There was a newsfeed block for Moodle 1.4.x that you could integrate into your site.
Think twice before you proceed. In some months there will be another functionality you want to add to your site. It will take a lot of time to keep rewriting modules / blocks to keep them working on a modified Moodle 1.4 install.
I think it is better to keep your Moodle site updated (also for improved security) and invest time in rewriting your customisations so they are easier to maintain when Moodle upgrades.
Moodle 1.5 and 1.6 have already made this easier by adding css stylesheets (you can customize the look of most things without touching Moodle core code) and by making the resource and assignment module extensible using plugins.