Public Speaking-Albany Helping Hands-"Home for the Holidays"

Paul Barnes, Executive Director of
 Albany Helping Hands Homeless Shelter

Albany Helping Hands Executive Director, Paul Barnes stated, "Albany Helping Hands, I want you guys to carry out of here a vision in your mind that it's not just a building, it's just not a location, a thrift store or a garden market, it's these people."

The point of this event is to make the community aware of Albany Helping Hands and what it is doing for our homeless community. 

The program "Home for the Holidays" was discussed, which is a community wide event for members of the community and churches who want to support the work of Albany Helping Hands and also attend a seasonal event. It is held on Thanksgiving Eve every year.  This year was the "Sixth Annual Home for the Holidays".

The First Assembly of God church located at 2817 Santiam Hwy SE, Albany, OR 97321 provided the meeting location for this event.  It was held Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm, November 24th, 2011.

The crowd gathered in pews facing the stage were pleasant, gentle and helpful.   Consisting of mostly middle age residents of Albany Helping Hands Homeless Shelter, supporters of Albany Helping Hands and some of the church staff and supporters.

The Albany Helping Hands organization is Christian based and founded on the love of fellow humanity. Many of the homeless have become part of the staff at Albany Helping Hands.

Between speakers there was Dan Hartman, who entertained us by singing and playing guitar.  He is a very talented individual.  Everyone seemed to enjoy his entertainment.  Barnes enjoyed it so much he even requested an additional song.

Pastor Bill Lane, Albany Helping Hands board member,  also scontributed the comment, "Attitude is gratitude." Which fit well with the context of this event.

This year alone, Albany Helping Hands has helped 1,350 individuals that needed help, establishing 80 of these individuals into their own, stable, living environments.

The guests at the shelter donated 60,000 hours of their time volunteering.  They also have a program within Albany Helping Hands called TOPS (Training Opportunity Program) that helps build job skills and self-esteem.


Links:

www.albanyhh.org

www.albanyfirstassembly.org

http://storage.cloversites.com/albanyfirstunitedmethodistchurch


At a glance:

Who: Paul Barnes, Executive Director of Albany Helping Hands

What: Albany Helping Hands Homeless Shelter

When: Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm, November 24th, 2011

Where: 2817 Santiam Hwy SE, Albany, OR  97321

Why: Home for the holidays program


Contact Information for those in need:

Albany Helping Hands Homeless Shelter
Location: 619 Ninth Ave. SE, Albany, OR  97322-3210
Mailing address: P.O. Box 2252, Albany, OR  97321-0606
Phone: (541) 926-4036
Fax: (541) 928-6403

Profile Story

Deanna Barclay

Claim to fame:  Lead Preschool Teacher

Harriet Hedgcoth

Preschool Teacher/Driver

Periwinkle Child Development Center, located on the LBCC Campus, is now a full Headstart Program.  The merge of LBCC and Headstart is a wonderful combination. A majority of LBCC students' children qualify for the Headstart program, so having day care on campus is highly beneficial to the students and the children.   

The center is available from 9am to 3pm, Monday through Friday.  There is now cost for the Headstart program, it's not a traditional day care that you pay monthly dues.  However, your family has to meet certain income guidelines for your child to qualify.

The college actually called Headstart and invited them. The Headstart Program merged with Periwinkle to make it into a Lab School, which is when the students with education majors do observations from the observation room and also work with the children in the classroom. They’re here to learn how to get along with the kids, how to be a teacher, things that work and don’t work, and they also do activities with the children.  The teachers, aids and students are constantly interacting with the kids, getting down to their level, playing and reading on the floor together.
 
Although Deanna is the head teacher, they have never really had “titles” in the classroom, "just teachers". Ultimately, Deanna takes care of the supervisor duties.

Q.  Where did you attend college? 

A.  Harriet:  I started here at LBCC then became dually enrolled with OSU, so I graduated from OSU.  A.  Deanna:  Chemeketa Community College. 

Q.  Why did you choose to teach at LBCC or is it through the Headstart program? 

A.  Deanna:  Through Headstart, I had gotten a job with them for the first time. 

A.  Harriet:  Ya, the same for me.

Q.  How long have you been in the field? 

A.  Harriet:  I’ve been doing this professionally for about three years,  then I’ve had my own kids and ran my own day care in my home.  So, I’ve done it  professionally within Headstart for about three years, actually two years, sorry.  Then, I worked at this particular center before, at the Periwinkle Center.  So I did my practicants here and I worked as a substitute teacher for about three years and then at home I, gosh, ten to 15 years at home while my kids were young when I ran my own day care.  A.  Deanna:  I’m going on my 21^st year.  I started up in Salem , I worked at Chemeketa Community College, I did Headstrart up in Salem, then I worked at South Albany Child Development Center, then here!

Q.  What inspired you to work with young children? 

A.  Harriet:  I’ve always had a passion to help  young children, especially in the early years, the formidable years.  So they would have a good foundation, a solid foundation that would help them throughout their years and to just help kids to grow and be strong and to have a good outcome. 

A.  Deanna:  It’s something that I’ve always done.  When I was a teenager my parents adopted my nephew and so I’ve always been taking care of someone.  It just came natural and easy for me.  It was fun!  It was something that I always had interest in learning.  Every time I take one class it gets me interested in what is coming next; like how the brain functions and how this is our future.  This is the most important thing that someone could do, taking care of someone else's children.

Q.  What is your favorite thing about being a preschool teacher? 

A.  Deanna:  Every day is different.  You never know what each day is going to bring, so every day is exciting and it is fun!  If you’re not having fun then your kids see it, it’s really important always have fun in everything. 

A.  Harriet:  That’s it too, the fun aspect, having fun.  And like what you said, the challenges that comes with it, for me, it’s exciting to watch the kids learn and grow and how much they change over the course of the year.  Where they start at this level (holding hand low) and then they end up at this level (raising hand up high)  and it’s so amazing to watch them learn and grow.  Deanna:  The looks on their faces when they do something new and they actually did it by themselves for the first time and just the shock and the surprise and are so happy.  They can’t help but to make us happy. 

At a glance:

Who:  Deanna Barklay and Harriet Hedgcoth

What:  Preschool Teacher
When:  Weekdays from 9am-3pm
Where:  Periwinkle at LBCC (Kidco Headstart)
Why:  Daycare to help students
How:  State and Federal funding, volunteers and fund raisers

Links:

www.kidcoheadstart.org

www.naeyc.org

www.nhsa.org

 

Blog #2 / Media & Society

 I chose the movie "Trespass" for this blog project.   I chose this movie because it looked like an exciting movie and I like both of the main actors.

This movie was directed by Joel Schumacher, a couple of other films he is known for are Phone Booth (2002) and Phantom of the Opera (2004).

The lead actors in this film are:

- Nicolas Cage, also known as Nicholas Kim Coppola, changed his name early in his career to make his own reputation. He is the son of August Coppola (comparative literary professor) and brother of Francis Ford Coppola (Director).

-Nicole Kidman, known as one of Hollywood's top Australian imports, was actually born in Hawaii. The daughter of Anthony (biochemist and clinical psychologist) and Janelle (Nursing Instructor) Kidman. The family moved to Washington, D.C. where Nicole's father persued his research on breast cancer.

This movie is about a family that is held for ransom in their own home. During their whole ordeal the couple, husband (Cage) and his wife (Kidman), are discovering betrayal and deception through all of it.

 

This film is similar to a lot of the other work by Nicolas Cage, he plays in movies like this that are full of suspense.  Nicole Kidman plays in a wide variety of films, this particular film seemed to me to be one of her more "normal" roles meaning she is just a wife and there is nothing deceiving or supernatural about her. 

This film goes right along with the current genre.  We all love suspense!  The movie plot was intriguing, but Cage and Kidman have definately had better performances.

This piece of culture shows how ruthless people can be.  It shows how deceptive people can be, even the people the closest to you and how we will betray anyone that gets in the path of our sinful desires.

My interpretation of this film is showing us that we will do anything for or against our family and so-called loved ones.  On the other hand, it shows how we will do anything for money, status or just our own pleasure.  It also instills the loyalty that some of us have and never let go of.

Our Society loves this kind of excitement.  Our culture is notorious for this kind of violent, deceptive kinds of interests.  We are a culture of pushing everything to the extremes.

The strengths of this movie are the actors and the thrilling plot.  It's similar to other work done by the actors and is enjoyable entertainment, but I don't think it's the best work they've ever done.  Some of the professional critiques think this was a moderately good movie, but nothing outstanding.  Roger Ebert gave this movie a moderate review.

I like Nicolas Cage and watch and enjoy most of his movies.  I thought it was a moderately good movie, but nothing spectacular.  My boyfriend watched it with me and he liked it and said the action and suspense was there, but thought the plot had been done many times before.  I checked out reviews on other films Nicolas Cage has done, most of which I was familiar with.

After watching the movie and reading the reviews I found that everyone has a wide variety of opinions.  I have never researched and reviewed a movie before, so this was a new experience for me.  I didn't realize all of the different cites that are available for review and critiques.

Links:

www.RogerEbert.com

www.imdb.com

www.metacritic.com

Story #3 Snowflake fundraiser

  

The welding students are currently making snowflakes as a fundraiser to help pay for their certifications.

Each student needs four certifications, which cost $30 each and is not covered by financial aid.  This is a fun and creative way for them to raise this money.

Maybe you’ve seen the snowflake on display in the window of the welding shop.  The painted white metal in the shape of a snowflake with all of the white rope lights attached to it is absolutely stunning.  It was brought to my attention by Dean Dowless, a member of the faculty.  It's a great way to raise funds and decided to attend one of the ITS (Industrial Technology Society) meetings to find out more.

The meeting was conducted by Jon Rambousek, President; accompanied by James Robinson, Vice President; Fred Stuewe, Coordinator; and Mike McCreary, Secretary.


The snowflakes are made from quarter inch round stock steel left over from last year.  After being welded together with a mig welder, a type of wire welder, they are ready to be painted white.  The last step is to string rope lights through the fabricated snowflake and attached with zip ties.  The snowflakes are being sold for $50 each.

Trish Moorehouse with
 Jumbo Snowflake

Welding student, Trish Moorehouse, fabricated a jumbo version of the snowflake as suggested by her instructor.  The department was thinking about possibly selling these jumbo snowflakes for $75.  This is the only one of it's size that has been fabricated so far.

Pendulum

Cap for fountain

The welding department is involved in other projects around campus, as well.  Maybe you’ve seen the swinging pendulum on the ground floor in White Oak Hall.  There is now a protective barrier around the base of the pendulum platform, installed by welding student, Brian Gerow. 

One of the other exciting projects the department is currently working on is a cap for the water fountain in the courtyard.  This is currently being fabricated by welding student, Andrew Gastafson.  Gastafson was one of the students that went to the KC Skills USA competition last year. 

All of the details of the fundraiser were discussed during the ITS meeting. Surprisingly, there’s another part to this fundraiser that many may not be aware of.  Developed years ago by Dave Ketler, a member of the faculty, the pumpkin turkey is also being fabricated and sold by the welding students. 

Pumpkin turkey

To create a pumpkin turkey pieces are cut freehand with a plasma cutter from sheets of 18 gauge steel.  The pieces of steel, which consist of a head, tail and two wings, are inserted into the pumpkin of your choice.  This kit is being sold for $15.

Both of these items will be available in the Courtyard weekdays at lunch time, or in the welding shop from now until the last day of fall term.

Links:

http://www.linnbenton.edu
  

http://cf.linnbenton.edu/eit/weld/dowlesd/web.cfm?pgID=2270 

http://cf.linnbenton.edu/eit/weld/stuewef/web.cfm?pgID=4706

At a glance:

Who:  Welding Students


What:  Snowflake Fundraiser


When:  Now until the last day of Fall term


Why:  To raise money for welding certifications


Where:  The snowflakes can be purchased in the courtyard at lunchtime or in the Welding Department, located at IA 105

Media Blog #1/Eminem Chrysler Commercial

The company Chrysler is using Eminem and his hometown of Detroit to market their Chrysler 200 "Born of Fire".

I chose this advertisement to blog about because it uses Eminem, a famous singer/songwriter, to promote their product.  Chrysler's luxurious, but tough motor vehicle is from one of the toughest cities, with some of the toughest jobs for the hard working American who deserve luxury and superior quality.   This ad is just over two minutes long, but puts the emotional aspect to work well.  I saw this ad on the internet, there are several ways to view this online.  I added the video from YouTube and is from June of 2011.

The ad compares the toughness and quality of their product to to the toughness and quality of the person who grew up in Detroit. They use the combination of the city and of the social icon, Eminem to portray this.  It's definitely geared toward the plain folks that work hard for a living, combined with snob-appeal to reflect status.  The message is trying to capture the consumer that works for a living.  It compares how the "hottest fire, makes the hardest steel", combined with hard work, conviction and the know how we've been exposed to for generations.  Associating the ad with the typical hard working, middle class American that deserves only the very best as a reward for all of their hours, days, and years of commitment to their city and their jobs.  It uses technology such as, the internet and to promote and spread this companies message to the people.  The demographic is a great way to support the meaning of the ad by the way it compares the quality of the car, to the quality of our lives.

The use of Eminem in his native city of Detroit is a strong way to show and empathize with the working class American, who it's geared to target.  I definitely think this is one of the ad's strong points.  The use of a white rapper may cut out some of the consumer market, but definitely target's the younger generation.  This particular ad initially caught my attention by seeing the face of Eminem with combination of his music is a great way to catch the attention of the consumer market they are trying to focus on. The use of the social icon and music makes it memorable for me, I am definately intrigued by his music.  It makes me want to go listen to Eminem right now.

Chrysler won an Emmy for an Outstanding Commercial.  I would say it's definitely memorable.
It makes you want to own the new 2011 Chrysler 200. 

Links:

www.youtube.com

www.chrysler.com

http://www.adweek.com/video/advertising-branding/chrysler-born-fire-132934?auto

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.16822/title.eminem-chrysler-commercial-wins-an-emmy

Interview with Edna Buchanan

Interview with Edna Buchanan, done by Charlie Rose of the Charlie Rose Show on public television. Edna worked at the Miami-Herald for most of her career.  In the interview she talks about writing fiction.

When she worked at the newspaper she was treated like just a piece of furniture, after a while she just blended in, she was just always there.  This gave her an edge against the other reporters she's covered over 5 thousand murders.

In 1988 she left crime reporting to write fiction, however, she misses the day job with all of the excitement. She stated how, "A good reporter can be a victims best friend".  She also shared her opinion about the cops, "There's no better creature than a good cop, but the worst thing is a bad cop, scum of the earth, and can be the same cop both in the same day", she said. For cops, it's not just a job, its their life.

 Was there a gender benefit?  Well, she was the first to cover crime full time.  Britt Montero, her role model, is her fictional character in her book "Act of Betrayal". It's about betrayals of the past, current betrayals and how they connect. 

The moment she saw Miami, she felt home.  It was beautiful and sultry, her love for Florida was exciting to her and is great place for a writer.  There are always stories in Miami, it's always the main character in her books.  She's been married twice, once to cop, but only briefly.  In her opinion, all novelists' character's are what you would be if you were in that particular situation.

ROLLER DERBY Sick Town Derby Dames

Roller Derby has made a comeback.  After being extremely popular in the past, then fizzling out in the mid 1970's, it's come back full force.  There were many attempts from the mid 1970's - 1990's to revive the sport without much success.  Our local team, Sick Town Derby Dames is part of this comeback.  Based out of Albany, the league also has several members from Corvallis and even some from Salem.

There are a few "derby girls" here at LBCC. Miranda Prince "Dixie Skullpopper", is one of them. She works in the Learning Center, is a teacher's assistant and student.

"I had seen flyers for Sick Town around LBCC campus for a couple of years before I joined", said Prince. This was in fall of 2009. "I thought I was too old and too out of shape", added Prince.

She saw Cherry City Derby Girls in Salem for her first bout, it was the "Black and Blue Debut," in October 2009. It was then when she realized there were girls of all ages, shapes and sizes. "That's what made me think, maybe I could do it too", said Prince.

UPCOMING EVENT: "FURY IN FALL", November 5th @ The Linn Country fairgrounds.  Come support your local derby dames.

The sport of roller derby has three positions: Jammer, Pivot and Blocker.  The Jammer scores points by lapping the opposing team's players, they start 20 feet behind the pack, she wears a helmet cover with stars on either side.

The Pivots start at the front of the pack and set the pace, they also play as Blockers, she has a striped helmet cover. 

The Blockers start right behind the Pivots and assists the Jammer through the pack and try to keep the opposing teams Jammer from passing, their helmets are not marked.

A bout is separated into two 30 minute periods, which are divided into jams.  The bout begins when the referee blows a single whistle, the pack takes off and the first Jam begins. 

Then, there's a double whistle blown after the back of the pack reaches the start line, that alerts the Jammers to start.

The lead Jammer is the first Jammer to pass through the pack, no points are scored.  She is allowed to call off the Jam at any time by placing her hands on her hips, the points are tallied and another Jam will start.  If a Jammer laps the opposing team's Jammer she will score an extra point, this is called a "Grand Slam".

If a team member gets one major penalty or four minor penalties, she is out for one minute.  Major penalties would be any block above the shoulder or below the hips, skating in the wrong direction, or " unsportsladylike" conduct, like tripping. 

Minor penalties would be blocking with elbows and forarms, pushing or blocking to the back, cutting the track, blocking out-of-bounds and intentional falling.

Sick Town Derby Dames is always looking for "fresh meat" to recruit.  So if you are interested in being part of the roller derby comeback, come to the next new skater day.  More information about upcoming events available on their website.


Links:

www.sicktownderbydames.com

http://wftda.com

http://quadskating.com/roller-derby/websites.htm

LBCC offers career counseling services

     Why even bother meeting with an LBCC career counselor?  There is a broad spectrum of reasons why a student should or would consider this approach.  

     The Career and Counseling Center, located in Takena Hall, has many things to offer, such as: career information services, counseling services, personal growth classes, employment services for employers, cooperative work experience (CWE), service-learning and benefits for students.

     

     According to Mark Weiss, a career counselor of 22 years at LBCC, anyone can come to them.  The most common visitors are the brand new students that need help with academic planning, career assistance and goal setting.

     The career counselors are here to "help them make sense of it all", says Weiss.  However, they are here to help anyone who is undecided in their major or is making a transition of some kind.  

     LBCC is currently putting together a "career discovering group", which will consist of about 20 students.  First, the students will meet individually, then with a group to work on creating an education plan.

     

     The academic counselors research work with the career counselors to help the student narrow down their options.

     Students are given career tests by the academic counselors to determine their interests, skills and values. These are then used help match them to careers that would interest them as an individual.  The career counselor then meets with the student to explore and "help siphon out choices", says Weiss.

   

     Choosing a career is the second most important, intense and emotional decision a person has to do in life, the first being decisions regarding family/life partner.  "People come into college with nearly no training on where to even begin in choosing a career path", according to Weiss.

    

     Where to start?  The First Stop Career Center, also located in Takena Hall, is the starting point, from there an appointment is made and the process begins.  The career counselor starts by trying to clear any barriers to clarify, program of study issues and college procedures.  Then, they will advise the student on what to do next.

     Dory Timmons, 30, undecided LBCC student, was helped by Carla Raymond, a career counselor here at LBCC, to find a job on campus.  Timmons was advised about what steps to take and Raymond e-mailed her job opportunities and worked closely with Timmons' financial aid adviser.

     Career counselors will also help students with a crisis or personal problem, but typically this is not the area a career counselor would focus on and would only meet for these types of issues a few times.  However, students are recommended to meet with a career counselor every term to keep them on track, if needed.

     

    Timmons started working with Raymond in June and has been in constant contact ever since.  Timmons was referred to Raymond by her financial aid adviser, after she was chosen for the Federal Work Study Grant, then Raymond began to e-mail her job referrals and met with her once school started.

     According to Timmons, "you can't get a job for the grant through work study until you work with a career counselor first".


At a glance:

What:  This story is about reasons students should consider meeting with a     career counselor and the different services they have to offer.

Who:  LBCC career counselors and students.

What:  Career and counseling services available at the First Stop Career Center in Takena Hall.

Where:  First Stop Career Center located in Takena Hall

When:  Before every term. 

Why:  To inform students about the services the career center has to offer.


Links:

www.linnbenton.edu

www.linnbenton.edu/career center

www.linnbenton.edu/mark weiss