As of February 1st, 2010, Linn-Benton Community College will have a new president. According to LBCC news, Gregory J. Hamann will take over for retiring president Rita Cavin.
Hamann has a very qualified background as far as his education. He has attended many schools including Gonzaga University where he got his doctorate in educational leadership, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where he received his masters in counseling psychology, as well as University of Minnesota for a bachelor's in psychology and social studies.
He also has great qualifications from his previous jobs. His most recent job includes serving as the president of Clatsop Community College. In addition he was dean of admissions at Northwest College and worked for 12 years in student services and administration at Whitworth College.
In LBCC's search for a new president, members of LBCC Board of Educations Richard Running, Ron Mason, and others went to see Hamann at Clatsop Community College. They board is overjoyed that Hamann has decided to take the job.
Follow up stories: How is he doing as president? What changes has he made or will he be making in the future?
Last week Marquis Spas had their monthly W.H.A.M meeting at the warehouse in Independence, Oregon. It was a meeting to go over What’s Happening At Marquis (WHAM). The meeting lasted about 30 minutes in which several members of Marquis talked about the different things that were going on. The meeting main objective is to get everyone in the factory on the same page.
Marquis has not been doing very well because of lack of sales since the economy went down hill. Also this is the off season for them and the company is just "trying to keep their heads above water until summer rolls around again." commented Mike Oravetz However, they are starting to bring their numbers back up and trying to conserve as much money and supplies as possible.
First to speak was Oravetz, and he just welcomed everyone and said what the meeting was going to be about. Next was Wes Prindel who discussed the financial numbers and showed how the company was doing as a whole with selling spas. Tony Gonzales went over the quality control and congratulated everyone on "having half as many defects as they did last month." Next birthdays and anniversary reminders were presented by Dave Leclerc.
Lastly Cheryl Porter told everyone about the Marquis sponsorships. "We are going to be having a tree with about 50 kid’s names on it that won’t be able to have Christmas this year." She asked that whom ever has a little extra money to buy a gift for a child. Also she talked about the office Christmas party and what everyone needed to bring.
The meeting was really important for all the people at the company. It helped to point out what the company needed to work on both as a whole and individually. I believe that having it all laid out and compared to prior months helps show everyone how the company is doing. The meeting wasn’t really formal just a little something in the middle of the workday. Everyone in the office and warehouse attended and helped with input.
Legalizing marijuana? Is it closer than we think? According to last weeks Commuter story "Smoke 'em if you got 'em" by Adam LaMascus, the California legislature are having meetings debating whether or not to legalize marijuana. In this story you will find that it helps point out different drug topics that are being discussed in other states.
While reading this story, there were a lot of easy to follow money facts. One of which was "Tax officials estimate legalizing and taxing cannabis could bring in an additional $1.4 billion in revenues to the financially cramping state. I say go for it, and I don't even smoke." It's in plain English that everyone can understand.
Also, the LaMascus states that while in college he has seen the effects of both cannabis and alcohol. He points out that alcohol causes accidents and alters judgments, which some legalization prohibitionists believe marijuana will do as well. However if alcohol, which we know has those effects, is legal then why isn't cannabis when we don't know the exact effects it will have on citizens?
LaMascus also brings up Harry J. Anslinger who opposes the legalization of marijuana. Anslinger says that cannabis will cause accidents and make people under the influence become angry. I really like the fact that the story tells little bits of each side. It gives the reader a chance to decide for themselves whether or not to go with the choices of legalization.
I really enjoyed reading this article because it helps to show you the facts on legalization and what both sides are thinking and fighting about rather than just showing to pros and it gives everyone the chance to make their own choice about which side to be on. LaMascus uses money facts and the topics that are still being debated to help give the reader information on legalization. Also all the facts about the presidents and marijuana use from the past lets you in on the fact that not everyone has been against it and not everyone will be against it.
When I first came into the news reporting class, I didn’t really know what to think. However, after the first few days I knew it would be one of my favorite classes. It’s taught by Rob Priewe, and he really lets you be yourself. So if you’re into writing this is a great class to take.
So far in the class I’ve learned that there are so many different ways of writing a story. You don’t have to stick with one specific style. You can choose one that fits your story best. I’ve also learned that not everyone is going to cover a news story the same way. It’s okay to do things your own way as long as you get the coverage that you need. One of the other things that I learned was on one of the first days of class. Less is more. This is probably one of the best rules I learned. Its helps to cut the rambling and just makes your stories easier to read.
I like the fact that Rob really allows us to talk about what we think about the stories and he actually takes in what we think. It’s really nice to be able to express what I have to say and also listen to what other people are thinking as well. Everyone in the class gets the chance to express their own individual writing styles and give feedback to you and show you something you may have never noticed before. The only reason I really took this class was to just get a feel for reporting stories, and I never thought I’d learn so much. News reporting has really helped me grow as a writer and that then helped me in some of my other classes.
Has there ever been someone in your life that really influenced you? Maybe more than you realized at the time? Well for me, that person was Tara Lee. She really helped me grow as a person and, in some ways, prepared me for college.
She is 33 years old and a theater teacher at Sprague High School. Lee started out at George Fox as a pre-law pre-med major but switched to majoring in education after she realized that her true love was, and always had been for education. Lee started out as an elementary school teacher and then moved around from grade to grade.
One day she was counseling at a church camp when she got an unusual call for a job offer from the Salem-Kiezer school district to be the new high school theater teacher at Sprague. Lee asked, “are you sure? I’m just an elementary school teacher.” Even though she thought she would be unqualified, she went to the interview.
During the interview she was telling a story about one of her students and the principal started to cry because of the way Lee descirbed her connection with her students. As she left the interview office, she was pretty sure she wasn’t going to get the job. Once they called her back, she was a little skeptical but decided to take the job. “It was so weird and out of the ordinary I knew that I had to pay attention to it.”
Now that Lee is the theater director at Sprague she handles all of the productions. Her favorite thing about directing is the progression and growth and seeing all of it come together right in front of her.
In addition, she doesn’t like that she’s always flying solo. She doesn’t want to bring any parents into it because “they muddy the water.” The stress is also a problem when it comes to directing by yourself. Mainly because it’s all on you, if you mess up everyone looks at you.Also, It's hard to be so close to your students and not be able to have all of them in your show.
One of the things I enjoyed most about having Lee as a teacher, was the way she connected with her students. She’s really passionate about them and even though she’s never had kids, she feels like she’s had hundreds. “I’ve learned a lot from just watching and observing.”
One of her former students, Brent Duford, commented "I liked how she could be official, and disciplinary like a good teacher, but also be so very casual and conversational at the same time." While she's directing she actually gets on stage to help you understand what she's asking you to do.
Her teaching styles are very hands on and I believe that helps her connect with her students because they are shown what to do rather than just told. Another student of Lee's, Dani Potter, shared "she is so willing to help us. Like if we have a problem with anything, she is super helpful. from school to the future."
The next production the Lee is directing is Diviners and it is showing at Sprague High School November 12th - 14th and 19th – 21st at 7pm.
Have you ever had an idea that you thought was amazing and turns out it was actually the stupidest idea you've ever made? Well so has Seth Godin. Seth is a guiding light in new age marketing and in his speech about standing out, he shares his little secrets on how to make your adds sell better and make you more money.
Godin started off by talking about sliced bread, he stated that in the first 15 years no one really knew about it or what it was. Then once wonder bread came along they helped it spread. "Ideas that spread win" was the quote on many of the pictures he showed throughout his speech. The heart of spreading ideas is using the T.V. and media. This helps to get your idea to more people and also to try and get them to remember your product.
That bring us to the TV-industrial complex, which is the idea that if you buy ads which gets you more distribution, then the distribution help you sell more products, that makes you more profits to buy more adds. However, they have realized that over the last few years that same thought process and way of working is no longer working. One reason why that is, is because consumers "have way more choices than they used to and way less time."
Seth goes on to say that they things that are going to sell are things that are remarkable. It used to be that companies were making average products for average people and just going for the center, but now we should instead market to the innovators and early adopters because they care "and if your lucky they'll tell their friends and it will spread through the curve."
At A Glance: Who: Sprague volleyball team What: Game versus North Salem When: Tuesday October 20, 2009 Where: Sprague High School Why: Game play Next Game: OSAA playoffs 2nd round @ 7:00 against Canby Results: Sprague won Scores: 14-25, 13-25, 22-25
Tuesday October 20, 2009 the Sprague Olympians varsity volleyball team took on the North Salem Vikings. Each match was incredibly close but Sprague ended up taking home the win due to thier impeccable teamwork. This win helped Sprague move closer to getting into the playoffs. Both teams fought incredibly hard and worked together till the very end and both skill levels were equally matched. Sprague's 2009 varsity team has a record so far of 9-1. North seemed a little psyched out seeing as Sprague was last years Central Valley Conference winners. The entire game kept you on the edge. It makes your heart race and your body clinches, you can only imagine how the players were feeling. With every hit the crowd would watch intently hoping their team would get it over and score the point.
Despite North’s effort, Sprague over took them winning three out of five games. The girls worked together really well and came together as a team, which was one of the main factors that helped them win. Some of the top players of this game were Kaleigh Nelson and Emily Oslie, both seniors at sprague, had some amazing blocks against the other team.
After the game Jessie Wright, one of Sprague’s assistant coaches and a player on last year's varsity team, told me that in order to win the next game “the girls need to communicate better and be more confident in themselves and in their skills.” The team didn’t talk very much or even very loud and that’s when they started making mistakes because some of the team didn’t know what was going on.
Saydie Leach, a former student at Sprague, shared with me that some of the teams strengths were that they helped each other out “if one girl messed up or didn’t get where they needed to be another one was there to step up and get the ball over the net.” She really enjoyed that the teams were so evenly matched. “Those games are the best because you never know what’s going to happen.”
Another crowd member was Kayla Kiger, a freshman and Chemeketa and also a former student at Sprague. She told me that she “watched a lot of games last year and this year's team really needs to work on their blocking.” She also added that the girls fell into the net a lot and need to work on digging the ball out. Although Sprague did win they have a few things that they need to work on if the want to continue on a winning streak. Wright also shared that she loves “watching the girls play because they have fun and such enthusiasm.” I’d have to say I agree, these girls play hard and leave their hearts on the court. If you enjoy watching a well matched game, go to the next Sprague game which is the 2nd round of the OSAA playoff's at 7:00pm against Canby @ Canby.
On Friday, October 9th, 2009 I got the chance to sit down and chat with Ms. Linda Taylor. Linda is a student here at LBCC who has ambitions to become a political writer. She grew up about 8 miles west of Sweet Home in a city called Crawfordville, Oregon. "I loved being in the country and hiking and horse back riding." Linda shared with me that she is going to be a grandma this coming January. "It's my first grand child" she added and its going to be a baby girl. While chatting with her she seemed to have a lot of hope that he family will live happy lives and be able to have bright futures. She really hopes her son gets engaged and has more grand kids for her. Linda commented that one person she'd love to meet is John Cougar Mellencamp "I have collected all his Cd's and love listening to his music". Also if Linda could go on one game show, she decided she'd want to go on Name That Tune. It was really awesome to be able to sit down and talk with her. She seems to have a lot of neat stories to share, so if you ever get the chance, maybe ask her to share a few. I'm sure she'd be delighted.
At a Glance: Who:LBCC staff and students
What: Crammed classes
When: Fall term 2009
Where:LBCC Why: Staff lay-offs and student increase
This year students are finding it hard to get into the classes they need due to the increase in students at LBCC. The staff at LBCC is doing everything within their power to help students get into classes, even if it means denying cost of living increases and cramming more students in their classrooms. After talking with Peter Jensen, an English teacher here at LB, he said it’s the worst year he’s seen in his career “this years staff voted to give up cost of living increase to save the jobs of other teachers.” With such a huge increase in students and a major decrease in staff members it’s hard to accommodate all the students. Most people seem hopeful and think that this problem won’t last long. Freshman Courtney Hogan commented “I’m sure over time things will get better and that they will create more classes.” In addition Jensen thinks it will take awhile but we will get out of it.
I chatted with Danny Aynes of Enrollment Services to see what his thoughts were. He shared that there a lot of older students this year “so many are coming back and trying to start fresh, they are starting lower so they can get a better degree.” Seeing as that’s the case most of the developmental classes such as writing, reading, and math are filling up the quickest. Also Aynes says that the most important classes are study skills and time management.
I’ve noticed that there are a lot of mixed feelings about waitlists as well. Freshman Hogan states, “I’m not on any of them, but for anyone who is it’s probably really frustrating to just sit and wait.” Aynes told me that the waitlist are limited by technology and it could be better. He also adds “the staff wants kids in class, even if you’re on the waitlist try and get in.” If you show up and you’re on the waitlist, most of the staff will let more students take the class. However thats not always the case, Jensen commented “some classes I may add two or more but others like writing 227 there are only 25 computers so we can only allow 25 students.”
In addition there are some class alternatives for a few classes. If your not an English major you can take any introduction class, but with writing classes your stuck with what you have to take and may have to put it off till next term. Also if you don’t get the classes you need this term just make sure to look into early sign ups for next term. The staff wants to see you finish here rather than some where else, so show up even if your wait listed. Although it may not be available to you now if your a first term student just know that you can sign up early later on when it’s more crucial for you to get you credits and graduate.
If you have any questions or are looking for more information, you can either call the LBCC Admissions office at (541) 917 4822 or email Danny Aynes in Enrollment Services at aynesd@linnbenton.edu
Hello (: Welcome to my blog. I'm Stacie and I am currently a student at Linn-Benton Community College and I am a journalism major. I really like music and going to shows, they are so fun and a good way to let loose. I hope to one day become a radio personality or work on E! news or maybe even for Rolling Stone.
