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:

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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

The LBCC choirs sings songs of innocence.

Everytime someone walks by the choir room there is a resonating sound of voices coming from the music room. The sound swells and builds and practically fills the entire balcony and filters down to the courtyard in a harmonious tone. The voice blend and melt together like that of an angel chorus from the heavens.

Usually when we hear about a choir concert we think of a very strict dress code, opera like voices and some people only dread to hear such a performance. At LBCC that is not the case at all. The choirs at LBCC performed a wide genre of music.

James Reddan is the director of multiple choirs at LBCC that include, Chamber Choir, Concert Choir and the Women's Choir. At the concert there were a couple of acapella groups that performed as well such as an all male group named Blue Light Special and an all female group named, The Sirens.

"I was very impressed with each group that performed," said Sally Beattie, a guest who attended the concert. "Each group sounded different in their own way and brought a little bit of their own flavor, I would have to say it was one of their best performances."

The 2012 winter concert was entitled, "Singing songs of innocence." The Chamber Choir and the Concert Choir both performed different styles of music including joyous Latin pieces such as "A festive sanctus," and spirituals including, "Ezekiel saw da wheel."

This year the Concert Choir did something a little different than they ever have before in a concert, they performed a ballad from the play "Candide" from the finale entitled, "Make our garden grow."

"Compared to the other pieces we sang, I would definitely say that the song, "Make our garden grow," was one of our hardest to learn and sing," said Diana Soltero, a first year choir member in the Concert Choir at LBCC. "There was a lot of blending that needed to be done and there was a lot of overlapping rhythms but it was an amazing piece."

There was an nice turn out for the concert, there was a lot of friends and family from the groups along with community members who enjoy the music program at LBCC.

"Usually each of our concerts gets sold out, so that's what we were hoping for this time," said James Reddan, "people who come to watch us just shows a lot of support."

The energy that came from both the public and the performance of each group was incredibly high all night which made for a productive evening, and everyone is prepared for brand new songs and entertainment for the spring concert.

At a glance:

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"Singing songs of innocence."

March 15, 2012

LBCC Choir Concert:

Concert Choir

Women's Choir

The Sirens

Blue Light Special

Chamber Choir

Is technology making us dumb?

YOU'VE ALL HEARD tales of travelers who got stuck on unnavigable back roads or who ended up hundreds of miles off course after blindly following the directions on their global positioning systems. Their unquestioning reliance on technology negated the need to look at actual “ye olde mappes,” or heed roadside warnings.

I yearned for a map at times during my college road trip this past summer. (Unfortunately the maps were stuck in the trunk in a very un-get-at-able spot.) At any given moment I, with the assistance of Maggie (our somewhat-trusty Magellan GPS), could pinpoint my exact coordinates on earth. Sadly, unless I paid attention, I was not always entirely certain which state I was in.

Today in our society, technology is slowing enabling us to use our own skills, while we replace them with cellular devices, PDA's, and computers. We no longer have to use our brain and memory skills to memorize or organize ourselves, everything is becoming more and more automated and making us more unaware of how much we don't use our given brain power.

GPS navigation, like any other technology, is quite reliable, so it is easy for us to let our guard down — to let it do all the thinking for us. Sometimes we may lose something in the process. Who still plans a route or bothers to memorize a phone number?

"I just got the new Android Verizon phone, and it has GPS and text messaging and all that stuff," says Hope Wilton, a sophomore at LBCC studying nursing.

"I'm in a field where it takes a lot of memorizing material and I've always had a good memory, I never really needed some technological device to help with remembering numbers and stuff," said Wilton.

In elementary school I knew my friends’ phone numbers, addresses, and even birthdays off by heart. Apart from a few emergency numbers I no longer make an effort — and why should I? It is right there on my phone.

"Today's generation is so funny to watch sometimes," said Joy Elrich, a psychology major at Oregon State University, "I walk by these groups of people, not just teenagers anymore, people in general, and everyone is on their cell phones texting or playing games."

"No one talks anymore, everyone is so focused on their phones that no one talks or have conversations face to face anymore," said Summer Veit, a computer science major at OSU.

Memorizing this type of information is not really terribly important. The simple fact of memorization, however, is, and any university student can tell you that there is plenty of that going on in our daily lives.

Apparently old classics like “War and Peace” have become challenging reading because the Internet has dumbed us down. Reading with concentration and contemplation is no longer possible. The Internet seems to have weaned us from that.

Technology and its concurrent ills are more a symptom of the world we live in than a cause of the “decline.” Sure, we rapidly navigate through pages and “randomly” follow links from topic to topic (down the rabbit hole to subjects we would never have dreamt of reading about).

Patricia Hastings is a resident in Benton County and has noticed the consumption our society makes when it comes to technology.

"My niece knows more about the cell phones and GPS systems and fancy televisions than I could ever dream of," said Hastings, "it's just crazy how fast technology progresses each and every year, I gave up trying to keep up."

It’s inevitable that our reading and thinking styles will not be the same as those of readers who lived in an isolated, slow, and less complicated world. Having grown up with the Internet we (my generation) are capable of a “skimming Internet” style of reading as well as “deep 'War and Peace'” style of reading.

How many readers from the previous generation can say they read 700-page novels nonstop in their preteens? Being comfortable with both big fat books and the Internet, we actually end up reading more than previous generations.

Technology is a benefit to curious people, since they have tremendous resources at their disposal. People who are too lazy to think will always end up doing something odd or lazy, and technology should not be blamed for it.

At a glance:

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http://www.thomascrampton.com/internet/debate-the-internet-is-making-us-stupid/

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2011/07/google-making-us-stupid-and-smart-same-time/40007/

http://www.blubb.org/2009/1/26/new-technology-make-us-unhappy-and-stupid

Profile: Dan Stone

There is never a dull moment, hustling back and forth from his tiny office, lined with masks and posters from wall to wall. During the day he can be found pacing around his classrooms full of mirrors, lights, chairs and make up boxes. The work of being a theater teacher is never a bore.

Dan Stone, a theater instructor at Linn-Benton Community College, always has something going on. When spotted Stone can always be talking with students or staff about some upcoming play he’s working on or explaining his schedule.

"I have taken multiple classes with him and he's really funny but very passionate about theater and everything that goes into it," said Kat DiFonzo, the stage manager for the LBCC theater department.

Stone can usually be found in one of three locations, his office, the green room checking in on actors and actress and then of course the stage.

Stone grew up in Texas with his mom and dad, his mom was a jockey and his dad trained horses. They moved from different places all the time to different race tracks. When Stone was in high school he and his family moved to Southern California and lived there for a while.

"I got my undergraduate in C.S.U. (California State University) in San Bernandino, California," said Stone. "

"Then I got my M.F.A. degree (Master of Fine Arts) at Humboldt State University in Northern California, after that I moved here to Oregon," said Stone.

On campus at LBCC, Stone is the theater director and teacher. He has always loved theater, he loves the fact that you get to create something new everyday. You can use your imagination and not have to be stuck behind a desk.

"[Dan] Stone is very much a theater person at heart, and also he can also be kind of a child," said DiFonzo.

At the moment Stone is directing a play at LBCC called, "Wiley and the Hairy Man." Its a shadow theater play and performances are to take place in the Russell Tripp Center on campus.

Shadow plays deal with myths and this particular play is a southern myth.

Emily Smith, a student at LBCC and also an actress in this place, has been working with Stone all term on this production with rehearsals.

"I love shadow theater," said Smith, "it's very different but really exciting to do something new like this, plus the other actors are great."

Aside from pouring his heart and soul into the performing arts, Stone has another hobby he enjoys very much.

"Theater takes up all of my time, but I love fishing, and I fish whenever I can," said Stone.

In a little slough off the Willamette River, there's a big pond across from a golf course in Corvallis called the, "Twisting Tree Golf Course." Stone likes to get into his canoe and paddle across the pond then get out on the other side, goes over a hill and wades through the bushes.

"Its like a jungle," said Stone, "it's like you're in the amazon, you can hear all these owls and little critters all over the place in the evening."

Q & A with Dan Stone

________________

• What did you decide to teach theater?

Stone: I decided to teach theater, because I have a great interest in the preservation of theater, the arts are going to be preserved in the youth who are going to be carrying this stuff forward, that's why I love teach.

• Would you rather act or direct?

Stone:I would rather direct, I am not an actor, although I am a ham, but that does not make me an actor.

• Have you ever wrote your own play?

Stone: Quite a bit actually, 80 percent of the plays I direct are all originals, they are either written by me or other people like friends of mine.

• Whose your favorite playwright?

Stone: I have three actually, Samuel Becket, Sam Shepard and Tennessee Williams.

• How old were you when you wrote your very first play?

Stone: I was probably about 12 years old at the time.

• What was the play about?

Stone: It was about my dog.

At a glance:

_______________________

Upcoming plays:

LBCC 37 Annual Childern's Theater Production

"Wiley and the Hairy Man"

Dates: Sat, Feb. 18 and Sat, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m.

Russell Tripp Center, LBCC campus

Tickets are $9 for adults and $7 for children and seniors over 60.

Love Love Teriyaki v. Tokyo Steakhouse and Sushi Bar: A look inside

Many people love the exotic foods of other countries, the tastes and smells of places we could only dream of visiting. There are our Middle Eastern foods, of tangy flavors, spices that seem like they engulf your lungs in pure spicy delight. We have our multiple Spanish restaurants, with the zesty sauces and sizzling piping hot cuisines.

One popular franchise of restaurants in both Benton County and Linn County are Japanese restaurants. There are approximately four Japanese restaurants in Albany and four in Corvallis.

In Albany, one of the most talked about Japanese restaurants is one called, Love Love Teriyaki and then in Corvallis, there is a one called, Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar.

Both of these restaurants involve Japanese cuisine in their own unique style, ranging from the taste of the food, the setting and environment, and finally the prices. However, Love Love Teriyaki seems to have a little bit more advantage when it comes to these qualities and services.

Right when you walk into the Love Love restaurant you can already smell the steaming white rice, and the smell of soy sauce and the tangy teriyaki sauce. Every once in a while you hear the ding of bell signaling a fresh plate is ready.

Caroline Patton, a resident of Corvallis, enjoys eating at Love Love not only for the setting but for the food.

"I just love to hang out here, it's always usually quiet, nothing too hectic or overzealous," said Patton while waiting for her spicy Teriyaki Chicken, "it's just a nice place to come and sit and talk with the greatest food on the planet."

It's almost like one of those cliché cartoons where you see the smell and your nose follows then the rest of your body floats toward the source.

"The only problem I have with the place is that I live in Corvallis and have to wait till I get to school in Albany in order to have it," said Patton.

The environment of the place is completely calm and serene. There's not a lot of chaos and people, soft Christian rock music playing in the background, framed pictures of Japanese scenery and symbols are lined up along the wall create a familiar feel of Japan might feel like.

The food is portioned so well that no matter what someone may order, they always leave nice and full. The menu has an assortment of dishes ranging from Orange Chicken and Teriyaki Chicken to vegetarian dishes. The prices for most dishes of any sort range from $7-$8. Considering the portions they give, the prices are a pretty good deal.

Nathan Chan, an employee at Love Love Teriyaki has been working at the restaurant for about 6 months.

"I think our food has a very unique taste about it," said Chan, "I wouldn't say that it tastes exactly like regular Japanese food, because in Japan their cuisine is a little more crazy and unexpected."

As it turns out Love Love Teriyaki is one of two well-known restaurants in the area, Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar is located in Corvallis. However the reasons for why these two restaurants are known are for opposite reasons.

While Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar has a nice setting and environment, low tables, quiet atmosphere, it does not seem as comfortable as the other restaurant.

"I have eaten at both Love Love and the Steakhouse and I enjoy the food equally at both places, and the settings are similar in some ways," Ian Spaeth, 20, who lives in Corvallis, has always loved exotic tasting foods one including Japanese.

"They have Japanese fixtures and pictures everywhere, but it just feels different at the Tokyo Steakhouse, less relaxed it feels like," said Spaeth.

At Tokyo Steakhouse when you walk in, the first thing you expect to smell is some sort of authentic Japanese fragrance, however the first thing that hits your nose is incense burning. Not a bad smell, but it's not exactly a restaurant smell.

There are Japanese symbols and pictures hanging around the place, just like that of Love Love. However, the setting of the tables are different from Love Love. At Tokyo Steakhouse, all the tables and chairs are very close together. Most tables are set up next to the windows as close as possible, which is nice, but not everyone likes a window seat.

Not only are the settings slightly different between the two restaurants, the service that includes the host and hostesses are different in the behavioral aspect.

When it comes to any restaurant, food is not the only thing that plays a part in first impressions. If a customer comes to a restaurant and isn't greeted friendly and striking up a casual conversation while being seated, it can leave a bad after taste of the place in the back of your mind.

"The people who work at Love Love in Albany are always super friendly, they always ask about my day and then talk about their day," said Patton. "It's just a very upbeat and friendly place to eat at.

Another thing some people note is the dramatic price difference. At Love Love teriyaki, all dishes, depending on if you get extra sides, cost roughly around $7-8, whereas at Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse, most dishes are doubled that price, most dishes range from $15-2o and the portions are relatively the same.

Tokyo Steakhouse has a wide range of cuisine that includes, meat on meat such as Salmon and Chicken or Chicken and Steak, they also service the popular Ramen Noodle Soup, along with a variety of Sushi and unique seafood.

"The food at both places have a difference taste that's for sure," said Spaeth.

"Love Love has a little more sweet tangy taste to their food, and at the steakhouse their food seems to be a bit bolder and not as sweet," he said.

The choice is ultimately yours, if you prefer a sweet and sour tasting experience, visit Love Love Teriyaki in Albany, and if you don't mind putting a whole in your pocket, Tokyo Steakhouse would be your best bet.

At a glance:

_____________________________________________________

Love Love Teriyaki

Location:

2195 14th Ave. S.E. Suite 102

Albany, Oregon, 97322

Phone: 541.926.4142

Business Hours:

Monday - Saturday 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Sunday 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

_______________________________

Tokyo Steahouse and Sushi Bar

250 S.W. 3rd St.

Corvallis, Oregon 97330

Phone: 541.754.7508

Business Hours:

Sunday - Thursday Lunch: 11:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Dinner: 4:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Friday - Saturday Lunch: 11:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Dinner: 4:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.

Shine Bright, dance auditions take place at LBCC

"Dance like no one is watching" is a motto that many people try to stick to when it comes to performing in front of an audience. Add a few judges and some butterflies in your stomach, and it can be hard to think like that.

The dance studio at LBCC had dancers all over the floor stretching every inch of their bodies, practicing their turns. Many dancers were going over previous routines, there was noise all around from dancers talking and gossiping to music being played in the background.

Each year the LBCC Dance Club, hosts dance auditions for their spring dance showcase. Auditions were Saturday, Jan. 21, in the Activities Center Building.

There were dancers of every shape, size and experience. There were a couple male dancers along with a multitude of female dancers.

There were a range of dance experience among them going from dancing all of some of their lives to just beginning. Most of the dancers that auditioned ranged from ages of 17 to 30 or older.

This was their third annual dance auditions. The auditions were conducted by the club's advisers Katherine Sanders and Liz Pearce along with choreographers who are also part of the club.

"We are planning to have a great show planned for spring term," said Pearce.

"A lot of the dancers that auditioned showed a lot of great qualities for each dance our choreographers are bringing to the table," she said.

The auditions were split up into two parts. The first half of auditions was for dancers interested in modern/lyrical/contemporary styles and then the second half were for Hip-Hop dancers. The audition was free and is open to the general public.

They were held in the Activities Center in the dance studio to provide an appropriate dance environment.

This is where most of the dance department is located at on campus.

The dance studio floor had dancers of every style of dance, from hip-hop to ballet, stretching, asking questions and all in excitement for the auditions and joining the club.

Alyssa Blythe, a local resident of Albany, is a new member of the dance club at LBCC.

Blythe is 20 years old and has been dancing for roughly seven years. She started dancing when she was 13.

"I like that even though everyone dances with different purpose and style," said Blythe while packing her stuff up after auditions, "everyone's gifts and talents were welcomed and everyone rocked it in their own way."

Once the auditions finished, the dancers departed and the choreographers congregated to evaluate the dancers and where dancers were going to be placed. The process usually takes a while, for it takes some time to figure out which dancers fit with the style of dance the choreographers are doing.

"I am very excited for this year's showcase, it seems like it might be a little smaller than last year," said Pearce, "a smaller group might make it easier to polish some of our dances and keep it organized."

There is always a big hope from the club members that they will have a big turnout of people who want to tryout. The greater number of people auditioning means a bigger showcase in the spring.

Unfortunately for this year the turn out for auditions were a little bit of a disappointment.

"Normally we have about 40 people auditioning, this year we had about half of that," said Sanders.

The tryouts had a count of about 24 people this year.

"It's possible if needed that we might have a second round of auditions but it's still up in the air." said Sanders.

The first rehearsal was Saturday, Jan. 28. The spring dance showcase will take place during the spring term on Friday, April 20, and Saturday, April 21 at 7:30p.m. in the Russell Tripp Center.

If you would like to get involved with the LBCC dance club, make donations or even help organize contact:

Katherine Sanders
Downtown Dance Studio
541.829.0070

At a glance:
_______________________________________________
LBCC Dance Club

Phone: 541.754.7097
Activities Center: LBCC Campus

Rehearsals: Every Saturday

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spring Dance Showcase:

Friday, April 20, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 21, 7:30 p.m.

Russell Tripp Center

Story Idea: Dance Club Auditions

Sources:

• Katherine Sanders
• Club President: Candice
• New and/or old up coming dancers

5 Questions:

1. Who holds the auditions?
2. What is the process?
3. Are the judges students or staff?
4. Times for auditions?
5. How many people generally audition each year?
6. How much does it cost?
7. Why have auditions if its for a club?