NEWSMAKERS

Political Insider: Ricky Lee Mattox, an underdog Democrat running for Congress in Ohio, posed as an inquisitive college student to get one of his opponents, Republican Rep. Donald (Buz) Lukens, to offer insights on running for Congress. Mattox said the advice was helpful. Lukens was convicted in May, 1989, of having sex with a teen-age girl. “If he had just told me he was Ricky Mattox I would have given the same advice,” Lukens said.

Family Secrets: All documents in the divorce suit filed by President George Bush’s daughter, Dorothy LeBlond, have been sealed, court officials in Portland, Me., said this week. None of the parties would give a reason for the court action. Bush’s only daughter filed for divorce from William LeBlond in January, saying the seven-year marriage had “broken down.”

For a Song: A $1.25-million chair in creative writing will be established at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., to honor author-country singer-songwriter Tom T. Hall. “This is the highest honor that’s ever come my way,” said Hall, who recently published his sixth book, “Spring Hill, Tennessee.” Hall has been a guest lecturer at the school.

The New Ole Miss: For the first time, a black student will run the Daily Mississippian, the campus paper at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss. Lee Eric Smith, 20, a junior journalism major, was named editor Wednesday. He won “by a large margin” over three white candidates, said Samir Hussni, journalism professor. Ole Miss was the site of race riots in 1962 after a court ordered that a black student be admitted.