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T H EL I N N - B E N T O NVOL. 52 EDITION 1C O M M U N I T YC O L L E G ESEPT. 23, 2020Stay Connectedhttps://www.linnbenton.edu/Lucy BrittTara ReynaBrent EastonLaurie AbbottMartine SniderDemi MathewsOlivier CooleyEfa BarajasNoor RiversOlivier CooleyRebecca FewlessRebecca Fewless12:00 PMInside this EditionGRAPHICS:FREEPIK.COMWELCOME STUDENTSSEE PAGE 2WILDFIRE EVACUEESSEE PAGES 4-5ILLUSTRATION:REBECCA FEWLESSDISPLACED LIVESTOCKSEE PAGE 6
2CAMPUS NEWSSEPTEMBER 23, 2020LBCOMMUTER.COM Get To KnowThe EditorThe Commuter is the weeklystudent-run newspaper for LBCC,financed by student fees andadvertising. Opinions expressed inThe Commuter do not necessarilyreflect those of the LBCCadministration, faculty and studentsof LBCC. Editorials, columns, letters,and cartoons reflect the opinions ofthe authors.LBCC is an equal opportunityeducator and employer.Letters WelcomeThe Commuter encouragesreaders to use its “Opinion” pagesto express their views on campus,community, regional and nationalissues. The Commuter attemptsto print all submissions received,but reserves the right to edit forgrammar, length, libel, privacyconcerns and taste. Opinionsexpressed by letter submittersdo not represent the views of theCommuter staff or the College.Deliver letters to:Address:The CommuterForum 2226500 Pacific Blvd. SWAlbany, OR 97321Web Address:LBCommuter.comPhone:541-917-4451, 4452 or rFacebookLBCC The CommuterInstagram@LBCommuterOur StaffHello! I’m Katie Littlefield andI'm this year's appointed editor-in-chiefof LBCC’s award-winning newspaper,The Commuter. When I first startedmy journalism degree at Linn-BentonCommunity College a year ago, I neverwould have guessed I’d soon get toexperience this exciting yet challengingrole.Journalism plays an importantrole in our society from sharing newsaccurately to bringing our communitiescloser together. At The Commuter westrive to share with our readers accurate,meaningful, and community-orientedstories in each edition and online.During my Fall Term lastyear, I originally found out about TheCommuter newspaper during RobPriewe’s photojournalism class. Theeditor-in-chief at the time, Caleb Barber,would come into class often to encourageour involvement whilst showing off thatweek's newspaper edition. I explored itfurther and found that it was a fluorescentlit office space full of intelligent, funnyand creative people. They wrote stories,covered breaking news, and took amazingphotos. I mean, what was not to love?Editing and writing stories everyweek inspired me to get involved withour community here at LBCC. It gaveme a way to explore clubs on campus andmeet interesting people while conductinginterviews. I want our readers to catchthat inspiration and find new ways to getinvolved. It might seem impossible giventhe circumstances, but we are a strongand adaptable group of individuals hereat LBCC.Along with engaging with thecommunity, I plan to make the students'voices heard loud and clear as theappointed editor-in-chief of the paper thisyear. I plan to have The Commuter be aspace to share your ideas and have themseen by faculty members and students.During my first year of college in 2019,The Commuter was a place for me andmy peers to build off of each other'screativity and drive. I want that to showthrough our work and contributions toour readers.It goes without saying thatThe Commuter has gone through somechanges since March. The pandemictook everyone by surprise and it forcednewspapers everywhere to change theirmedium. Moving away from paper printson LBCC’s campus to switching ourfocus to more digital approaches willcontinue to be a challenge this year, butI along with everyone at The Commuterare more than willing and enthusiastic totake it on.The Commuter is always open toand would love to see new contributorssuch as photographers, editors, reporters,student voice advocates and so on. Pleaseemail me at katherine.littlefield.5238@mail.linnbenton.edu or at commuter@linnbenton.edu if you would like toget involved. Our metaphorical door isalways open!Welcome Back!Resources for LBCC StudentsAdviserRob PrieweEditor-in-ChiefKatie LittlefieldLayout DesignerRebecca FewlessMarketing/AdvertisingIsaieh HeikenA&ESteven PryorJoshua BloedelPhotography EditorsHikari KawaiArianna StahlbaumWeb MasterMarci SischoCopy EditorBowen OrcuttContributorsKinsley StoneKaren CananJosh GreenErika DonnerBecky BurgerBrenda AutrySTORY BYKATIE LITTLEFIELDWelcomebackRoadrunners! Hope you all made thebest out of your summer and are stayingsafe. 2020 has taken a lot of twists andturns, but alas, we must go on. Thisschool year is kicking off very soonwith Welcome Day airing virtuallyon Sept. 23 and the first day of classesbeginning Sept. 28.Everything is a little differentthis year to say the least. LBCC’sBookstore is available online and isavailable for pick-up orders here. Ifyou run into issues at any point there’san email on their website to assist youand answer questions. LBCC’s Librarybuilding is closed at this time, but alongwith checking out books you can findall the resources you miss such as thestudent help desk on LBCC’s website.Thisisanextremelydifficult time for everyone given thecircumstances of west coast wildfires,the global pandemic, and the stressthat comes with election year. If you’rein need of assistance with assignmentsplease reach out to your professors. It’sunderstandable to find your classesmore overwhelming than usual. LinnBenton Community College caresabout your wellbeing as they providepersonal health and wellbeing serviceshere and also provide CFAR. CFARor Center for Accessibility Resourcesis a service that provides academicaccommodations for those who qualify.Start here if you’re interested to see ifyou're eligible.If you want to stay updated withall things LBCC, consider subscribingto The Commuter's newsletter anddownloading the LBLive app.GRAPHIC: FREEPIK.COMLBCC has a SafetyCommittee whosegoal is to identify andeliminate risks on ourcampus, and to preventaccidents and illnessesthrough the involvementof employees, managers,and students in aneffort to provide a safeand healthy place toboth work and learn.A "Safety SuggestionBox" is available toprovide a way foryou to communicateyour safety concerns,hazards spotted,and suggestions forpromoting safety. Pleaseemail your suggestions,comments, concernsto: safetycommittee@linnbenton.edu
SEPTEMBER 23, 2020 COMMUTER@LINNBENTON.EDUCAMPUS NEWS3Takena Hall isleft bare sincemost studentsare attendingonline schoolin place ofon-campuslearning. Youcould hear apin drop inthis desolateenvironment.Lights OutCoronavirus Forces School to Keep Most of Campus ClosedSTORY AND PHOTOS BYHIKARI KAWAIAs summer comes to an end,the Linn-Benton Community Collegecampus is still closed and will continue tobe so, as they will continue doing mostlyonline learning. The usually bustlingcommunity college is deserted and justabout the only people on campus are thepublic security and building staff.Loss Prevention CoordinatorAdam Weaver said that there has been afew changes to the Public Safety Officedue to COVID-19, such as sanitizingshared work spaces, ranging from thevehicles to offices, and other spacesthat are often used. Officers also havebeen taking daily temperatures in theirdepartment as well as a daily healthsurvey.He also mentions that, as thecampus is mostly closed, the majority ofthe buildings have been off-limits to thepublic at the present time. As a result ofthis, they have been seeing significantlyfewer people around campus except for afew staff or faculty.Weaver says, “There are lesspeople, however, our mission to protectthe people and property of LBCC hasn’tchanged.”So all in all, LBCC looks almostas empty as it could be, with unusedbuildings and parking lots containingfewer than ten cars.If you need to find any resourcesor reach out to the college, check out theLBCC website.LBCC hallwaytables areusually filledwith studyingor sleepingcollegestudents.With theunprecedentedcampusclosure, theseseats are nowbarren.Typicallybooming thistime of year,the AdvisingCenter isclosed andis providingassistancevirtually.If you’re inneed of theAdvisingCenter'shelp you canfind themhere.Classrooms appear abandoned with faculty and students operatingfrom home due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Seems as though Summerbreak hasn’t come to an end for the campus just yet.Closedcampus hasleft LBCClookinguninhibitedwith theexception ofa few treesand LBCCsecurity.Everythingseems tostand stillwhen walkingaround thecourtyard.
4LOCAL NEWSSEPTEMBER 23, 2020LBCOMMUTER.COM PHOTO: BRENDA AUTRYThomas Winnand his sonsRoger andJordan Winnwho wereevacuatedfrom Holley,and arestaying intheir camperat the shelterenjoy theirlunch.LB Culinary Arts Serves up HopeLinn County Wildfire Evacuation Shelter Receives Aid from LBCC Students and StaffSTORY BYBRENDA AUTRYIn the early morning hours ofTuesday, Sept. 8, Idahna residents DavidStevens and JoAnn Serdy were awokenby a pounding at their front door.“The fire department was tellingus we had to evacuate now,” Serdy said.“We had no time, so we just grabbed ourmedication and jumped in our car. By thetime we reached the Detroit dam [just 15minutes away] the fire was everywhere.”“It was like we were in the movie‘Volcano,’” Stevens added.This scene was the terrifyingreality for many Santiam Canyonresidents who fled their homes, narrowlyescaping the flames of the Beachie CreekFire, which spread rapidly overnight. Theevacuees, many of whom have lost theirhomes entirely, have sought shelter withfriends, family or, like Serdy and Stevens,at the Linn County Evacuation Shelterset up at the Linn County Fairgrounds inAlbany.AccordingtoCountyCommissioner Will Tucker, the LinnCounty Evacuation Shelter is currentlyhousing around 450 people and morethan 1000 animals.PHOTO: JOSH GREENSecond-year Culinary Art studentAndrew Hulcy preps food in thekitchen.“Most people aren’t actuallystaying in the shelter,” Tucker said. “Theyare staying in tents or campers in theparking lot. But even those who aren’tstaying inside come in for snacks, mealsor medical care.”The shelter is run completely byvolunteers. Tucker said that SamaritanHealth services has sent several nursesand doctors to volunteer in the shelter’smedical area. Many people fromthe community have also signed upto volunteer with everything fromregistration to sorting through thethousands of donations that have comepouring in.One of the biggest jobs onsite, the kitchen, is being run almostexclusively by volunteers from the LinnBenton Community College CulinaryArts program.Fifth-yearCulinaryArtsinstructor Josh Green grew up in Lyons,a town in the middle of the SantiamCanyon evacuation zone. His parents,who still live there, were among thoseevacuated from their homes.“I wanted to help,” Green said.“So, when a friend of mine posted onFacebook that the Salvation Army waslooking for volunteers, I told him ‘Justtell me where I need to be!’”When Green arrived at theshelter the next morning, there weretwo people serving breakfast out of theSalvation Army’s food truck with no planPHOTO: BRENDA AUTRYVolunteer Greg Balck along with second-year Culinary Art students AndrewHulcy and Soren Skinner prepare to hand out lunch.for lunch.“They had no idea what to do, soI just went in and started running it likeit was my own thing,” Green said. “I goton Facebook and asked if there were anyother chefs or students willing to comehelp. Next thing I knew, I had 10 presentand former students along with almostthe entire culinary arts faculty coming tohelp.”One of those faculty memberswas Gretchen Manning, who is nowsharing the responsibility of running thekitchen with Green.“I was on vacation in JacksonPHOTO: BRENDA AUTRYInstructional Specialist Stacy LeBar cutting carrots for lunch.Hole, Wyoming when I saw Josh’s post,”Manning said. “I texted him I was onmy way, and I turned around and drovestraight back.”By the time Manning arrivedthe next day, Green had moved hisoperation out of the food truck and intothe fairgrounds’ professional kitchen.He had also started inventorying food,setting up menus and filling the shiftschedules for the next week.“The Salvation Army told meto just tell them what I needed and theywould make it happen,” Green said.They provided money for thefirst food order but now the food for thekitchen is coming largely from donations.“Businesses have donated a lotof food items,” Manning said, pointingto the racks of bread donated by Franz.“We also get a lot of food items fromthe donation center. Large items like bigbags of rice, watermelons, food servicesized cans of food that people can’t reallytake back to their campers, we take toincorporate into our meals.“Several local restaurants havedonated entire cooked meals. The lunchtoday [Sunday] came from La Roca, PapaMurphy’s donated pizza for dinner lastnight, Gambaretti’s catered a full meal,and Subway is doing a sandwich lunchlater this week.”Frankies Restaurant, LittleCaesars, University Hero. and Five PiesContinued on Page 5.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2020 COMMUTER@LINNBENTON.EDULOCAL NEWSContinued.Pizza also donated meals and the LinnBenton Culinary Arts Club donatedmoney for food and supplies.Green and Manning are incharge of running the kitchen, which isno small task, but the actual food prepand serving is being done mostly bypresent and former students of the LBCulinary Arts program.Andrew Hulcy and SorenSkinner, both second-year students andCorvallis residents, have worked abouteight hours a day since Thursday, Sept.10.“Being stuck inside becauseof the smoke was so nerve-wracking,”Skinner said. “I’m glad to be able to getout and do something that helps others.”“I plan to keep volunteeringuntil school starts in a couple weeks,”Hulcy said.When the students and facultyreturn to the classroom -- mostly virtual-- at the beginning of fall term, therunning of the kitchen will fall on othervolunteers.Katelynn Omete, a culinary artsalum, has volunteered to take over thekitchen’s oversight.“So many of my family andfriends have been affected by this,”Omete said. “So, when I saw there was aneed I could fill, I did.”5PHOTO: BRENDA AUTRYSecond-year Culinary Arts student Andrew Hulcy sifts through donations for perishables to be used in the kitchen.AdrienneEwanchyna,aculinary arts alum who owns andoperates Indulgence Personal Chef, isvolunteering in her off time.“A few years ago my familywas affected by the wildfire in Corvallisso I understand what these people aregoing through.” Ewanchyna said. “Thishas given me a lot of anxiety and I’mhappy to be able to direct it in a positivedirection.”If you would like to volunteerat the evacuation shelter you can signup online through the City of Albanywebsite or at signupgenius.com. Ifyou would like to make a monetarydonation, please refer to the OregonVoluntary Organizations Active Disaster(ORVOAD) verified disaster relieforganization list at www.orvoad.org.For physical donations, pleaserefer to the Linn County Wildfire Donationspage for a list of current needs.PHOTO: BRENDA AUTRYChef Gretchen Manning helping to clean up atthe Linn County Evacuation Shelter.PHOTO: BRENDA AUTRYVolunteers Emily Balck (left), Courtney Mallow andSharon Grace prepare to serve lunch.PHOTO: BRENDA AUTRYLB Culinary alum AdrienneEwanchyna prepswatermelon for lunch atthe Linn County EvacuationShelter.PHOTO: BRENDA AUTRYSecond-year Culinary Arts student AndrewHulcy retrieves food from the refrigeratedtruck donated by Sysco.PHOTO: BRENDA AUTRYLB Culinary faculty and staff volunteer at the Linn County Evacuation Shelter(Chef Josh Green, IS Jesse Jones, Chef Gretchen Manning, IS Stacy LeBar.PHOTO: BRENDA AUTRYChef JoshGreenretrievingsuppliesfrom therefrigerationtruckdonated bySysco.
6LOCAL NEWSFARM A N I MA L SSEPTEMBER 23, 2020LBCOMMUTER.COM Horses and LivestockFind Temporary HomeWildfires Cause Local Communities to Come Together in Time of NeedSTORY BYHIKARI KAWAIWith Oregon in flames, the localcommunity has been coming together tohelp. Many barns and local fairgroundshave opened their places for those needingto evacuate their horses.This year has been an extremelycrazy year, from COVID-19 to hugewildfires rampaging through Oregon.Many people and families have hadto evacuate their areas. Though thecommunities around here are mostlyrural, many have been affected becausethey have their own farm animals orhorses.Those in the level one evacuationareas started loading up the horses andlivestock in order to leave in time becauseit can be a long process. It is better to loadearly and get them to a safe area than towait last minute and end up endangeringthe horses.Many however don’t have thecapacity or resources on hand to be ableto evacuate all their animals. Which iswhy Akin’s Trailers in Harrisburg has beengraciously loaning livestock/horse trailersto anyone who needs it. Currently, theystated that they are still lending trailersbecause some are able to return home andneed help moving back.Becky Burger has been tagteaming with a few people to go backand forth loading and evacuating horsesand a lot of livestock to a safer area. Shehas ten horses right now safely residingat her barn but has been continuouslygoing since Tuesday, Sept. 8 loadinganimals from all areas. Now she said thatthey have been helping take a few of thelivestock or horses homeward.Jenny Strooband at the LinnBenton Community College Horse Centeris actively involved in taking in horsesand has also been a big help for thelocal communities. They have taken ina handful of horses from places affectedby the fires such as Scio, Mill Creek andEstacada. She said that though they havebeen helping out as much as they can, thatthere are literally hundreds of others whoFA R M A N IMA L SPHOTO: HIKARI KAWAIJenny Strooband is activelyinvolved with the Oregon wildfiresrelief by taking in horses in need atLinn-Benton Community College’sHorse Center.have dropped everything and stepped upto help in one way or another. She alsosaid that though there have been quite afew articles calling them heros, they arejust doing their part to help out in anyway possible.Another small barn on RaEl Farms in Tangent, Oregon has alsobegun taking in animals. Lisa Tuttle, thebarn manager, said that starting Tuesday,Sept. 8 at 2 a.m. she was on call foranyone who needed help evacuating theirhorses. They now have three horses attheir barn, from Scio and Mill Creek. The4-H group based at Ra-El Farms has alsobeen helping out at the local fairgrounds.Of course this is but a fewexamples of the locals who have beenactively helping out in any way possible.To also just name a few, Benton County,LBCC and Linn County have all openedup their facilities, and people who aren’teven necessarily animal/ livestock peoplehave volunteered.There is still work yet to be doneand help is desperately needed. Reach outto your local community and see if thereis anything you can help out with!PHOTO: BECKY BURGERBecky Burger is taking in livestock refugees from all areas affected by thewildfires.PHOTO: HIKARI KAWAIOakley issafe from thewildfires inScio thanks toRa-El Farmsin Tangent,Oregon.PHOTO: BECKY BURGEREager to return, thesecows will be glad tohear Becky Burger isalready beginning totake a few livestockback home.PHOTO: HIKARI KAWAICash from MillCity is currentlyresiding at asmall barn atRa-El Farmsto escape thewildfires.GRAPHICS: FREEPIK.COM
COMMUTER@LINNBENTON.EDUA&ESEPTEMBER 23, 20207Dunder Mifflin: A Little DeeperREVIEW BYKINSLEY STONENBC’s The Office wrapped up its finalseason in 2013, but the demand for morehas been on a steady rise in recent yearswith viewers watching 52 million minutesof the show in 2018 just on Netflix alone.The Office has become something specialin my household. I have watched theseries enough times that I can jump inon any episode and know exactly whatis happening, and even guess the nameof the episode based on the cold-open,which I consider to be a special talent.When I heard there was going to be apod
Arts program. Fifth-year Culinary Arts instructor Josh Green grew up in Lyons, a town in the middle of the Santiam Canyon evacuation zone. His parents, who still live there, were among those evacuated from their homes. “I wanted t
