LBCC Insider Staff News, January 22, 2016

BC in blue, new property in green.

The LBCC Board of Education approved a $3 million agreement to purchase property for the Benton Center project to provide 20,000 square feet of additional classroom space and increase parking to meet current and future demand at the center. The property, at 931 NW Reiman St. in Corvallis, includes about two-and-a-half acres and a 12,000-square-foot building.  The property is currently leased by First Student, which uses it for parking and maintenance of school buses. Contingencies of the deal include working with First Student to find an acceptable place to relocate their operation, and for LBCC to work with the City of Corvallis to determine possible zoning issues. If either of those issues is insurmountable, the sale could be canceled. The college estimates the site will allow for more than double the parking space for the center, and the existing building also provides new options for expansion of classroom space.


A welding student and the college Arts and Aesthetics Resource Team joined forces to create a

Welding student Micheal Rice & M'Liss Runyon sit on
the new bench they collaboratively created.

new bench for the Albany campus, which was recently installed under the solar gazebo in front of White Oak Hall. M’Liss Runyon, chair of New Art Projects for AART and graphic designer in the College Advancement office, designed the bench, then handed her concept over to 2nd-year welding student and welding instructional assistant Michael Rice as a class project. The bench was then powder-coated with blue paint, made possible by a donation from the Student Leadership Council. AART also brought the poetry birdhouses to campus, and continues to work to bring art, color and beautification to our college campuses.

The LBCC Theater Department’s Community Engaged Theater program, Sanctuary Stage, has been invited to perform at the San Diego International Fringe Festival in July. Actors with Sanctuary Stage will perform an original Commedia dell' Arte play titled "I Got Guns," a comedic look at guns and gun policy in America. Congratulations!

Bev Dunigan, new coordinator of the Lebanon and Sweet Home Centers, replacing Mary Sue Reynolds who retired in December, shared this Letter to the Editor of the Sweet Home New Era newspaper - a thanks to Reynolds and Sweet Home Center staff member Alice Burnett who also retired in December. Dated Dec. 30, 2015, by Candice Lawrence, Sweet Home: “I want to take the time to appreciate Mary Reynolds and Alice Burnett for their service working at the Sweet Home Linn-Benton Community College center. They were there to help me when I first started school at the LBCC center since it has been at the high school. I remember my first class, a kid coming from nothing, no family guidance, could barely pay my rent, to being brave enough to dive into an education. Reynolds and Burnett were there with a smile and patience as I navigated the college routine of life. I still use the center today as a local resource to use the computer lab, now a graduate with an AAOT from LBCC working on a bachelor’s degree. These two girls have helped me grow, they always made me feel welcomed, and were very helpful if I was ever in a jam pertaining to school, they knew how to help me. Mary and Alice, your shoes will be hard to fill for the dedication, support and love you two have put into the Sweet Home center. I thank you, sincerely.”

Mary Sue Reynolds, left, and Alice Burnett, recent
Sweet Home Center retirees.
Photo: Scott Swanson, Sweet Home New Era