Bellingham Herald

• Judo thrives at Western club
  Since taking up judo nearly two years ago, Bellingham's Gary Gokee even thrives on a special feeling when he finds himself thrown by an opponent.
  Like all the more than 20 members of the Western Washington University Judo Club, he's intent on winnng. But for this 26-year-old, the journey is as important as the destination.
  

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• Huge weekend for Vikings athletics
  It was a great weekend for WWU athletics, as the football team lowered the boom on Humboldt State, the volleyball team beat lead-leading Western Oregon in a pivotal match, and women's soccer won in overtime.
  

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• Steam whistle passes test at WWU
  Western Washington University officials blew the Big Ole steam whistle Sunday, Oct. 19, during a successful test of its emergency notification system. WWU tested the whistle 59 times in two hours, beginning around 1 p.m., said Gayle Shipley, director of Environmental Health & Safety.
  

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• Former WWU Philosophy professor turns sci-fi writer
  Bellingham fantasy novelist Richard Purtill began reading science fiction as a boy in Chicago, but he didn't start writing fantasy until he was nearly 50. That was in the middle of a 34-year career as a Philosophy professor at Western Washington University, where he retired in 1996.
  

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• Vikings sweep MSU-B, prep for big Saturday showdown
  Nationally ranked Western Washington University took just 67 minutes to sweep Montana State University Billings 25-16, 25-18, 25-7, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match Thursday, Oct. 23, at Alterowitz Gym. Western returns home to host league-leading 24th-ranked Western Oregon (16-1 overall, 9-0 league), which is riding a 14-match winning streak, on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Carver Gym. For more Western sports news, click here.

Virginia Tech College Times

• Move over Prius, the Avion gets 110 mpg
  In 1979, two college friends decided to design and build a lightweight sports car -- the Avion -- and in 1986, set the Guinness World Record in fuel economy, averaging 103.7 miles per gallon. Bill Green, now an industrial design associate professor at Virginia Tech, and Craig Henderson, current owner of Bullfrog Boats in Bellingham, Wash., entered the Avion into the "Three Flags Econo Rally," a race from Mexico to Canada. After their car set the world record it was featured at the World Fair in Vancouver.
  While at Western Washington University, Henderson had hopes to become a biology professor."After going through programs and classes something else caught my eye -- The Engineering Technology department and Vehicle Research Institute," Henderson said.