News briefs

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Campus Briefs:

UVU instructor wins award – Linda P. Walton, advisor of the UVU student public relations firm and president of The Walton Group, Inc., a public relations firm in Provo, received the Provo-Orem Chamber of Commerce Women’s Business Network (WBA) Athena Award, a national award for women leaders.

“Athena recipients must demonstrate excellence, creativity and initiative in their business or profession, provide service to improve the quality of life for others in their community, and to assist women in reaching their full leadership potential,” said Nicke Brown, WBA president.

Walton is currently serving as the board chair for the Mountain Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, as an adjunct faculty in the Communications Department at Utah Valley University and as a volunteer at the Food and Care Coalition, and she is accredited and a Fellow with the Public Relations Society of America.

She is a member of the Utah Valley Ministerial Association and the Agency for Campus Ministries in Utah and is a co-advisor of the Interfaith Student Association at UVU, where she serves as a chaplain.

Volunteer opportunities – Juvenile Justice Services needs volunteers to make Halloween treat bags for youth. The bags are made at home, and gum cannot be included. For more information, contact Linda Campbell at (801) 491-0118.

English for Speakers of Other Languages volunteers are needed to help non-native speakers register for English classes. Volunteers need to be at least 18 years old and are needed Tuesday through Thursday. Hours are flexible. For more information, contact Abraham Hernandez at (801) 374-4904.

The American Red Cross needs telephone support volunteers to take messages for families from their loved ones serving in the military. Volunteers should be 18 or older and need to make at least a one-year commitment. Hours are from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., Monday through Friday, and the weekends for 24 hours. For more information, contact Nancy Housekeeper at 373-8580 or [email protected].

Rural Housing Development Corporation needs volunteers to help build houses for low-income families. Volunteers are needed Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and need to be 18 years or older. Groups and families welcome. For more information, contact James Hendricks at (801) 368-5231 or [email protected].

World briefs:

TOKYO – Killing a virtual spouse is a crime. A 43-year-old Japanese woman playing “Maple Story,” an interactive virtual life game, had her virtual spouse suddenly divorce her, making her so angry that she killed her virtual husband. Police said she was later arrested on suspicion of hacking. The woman is jailed on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data. She used her on-line husband’s identification and password to log onto the game and commit the virtual murder. Officials say the woman had not plotted any revenge in the real world. The woman faces a prison term of up to five years or a fine up to $5,000. This has not been the first case of misconduct regarding virtual interactive games. In August, a woman in Delaware was charged with plotting the real-life abduction of a boyfriend she met through “Second Life.” Another incident in Tokyo led police to arrest a 16-year-old boy on charges of swindling virtual currency worth $360,000 in an interactive game by manipulating another player’s portfolio using a stolen ID and password.

LONDON – The last living survivor of the Titanic, Millvina Dean, 96, is selling her mementos from the event to help pay her nursing home fees. She was only two months old when she was put into a lifeboat and saved from drowning. Among her collection is a suitcase from the event and letters from the Titanic Relief Fund. Dean, her mother, Georgetta, and brother Bertram Jr. were part of the 706 people who survived the sinking. Her father, however, was among the 1,500 who died. Dean did not know that she had been on the Titanic until she was eight years old and her mother told her how her father died. She has no memories of the sinking and has told the AP that she prefers it that way.

NORTH KOREA – North Korea announced that it will be disabling its key nuclear complex after the U.S. dropped them from its terrorism blacklist. It is expected that a breakthrough will occur to help energize stalled talks about ending the country’s atomic ambitions. North Korea’s nuclear program began five years ago and has since caused international discussion at dismantling the program. U.S. officials had insisted they would not take North Korea off its list of terror-sponsoring countries unless it accepted a thorough inspection of its nuclear program under an international agreement. This prompted the country to start reassembling its facilities and barring international monitors from the site. Washington announced it was taking North Korea off the list, saying that it had accepted all of its nuclear inspection demands. Countries still on the list include Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria.