However, a new Auburn business, Driveway Valet, is doing its part to keep students from getting behind the wheel after drinking.Owner and Auburn alumnus Timothy Patton said the company's goal is to get individuals home safely in their own vehicles."You give us a call, and we get a driver to you as fast as we possibly can," Patton said.

Cell Etiquette Pushes Buttons

By Grace Henderson/Staff Writer | July 16

This generation might have mastered the art of text messaging, but it still has a thing or two to learn about etiquette.July is "National Cell Phone Courtesy Month," so there's no better time to learn than now."Face-to-face interactions with people should always take precedence over our technology devices," said Shanna Carter, the founder and president of Premiere Image Consultants in Auburn.

Adults Taking Over Facebook

By Jaclyn Dunn/Staff Writer | July 16

Is the idea of a virtual hangout for college students slowly being taken over by parental control?Facebook's largest age group is now ages 35 to 54, accounting for 28.2 percent of all U.S.

Tiger Transit Will Run at Night

By Justin Dorman/Staff Writer | July 16

Auburn University is looking to improve the safety and security of students on campus by implementing a new nighttime bus system this fall.The new night transit will assist in getting students from downtown to the stop of their choice, be it on-campus or off.Auburn's SGA helped design a system that now allows two different busing systems to co-exist and run efficiently.The Night Security Shuttle will provide security for the students going from parking lots to the dorms or other on-campus locations, but will no longer provide the taxi service for those in need of a ride downtown.This bus system will run like the Tiger Transit, but SGA President Jacob Watkins said it is important the two not be considered the same, as the routes differ slightly and the funding for the two systems comes from different places."Everywhere it stops is still a Tiger Transit stop, but we've consolidated some of the daytime routes into one route," Watkins said.

Johnny Green resigns as dean of students

By Allison Clark / News Editor | July 15

Johnny Green announced his resignation from the position of dean of students through an Auburn University e-mail Monday.Although his resignation was effective Tuesday, Green does not plan to leave the University altogether."I'm looking at different opportunities that have been identified and am very interested in," Green said.

Auburn Magazine Wins Two CASE Awards

By Sarah Craft/Associate Copy Editor | July 9

Auburn Magazine, the official magazine of the Auburn Alumni Association, is being recognized in July by two awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). The magazine received national honors in their district for the categories of Best Articles of the Year and Periodical Staff Writing for External Audiences.The Best Article of the Year winner was an article from the Fall 2008 issue of Auburn Magazine titled "God's Man: The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Millard Fuller," written by Associate Editor Suzanne Johnson.

Auburn Starts Success Strategies Course for Veterans

By Courtney Johnson/Staff Writer | July 9

Auburn is working to keep military students in mind and focus on helping veterans continue their education through a course called Success Strategies in the Veterans Learning Community (VLC).Auburn has made this course available for the upcoming fall semester and its goal is to help transition students in the military back into the university setting."Success Strategies is an opportunity for prior service veterans, active duty, National Guard or reserves," said Steve Barnard, Auburn University Veterans Affairs Certifying Official.David DiRamio, an assistant professor in the College of Education, is the developer and teacher of this class because of his military history."This section of success strategies will help military students to develop personal learning and studying plans, and it will also address aspects of transition from military service to the college setting through guest speakers and peer connections," DiRamio said.

New Aid Program Targets Student Funding

By Sarah Hansen/Associate News Editor | July 9

The U.S. Department of Education has established a new student financial aid program which is already in effect at Auburn University.Income Based Repayment encompasses all major types of federal student loans."The program caps the (student's) monthly payment based on income and family size at 15 percent of discretionary income," said Charles Markle, manager of Financial Aid Services.

Going Green on the Plains: AU Recycling

By Andrew Sims/Online Editor | July 9

What's that buzzing sound? No it's not an old cell phone.It's the sound of new ideas being generated by the people at AU Recycling as they expand their electronic waste recycling program."Right now we give all of our collected, unseparated recyclables to a company called Creative Recycling," said Donnie Addison, coordinator of recycling and waste management reduction.

Haley Goes Dough-Nuts

By Courtney Johnson/Staff Writer | July 9

Daylight Donuts is expanding its horizon by adding a self-service doughnut shop to Haley Center.Bill Springer, owner and manager of Daylight Donuts, is anticipating the arrival of the new location.Right now, the plan is a self-service display case with fresh trays of doughnuts and bags available so that customers can grab a doughnut on the go, he said."We feel honored to be able to go in and offer our doughnuts to campus," Springer said.

Meal Program Needs Support

By Jennifer Beckett/Staff Writer | July 9

Homebound. Alone. Hungry.Many do not know about the hundreds of people in Lee and Russell counties who struggle through each day and wonder when, or if, they will have a next meal.That is why the Area Agency on Aging recently extended an urgent request for donations to its unique Home Delivered Meals Program."As of May 1st, there's a waiting list for 191 people who asked for food," said Peggy Todd, AAA board member.

Sips and Strokes for Different Folks

By Courtney Johnson/Staff Writer | July 2

A new business in Auburn is painting the perfect picture for a night out on the town.Sips N Strokes, located on University Drive, allows customers to get creative by participating in a painting lesson and going home with their completed work.As the name implies, customers are invited to bring in a beverage of their choice to enjoy while they paint.Brad Baggett, owner and manager of the Auburn branch of Sips N Strokes, said the painting classes are offered Monday through Saturday."Monday through Wed-nesday the classes are two hours long and cost $25 and from Thursday through Saturday, Sips N Strokes offers three hour classes for $35," Baggett said.The paintings offered during the three-hour classes are slightly more difficult.

AU Sailing Club Invites Students to Come Sail Away

By Andrew Sims/Online Editor | July 2

Setting sail for college has never been quite so literal until now. The Auburn Sailing Club is currently recruiting crew members for the fall of 2009.The AUSC is open to members of any skill level.

Outreach Program Office Offers Tips for Summer Activities

By Stephanie England/Staff Writer | June 9

The Outreach Program Office at Auburn University is giving students something fun and educational to do this summer. Beginning this week and throughout the rest of the summer, a wide variety of non-credit classes are being offered to students and the rest of the community. "We always have quite a few people from the community taking these classes," said Lydia Walls, the community courses program director. According to the Outreach Program Office's Web site, 50-75 short classes are being offered. With options like fly-fishing, ballroom dancing, sign language and T'ai Chi, students can take a class in almost anything they want.Several of the classes have continuously retained their popularity throughout the years, Walls said. "Ballroom dance is always a popular class with students as well as couples in the area," she said. In contrast to ballroom dance, the Texas Two-step is another dance class that the Outreach Program provides.Consistently one of the other most popular courses is the Basic Handgun Safety class and spots are always limited, Walls said.The class teaches the rules of safe gun handling, the fundamentals of marksmanship, and laws pertaining to the use of handguns, according to the Outreach Program Office's Web site.

Professor develops catfish hybrid

By Laura Vaughn / Staff Writer | May 4

The aquaculture industry is the fastest growing form of food production in the world, and almost half of the fish eaten by humans is produced by the aquaculture industry, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.One of the largest components of the aquaculture industry is farm-raised catfish, which account for 572 million pounds and $421 million of the industry annually, according to The Catfish Institute.The catfish idustry plays an important role in the economy of the Southeast, but it is facing enormous competition from overseas.