Daily News

Posted on July 10: Molding a monk using iron and fire

Want to know how to weld a monk? First, you take iron. Then you add fire. Master blacksmith Eddie Payne will show you how today in the Zone 1 parking lot. He is one of 12 artists displaying blacksmith talent at McMaster July 10-13. During the fourth annual CanIRON Conference, called "Share Our Fire", blacksmiths are providing demonstrations on welding, firing and molding iron. Six rows of Zone 1 are blocked off at the north-east side of the lot, north of Les Prince Field for the event. The public is invited to view some of the demonstrations, although most sections are reserved for conference participants. More than 250 participants from North America and Europe are attending the conference, with many staying in residence. "I'm really excited," says organizer Rowlande Rozon, also an artist and blacksmith. "We're expecting a lot of guests from the general public, as well as artists, blacksmiths and galleries." She hopes the conference keeps the fire in blacksmithing alive. "What we're trying to do is make sure the art is passed on and it's not lost on future generations," she says. That is why demonstrations are so important, she says, since artists learn the art by watching and learning from others.

Posted on July 9: Old-time distance running meet displays 25 laps of pain

McMaster's track will be the site of one of the fastest 10,000 metre events on Canadian soil today. The Hamilton High Performance 10,000 Meter Footrace features 10 Americans, seven Canadians, four Kenyans and one runner from the Congo. The race gets under way at 9 p.m. "Old-time distance running makes a return to McMaster," says meet director Peter Self. "Twenty-five laps of pain will be on display Wednesday night from this high-quality field." The top seed for the event is Peter Ntabo (28:01) a native of Kenya who currently resides in Hamilton. The two seed is a Niagara resident, formerly of the Congo, Giitah Macharia (28:02). The third, fourth and fifth seeds from the United States are Rich Brinker (28:36), Brian Sell (28:36), and Joe Driscoll (28:48).

Posted on July 8: Registrar accepts post at OUAC

Registrar George Granger announced today that he is resigning his position at McMaster this summer to accept the post of executive director of the Ontario Universities' Application Centre (OUAC). Effective September 2, 2003 Granger will begin his new post at the OUAC offices in Guelph. Reporting to the president of the Council of Ontario Universities, Granger will be responsible for the delivery of a centralized admissions application processing service for Ontario's universities. He will also oversee the development of the Centre's related policies, principals and procedures. OUAC processes applications for all undergraduate programs as well as teacher education, law, medicine and rehabilitation sciences. "George's insightful leadership has been instrumental to the advancements in managing McMaster's recruitment and admissions processes," says provost and vice-president academic Ken Norrie. "His wealth of experience has contributed to the Registrar's Office implementing effective new systems to accommodate the changing needs of prospective and current students, including the special requirements of the double cohort era. George has developed strong working relationships with his staff and people at all levels and we'll all miss working with him."