Linn-Benton Community College

The Valley Writers Series at Linn-Benton Community College will host a reading by Corvallis author and LBCC composition instructor Jed Wyman on Wednesday, May 11 at Noon in the Calapooia Center building, Cascade View room CC-203, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany. Wyman will be reading from a recent collection of short stories. He attended Bard College in New York and the University of Montana in Missoula, where he earned his MA in history. In 2009, Wyman received his MFA in Creative Writing from OSU and is currently a composition instructor at LBCC. Prior to teaching at LBCC, he taught for two summers in Kenya. Wyman has also spent nine summers working on a trail crew in Sequoia National Park where he lived in a little green tent and rode a big red horse named Tabasco. His favorite authors include John Steinbeck, Jerzy Kosinski, Graham Greene, Tobias Wolff, Russell Banks, and Charles Bukowski. The Valley Writers Series is sponsored by the LBCC English Department and exists to connect beg...

Discover the why, when and what of making baby food at home in the class Oh Baby! Homemade Baby Food offered through the LBCC Benton Center in May. Whether a new parent or expecting, find out how homemade baby food is economical, better for baby, and easy to make. Learn when to introduce which foods at what age and get hands-on practice preparing baby's food. The important aspects of food safety and nutrition will also be covered. Instructor is an OSU nutrition major graduate and a new mom. This non-credit class will meet on two Wednesdays, May 4 and May 11, from 6:30 to 9:20 p.m. at Corvallis High School, room H-3. Cost is $39 with a $10 lab fee. For more information or to register, contact the LBCC Benton Center at 541-757-8944.

Learn what it takes to improve your photos in the class Photoshop Elements III offered through the LBCC Benton Center in May. Delve deeper into the many functions of Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0, and learn how editing pictures in the RAW format can improve your photos. Get hands-on experience using the histogram and levels settings. Explore advanced techniques with layers, removing noise, sharpening, obtaining matching color prints, and creating beautiful panoramic photos, photo-montages, and fancy watermarks to identify your photos. This four-week class meets on Tuesdays starting May 10 from 6:30 to 9:20 p.m. at the LBCC Benton Center, room BC-206. Cost for this non-credit class is $45 with a $3 lab fee. For more information or to register, contact LBCC Benton Center at 541-757-8944.

Learn how to create exciting travel images in the Travel Photography class offered through the LBCC Benton Center in May. Whether close to home or far abroad, learn how to use photography to capture memories, tell a story, and express a sense of place. Class will explore the basics of exposure, lighting, and composition, identify what equipment is practical for travel and how to pack and carry and discuss cultural, legal and security issues involved in international travel. This three-day class will meet on Friday, May 6, from 6:30 to 9:20 p.m., Saturday, May 14, 9 to 11:50 a.m., and Friday, May 20 from 6:30 to 8:50 p.m. at the LBCC Benton Center, room BC-206. Cost for this non-credit class is $39 with a $2 lab fee. For more information or to register, contact LBCC Benton Center at 541-757-8944.

Wildland Firefighting Training will be offered through Linn-Benton Community College on May 6, 7 and 8, and May 14 and 15 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the LBCC Albany campus, 6500 Pacific Blvd., SW. Taught by a lead instructor certified by the National Wildfire Suppression Association, this course is designed to provide entry-level firefighter skills including one day of field training. Learn what it takes to assist in the suppression of wildfires, the primary factors affecting the start and spread of wildfires, how to communicate on the fire-line and how to use the Incident Command System. Course curriculum meets or exceeds the National Wildfire Coordinating Group 310-1 requirements. Participants must be 18 years of age or older, in good physical condition and must have two forms of government-issued identification. Class size is limited, so register early. Cost for this non-credit course is $275 and includes all materials. For more information or to register, contact LBCC Business, Healt...

A fire line safety refresher course designed for wildland firefighters and forest service workers holding Incident Command System qualifications requiring fire-training certification will be offered through Linn-Benton Community College on Sunday, May 8. The RT130 Fire Safety Refresher trains participants to recognize and mitigate risk, maintain safe and effective practices, and to reduce accidents and near misses. Students will practice deploying new generation fire shelters. Class will meet on Sunday, May 8 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the LBCC Albany campus, Calapooia Center, room CC-211, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW. Cost is $65. Students must have completed S-130 and S-190 training. Tender Operators need no prior training. Please refer to the June 2009 Wildland Fire Qualification System Guide for positions that require the annual Fireline Safety Refresher at www.nwcg.gov/pms/docs/pms310-1. Class size is limited. For more information or to register, contact LBCC Business, Healthcare and Workf...

Sixty works by 42 student artists are on view at the annual Juried Art Student Exhibit in the North Santiam Hall Gallery at Linn-Benton Community College, 6500 SW Pacific Blvd. A reception and awards ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, May 4 from noon to 1 p.m. in the NSH second floor atrium. Juror Beverly Soasey of the Jacobs Gallery in Eugene will be on hand to confer over $2,000 in cash prizes from donors and gift certificates from area merchants. The exhibit was open to students who have taken art classes at the college during the 2010-11 academic year. The media on exhibit include paintings in oil, watercolor and acrylic; drawings in pencil, ink, and pastel; photography; glass; ceramics and mixed-media sculpture. The exhibit runs through June 3. The gallery is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

LBCC's first Earth Day Sustainability Fair, held Friday, April 22, was a great success, according to fair-goers and participants. Faculty came out to showcase some of their program efforts including Denis Green, Mechatronics; John Alvin, Heavy Equipment; Bryan Schiedler, Automotive; and Scott Anselm, Culinary Arts. LBCC Food Services manager Todd Ketterman displayed campus efforts on composting food waste; Julie Jackson with Allied Waste educated folks on recycling; the Green Team from First United Methodist Church handed out their Albany Reuse Directory; and the LBCC student Green Club and LBCC Sustainability Committee talked about what the campus is doing around sustainability. Check out the articles and videos online at the Democrat Herald and Gazette Times sites: http://www.democratherald.com/news/local/education/article_c0adc9fe-6d74-11e0-9934-001cc4c03286.html http://www.democratherald.com/news/local/education/article_c0adc9fe-6d74-11e0-9934-001cc4c03286.html?mode=video http...

Daniel Brown, a climatologist with the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute at Oregon State University, will give a talk on Understanding Climate Change as part of LBCC’s Earth Day Sustainability Fair held this Friday, April 22, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the college courtyard, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany. Brown’s presentation will be from Noon to 1 p.m. in LBCC’s Madrone Hall, room MH-113. His talk will cover the fundamentals of global climate, challenges the Pacific Northwest will face in a warming world, and small things we can all do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. During the Earth Day event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., LBCC faculty will give demonstrations from college programs on solar energy, light bulb efficiency, alternative fuel technology, a water pump system that uses no external energy. LBCC’s recently donated electric car also will be on display. The LBCC Sustainability Committee and the student Green Club will have tables showcasing campus sustainability work, with t...

LBCC's Lebanon and Sweet Home Centers will offer two digital photography classes this spring term. Make the most of the features and settings of your digital SLR camera in the class Your Digital SLR Camera offered at the Sweet Home Center. Gain a better understanding of exposure, auto and manual focus, depth of field, choice of lens, camera maintenance, accessories and more. This five-week class includes a photo shoot to apply what you have learned. Students will work with Adobe Photoshop Elements to make the photos even better. Students must have taken the Intro to Digital Photography class. This five-week class will meet on Tuesdays from 6 to 8:50 p.m. beginning May 3 at the LBCC Sweet Home Center. Cost for the class is $54 plus a $3 fee. The Lebanon Center is offering the class Digital Photo Composition and Creativity. Expand your knowledge of digital photography and understand how to use lighting, composition and creativity to take and publish professional looking photographs...

Linn-Benton Community College’s Welding Fabrication team took first place at the Oregon Skills USA competition held in Milwaukie last week. Team members include Tim Burns, Matt Perry, Andrew Gustafson, Morgan Gordon, Coury Gagne, and Jeff Robinson. The team also had first- and second-place winners in the welding competitions, with Gordon in MIG welding and Gagne in TIG welding taking first places, and Robinson taking second in the general welding competition. Each team had to design and draft a project, then submit their drawings to the Skills USA technical committee. Finished projects were checked against the team’s drawings for accuracy. The LBCC Welding Fabrication team is now eligible to compete in the national Skills USA competition in Kansas City in June. The fabrication team will be fundraising to help offset the cost of the trip to Kansas City. If you would like to make a donation to the team’s trip, contact LBCC welding faculty Fred Stuewe at 541-917-4581.

The Valley Writers Series at Linn-Benton Community College will host a reading by Corvallis author Rick Borsten on Thursday, April 28 from 3 p.m. to 3:50 p.m. in North Santiam Hall, room NSH-207, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany. Borsten’s first novel, The Great Equalizer, was a National Endowment for the Arts New American Writing selection and a finalist for the Oregon Book Award in 1987. The Chicago Sun Times called the novel “Daring and imaginative, fast-paced and moving…a tender and loving story, and a ringing reaffirmation of life.” Borsten is also the author of the novel Rainbow Rhapsody as well as other works of fiction and poetry. He has lived in Corvallis for more than thirty years. The Valley Writers Series is sponsored by the LBCC English Department and exists to connect beginning writers with professional writers and to stimulate creative writing among area students, to enhance literary awareness in our community, and to encourage Oregon writers. Valley Writers Series is f...

Plan to attend the first Earth Day Sustainability Fair at Linn-Benton Community College on Friday, April 22 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the college courtyard in front of White Oak Hall, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany. Faculty and students will give demonstrations from college programs on solar energy, light bulb efficiency, alternative fuel technology, a water pump system that uses no external energy, and much more. LBCC’s recently donated electric car also will be on display. LBCC physics faculty Greg Mulder will give a climate change lecture and demonstration in Madrone Hall from 12:15 to 12:50 p.m. The LBCC Sustainability Committee and several student clubs will have tables showcasing campus sustainability work, with tours of the organic garden and newly-installed green roof. Allied Waste will be on hand to answer recycling questions, and the Green Team at First United Methodist Church in Albany will be give out a Reuse Directory they have designed. Earth Day is free and open to the p...

Tickets are now on sale for a farewell benefit concert to be held for retiring Linn-Benton Community College Dean of Instruction Gary Ruppert on Friday, April 29, at 7:30 p.m. in the LBCC Russell Tripp Performance Center, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany. Ruppert, an accomplished pianist, will perform his favorite jazz and classical piano pieces including works by Debussy, Chopin, Ravel, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Bill Evans and others. His wife, Karen, a vocalist, will also participate in the program. An hor d'oeuvres reception is included in the ticket price, with a no-host, cash wine bar following the concert. All proceeds from the concert will benefit the LBCC Special Events Fund. The concert is Ruppert’s way of saying thank you for 35 years in the local music scene and service to the college. Ruppert, an Albany resident, began work at the college in 1974 as a music faculty member. In 1998, Ruppert was promoted to director of the college Arts and Communications Division, and in...

Explore the world through its cuisines in one of several international cooking classes offered through Linn-Benton Community College Albany Community Education this spring. Classes will cover Italy, France, Mexico, Russia and Eastern Europe, and Asia. Take one class or sign up for all. Each one-day class will meet on Wednesdays from 6 p.m. to 8:50 p.m. in the LBCC Commons kitchen, second floor Calapooia Center. International Cooking Italy (CRN 46995) will be held April 20; International Cooking France (CRN 46996) will be held April 27; International Cooking Mexico (CRN 46998) will be held May 11; International Cooking Russia and Eastern Europe (CRN 47001) will be held June 1; and International Cooking Asia (CRN 47494) will be held June 8. Cost for each non-credit class is $29 with a $12 lab fee. Pre-registration is required. Seniors age 62 and over receive a 25 percent tuition reduction. Discount does not apply to lab fees. For more information or to register, contact LBCC Albany Co...

Awards were recently announced for the Central Western Oregon Science Expo (CWOSE) held at Linn-Benton Community College in March. CWOSE is a regional fair affiliated with the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair and the North West Science Exposition. The fair hosted 87 high school students and 90 middle school students from Linn, Benton, Lane, Marion, Polk, Yamhill, Tillamook and Lincoln counties to compete in science and engineering categories. The students produced 147 exhibits, with 50 judges on-hand to score the projects. Participants won a combined total of $56,000 in scholarships to Oregon Universities, along with acknowledgment of excellent achievement from several organizations. Two students also won an all-expense paid trip to participate at the International Science and Engineering Fair to be held in Los Angeles, California in May. Middle School Awards Outstanding Project in an Atmospheric Science Exhibit sponsored by American Meteorological Society Lorien Deyo...

LBCC will offer a Sterile Processing and Distribution Technician Certification Preparation course through Business and Employer Services at Linn-Benton Community College at the Albany Campus, Willamette Hall, room WH-120, 6500 Pacific Blvd. S.W., Albany, Oregon. Classes will begin on Wednesday, May 11 through Wednesday, July 13, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. There will be two additional clinical dates to be determined and no clinical make-up permitted for successful completion of the course. The registration and course fee of $300 deadline is Wednesday, April 20, for this course being offered during Spring Term. Enrollment is limited to the first 20 students with paid tuition. The college reserves the right to cancel the course if the minimum enrollment of 13 students is not met. This 56-hour course prepares students to take the National Certification Exam for Sterile Processing and Distribution Technicians. By the end of the course, students will be ready to begin an orientation program in a...

A Wilderness Survival and Safety class will be held at the Linn-Benton Community College’s Lebanon and Sweet Home Centers this spring. This one-day class will introduce you to the skills that may save your life in an outdoor emergency. Topics covered include mental and physical preparation, starting a fire, creating a shelter, signaling and items you should always carry in the outdoors. This class is designed for anyone that works, plays or travels through the wilderness of Western Oregon. Class will meet at the Sweet Home Center on Saturday, April 16 from 9 a.m. to 4:50 p.m. in room SHC-101. The Lebanon Center class will meet on Saturday, May 7 from 9 a.m. to 4:50 p.m. in room LC-153. Cost for this non-credit class is $39 plus a $2 lab fee. For more information or to register, visit the LBCC online schedule at www.linnbenton.edu, or call the Lebanon Center at 541-259-5801 or the Sweet Home Center at 541-367-6901. Adults age 62 and above receive a 25 percent reduction in tuition. Red...

The LBCC Sweet Home Center is the offering an Intro to Geocaching class this spring. This class will introduce you to the exciting world of Global Positioning System (GPS) and geocaching, a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. Topics include basic handheld GPS usage, geocaching terminology and etiquette and a field session where you will find some local caches. Bring your handheld GPS and a spirit of adventure. Class will meet on Thursday, April 21 from 6 p.m. to 8:50 p.m. at the Sweet Home Center, room SHC-101. The field session will be on Saturday, April 23 from 9 a.m. to11:50 a.m. The instructor will have additional information about the location of the field session. Cost for this class is $39 plus a $2 lab fee. For more information or to register, visit the LBCC online schedule at www.linnbenton.edu, or call the LBCC Lebanon Center at 541-259-5801 or the Sweet Home Center at 541-367-6901. Adults age 62 and abov...

A food drive will be held to benefit the Linn Benton Lunch Box program at Linn-Benton Community College staring April 8 through April 22. Boxes will be placed at several locations to collect your non-perishable food items. Look for boxes at the LBCC Albany campus, at the LBCC Benton Center, and at the Albany Civic Theater on 1st Street in downtown Albany. Donations will benefit LBCC students in need. For more information, contact LBCC Student Life and Leadership at 541-917-4457.

The 5th annual LBCC Foundation Teddy Bear Tea “ Bears Around the World” will be held at Linn-Benton Community College on Thursday, April 28, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the college Commons cafeteria, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany. Traditional high tea will be served with around the world treats for this fund raising event benefiting the LBCC Education Fund. More than 50 themed baskets filled with items donated by local businesses and community members will be raffled and up for auction. All ages and genders are welcome. Advance reservations are required by April 22. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for school-age children. For more information or reservations, contact the LBCC Foundation office at 541-917-4209 or email at Foundation@linnbenton.edu.

A free information and orientation session for those interested in becoming a Polysomnographic Technologist, or sleep technician, will be held at LBCC on Tuesday, April 19 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Calapooia Center building, room CC-213, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany. Polysomnographic Technologists assist sleep physicians to help patients with sleep disorders such as sleep apnea. Technologists ready the patient for testing, track the patient’s sleep patterns, and write and interpret the results for the physician. LBCC’s Polysomnographic Technologist program combines online and in-class instruction with a clinical practicum. Skill areas covered include the physiology of sleep with an emphasis on sleep disorders and their treatment. The program also covers how to administer, interpret and score a variety of sleep tests. Attendance at the orientation session is mandatory before applying for the program. Classes start June 20 and run through March 17, 2012. Program applications will b...

Learn to talk about end-of-life choices in the class Advance Directive Planning offered at the LBCC Benton Center this spring. This class will help you better understand the critical health care decisions your loved ones will need to make. Terminology of legal documents and Advance Directive planning will be presented in an easy-to-understand interactive format. Also discussed will be how individual beliefs and ethics play a role in health care decisions. This one-day class will meet on Saturday, April 16 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. at the Benton Center, room BC-105, 757 Polk Ave., Corvallis. This class was originally scheduled for April 2. Cost for the class is $39 plus a $2 lab fee. For more information or to register, contact LBCC Benton Center at 541-757-8944.

Join filmmaker Marlin Darrah as he presents the last film in the LBCC Travel at the Tripp film series “The Silk Road: A Journey Through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Turkey” on Sunday, April 17 at 2 p.m. at the LLBCC Russell Tripp Performance Center. Few adventures in the world arouse as much curiosity and wonder as the one called "The Silk Road." Magical places as Samarkand, Buhkara, and Khiva, are the stuff of legends. Traders and warriors traveled by camel and on foot along the Silk Road, transporting precious cargo and treasures, and fascinating customs and cultures. Explore St. Sophia and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul; the palace and landscapes of Mt. Ararat in Turkey, the open-air markets and museums of Uzbekistan, the Navoi Theater, Crescent Moon Lake and street markets, in China; and the Tien Shan Mountains, Buryan Tower, folk dancing, and horse games in Kyrgyzstan. Darrah is an award-winning executive director of the Portland, Oregon-based production company, Internat...