Mario Pastega, who passed away on January 20, was a true patron of life. He was 95 years old. Pastega spent many years in the Willamette Valley, moving to Corvallis in 1961 after purchasing the local Pepsi plant.

Mario Pastega hands out an award to Scottie Hurly at Inservice Day 2010. by Justin Bolger

A shrewd businessman who went on to own three plants, Pastega sold his plants last year after 63 years in the business.

While well known in the business world- he was named to the Beverage World Hall of Fame in 2002-Pastega was also known for his compassion and his community service. It was in the capacity of philanthropist that many people throughout the valley came to know the gentle man who always wore a Greek fisherman’s cap. He gave to organizations throughout the valley to help people lead better lives.

A strong supporter of education, Pastega was a trustee on the Oregon State University Foundation and made numerous donations to the college over the years. He was also a trustee of the Corvallis Public Schools Foundation when it was formed in 1996. That year, he also endowed the Golden Apple Award, an honor given to three outstanding teachers and a staff member in the Corvallis district. He also endowed similar awards at Western Oregon University and Linn-Benton Community College.

One of the other organizations Pastega supported was Albany Civic Theater. “Mario was a very generous man. He loved the arts and really enjoyed life to the fullest. He will be missed by many,” said Dr. Brad Townsend, the director of athletic bands at Oregon State University and an active volunteer at ACT. Pastega donated money to ACT in Townsend’s name three years ago, following that donation up with others in the name of area actors.

Last season, Pastega came to see one of his last performances at ACT when he attended “The 25 Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” Sitting in his customary front row seat, Pastega settled in to watch the show. Word spread back stage and one of the characters, who usually drank a generic soda on stage, instead walked out with a Pepsi in hand. He went down the stairs and instead of drinking it himself, he handed it to a smiling Pastega.

We will miss this kind man,” said Christi Sears, one of the directors at ACT. “He was very generous and love to come and get lost in our productions.”

Pastega was well known at the house that bears his name- the Mario Pastega House on the campus of the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis. With his wife, Alma, Mario donated $350,000 to start construction on the house in 2002. Until his health began to fail, Pastega would stop at the house, available to families with loved ones in the hospital, to visit with people, often times without anyone realizing who he was.

A member of the Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation’s Board of Trustees since 1981, Pastega co-chaired the funding drive to build the Ralph Hull Regional Heart Center in 2002.

A community event that Pastega’s wife Alma spearheaded and Mario continued to support is the annual Pepsi Lights. Each holiday season, the Pepsi plant in Corvallis becomes a winter wonderland of holiday cheer that is free to the public. Many families have made it a holiday tradition to drive through the Pepsi parking area to enjoy the festive light display.

Pastega will be missed by many in the area who came to know the businessman as a friend, a mentor and an all around nice man.

Customers crowd into the new Albany Walmart opening day. by Amanda Hayden

The parking lot had only a few cars, and was empty of people at 7:30a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25. For some reason, it was a little surprising, considering all the excitement Walmart had advertised for its grand-opening ceremonies at that exact date and time.

Upon closer examination, just inside one of the doorways, there were a few hundred people, surrounded by sprays of balloons. There were three obvious groups of people, and their dress defined their station that day. The customers were in their every-day attire. All standard Walmart employees had on the bright blue t-shirts and name tags. Then there were the higher-ups for Walmart, Albany area organizations, and other official-looking people.

It is obvious Walmart has been through an event such as this before; the Albany Walmart Supercenter grand opening was as seamless as one could imagine.

The store had pre-arranged for all of the blue-shirted employees to stand in a horse shoe shape, probably for a variety of reasons. It is safe to say they probably didn’t want shoppers easily sneaking by before the registers and doors were even manned. More importantly, it was obvious to the average ceremony attendee that there were plenty of employees available to help celebrate and tend to the needs of their new customers.

While at the podium to welcome new business into the community, Albany Mayor Sharon Konopa said, “We’re not just a little spot on the map in Oregon.” She went on to explain that this is just a part of the area’s natural transition from a farming community, into one of the state’s important notable places.

Janet Steele, Albany Area Chamber of Commerce president, had only positive expectations for the new store; “Not only will the additional shopping and employment opportunities now be a permanent fixture in our area, but the corporation also put many financial improvements into the area, including their store and the local traffic upgrades. The yearly property tax income alone will be another contribution to our area.”

After donations were announced, and handed out, to 10 area organizations, it was smooth sailing on to the final part of the quick opening ceremony. Albany Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors, most of whom are current area business owners, along with Race Robbins, cut the ceremonial ribbon. This opened up shopping to all customers.

Upon first glance, the customer might notice a slightly darker appearance to an empty shopping area, but once entered, the motion-sensor LED lights click on, and you’re in business.  It is this energy efficiency focus that is of utmost importance to Walmart.

Aside from the generous contributions made during the ceremony, there were also plenty of free drawings around the store, for items such as: an elliptical machine, an xbox 360, a baby crib, and a mountain bike.

David Fuller, the Walmart market manager for areas ranging from South Salem to Eugene, is “very proud of the energy efficiency example this new store has, and the fact that the store will have the improved price and selection area residents can take advantage of 24 hours a day.”

One of the new store’s employees, Devin Monfils, has been cross-training through the many departments (a skill Walmart prides itself on) for three months, traveling to various stores. He said “it will be great to have less of a commute each day.”

For the upcoming Superbowl weekend, Tony the Tiger will also be at the store to welcome customers, as a special treat. The store is well-stocked, well-staffed, and ready to show Albany what it has to offer.

Contest Day Time-line

• 5:30 a.m. Wake up and get ready
• 6:30 a.m. Leave hotel
• 7:00 a.m. Arrive at Fairgrounds, receive pep-talk from coach
• 7:30 a.m. Get seated in arena, get cards and contestant number
• 7:45 a.m. Get organized into groups
• 8:00 a.m. Begin judging first rotation (6 classes)
• 9:00 a.m. End of first rotation
• 9:30 am Begin judging second rotation (6 classes)
• 10:30 a.m. End of second rotation, be transported to hotel for reasons
• 11:00 a.m. Lunch and begin preparing reasons
• 12:00- 5:30 p.m. Reasons rotation (6 sets)
• 5:45 p.m. Find coach and discuss classes
• 6:30 p.m. Listen to critique and figure out points dropped
• 7:45 p.m. Leave Fairgrounds go to dinner
• 9:15 p.m. Return to hotel, post contest team meeting
• 10:30 p.m. Bed time

For the past year and a half myself and five other students who participated on LBCC’s Livestock Judging Team have endured many days like the time-line above.

For those of you whom have never heard of livestock judging, it is a competition in which students from schools across the country individually evaluate classes of livestock, that have been judged by a committee of professionals who decide the official placing and decide how many points students should be docked for not placing the class as the officials did.

Beef Cattle getting ready for judging at the Linn County Fair. by Kody Kinsella

There are four animals in each class and contestants rank the animals from best to worst. Species that are evaluated in livestock judging include beef cattle, sheep, swine, and occasionally goats. Certain classes at each contest are designated as ‘reasons classes;’ this means that students must create and give an oral presentation to one of the officials that describes the animals in the class and then explains why they were placed in the class the way they did.

An entire livestock judging contest normally takes about eight hours and is mentally grueling. Awards are given both to individuals and teams who excel in individual species, and oral reasons.

Students begin training as freshman, and work diligently to improve their skills for a full year before they begin to compete in contests as sophomores. To prepare for livestock judging contests, teams must practice evaluating livestock and giving oral reasons several times a week and must sacrifice several weekends to improving their skills.

Most competitions are held thousands of miles away from Oregon and require the team to spend quite a bit of time missing school in order to travel and compete. With a significant amount of practice and traveling across the country to several different competitions, team members are extremely busy and have little time for homework.

The Linn-Benton Livestock Judging Team began their season this year before Fall term began by attending a competition in Wichita, Kansas; where they won the beef cattle division and placed fourth overall.

Excited about their success and wanting to maintain their competitive edge the team practiced relentlessly and pushed one another to be the better. One of the larger competitions LBCC’s team participates in is the North American International Livestock Exposition which is hosted in Louisville, Kentucky.

At the Louisville contest, the team was ninth in oral reasons, and sheep, and were tenth in beef and overall. Pleased with their success LBCC’s team spent two weeks over winter break practicing, and worked harder than ever to perfect their skills. During the first week of winter term, Linn-Benton’s Livestock Judging Team traveled to Denver, Colorado for the National Western Stock Show their final and toughest competition.

The team had a great day in Denver, they were 9^th overall, 4^th in sheep and goats, and Cody Lacy was fifth in the car load contest.

Over the course of the season, the team bonded and gained a sense of comradery both in and outside of practice. Drawn together by their busy schedules, competitive nature, sleep deprivation, and most importantly their love of the livestock industry the LBCC Livestock Judging Team began to view each other as family.

While many of you may not know much about livestock judging, you should know this, it is an activity that challenges critical thinking skills, improves public speaking, teaches life skills, draws teams together, and has a practical application to real life in the agricultural industry.

Flooding near 34th Street in Albany blocks some residents in their homes. by Kody Kinsella

Well, folks, it looks like the crazy weather in the Albany/Corvallis area is finally saying goodbye. Even though this may be the case, let’s go over some safety pointers; you can never have too many of them.

In case of flooding, do NOT decide the water is pretty enough to touch. You will either look stupid as you try to explain to the EMTs what you were doing when you got pulled in, or worse.

It only takes 4-5 inches of moving water to carry a car away; if at all possible, stay clear of any water, no matter how shallow. Also, no trying to see how fast you can go through the water to see the splash it makes, because you can flood your engine. Talk about cha-ching.

If it is snowing or if you know you are going to go over the mountains, it is a good idea to keep extra snack food, blankets, and water in your trunk in case something happens. Hand-warmers are nice too, if you can find some cheap ones.

Snow chains are worth the annoying price you have to pay for them. I drive a rear-wheel drive car, so I can speak from experience when I say sliding on ice is not a walk in the park. If you buy any chains, have the nice man from Les Schwab show you how to put them on, free of charge.

POWER OUTAGES! Yes, we all love them. Not. The only reason why they could be seen as awesome is because using candles to see makes you feel as though you’ve time travelled or something. Is that just me? Anyways. Candles are your best friends, and flashlights (with new batteries) are right there with them. If your house is heated electrically versus by natural gas, it might be a good idea to invest in a couple extra blankets.

 Space heaters are awesome… until they malfunction. Since many home fires are started by such wonderful creations of mankind, be kind to your home: keep them away from curtains and other fabrics, paper, etc.

There are many more things you can do to protect yourself, but I think I might bore you if I go any further. Remember: better safe than sorry.

Related articles

• Bad Weather (lbcommuter.com)
• Being Informed of Emergency Situations (lbcommuter.com)
• Photo Gallery: Albany Campus Flooding (lbcommuter.com)

Application deadline for Spring Term graduation: Feb. 3.

FAFSA application deadline for 2012-2013 school year (This is if you plan on attending school between July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013). Online applications need to be submitted by 11 p.m. June 30, 2012. Any corrections or updates must be submitted by 11 p.m. Sept. 23, 2012.

Deadlines for OSAC private scholarships must be in by 11 p.m. March 1, 2012.

Oregon Opportunity Grant applications must be in by 11 p.m. Feb. 1, 2012.

OSU Priority registration deadline: Feb. 1, 2012

LBCC Priority deadline dates for admission:

• Summer 2012: April 6, 2012.

• Fall 2012: June 22, 2012.

• Winter 2013: Oct. 5, 2012.

• Spring 2013: Jan. 11, 2013.

LBCC school code: 006938

OSU School Code: 003210

The City of Albany needs to raise the price of water and sewer service in order to meet debt payments and have enough money to keep the systems running, according to the city staff. According to the Democrat Herald, the sewer rate was not raised last year as the council used $840,000 from the Pepsi settlement to subsidize the sewer fund.

The average water rate will be increased by $1.15, or 3 percent across the board, on Feb. “The increase is expected to yield an additional $110,000 in water revenue during the rest of this budget year, which ends June 30,” per Shepard in city council meeting this week.

The sewer rate increase of 9 percent will be required on July 1, but will not be considered for vote until May of this year.

“The sewer rate increase would raise residential sewer rates by between $3.50 and $4 per month for average usage, Shepard said” at the city council meeting Thur, Jan. 26.

“While personnel costs are being reduced, other costs are going up, and major expenses loom for fixing troubles in both water and sewer systems,” as outlined by Public Works Director Mark W. Shepard in memos to the council.

Shepard stated that one issue that will require the rate increase is the Riverfront Interceptor, a sewer main, which can’t handle heavy rains and will cost $10 million to stop the overflow of the Willamette River.  Also, there are problems with 90 miles of asbestos cement water pipes that are nearly 70 years old which damage streets and private property.

“Albany borrowed more than $77 million to pay for expansion of the sewage treatment plant and build the Talking Water Gardens treatment ponds,” “obligating itself to annual payments of $5.6 million through 2032.”  And “in the water department, payments on a $40.5 million water bond issued in 2003” amounts to a “$2.3 million a year through 2034,” as reported by the Democrat Herald.

Even realtors are aware of these increases.  Lepman Properties states on its website that “Water and Sewer rates rising!” and “the City of Albany determines your sewer bill for the year based on your water usage during the winter months.”  “To protect yourself from rising sewer bills you need to conserve your water usage.”

The good news is the increases are being staggered by six months and will give the citizens some time to budget for this crunch and hope the economy will be doing better or the job market improves.

by Ari Nunez

Above, Krystina Fredrickson holds a kitten named Polly. Polly is a new addition to the SafeHaven Humane Society. Polly is a unique kitten with extra toes on her feet (thankfully, they do not cause her pain). Fredickson and Polly are inside the newly opened Downtown Pet Boutique & Home Decor, located at 225 Second Ave. S.W. On January 21, was the grand opening, where all products were 10 percent off. The Albany Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors participated in the ribbon cutting at the store at 10 a.m. January 20. Items for sale include pet beds, toys, leashes, collars, books and clothing. The store sells a “variety of furniture and home décor, including dressers, lamps, candles, art and books.” SafeHaven Downtown also is the headquarters of the humane society’s capital campaign, currently under way. There goal is raise $4.8 million to renovate the building the humane society now owns at 32220 Old Highway 34 in Tangent.

Once renovated, the 33,000-square-foot structure will be the home of SafeHaven’s pet adoption and education center. The humane society currently operates out of a 4,500-square-foot facility in Albany. “The new site will enhance SafeHaven’s humane education and training programs, expand the number of animals SafeHaven is able to serve and provide more space for veterinary care. The new center will also have a retail store and offer pet boarding to the general public.”

The SafeHaven Humane Shelter is located 33071 Highway 34 SE, Albany, OR Safe Haven does not euthanize for space. Here, they work to provide a warm temporary home for cats and dogs. There are several ways to volunteer at SafeHaven, including morning cleaning assistant, dog socialization, cat socialization, photographer, community outreach, fundraising/special events and foster care provider. For more volunteer information, follow this link at http://www.safehavenhumane.com/?q=node/20 or give them a call at 541-928-2789.

Beth Hogeland. provided by LBCC

Beth Hogeland has been selected as the next Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Workforce Development. LBCC President Greg Hamann announced the decision in this email on Tuesday, Jan. 24:

Dear LBCC Campus Community:

 

I am very pleased to announce that Dr. Beth Hogeland has been offered and has accepted the position of Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Workforce Development here at LBCC. While Carol Schaafsma will not be vacating this position until June 30, Beth will begin to transition into her new role starting Apr. 1, working with Carol and me to provide for a smooth transfer of leadership in this critical role and to begin the process of filling a number of Instructional management positions, including the Divisional Dean position being vacated by Beth herself.

Beth is known to most of us already, so it should be no surprise to you when I say how excited I am to be able to work with her in this new role, and how confident I am in her ability and her commitment to helping all of us move forward in a manner that both embraces positive change and shows the utmost respect for our history of making a real difference in the lives of our students and our communities.

 

Thank you to all who completed candidate feedback forms. Your input was of immeasurable value to me and to the Search Committee and as we evaluated and compared the qualities and qualifications of three very competent finalists. And a very special THANKS to the members of the Search Committee, who were instrumental not just in recommending Beth, but in helping me to know that we can place our trust and confidence in her.

 

On Friday at 3 p.m. in the Fireside Room, I will be hosting an informal reception for Beth, and I ask that you join me there in congratulating – and “welcoming” – Beth Hogeland as our new Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Workforce Development.

Historically, since WWII, the U.S. has provided substantial aid to foreign governments. In 1947, the British government informed the State Department that they would be withdrawing support from Greece and Turkey, both subject to communist pressure. The U.S. then took it upon itself to support these nations, and the Truman Doctrine was born:  “It must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples, who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” The reasoning behind this was that communist forces, were they to gain power, would cause nearby governments to fall. $400 million were appropriated for these two nations, followed by the massive Economic Cooperation Act of 1948, known as the Marshall Plan, which ultimately delivered almost $13 billion to Europe.

Throughout the Cold War, the U.S. engaged in significant military spending and the use of foreign assistance as political leverage, both of which culminated in the Vietnam conflict, which began long before the Gulf of Tonkin incident. In 1961, President Kennedy created the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is the vehicle for significant amounts of funds today. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, foreign aid increased significantly, from $17 billion in 2001 to $45 billion in 2009. Afghanistan took the largest chunk of aid that year, with almost $9 billion, 65% of which was devoted to military-related aid. (Interestingly, according to the government’s website, foreignassistance.gov, only about $3 billion was spent in Afghanistan in 2009, yet the Census’ statistics give the above numbers.) Of the next six countries receiving the most aid, Afghanistan, Egypt (sorry Arab Spring), and Israel had the highest military-to-economic aid ratio, with Israel receiving almost no economic aid whatsoever. Iraq and the West Bank/Gaza had almost zero military spending (military occupation doesn’t count, apparently), though that is set to change with at least two billion dollars budgeted for Iraq’s “Peace and Security” in 2012.

In 1970, UN Resolution 2626 was adopted by the General Assembly to declare the Second UN Development Decade. To help developing nations progress, it was recommended that each “economically advanced” nation increase foreign aid to .7% of GNP by 1975. This never happened, and although there have been several reifications of the goal, it is not being met, at least not by the U.S. According to the United Nations Millennium Project, which is devoted to ending a host of global problems, this percentage is “utterly affordable” and would easily help achieve the Millennium Development Goals. In 2009, $45 billion dollars was about a third of one percent of the GNP. From 2009 to 2012, little change in the total aid budget has occurred.

The question now is: what kind of power does the US want to be; what message does the U.S. want to send? True, our government currently provides the largest nominal dollar amount of aid in the world. Yet it seems that we, as a people commonly cited as the richest and most powerful on the face of the earth, would have more than a dime to spare for those less fortunate than ourselves.

Dale Stowell

If you’ve walked down campus hallways and seen colorful posters advertising LBCC events or student productions, there’s a good chance the department of Institutional Advancement created it.

But community flyers are just the beginning of what they do. They also handle course catalogs, press releases and online outreach via social media outlets.

Dale Stowell, LBCC’s new executive director of Institutional Advancement, began his work in the department this week. As a former alumni and Commuter editor himself, he was naturally excited.

“I’m constantly reminded of how much this feels like home,” he said while shuffling through the 1978-79 Commuter archives in his administrative office.

Stowell’s personal experiences with the college make him an ideal choice for LBCC’s chief information officer. He says the department of Institutional Advancement is about meeting and connecting with people while reaching out to students, improving relationships and strengthening the overall community at LBCC through interior and exterior operations.

In other words, the department reaches out to current students, future students and college friends by distributing information for anyone seeking it. By doing this, both students and staff are more likely to accomplish their goals.

“We find ways to make this a better community,” he said. “Creating opportunities is really what we do.”

As for future goals, Stowell hopes to transform our currently exceptional web services into a “world class” system for both perspective and current students preparing for success at LBCC.

“We have a solid suite of web services now, but I’d like to see it go up a notch,” said Stowell. “We have the people that can make it happen.”

Joe Sherlock, manager of LBCC’s publications (online and offline), is one of these individuals. Sherlock is constantly striving to enhance community experiences in our college.

“Our job is to help promote college programs and activities,” he said. “We want to have a consistent image that identifies the college.”

Sherlock says the department of Institutional Advancement also works closely with admissions, which allows LBCC to efficiently distribute recruitment materials to high schools throughout the area.

“We work with them to develop materials they take with them,” he said.

There are currently two video features under construction, including a behind the scenes video of an LBCC play and information regarding a sleep tech program here at the college.
But the department of Institutional Advancement doesn’t just promote the college’s general image and activities; they also help promote student achievements.

Lori Fluge-Brunker, the publications assistant, says the department regularly keep tabs on accomplishments of students on campus, which include a variety of student success stories and tales of individuals overcoming adversity.

“It’s a great way to talk about students and their success,” she said.

Fluge-Brunker says the department regularly keeps contact with local newspapers in order to promote the college’s community and get more individuals involved.

Under Stowell’s fresh leadership, the department of Institutional Advancement has a bright future. Our community is exceptional (and Stowell will agree as a former student himself), but there’s always room for improvement.

“It makes sense to strive for the best,” said Stowell. “When you’re looking to be the best, you’ll stretch out further.”

Related articles

• LBCC Announces Executive Director of Institutional Advancement (lbcommuter.com)