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.