Ex-Chair: UI Didn’t Back Clone Expert

Wed., March 11, 2009

Dr. Dirk Vanderwall, left, of the University of Idaho talks about mules with Penny Stokes, center, who is the barn manager at the Jacklin farm near Hauser while two students from Northwest Christian School check out Lochsa, one of the Jacklin's mules Friday, April 13, 2007. The farm hosted a group of junior high students to learn about the project to clone mules, which was sponsored by Don Jacklin, a mule enthusiast, and they learned of Vanderwall's work on the team that accomplished it. The cloned mules were born at the University of Idaho and are now being trained for the racing mule circuit. The clones were not at Jacklin's farm for Friday's event. JESSE TINSLEY The Spokesman-Review (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)

By D.F. Oliveria daveo@spokesman.com (509) 319-0354

In this April 13, 2007, file photo by Jesse Tinsley/SR, Dr. Dirk Vanderwall, left, of the University of Idaho talks about mules with Penny Stokes, center, who is the barn manager at the Jacklin farm near Hauser while two students from Northwest Christian School check out Lochsa, one of the Jacklin’s mules. Now, Vanderwall is leaving the campus, as did his colleague Gordon Woods in 2006. The departures will probably lead to the demise of the Northwest Equine Reproduction Laboratory. From day one, the University of Idaho didn’t give proper support to the renowned lab that created the world’s first cloned mule, and now it is paying the price, the former chairman of its advisory board claims. For more of Joel Mills/Lewiston Tribune story, click here .

* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "Huckleberries Online." Read all stories from this blog