The Holy War

Today is Saturday, Nov. 28 and it's the biggest day of this week.

Today is the day Brigham Young University plays the University of Utah. The first game was played Apirl 6, 1898.

This game is normally pretty huge for both teams considering they're usually playing for a conference champoinship. This year, TCU has it wrapped up so they're just playing for second place.

With this being one of the biggest rivalries in college, it doesn't matter what place each team is playing for.

This game is so big for me that I even started texting this adult that goes to my church and I usually don't do that kind of stuff.

Utah won last years game 48-24 in a dominating performance in which Utah ended up going to the Sugar Bowl and wooped Alabama. I will post more after the game.

The Cougars won. They won in overtime after a not so thrilling game. It was not the most exciting game I've seen and I didn't start bouncing off the walls until they scored the winning touchdown in over time.

JHS wrestling preview

With most fall sports being close to done, winter sports now start to take precedent.

David Howell leads the Jefferson High School wrestling team. His assistant coaches are Greg Hoff and Johnny Weight. Weight is a former wrestler for Cascade and been a good coach thus far.

"I've been very pleased," Howell said. "He is a good coach and has helped a lot so far."

The Lions will have six seniors leading the team. They are Carlos Torres, Trevor Jaeger, Alfredo Jiminez, Alex Mendiola, Brent Wolfer, and Javon Pavon. The Lions have a total of 21 wrestlers out with most being freshmen and sophomores.

"Our number will most likely drop due to wrestling being so tough," Howell stated. "A handful of these kids aren't worth a crap and they'll quit." He expects that his number will be more around 15-16.

Howell feels that Torres, Jaeger and Pavon should have good seasons due to it being their senior year and having the wrestling experience.

"I hope to get to state again," Torres said. "I was there last year so I want to get there again."

"I love to wrestle," Pavon said. "I hope to get to state this year and do something good."

Howell also feels that some of his freshmen should have a good year because of their experience with wrestling at the Jefferson Middle School.

"As long as we come together as a team and work hard everyday at practice, we should do well in our league."

Jefferson is in Special District 2 with 17 other teams.

"The league is pretty wide open," Howell said. "I think it's going to be us, Dayton, Willamina, Sheridan and Harrisburg that will fighting for the league title."

The Lions have been holding open mat for the past month and have had good showings. The Lions have already suffered a blow though with returning sophomore Tanner Falls going down with a broke leg.

"He was working so hard, we're going to miss him," Howell said with a sigh.

With the first meet being December 4, Howell hopes that they'll be ready.

"In a week, I'll either be really happy or really mad."

Press Release

A change of power is going to be transferred at LBCC. Gregory J. Hamann will be LBCC's new college replacement. He will be replacing President Rita Cavin. Cavin will be stepping down the January 31, 2010 and Hamann will officially take over the next day.

This is what Hamann had to say on the linnbenton.edu website.

“It is with a sense of excitement and gratitude that I have been offered and have accepted the position of president at Linn-Benton Community College,” said Hamann. “This new position represents a wonderful opportunity for me to continue to contribute and to grow as LBCC and I take on the new opportunities and challenges that we now share.”

Hamann has experience at be president. He was president at Clatsop Community College. He also has experience teaching at the middle school level and has worked at a variety of different jobs involving different colleges.

This is what Richard Running, who is the LBCC Board of Education Chairman, had to say about Hamann.

“The board is pleased that Dr. Hamann has accepted the position and believes he will do an excellent job in leading LBCC to support our students and the workforce training needs of our community,”

Hamann received his education from Gonzaga University.

Follow up story:

What kind of things he has done to the school. Or maybe talk to him about what his plans for LBCC are.

I would try to talk to him as well as talk to either a co-worker.

Jefferson Town Meeting

Who: Council of Jefferson

What: Town Hall Meeting

When: November 12, 2009

Where: Jefferson City Hall

Why: Weekly Council Meeting

Tackling tough decisions and make those are what some people are meant to do. They also get paid for it.

Jefferson City Council had their weekly meeting on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m. Councilors are Charles Rushing, Dave Beyerl, Helen Tate, Mike Sampels and Bob Ovendale. The Mayor is Michael Myers.

The new business seemed to be what everybody was focusing on.

"There is no barrier so the water is just seeping through and decaying the wood," Mayor Michael Myers stated.

That seemed to be the biggest problem was the leaking of the water. Myers mentioned that there isn't much they can do until they find out the source of it.

"This will be one of the first issues we'll deal with when the time comes," Councilor Dave Beyerl said.

Myers also believes that reconstruction of the building will be necessary. The reason for the reconstruction is due to the Conser House not build to have anything more then it already has.

The council feels that having a Library will help in all this trouble. Due to not having money, Beyerl says that it's just a suggestion, not really a solution.

The council talked about business of the older variety. That would include stuff dealing with the updates of City Hall and the Library. The also talked a little bit about the Employee Handbook. They did not spend much time in this area.

They followed that up with an open hearing with Doris Johnston from Pacific Power there to answer any questions that were asked.

The council would continue with new business that included two more details.

They would then go into the Discussion/Information segment of the meeting and discussed different including the Community Meet 'n' Greet and Council attendance via telephone.

Committee and Department updates were next with no new info really being added.

The council would then give comments to what they feel would be good for other members to go to or to research.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:12 p.m.

BYU football

I love football.

Football has been a huge part of my life starting in fourth grade when I wrote a letter to my favorite NFL. That team was the San Francisco 49ers and I got a autograph picture of Steve Young. Steve Young was one of my favorite players and just happened to play for my favorite team, BYU.

This year, BYU started the season on a huge win against then number three Oklahoma University. I was thinking National Championship from then on.

They would follow up with a win against Tulane. They would then lose to Florida State, which dashed their hopes for the National Championship.

Not being discouraged, the Cougars would go on to win the next four games. They were against Colorado State, Utah State, UNLV and San Diego State. A hiccup was on the way.

BYU would go into the TCU game ranked 16 and TCU was eight. It was so big that College Game Day showed up and went the whole mile. The game would be a disappointing one with TCU winning 38-7

With a National Championship season and now a Conference Championship being dashed, you think the Cougars would have nothing to play for. Thankfully, they don't do things like that in Provo which is good news to me.

The Cougars would beat the University of Wyoming the next week and just beat New Mexico today.

I've loved the Cougars since I first saw them play. They are a great team and play the style of game I like to watch. I hope they win the rest of there games and beat the hated rivals, the UTES.

GO COUGARS!!

My take on Love Love Teriyaki from the Commuter

Love Love Teriyaki is a restaurant located here in Albany. Erik Bender wrote a story about his experiences at the restaurant and gives a great explanation of where it is in Albany, what they sell and some price ranges.

I like how he starts with "Love is a strong word and you shouldn't use it unless you mean it. At Love Love Teriyaki, they use it twice."

That's what made me want to finish this article. That and the giant picture of a plate they sell.

He gives a great description of where Love Love is located using key buildings like Great Clips and Pizza Hut.

I also like that he says what types of dishes they sell. The yakisoba noodles with teriyaki chicken just sounds like a great combo. Lastly, he says the price of the dishes are between $6.25-$8.95 which is a heck of a deal with the food you get.

I enjoyed reading this story due to the fact that he went straight to the point and gave good info about the place. I have been to Love Love Teriyaki and have enjoyed eating there everytime.

Journalism 216

Being a freshmen in college, I had no idea what college life would be like. I am only taking three classes at LBCC and the one I have enjoyed the most so far is Journalism 216.

Journalism 216 is News Reporting and Writing. The class is taught every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11:00-11:50. The teacher is Rob Priewe. Priewe teaches two other classes and he is an advisor the the Commuter.

My interest and Priewe's different styles of teaching has made this class one of the more enjoyable classes I have ever taken at any level of schooling. It helps that my dad is the owner and editor of the Jefferson Review and the Scio News.

I have learned a lot from this class. I learned how to write in a news story format (even though I'm still not very good at it yet) and what all goes into it. I've enjoyed looking at the AP style notebook. It's pretty neat to say the least. I've also enjoyed all the video and assignments that have been given. I've enjoyed writing news stories and what's great is this class makes you build up the courage to talk to new people, wether they be adults or peers. Probably the best thing I've learned and do in Journalism 216 is the blogging. Blogging is much more enjoyable then I thought it would be and it's pretty cool to type in "LBCC Athletics" and see my blog be on google! It's a way I can get my opinion out without getting physically attacked. Only verbally.

This a definite must take class for those wanting to be a journalist or just wanting to learn how to write. Having an interest in writing and journalism myself helps me enjoy this class more and more.

At a glance:
Who: Darren Martin
Position: Social studies teacher
Where he teaches: Jefferson High School
How long: 2 years
College: Corban College

Darren Martin is one of many teachers at Jefferson High School. I had the pleasure of being able to ask him questions and thankfully, given great answers.

Darren Martin is one of the newer and younger additions of Jefferson High School. Martin also knew that he would be a teacher from the beginning. Many of my friends are younger than me and have had the chance to take his class.

"He teaches great and is a big help when I need it", Senior Ryan Montgomery says. "The class can be pretty laid back and it that's always a plus" says Junior Carson Sykes.

Martin has only been at Jefferson High School for 2 years. He is also the boys soccer coach.

Where were you born?
Bangor, Maine

What was a memorable experience you had?
A favorite story that my parents like to share is about a walk we took one day as a family. I was probably two to three at the time. In Maine, we were walking along some railroad tracks when we encountered a black bear. My parents and older sister immediately turned around and began to leave. I was in a backpack, facing backwards, carried by my dad. Apparently, I gave the bear a piece of my mind and growled at him as we left that place.

Where do you work? How do you like working there? What are the Pros and Cons of working there?
Jefferson High School as a social studies teacher. This is my second full year. I can only think of positives of working here. Small class sizes allow me to get to know every student. At larger schools, students can be more like a number than a person. Small staff allows for cohesiveness and a sense of camaraderie.

Did you always want to be a teacher?
Yes. I never thought of being anything else. My dad was a teacher for over 20 years. His dad was an associate minister. I guess it runs in the family. However, my older sister and younger brother are doing other things.

How many years worth of college did you take? What was your hardest class? What was your easiest Class?
Four years of undergraduate work at Western Baptist College (now Corban College). The hardest class was student teaching. Everyday I had to be ready to teach three periods at Sprague High School. The easiest class was a media class. I took it over a three week period for several hours each day. What made it easy was the fact that the instructor liked to tell stories and was easily side tracked. It made the time fly.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I like to be with my wife and four kids. Whatever we are doing, whether it is a trip to the beach, unloading the dishwasher, or raking leaves, I love spending time with them.

Favorite food?
Lasagna by a mile. Must have meat, no veggie only lasagna.

Best year you have taught?
My favorite year of teaching was in 2004-2005 when I taught at East Linn Christian Academy in Lebanon Oregon. I had the opportunity to teach seniors. What made it special was I had had the pleasure of following this class since they were in seventh grade and my first year of teaching. We had grown up together in a sense. They were like younger siblings or even kids to me. I had grown close to that class and I am still in contact with several of them.

Quarterbacks in the NFL

Every week, I plan to write something about a player or subject I feel I should give my opinion about. I plan to talk about Alex Smith of the San Francisco 49ers.

If you love football, you know everything starts with the quarterback. Without the a calm, cool, and collected quarterback, you have instant mayhem from the beginning. They could mishandle the snap, hold the ball to long or throw an interception. I hope to unleash a secret to the public. It's not always their fault!

Now, I'd like to start with my teams current quarterback, Alex Smith. Smith was the number one overall draft pick in 2005. Smith was drafted out of the University of Utah and was a junior in college when he left. Smith left Utah with a 32-4 touchdown ratio and winning the Fiesta Bowl against the University of Pittsburgh.

Smith would appear in 9 games in his rookie year and put up okay stats with throwing for 875 yards a with one touchdown and 11 interceptions. The Niners finished 4-12.

2006 would be Smiths biggest year to date as he would throw for 2890 with 16 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. The team would finish 7-9

Being a huge 49er fan and seeing my team be so down for so long, I was excited to see Alex Smith finally take off and lead the Niners to the playoffs. It would be the oppposite.

2007 he would have a season ending injury against the Seahawks and in 2008, he would never strap up the pads due to a season ending injury in the offseason.

2009, Smith found himself on the bench. He entered the game against the Houston Texans and threw for three touchdowns and one interception. They would lose, but Smith is now the starting quarterback.

I feel Smith will do great for the niners. His rookie year, the entire team was terrible and were not very successful. Analysts and fans, I think are to harsh on Smith. He has only played 33 games and hasn't really been given the chance to excel in the NFL. He has had to deal with a new offensive coordinator every year he has been there and has gone through 2 different head coaches.

We as a fan base, need to give Smith another year or 2 before we start throwing him in the fire. Sure he has been hurt and makes mistakes. And sure he was the number one overall pick. We should remember though, he is still human.

X-Japan

Led Zeppelin? Black Sabbath? Deep Purple? These bands I just mentioned are bands that led the Heavy metal music that started in the late sixties. These bands paved the way for other Heavy metal bands. One band in particular is a band not from the states, but from somewhere foreign. That band is X-Japan.

X-Japan was formed in 1982 and hit the big times in 1989. They broke up in 1997. The band has gone through many line up changes and the only members that have been involved the entire time are the lead singer (Toshimitsu "Toshi" Deyama) and the drummer/pianist (Yoshiki Hayashi).

So I first heard of this band after playing Rock Band 2 with my brother. When we first played I.V. by X-Japan, I absolutely fell in love with how great every part of the song was. I liked the vocals, the drums, the bass and the guitar was totally sick. We did really well on the song and I always choose to play it whenever I can.

I.V. is one of their newer songs. They recorded the music video on October 22, 2007. All members of the band before the break up came to perform. The only member missing was their lead guitarist Hideto "Hide" Matsumoto. Hide passed away May 2, 1998.

With X-Japan being from Japan, it was hard to find their music on Itunes. I turned to YouTube and they didn't let me down. Every music I watched just made me like them more and more. My favorite song by them has to be "Rusty Nail". It's everything I look for in a song and it's just plain awesome to listen to music in a different language.

If your into music and listen to almost anything, I highly recommending listening to this band. You will definitely be blown away. And if your not, I'm sorry for misleading you:)

3 possibilities on who to do a story on

One of my old high school teachers

A teacher at LBCC

My old football middle school coach

One of the reporters for the Jefferson Review

Seth Godin

At a glance:

Who: Seth Godin

What: Presentation

When: February 2003

Why: For further understanding

About: How to be successful in promoting something.

Are you good? Very good? Well, if you answered yes to those questions, then you need to answer one more question. Are you, Remarkable?

Seth Godin is man with a head for business. He has the most popular marketing blog in the world and has written 10 books that have been translated in 20 different languages.

For more on Seth Godin, check out this site.
http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/bio.asp

This is what Mary Kuntz of Business Week had to say about Seth Godin.

"Seth Godin may be the ultimate entrepreneur for the Information Age," Mary Kuntz wrote in Business Week nearly a decade ago. "Instead of widgets or car parts, he specializes in ideas -- usually, but not always, his own."

Godin starts with talking about a man named Otto Rohwedder. Rohwedder invented sliced bread. Godin notes that sliced bread at first was a failure. It was a failure because he did not get it spread out.

Godin goes on to say, “That people who can spread ideas, regardless of those ideas, win.”

Most Americans have a TV and watch that TV for x amount of hours. That’s the way companies try to get their idea out to the public.

A problem with newer brands trying to get their idea across is the fact that there are so many other products like it.

Godin gives an example about the medicine he chooses for himself. He talks about having used it numerous times and does not have time to look or try the other brands.

He makes the point though that if somebody wants to grab his attention, that that something has to be remarkable.

Godin give four examples for his reasoning of if something is remarkable, that it will be successful.

His first example was about the soymilk brand Silk. He says that what got people was at a supermarket, there would be lines of milk. What grabbed peoples attention was the Silk because it was the only one that was not “milk”.

He then talks about an artist who made a 40” dog out of bushes in New York. He says that even though you might not like it or care, but that you will notice it because it is remarkable.

The third example is about a man named Frank Gehry. He managed to change a museum to where everybody from around the world wanted to go see it.

He concludes his speech about a place called Soap Lake, Washington.

This place had a lake and people came to it, but activity has stopped. He says that at a meeting they were having, somebody suggested that they build a 50” lava lamp.

Godin finishes “I don’t know about you but if they build it, that’s where I am going to go.”

If you would like to watch the entire speech, click this link.

http://www.ted.com/talks/seth_godin_on_sliced_bread.html

Alisa Miller

Have you had enough of foreign news? Well, according to one person, you haven't seen very much of it.

Alisa Miller, President and CEO of Public Radio International, gave a speech about foreign news in Monterrey, California in February 2008.

Miller would explain about what the biggest media coverages of 2007 were. They were about North Korea, the flooding in Indonesia and the IBCC news report on global warming.

She would go on and explain (with a map of different countries) that most coverage was taking place in the United States. Iraq was a close second with 21 percent and countries like China and Russia made up the 1 percent.

In a country like Africa, Miller would state that having no network news in a place as big as Africa is something that shouldn't happen.

There is a 50 percent decrease in the the Foreign Bureaus . Miller would go on to say "why todays college graduates and less educated Americans know less about the world then there counterparts 20 years ago."

Other matters she brings up is that news go for cheaper news then what actually matters. She ends with "I know we can do better and we can afford not to."

Bulldogs run over Lion's

Who: Jefferson Lions (2-5)vs. Creswell Bulldogs (2-5)
Score: Creswell 57, Jefferson 28
When: Friday, Oct. 16
Where: Jefferson High School
Why: Battle for Pacwest league placing


Friday's game turned out to be a long one, especially for the Lions as they could not stop the running of Creswell, which defeated Jefferson 57-28.

This would mark the seventh game of the season for the Jefferson Lions (2-5). They would take on the Bulldogs of Creswell (2-4). This would be a PacWest game and would play a factor in league placing.

Creswell would have the ball the majority of the time throughout the whole game. Especially in the fourth, when they held the ball for 10 minutes.

"They were a smash-mouth team and we just couldn't stop them," Coach David Bailey said.

That would prove to be their nail in the coffin as they would lose 57-28.

The first half was basically a shoot out with Creswell scoring 50 and Jefferson scoring 20.

Things would slow down in the second half as the Bulldogs only scored 7 and Jefferson only scoring 8.

"It's hard to score when you don't have the ball," Bailey said. "We were on the verge of scoring in the fourth, but we had a turnover and they kept the ball basically for the rest of the game." Creswell rushed for over 300 yards in the game.

One run in particular summed up how bad the run defense of Jefferson was. Creswell would score on a long run play only to have that play taken back due to a penalty. The next play, Creswell did it again this time adding 15 more yards to the run.

This has been one of the biggest problems with the Lions throughout the season. The smash-mouth teams are taking advantage of the Lions inability to stop the run.

Some of those problems could be due to the experience and age of the players he has.

“We need to just win some of the 1-1 battles,” Bailey stated. “We just need to get back to the fundamentals which are blocking, tackling and catching the ball.”

There were a couple of bright spots in the game. Alex Ortiz threw for 330 yards with four touchdowns with only two picks.

With the playoffs coming soon, the Lions feel that next weeks game against Harrisburg is a must have if they want to make it to playoffs.

“We can make playoffs,” Senior Alex Ortiz said. “We just need to continue working on our offense and defense.”

The Lions also made a move that Bailey feels like they should’ve made earlier. Senior Ryan Montgomery is being moved to the receiver position instead of playing running back.

“I just do what coach tells me to do,” Montgomery said.
To build team unity and to show their devotion, the Lions meet on Saturday and sold tickets for a raffle and watched game film.

“I think it was good for us to see who was devoted and serious about making the playoffs,” Montgomery added. “It’s just good for the team and it’s something we’ve never really done.”

The Lions next game is against PacWest foe Harrisburg at Harrisburg. Game time is 7:00 and it is on Friday, Oct. 19.

"Zombies in Plain English"

This Halloween, don't expect the cutesy kids walking around asking for candy. This Halloween, expect dum dum duuuuummmmmmm, zombie attacks.

"This Halloween is foretasted to have high zombie attacks," Lee "living dead" LeFever said. He does comfort us by saying, "We're here to help you survive."

The first thing you need to do is identify the zombie. Zombies should be easy to detect as they will have an unnatural face with there body be twisted into different shapes.

Their skin is also gray and they will have red eyes.

There will be pretenders dressed up as zombies this Halloween. LeFever states that if they eat candy and/or are dancing with Micheal Jackson, then they are not a zombie.

Most people brains have two responses when they see a threatening things coming at them. Fight or Flight.

If your of the flight variety, make sure to run to a Costco instead of a business building or your home. This is mainly due to having enough resources at hand.

If your of the going down swinging type of person, make sure to know what zombies can and can't do.

Zombies are surprisingly fast so don't under estimate them. Also, if you live in the colder part of the world, zombies are slowed down by the cold.

Now, the final step to the fight is killing the zombies.

Anyway that you can take the head off of the zombie will always be your best option.

LeFever suggests Large caliber bullets and then go in for the decapitation of the head with either a machete, a chain-saw or an ax.

He puts emphasis on being careful when using napalm because a zombie that is on fire is just as dangerous as a zombie that isn't on fire.

For more tips on how to survive, check out these sites.

http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-survive-a-zombie-attack
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=zombies+in+plain+english&search_type=&aq=0&oq=zombies+in+pla

Event Happening

Jefferson High School football game

The head coach

Some players

Some fans

Who they played?
What was the score?
When it was played?
Where they played?
Why they played?

Games

Oregon has a bye. Cougars play San Diego State University. Niners also have a bye.

Interview with Eve Bruntlett

Friday, October 9 was the day I was given the chance to interview somebody in my class. That somebody was........... Eve Bruntlett.

Eve Bruntlett was born in Corvallis, Oregon. She has had a great start as a student. She graduated High School at the age of 16. Bruntlett was home schooled for 4 years. She has been attending LBCC for the past three years.

"I chose LBCC because my parents didn't want me to move away because I was only 16 years old," Bruntlett said.

Bruntlett plans to further her education at the LA institute of fine art.

Bruntlett likes most things. When it comes down to it, she really likes the simple things.

"I like colors," Bruntlett commented. "Anything with colors like flowers." She also likes any types of art and loves to draw.

Eve doesn't have much dislikes. "I really don't like ignorant people," she said with a smile. "I also really don't like anything right-handed because I'm left-handed." She also really doesn't like florescent lights.

When it comes to food, Bruntlett mostly likes her fruits and veggies. She likes her cucumbers and apples. Also, a surprise that even I didn't expect.

"I'd take an apple over ice-cream," Bruntlett said.

There is a first time for everything I guess.

49ers, Cougars and Ducks

They all won during the weekend.

LBCC athletics program

At a glance:

What: LBCC athletics program

For Schedules: Check out http://www.linnbenton.edu/go/athletics

Sports: Volleyball, Mens and Womens Basketball, Baseball

Conference: NWAACC- Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges

Who to contact: Athletic Director Jim Bell @ (541) 917-4547.

“They’re tight," Ryan Taylor said. “The atmosphere is great," Bram Davidson piped in.

These are what some students are saying about LBCC’s athletics program.

LBCC is one of 35 schools in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC). For more information on the conference, check out this link. http://www.nwaacc.org The schools involved in the NWAACC community colleges in Oregon and Washington. LBCC currently competes in four sports. These sports are:

(Fall): Volleyball

(Winter): Mens and Womens Basketball

(Spring): Baseball

Jim Bell is the athletic director at LBCC. He also teaches geography and anthropology.

In the past, the LBCC sports program had had six sports in its history.

“Track and wrestling just kind of fell to the way-side," Bell said. “Just due to budget problems, they had to be cut.”

The sports program here at LBCC has had great participation. Of course, it takes some pocket change to be able to support an athletic team. One of the requirements of being on the sports team is to be a full-time student.

“Since students have to take a minimum of 12 credits to be considered full-time, the students just kind of pay for it”, Bell said with a smile.

In addition, when referring to the players on the teams, Bell likes to think of them as student athletes instead of just athletes.

Another great thing about the LBCC athletics program is how the players get involved with the community and to with the other sports teams.

“It’s great when at a home game that the other sport teams come and support the home team," Bell said.

Something that gets the athletes involved in the community is a canned food drive the basketball teams do.

This started last February and they got great support. Bell plans to continue this for a long time to come.

Also, don't be surprised to see a couple new sports in the future.

"I have been pitching for a boys and girls soccer team for the last three years," Bell said. "I will continue to pitch it and hopefully it will fall through sometime."