Linn-Benton Community College

The Linn-Benton Community College choirs will perform “Cloudburst!” on Thursday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the LBCC Russell Tripp Performance Center, Takena Hall, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany. Conducted by James Reddan, LBCC director of choral activities, the performance includes the Concert Choir, Re-Choired Element Chamber Choir, Women’s Choir and the a cappella groups Blue Light Special and The Sirens. Diana Hancock will accompany on piano.  In addition, the LBCC choirs just released their second CD, Ear Candy, which will be available for purchase at the concert, and Gracewinds Music in Corvallis. The concert will feature many different choral works celebrating different choral traditions and cultures many reflecting nature in various times and places, including pieces such as Dubula (Hatfield), Sure on this Shining Night (Barber), Jene Rosen (Mahler/Reddan), Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen (Brahms), Laughing Song (Blake), two versions of the Russian classic Bogoroditse Dj

The Linn-Benton Opera Guild will preview the opera Rinaldo, by George Frideric Handel, on Tuesday, March 12 at 7:45 p.m. at 303 Benton Hall, Oregon State University campus, Corvallis. OSU music professor Angela Carlson will tell the story of the opera and play recorded excerpts from the score. Admission is free to Linn-Benton Opera Guild members, students of Linn-Benton Community College and OSU. Cost for the general public is $5. Performance dates will be March 15, 19, 21 and 23 at 7:30 p.m. and March 17 at 2 p.m. at the Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay, Portland. The opera will be sung in Italian with projected English translations. Linn-Benton Community College and the Linn-Benton Opera Guild will host a bus ride to the closing performance on Saturday, March 23 for those interested. Round-trip coach fare is $45 per person. Cost for opera tickets is not included, and seating reservations are required. The bus will leave LBCC’s Benton Center p

Eric Dickey Corvallis author Eric Dickey will hold a poetry reading as part of the Valley Writers Series at LBCC’s Benton Center Wednesday, March 6 from 7 to 8 p.m. in room BC-244, 757 NW Polk Ave., Corvallis. Dickey has a master of fine arts in Creative Writing from Oregon State University. His has written two chapbooks: The Hardy Boy Poems from Beard of Bees Press released this month, and Forgive Me, Tiny Robots from The Argotist Online Press released in April. He also has entered a daily tweet of exactly 140 characters, Monday through Friday, since June 2009 at twitter.com/MePoet . His poems and translations have appeared in Rhino, Manzanita Quarterly, West Wind Review, International Poetry Review, and the Suisun Valley Review, among others.  Online, Dickey’s poems can be found at talkingwriting.com , blazevox.org , and toegoodpoetry.com , among other sites.  The Valley Writers Series is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the LBCC English Department. The serie

Learn how to manage money and budget in this Dollars and Sense Workshop offered by Willamette Neighborhood Housing Services and Linn-Benton Community College. Discover how to improve your credit report and learn some easy-to-follow steps to help you save money and improve your money management skills to reach your financial goals. This free one-day workshop will be held Saturday, March 9 from 9 a.m. to 4:50 p.m. at LBCC’s Lebanon Center , 44 Industrial Way. Workshop is presented by Willamette Neighborhood Housing Services , a local, non-profit housing agency. Workshop participants are eligible for free one-on-one support from certified credit and budget specialists. Preregistration is required through Willamette Neighborhood Housing Services at: www.w-nhs.org , or email at info@w.nhs.org or call 541-752-7220, ext. 300. For more information, call the LBCC Lebanon Center at 541-259-5801.

The class "Turning Point Transitions" will be offered at Linn-Benton Community College’s Lebanon Center beginning April 8. Discover how to address the often-times stressful changes in your life by learning how to cope with change, how to love and accept yourself, how to manage stress and how to set goals. Information will be provided on career exploration options and how to identify your skills. Interested individuals must schedule an interview one week before class begins by contacting Joanne Apter at 541-917-4876. This four-week class meets Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. beginning April 8 at the LBCC Lebanon Center, 44 Industrial Way. Class is free and students earn three college credits upon successful completion of the class. For more information, contact the LBCC Lebanon Center at 541-259-5801.

Workshops will be held on “Developing World Class Employees” through Linn-Benton Community College Business and Employer Services starting March 7 in the Calapooia Center building, room CC-211, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany. “Bad Leadership and What to Do About It” will be held Thursday, March 7, from 8 a.m. to noon.  Learn what to avoid as a leader and investigate the traps of leadership and skillful ways to work around them. Work more effectively with bad leaders and understand reasons for bad leadership while identifying ways to become an excellent leader. 
“Hiring Right the First Time” will be held Tuesday, March 19 from 8 a.m. to noon. Learn the process of planning and conducting effective hiring interviews, and how to best evaluate job candidates. Discover ways to predict a candidate’s job performance and hire someone who will be successful and fit into your organization. Cost for each workshop is $79 per person, or $69 each for three or more from one company. For more informati

Courses to prepare senior agriculture workers to take the State of Oregon Department of Agriculture pesticide applicator exam will be offered through the Small Business Development Center at Linn-Benton Community College. These courses are designed for employees who need in-depth training in pesticide application and safety, or extra coaching in math and calibration skills needed for accurate application.  Pesticide Private Applicator will be offered Thursday, March 7 from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and Friday, March 8 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Albany campus, Calapooia Center room CC-103. Cost for this non-credit class is $99. 
Pesticides Laws and Safety (Public and Commercial Applications) will be offered Thursday, March 14 and Friday, March 15 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Albany campus, Calapooia Center room CC-211. Cost for this non-credit class is $99. 
LBCC offers ODA exams at an additional cost of $58 each. For test dates, see the METRO web site at  http://oregon.metrosignup.c

The AARP Driver Safety Program will be offered through Linn-Benton Community College March 4 and 5. The program is designed to help develop and reinforce safe driving skills and techniques. Satisfactory completion may qualify you for reduced insurance premiums (check with your insurance carrier). This two-day class will be held Monday, March 4 and Tuesday, March 5 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:20 a.m. at the Lebanon Senior Center, 80 Tangent St. Cost for the class is $12 for AARP members, and $14 for non-members. For more information, contact the LBCC Lebanon Center at 541-259-5801.

LBCC music major Serena Lodes will give a vocal recital Thursday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 pm at Linn-Benton Community College South Santiam Hall, room 213, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany. Lodes, an Albany resident, will perform works by a number of composers of repertoire from across the spectrum of vocal literature.  Pieces will include Come, Heavy Sleep (Johnson), Piercing Eyes (Haydn), and works from operas by Mozart, Schubert, Gounod and works by Barber and Head.  LBCC music major Jacob Potter will accompany Lodes, in addition to several other students from the music program. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact James Reddan at 541-917-4550.

Charly Hemphill Governor John Kitzhaber and the Oregon Community College Association will honor two students from Linn-Benton Community College in April as part of the OCCA All-Oregon Academic Team .   Charly Hemphill, a networking and systems administration major from Sweet Home and Jeff Lehn, an accounting technology major from Albany, will be honored at a luncheon with the Governor, where each will receive a plaque from the OCCA and a $1,000 scholarship from the university they plan to attend after graduating from LBCC. Hemphill is a member of the LBCC  Jeff Lehn chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, and serves on the LBCC’s Student Life and Leadership Council. He plans to transfer to Oregon State University to complete his bachelor’s degree. Lehn currently serves as senior vice president of LBCC’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter, and plans to transfer to OSU to complete his bachelor’s degree. The Oregon Community College Association , in partnership with Phi Theta Kappa, recog

Chief Comcomly, headman of the Chinook Tribe, became so powerful and wealthy that the white traders called him a king. What is his story? How did he become so wealthy and powerful? LBCC’s Sweet Home Center will hold a free two-day class that will examine the Chinookan life within the extended Columbian River trading system, cultural transition due to Boston-Hawaiian contact, and a glimpse of Chinook political reality today. Class meets on two consecutive Monday’s, Feb. 25 and March 4, from 1 p.m. to 2:50 p.m., at the LBCC Sweet Home Center, 1661 Long St. For more information, contact the LBCC Sweet Home Center at 541-367-6901

Several free Phlebotomy Program information sessions will be offered through Linn-Benton Community College for those interested in training to become a phlebotomist. Session times and dates are Tuesday, Feb. 19 from 10 a.m. to Noon, and Monday, March 4, from 1 to 3 p.m. All sessions will be held at the LBCC Lebanon Center, 44 Industrial Way. No preregistration is required to attend. Attendance at one of the information sessions is mandatory to register for the program. The 16-week Phlebotomy Program training starts July 29 and runs through Nov. 15 at the Lebanon Community Hospital Health Careers Training Center and the LBCC Lebanon Center. Skill areas covered in the training include medical terminology, basic anatomy and physiology, customer service, medical law and ethics, phlebotomy and Cost for the program is $5,000. The program is eligible for financial aid. Check the LBCC web site for course prerequisites at www.linnbenton.edu/go/forms . For more information, contact LBCC Business

Nominations for the annual Distinguished Alumnus Award at Linn-Benton Community College are being accepted through April 1. The award honors alumni who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in their profession or through service to their community, and who have completed at least 36 credits at LBCC. Nomination forms are available online at www.linnbenton.edu/go/alumni/distinguished-alumni . Nominees will be honored at LBCC’s Alumni-Student reception held May 8. For more information, contact Dale Stowell, LBCC College Advancement Office, at 541-917-4784. 

Tickets are on sale for the annual LBCC Culinary Arts Winter Banquet held Friday, March 8 with two seating’s at 6:30 and 7 p.m., in the LBCC Commons dining room, second floor College Center building, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany.  All dishes are prepared and served by the culinary arts students. This year’s theme for the buffet-style banquet is "A Taste of Aloha," highlighting the foods Hawaiian influences including Polynesian, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, Filipino and Korean. A sampling from the menu includes sushi, lomi lomi salmon, potato-macaroni salad, crab cole slaw, huli huli chicken, kalua pork, poi, chicken long rice, pancit, macadamia nut-crusted mahi mahi, pineapple upside-down cake, haupia and malasada. Tickets are $22 per person and include the complete buffet and beverages. Tickets must be purchased in advance through the LBCC Culinary Arts Department located in the Calapooia Center, second floor room CC-214, or by phone at 541-917-4385. A

The 38th annual children’s play “The Crane Wife” will be held at LBCC’s Russell Tripp Performance Center, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany. A Japanese folk tale, The Crane Wife tells the poignant story of a man who rescues a crane, his wife who weaves beautiful silk clothing to raise them out of poverty, and the greed of a man that results in the loss of the love he holds most dear. LBCC Theater Director Dan Stone brings the tale to life with puppetry, masks and original music. Two performances will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16  and Saturday, Feb. 23. The Feb. 23 performance is an American Sign Language performance. Tickets are $9 for adults, $7 for students and seniors aged 60 and over, and $5 for children under 18 when accompanied by an adult.  A family package rate of $25 for two adults and up to two children is available through the theater box office or by phone. Family package is not available for online ticket purchases. All proceeds from the Feb. 16

A free series called Gardening in the Pacific Northwest will be held Wednesdays at the Albany Public Library, 2450 14th Ave. S.E., and Thursdays at the LBCC Lebanon Center, 44 Industrial Way, from noon to 1 p.m. Schedule: • Feb. 6 and 7: A Crash Course on PNW Plant ID, Joleen Schilling (LBCC) • Feb. 13 and 14: Indoor & Outdoor Water Conservation, Kim Kagelaris (city of Albany) • Feb. 20 and 21: How to “Grow” Healthy, Living Soil, Rich Little (OSU Master Gardener) • Feb. 27and 28: Edible Landscapes: Grocery Shop from Your Yard!, Miriam Edell (LBCC) Sponsored by Linn County Master Gardeners and LBCC.

Kurt Norlin - "Voodoo" Albany photographer Kurt Norlin will be exhibiting a series of recent black-and-white photographs from Feb. 11 to March 22 in the South Santiam Gallery at Linn-Benton Community College, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany. In “Alternate Vision,” Norlin shares his close observations of his immediate surroundings, usually gleaned from long walks through neighborhoods, down back alleys and along riverfront paths. His photographs, made in the “toy camera” aesthetic, become a series of visual bookmarks for the often-overlooked glimpses hidden all around us. “Over the years I have become more and more interested in the essence of a place, rather than the pure descriptive fact,” Norlin says. “To that end, I started shooting with toy and pinhole cameras in the early 1990s in order to capture that essence.” For his recent work, Norlin has turned to digital cameras with plastic optics to create the softly focused, dreamlike quality characteristic of his work. Nor