A night of terror, FrightTown brings shivers to Portland

It's a time for spooky noises, dark alleys and scary costumes. Drapes rustle, candles flicker and the moon is high in the sky. Halloween is upon us and there are more than enough events to capture the holiday spirit. Aside from the copious amounts of candy creating sugar induced comas for all ages, there are many ways to enjoy the night. One the scariest ways is haunted houses.

The coliseum is dark inside, with few lights on, just enough to walk around and not run into anyone. There are screams of fright and enjoyment right as you enter.

People stand in groups, while zombies, vampires and face painted characters walk around, jumping at you to scare you, running after you, or just popping up behind you quietly.

People stand in lines waiting to enter the haunted houses. Anxious and scared, while hearing frightened screams from the other side. All for fun and entertainment, these haunted houses are full of fright for anyone.

Baron Von Goolo's “FrightTown” in Portland, Oregon has been named one of the best haunted houses event in Oregon. Horror culture magazine, Rue Morgue, has called FrightTown, “one of the best haunted attractions on the whole continent!”

And with three indoor haunted houses at one location for just one ticket, “FrightTown is also your best value for Halloween entertainment this year.”

“This is FrightTown's 11th year running,” said executive director, Dave Helfrey. “our all new haunt, The Contagion, drops you into the heart of a city ravaged by an unstoppable zombie plague! There's something to scare everyone at FrightTown!”

FrightTown is located in the Exhibit Hall at the Rose Quarter, on Portland’s east side between the Broadway Bridge and the Steel Bridge. FrightTown is below the Coliseum: in fact, you enter FrightTown off of the courtyard in front of the Coliseum.

WHAT:

FrightTown Portland
October 5-7, 10-14, 17-21 and 24-31
7-11 p.m. Fridays & Saturdays
7-10 p.m. All Other Nights
Tickets are $20 | All Ages 

WHERE:

Veteran’sMemorial Coliseum
1401 N Wheeler Ave
Portland, OR 97227 

“This year was my first year going,” says local resident, Jerry Range, “I'm all for zombies and everything, so before I even walked into the coliseum and saw a guy outside with a chainsaw I already knew I was going to love it.”

FrightTown is open the whole month of October. It first opened on Friday October 5,. It stays open 21 nights through Halloween. They are closed every Monday and Tuesday except for the last week of the month leading up to Halloween.

The doors open at 7pm every night, closing at 11pm on Friday & Saturday and 10pm on all other nights. For more information and a chance to win free tickets, go to frighttown.com.

While haunted houses are for fun, they are not for everyone.

“As Baron Von Goolo would say "You can pay for a babysitter tonight or a therapist tomorrow,” said Helfrey. “Haunted houses are about being scary and we are very good at what we do. While we have no age restrictions at FrightTown, the management does not feel that FrightTown is appropriate for very young children.”

“The makeup was amazing, zombies had fake blood on their faces, things would jump out at you,” said resident of Albany, Kara Baugher. “There were a few times where we would come up to a dark room around a corner and I would make someone I didn't know go in front of me.”

FrightTown offers disturbing and often risqué humor. The first haunted house, “The Contagion,” is intensely scary and graphic full of zombies and graphic scenes.

“This year we were fortunate enough to actually have one of the makeup artists from the television show Grimm, help with special effect makeup,” said Helfrey.

The Black Box features scenes of gore and mayhem. Finally, there is the Museum of Horrors. Where you discover the sewer-licious abominations that dwell within this new exhibit, “The Storm Drain of Ultimate Stank!” 

“The set up, the costumes and the makeup was absolutely amazing. I am definitely going to try and get more people to go next year,” said Range.

Helfrey said that they have had four year old kids go through our haunts and have a lot of fun, laughing and smiling. While forty year old adults have gone through and literally soiled themselves.

“This is a very subjective call and we will always rely on the judgment of the parents or guardians,” said Helfrey.

If you are ready for a night of fright and the time of your life, take a trip up to FrightTown. Where zombies are abundant, vampires are thirsty and there enough scare to last a lifetime.

Saving students money

 Saving students money

The lines stretch for miles, the wait seems endless and patience seems wavering. During the first week of each term, the Linn-BentonCommunity College Bookstore is always abundant with loud chatter and people everywhere. Students are all in line waiting to buy books and supplies for their upcoming classes. There is always help in the bookstore for students looking for books or classroom requirements.

Kayleen Justensen, a junior at LBCC, has been going to the bookstore to buy books for about three years. She talks about her process of buying books from the store.

“Typically, I print off my schedule and take it in to the bookstore and the helpful staff help me find my books.” said Justensen.

However, some students pay for books out of pocket or with financial aid, which in some cases can be difficult considering some of the book costs. Workbooks and textbooks can range from a couple to a couple hundred dollars depending on the class and the textbook.

“They change a few pages and make new editions causing the price to rise or making it hard or impossible to find online,” said Laniesse Sherman, a new student to the LBCC campus, “they also charge a huge price for an online code where you don't even get anything out of it because it is a one time use.”

The first week of a new term at the bookstore always seems the most tedious. The waiting line seems to stretch forever with students waiting to buy books. There is comfortable music being played, and you are able to stand with friends and chat, but the wait is not for everyone.

A couple students had a few ideas of how to make the bookstore line move a little faster and smoother.

“I think they should let more than just two people in a time, or just make a bigger bookstore,” said Angie Erickson-Witwicky, an attending junior at LBCC.

“Perhaps they should open a second bookstore,” said Justensen.

According to Lawrence LaJoie, the LBCC bookstore manager, the bookstore has been working hard to accommodate the needs of students dealing with prices of books and ways to save money. They are proud to announce that for Fall term, they saved the students $138,747 through 2 major initiatives:

1) Their aggressive 5% off for everybody and 10% off when they texted in LBCC to their unique number. Approximately 3,400 students took advantage of the texting discount. The discount was good on almost everything in the store, including textbooks. This saved the students over $89,000 on their course materials, supplies and more.

2) They rigorously expanded their textbook rental offerings from 25 titles last year to almost 100 titles this year. They rented over 1300 books this term, saving the students over $49,000 versus buying the books.

The employees worked hard to provide the best service possible to our students, to give them a great start to the new academic year. The 2 initiatives were done throughout all campuses.

While they will continue to provide as many rental options as possible for students going forward, it is yet to be determined whether they will continue to discount the entire store every term.

________________________

At a glance:

Lawrence LaJoie
LBCC Bookstore Manager
Linn-Benton Community College
(541) 917-4953 Office
"There's more in store, even better than before, at the Linn-Benton Bookstore"

http://www.bookstore.linnbenton.edu/lbenton/default.asp

Taking the Challenge

Taking the Challenge

There are times in life, when hope can seem a little scarce, and it feels like there is very little places to turn. Do not fear, Teen Challenge is here. The Willamette Valley Men's Center (formerly called Lebanon Men's Program) is now settled in the small community of Shedd, Oregon and is privileged to be a part of America's largest and most successful residential drug and alcohol program. They offer a faith-based Christian Discipleship Program for people who suffer from life-controlling problems such as drugs or alcoholism.

This Teen Challenge Men’s program has served the Pacific Northwest region for more than 23 years. Executive director, Ron Wenning has been helping with Teen Challenge since 1995. He began as a counselor for Teen Challenge and moved up to be executive director in November of 2006. Wenning has been working with the Lebanon Men's Program for almost 22 years now. 

“It really lights my fire,” said Wenning. “We work with students 18 years old and over recovering from drugs or alcohol.” Wenning had begun his path as a pastor in Albany and was recognized by a fellow pastor in Scio, Oregon in 1989 who had been the director of Teen challenge at the time.

It is called, “Teen Challenge” from the work of man named David  Wilkerson. Wilkerson is known as the founder of the international drug rehabilitation program that has one of the highest success rates anywhere in the world. Wilkerson had gone out on the streets of New York and got involved with teenage gangs to try and help with through the ministry to get them on a healthier path. Teen Challenge is not only located all over the United States, but can be found 68 other countries around the globe.

Residents of the program reside on site in Shedd, Oregon. They are given work tasks and work around the community. “They are able to earn passes to wonder around,” said Wenning, “but they are constantly under supervision and surveillance 24/7.” The students are provided with one on one counseling and group counseling which usually consist of 10 people. The mission of the Teen Challenge is to get people back on the right path.

The Teen Challenge program has an upcoming banquet titled, “Western Shindig.” The theme of the banquet is a western vibe. There will be chuck wagons, singing, pulled pork and tin plates just like in Western times. This banquet all goes toward Teen Challenge and help provide the help needed for the students. “We would love to have people come and check out our facilities” said Wenning. The banquet will be held on October 20, starting at 5:30pm with the banquet at 6:30pm. All festivities should be over by around 8:30pm.

“All of the residents have been hurt and have some of their hopes crushed before they get here,” said Wenning, “the greatest reward when working with the students is seeing hope in their eyes after we work with them.”

At a Glance:

________________________________________

Teen Challenge Banquet

“Western Shindig”

October 20^th, 5:30pm

________________________________________

Willamette Valley Men's Center

Ron Wenning, Executive director 

www.teenchallengeusa.com

31700 Fayetteville Drive
Shedd, OR 97377

Phone: 541-491-1002
Fax: 541-491-1005

Email: info.wvmc@teenchallengepnw.com