The waters of Copeland Creek have many moods during the year.
(Photo by Linnea Mullins)
Nature's Way
Sometimes a Creek Needs Friends
by Lakin Khan - A creek by definition is small. A brook perhaps is smaller. A rivulet, of course, is smallest of all. But there are times when creeks slip their definition, ditch their nomenclature, ramp up in magnitude; rough, un-fordable, churning with the overabundance of rain and run-off, they jump from brook to stream to creek to small river. We have such a creek in our midst. Full Column
Longtime SSU Geography Lecturer
Doug Powell Dies in Berkeley
Longtime SSU geology lecturer Douglas R. Powell, (1990-2001), passed away in Berkeley on Jan. 23 after a lengthy illness. He was 85. A memorial service will be held on at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11 in the Great Hall of the International House on the UC Berkeley campus. Powell came to SSU after decades of scholarship and teaching at UC Berkeley. He taught physical geography, geography of California, climatology, meteorology and California and Western regional field classes.
He was well known for his high academic standards, anecdotes from his extensive world travels, and striking slide collection. He served as the lecturers' representative for the Faculty Union through the 1990s. Powell always enjoyed the opportunity to speak in Dr. Peter Mellini's WWII history seminars regarding his experiences as a decorated infantryman in Europe.
He was a leader in the California Department of Water Resources snow surveys, a recognized authority on the physical geography and history of Alaska, the White Mountains of the Eastern Sierra Nevada, the Owens Valley, the Central Valley/Delta Region, general climate studies, and western water resources. His expertise was in demand throughout his career from media sources as varied as the Atlantic Monthly and PBS/Nova specials.