By Ramon Camacho
Employees from Marion County Environmental Services, along with Chemeketa’s sustainability coordinator and the college’s custodial staff, dug into five bags of trash from across the Salem campus to hold the college’s first trash audit this year.
The five trash bags were picked up from popular areas such as the Food Court, office areas, Bldg. 3, Bldg. 7, and Bldg. 9.
“What we want to do is make some changes to our recycling and potentially other services over the summer,” Stephanie Fregosi, Chemeketa’s sustainability coordinator, said.
“We wanted to … establish where we are now on how the classroom recycling was going, see what kind of things were still going into the trash, and what changes we can make to accommodate so we can get [the college’s] trash down to as low as possible.”
One of the purposes of the audit, according to Fregosi, was to see how the new recycling system in the classrooms is going. Recently, sustainability organizers at the college removed the small trash cans in every classroom and made bigger centralized trash cans available only in the hallways.
“We know that some of the recycling is being contaminated because people aren’t doing a perfect job at sorting,” Fregosi said. “But we also wanted to learn more about what’s being left behind” to plan for better ways to increase better recycling habits.
“The most disgusting thing we found was pet waste wrapped into a newspaper and thrown away, but I think more disgusting things have been found in our trash,” she said jokingly.
Fregosi also said that a great deal of liquid waste was found in the trash audit.
“One thing I don’t think most students, or most people, realize is how much it costs the environment to move unnecessary liquid from place to place,” she said.
Fregosi hopes that more members of the college are aware of the liquid waste that is being thrown away and look for a sink or fountain to properly dispose of the liquid rather than throwing it away.
Fregosi said the audit was successful because it gave her new ideas for future sustainability programs, such as promoting new recycling methods.
“I’m hoping that we can start a collection program for compostables,” she said.
Fregosi also hopes to change how the food waste that is originally bought on campus is thrown away to become more eco-friendly by switching the portable food container materials to a compostable product.
“In theory, everything you get from dining services here should be able to be thrown away so in that way we can have a compostable collection program,” Fregosi said.
“I can’t do anything about things coming from off-campus, where it’s sort of self-contained,” but something can be done about compost coming from on-campus.
Bringing a compost program to Chemeketa, Fregosi said, would be more environmentally friendly, is the right thing to do, and could help students learn more on what they could do at home to help the environment.
Although it was the first trash audit that Fregosi and her team has done, the result has given the confidence to produce another audit with more student volunteers during the next fall term.

“We put on gloves, we dig through it; it’s kind of gross, but it doesn’t take a long time, and it’s kind of fun and interesting,” Fregosi said, explaining what is involved with volunteering for an audit.
Overall, Fregosi hopes that students and staff are more aware of what they throw away and where they throw it. This would help remove unnecessary movement of waste, particularly liquid waste, and also remove contamination from recycling.
For students who want to know more about how they can get involved in future trash audits or learn more about sustainability, Fregosi suggests speaking to the Sustainability Advisory Council student representative, or speak to an ASC member in the Student Life and Retention office in Bldg. 2.

In: May 15, 2013 | | #

By Matt Rawlings
Sitting in fifth place in the NWACC South, the Chemeketa Storm softball team is entering the final part of its season just out of the fourth and final playoff spot.
But a win against third-place Lower Columbia on May 1 definitely helped the cause.
After losing the first game of the double-header 1-0, the Storm rallied back in game two, winning by a score of 8-3.
Freshman pitcher Jessica Hotaling went six innings and only gave up one run in game one, but the Storm could only string together three hits in the loss.
“We were fired up and angry about not winning our first game,” right fielder Tiffany Medley said.
“We knew we had to make adjustments in game two because we did not hit the ball well at all in the first game.”
The Storm’s bats came alive in game two. Sophomore third baseman Danielle Upton went two-for-three with three runs-batted-in.
Hotaling pitched another complete game for the Storm, giving up only three runs and striking out four as the Storm was able to get the victory.
Hotaling and sophomore third baseman Sammie Bowman each had two hits apiece.
After not threatening in the first two innings, the Storm bats came on in the third inning thanks to three straight singles by Bowman, Hotaling, and freshman left fielder Nina Umfrid.
With the bases loaded and nobody out, Upton stepped to the plate and doubled in the alley, scoring Hotaling and Umfrid, which put the Storm up 2-0.
Bowman then scored on a RBI groundout to second, putting the Storm up 3-0.
Hotaling gave up a run in the bottom of the third on a wild pitch but was able to limit the damage.
Medley, Hotaling, and sophomore first baseman Kayla Sheller started off the next inning with singles, which loaded up the bases.
Bowman was hit by a pitch, which scored Medley from third, making the score 4-1.
Upton then followed with another single for the fourth hit of the inning, scoring Sheller and making the score 5-1 Storm.
Freshman catcher Taylor Medley and Sharla Kumai-Farrell kept the rally going with the fifth and sixth singles of the inning, which scored Bowman and Upton.
Even though the Storm ended up leaving two runners in scoring position to end the inning, the damage already had been done as the Storm jumped out to an 8-1 lead.
Hotaling mowed down the Lower Columbia hitters in the fourth and the fifth innings.
She faced a little bit of trouble in the sixth when she gave up two runs on three hits, but she was able to strike out a pinch hitter with runners on second and third to end the inning.
Hotaling was able to shut down Lower Columbia’s top-of-the-order hitters in order in the bottom of the seventh to seal the victory.
Medley said, “These closing games to end our season are essential to win.
“We have proved we can beat any team in this league. We just need to have more consistency with the bats every game.”
Even though the Storm dropped two in a row on Saturday to Mt. Hood, the team is still in the playoff hunt.
Chemeketa closes out its season with a double-header against Southwestern Oregon on the road on May 10.
Southwestern Oregon stands in third place in the NWACC South with a 9-7 record. If the Storm wins both games against SWOCC on Friday, it’s more than likely that the team would nab that fourth and final playoff spot.

In: May 15, 2013 | | #

By Monica Lang

Chemeketa has a gem tucked away on the east side of campus.
From a distance, you can’t see anything more than a few greenhouses and some plants. Up close, however, there is a passion for plants – and from now until mid-June, students, staff, and the community are able to partake in thehorticulture program’s plant sale.
Students and staff can visit anytime between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday through June 13 to make a purchase, volunteer, or visit what is a loved environment by those who appreciate what the program has to offer.
The greenhouses are located between the red and brown parking lots on the east side of campus.
The horticulture program enables students and a few of the staff members to grow a number of different plants, flowers, and crops from the seed up.
Gail Gredler, a horticulture instructor here at Chemeketa, said, “We have several part-time staff at the greenhouse, but horticulture students are an integral part of our operation.
“For example, this term we have four horticulture students taking the practicum class. They each spend six hours a week maintaining the plants in their section of the greenhouse and nursery. This way, they get hands-on experience propagating, growing, and maintaining plants in a greenhouse/nursery setting.
“Most of them are second-year horticulture students, so they are putting into practice the principles that they have been learning in the classroom.”
One of those students is Brianna Lucas. She has attended Chemeketa for two and a half years and recently graduated from the program.
Lucas now is working on flowers in the floriculture program. She said that she liked being around the plants and wantedto possibly one day own a flower shop.
Lucas’ advice to those purchasing from the plant sale: “Research – always a good idea when you’re bringing a new plant home for the first time.”
Christeena DeRoo is currently one of three employees at the greenhouses. She was the first graduate from thehorticulture program nearly three years ago and wanted to stay involved on campus.
DeRoo knows all about the greenhouses and what it takes to educate students thoroughly.
“We have a diverse system in our greenhouses,” she said. “Students get to see so many set-ups; we have to have a broad range.”
That is exactly what the fund-raising from the plant sale enables the staff to do.
If, however, you don’t have a need for plants or crops, you can still help out.
DeRoo said, “We are always needing volunteers; no experience necessary. Anyone can come and even pull weeds if they want to be able to make a difference and spend some time outside in the sun.”
Another officially member of the staff is Rozie, a 3-year-old cat who hangs out in the warmth of the greenhouses.
Rozie’s job is pest control; she catches mice or occasional grasshoppers.
“We don’t use any pesticides, just beneficial insects … and Rozie,” DeRoo said.
During the rest of April, the sale involves cool crop vegetables and house plants.
In May and June, flowering baskets, annuals, and warm crop vegetables will be available.
Gredler said, “Prices are competitive, and often lower than, garden centers and box stores that carry plants. We take cash, checks and credit cards. We use proceeds from the plant sales to purchase supplies for the greenhouse andhorticulture program. It is a very important source of revenue for our greenhouse budget.”

In: May 15, 2013 | | #

By Hannah Phipps

The soft carpet tickles between her toes at the early hours of the morning.
She wakes up from a late night with too little sleep and prepares for yet another long day ahead: 12 to 14 hours in all, on average.
“Depending on the day, my feet hit the floor around 5:30 a.m.,” Fay DeMeyer says.
Her morning is a routine of too much to do and not enough time to accomplish her varied tasks: She feeds her precious dog, Ellie, takes the half Chihuahua/half Pomeranian for a walk, and then feeds herself, dressing in a hurry, rushing off to work before 8 a.m.
Mere minutes after the alarm clock rouses her, DeMeyer, a psychology instructor at Chemeketa, zooms off in her fire orange 2013 Chevy Camaro.
Many students who have taken her classes maintain that she is different, if not unique.
Hailee Young, a student in DeMeyer’s Psychology 104 class, provides an assessment.
“She brought her dog, and was always drinking can after can of Mountain Dew. She always had an upbeat personality, and class never felt like a waste of time because it pertained to real life experiences,” Young says.
“DeMeyer is like the Energizer Bunny: always going, always alert and awake, and always in a good mood.”
Melissa Martinez, a Psychology 101 student, says, “Fay was wonderful. She has one of the greatest personalities of anyone I know, always making us laugh and sincere when in conversation. She really took the time to listen and give thoughtful insights.”
But DeMeyer is no one-note wonder. Along with teaching psychology classes at Chemeketa on Tuesdays and Thursdays, she also:
· Teaches for the University of Phoenix on Tuesdays and Thursdays;
· Runs a consulting business, helping others start their own businesses, and sees clients on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays;
· Stays busy as a grandma for her daughter’s young child;
· Hosts her own radio show, called Fay Day, on Saturday mornings, where she takes questions from listeners on KYKA radio station 1330am. “I see this as a one-hour teaching opportunity where I can talk about problems with relationships and give advice,” DeMeyer says;
· Spends her Sundays mostly relaxing with her husband, although she often takes time out of her day to counsel families in need.

“I am a very high energy kind of person,” DeMeyer said.
The schedule is as busy as it is varied.
DeMeyer also serves as the chairman of the March of Dimes Foundation and is currently working on two projects for the organization: Bowties for Babies and High Hopes.
In addition, she mentors a group of five to seven young women on professional and moral values. And she provides presentations in the community about motivation, changing habits, and personal assessments for ADHD and other Disabilities.
“It definitely takes a toll, and the days are really long but worth it. It helps build a stronger family, which makes for a stronger community,” DeMeyer says.
Her days also are complicated, to the point where she has to take special pains to keep them organized ahead of time.
“When I get home, I organize my planner and my clothes for the next day,” she says, ensuring that her outfits are appropriate for what’s ahead.
Running two businesses and working countless hours as a volunteer might make it seem that DeMeyer would not find the time to teach, let alone do so at two entirely different institutions of higher education. However, teaching is her passion.
“I teach because I’ve always been able to help with conflicts and notions. And I want to teach people about behavioral change,” she says.
Not only does she teach the psychology aspect of things; she also relates what she teaches into her real-life experiences.
“Throughout my life, I have overcome a lot. I came out of foster care and was illiterate until my mid-teens,” she says.
“I have dealt with abandonment as a child, growing up in poverty, having an economic barrier because I had no education, and being a single mom and having to deal with people’s belief systems of single women and gender roles.”
Her life experiences, she says, now help students learn a little something about themselves and the difficult things that they’ve been through.
For example, Psych 101 student Martinez says, “I learned a lot about myself in how I am as a friend, and the friendships I’ve been in before that failed, and why they failed. Each lesson brought a new goal to aim myself toward.”
DeMeyer classifies herself as a lifelong learner. She never stops wanting to learn for the fields she teaches, and she also takes classes to recertify herself in certain areas.
The craziness of her schedule doesn’t affect what happens in her classes, however.
Young says, “She seems like a really busy person, but she’s always prepared, and her classes always run smoothly.”
But balance is important to her as well. That shows up in her social life.
“I love riding my motorcycle with my husband, Phil, and being together. We’ve ran half-marathons, and we’re always working on how we can improve our businesses,” she says.
She even has time for barbecues and spending time with her granddaughter, Madi, who is 4.
“I have a really big family and close neighborhood. We all like getting together and hanging out and feeding each other meals,” she says.
DeMeyer is dedicated to helping others to better both themselves and the community.
“Work to me is not eight hours a day,” she says. “It’s from the moment I wake up till the moment my head hits the pillow. I was raised as a migrant worker and was used to working long hours with no sleep.”
This fact might explain why DeMeyer is always going, going, going, yet she never seems tired or short of energy.
“I am always looking for resources to make my life easier. I drink lots of Mountain Dew and have low carb protein bars throughout the day. I save my big meal for when I get home so I can eat with my husband,” she says.
Her long days, as well as the difficulties that she experienced in childhood, could easily take a toll, but her upbeat and optimistic personality, combined with her faith, simply doesn’t allow that to happen.
“A year ago I battled with breast cancer, and more than anything it opened my eyes. If I die, I will be with the Lord. If I live, I will be doing what God tells me to here,” DeMeyer says.
“The way I look at it, you have the days you have, so what are you going to do with them?”
Students who attend her classes maintain that they don’t just go to learn about psychology. They go to learn about life experiences, relationships, and – perhaps most importantly – because DeMeyer is such a remarkable women.
Martinez says, “I loved Fay’s enthusiasm to teach, above all. She was always eager to teach and guide us through each lesson, giving us great life examples.”
Stephen Brown, a Psychology 101 student, says, “She has a great personality and makes you want to attend her class. She is overall a great person to be around, and her bubbly personality makes the class that much more interesting and easier to pay attention.”
As this day winds down, DeMeyer reflects on her classes, her students, and what comes next.
“Around 5, I start grading papers for my in-class and online classes. I am usually grading papers before and after dinner,” she says.
“I usually have 30 to 45 minutes of quiet time to reflect on myself. What do I want to present? What are my goals? Is what I am teaching going to move me closer or further away to those goals?”
After eating dinner with her husband, grading papers, spending time reflecting on what she accomplished on this day, and organizing herself for the day ahead, DeMeyer’s head usually hits the pillow around midnight … or 1 a.m. … sometimes as late as 2 a.m.
Her dreams keep her occupied for a time before she drifts off to sleep, she says. But the sound of the alarm clock arrives quickly, and once again her feet slide off the bed and she races off to yet another busy day.

In: May 15, 2013 | | #

By TRAVIS LOOSE

The Northwest Viticulture Center in the Eola hills in West Salem is a largely unknown entity of Chemeketa.
The rich history and beautiful location make the campus a singularly inspirational place for a student to earn an education.
For the staff and faculty of the Eola campus, that beauty and the atmosphere that comes with it helps to create a learning environment that feels relaxed and perfectly connected to the work that is done there.
Michael Adams, a wine business instructor for the college, has no difficulty in finding an excuse to come to work each day.
“The other day,” Adams says, “I was walking by a classroom where a winemaking instructor was preparing for a class; he had Bunsen burners and glass tubes all around him. It must have been an hour or so before any students were expected to arrive, and he was just by himself, doing his thing with wine chemistry.
“It was one of the nicer days we had had in a while, so the backdoor was opened up to the vineyard just beyond, and this gorgeous jazz was playing throughout the sound system.
“As I walked by and saw all this, I thought, ‘You know, if any prospective student could be standing here, looking at this scene, just taking it all in, they would sign-up on the spot’ – it was so evocative and inviting.”
Adams has taught courses in marketing at California State University/Monterey Bay and the capstone course in wine business at the University of Adelaide/Australia. He also has managed a workshop program of courses in marketing, business planning, hospitality, and outsourcing for the Small Business Development Center, where he consulted to more than 50 clients, including growers and wineries.
And although he’s new to the viticulture center, Adams says the Eola campus is an outstanding place for a person to need to travel to each day.
“And then you learn how to make wine on top of it. Why not?” he says.
Chemeketa – Eola

Originally a county park, the turn-off to the Eola campus is easily missed.
No buildings can be seen from Doaks Ferry Road NW, the main thoroughfare that passes right by the campus. The area surrounding the entrance is densely wooded.
Only a small blue sign indicates that anything exists farther up the hill: Chemeketa – Eola.
The driveway to the campus does a splendid job of preparing visitors for the beauty awaiting them at the top of the hill.
The trees lining the path create a natural canopy over the drive, with flecks of light peeking through intermittently. A few houses dot the sloping hillside along the drive as well.
At the crest of the hill, the Northwest Viticulture Center comes into full view. The campus is small; three buildings make up its entirety.
The main event building on campus, imaginatively called Bldg. 1, is the place where conferences and party events take place. At its entrance are a set of large glass double-doors, surrounded by glass windows that stretch roughly 25 feet high.
The building houses several conference rooms, offices, classrooms, a winery, a wine cellar, a tasting room – yes, wine is actually served here – and a kitchen for catering purposes.
An events coordinator from Northwest Innovations, another arm of the college, also keeps an office here, where a wide variety of public, private, and college events are scheduled.
Johnny Mack, the executive dean of the career and technical education programs for the college, says, “Different corporations, businesses, and state agencies will actually rent the facility and hold meetings or workshops, and Northwest Innovations will cater the food.”
The reason why such a wide variety of groups take advantage of this locale, Mack says, is easy to determine: “It’s quiet, and the view is incredible.”
The land once was plotted for the original state capitol, he says. But because the ground was found to be too unstable, the great building and the Golden Pioneer ended up at its current location in Salem.
Later, the Eola area became a known hang-out for drug abusers and, among other items of interest, nudists.
After the college bought about 75 acres along the Eola hills, it authorized clearing the timber (and the nudists) and in 2002 began building the vineyard.
The campus now boasts a 8-acre vineyard of grapes, with plenty of room to grow more.
The patio on the backside of Bldg. 1 overlooks those 8 acres, as well as the Willamette River and the grassy Willamette Valley below.
A popular place to book weddings, the view from Bldg. 1 truly is readily described as incredible.
Bldg. 2 is essentially the enology classroom and lab. This building, built with the financial assistance of the Erath Family Foundation (Dick Erath is a well-known Oregon wine maker) keeps offices for the faculty as well as an association called Low Input Viticulture & Enology, Inc.
According to its website, www.liveinc.org, LIVE is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization that provides education and independent third-party certification of vineyards and wineries using international standards of sustainable viticulture and enology practices in wine-grape and wine production.
This group is not directly affiliated with the college.
Bldg. 3, if it can even be called a building, is actually more of a shed. Its primary purpose is to house the tractor and tools that service the grounds.
Even though it is a small campus, staff, faculty, and students alike agree that the education provided through the Viticulture Center is immeasurable.
With instruction from an incredible team of highly knowledgeable and experienced faculty, the three available programs bring a fully rounded and completely immersive experience for any student who wants to know all there is to know about the wine business.
“Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name.”
– Theme song from Cheers
Jim Fischer, a student at the Eola campus, says, “I really don’t believe that there are too many examples, not only in Oregon or Chemeketa – possibly not even the world – where you can actually get this level of education from people who are truly at the top of their field, administering courses here.
“It’s pretty remarkable.”
Al MacDonald, a viticulture management instructor, has a history of growing wine grapes in the Willamette Valley of Oregon since 1982. He also has served the industry as chairman of the Oregon Wine Advisory Board and the Oregon Winegrowers Association, and as president of LIVE.
He believes that because students are working with a fully functioning winery and vineyard, the real world application of the education provided is not something to be taken complacently.
The training provided at Eola, he says, is training of the same quality that you’d receive from any other winery or vineyard in Oregon.
For prospective students, MacDonald says, “We would encourage people who have a passion for the wine industry.
“What happens in the vineyard is agriculture. So if they have an interest in agriculture, that would be a reason to come out here and explore that phase. If they had an interest in chemistry, winemaking would be the place for them. And we also have the wine marketing program; so if they wanted to sell wine, we have that phase of it, too.”
For individuals who enroll at Eola, the opportunity exists to receive the full package in wine economy education.
At Eola, MacDonald says, “We take it from the grape, to the wine, to the sales.”
Barney Watson, a winemaking instructor, says, “The program is designed to mesh with our growing wine industry.”
Watson, who recently announced his retirement, has been involved with the wine industry for 30-plus years. He was on the faculty at Oregon State University for 28 years in food science, working in research, teaching, and extension.
One of the special things about Eola, he says, is that “it’s a dedicated teaching program. But, on top of that, it’s a hands-on technical program. The vineyard that’s planted out there is a commercial vineyard.
“We use the grapes from that for teaching winery, which is a commercial bonded, Oregon winery – so the whole process is hands-on … a year in the vineyard or year in the winery, with back-up classes all built into it.”
Faculty members agree that the possibility for an individual to succeed in the wine industry increases with an education in these three fields of study.
“As many as 25 percent of our students get two degrees,” Watson says. “Initially, we didn’t have wine marketing. [Students] would come in and they’d take vineyard management, then they’d finish off the winemaking. … And now, many of the people doing wine marketing are also doing winemaking.
“It just opens up a lot more doors for people.”
Watson gets visibly excited when discussing these programs. His love for his work shows through his contribution to the education of others who feel the same respect for wine that he does.
“This is a technical-professional degree program, and it’s meant to place people into positions within the Oregon wine industry over a whole wide facet of different kinds of jobs,” he says. “It’s a very exciting place; it’s fun.”
Along with the faculty, influence from the Industry Advisory Committee manipulates the curriculum in such a way that only the best, most pertinent information is given to the students – ensuring that quality education.
“I don’t know of any of our students who have gone through the whole program that haven’t gone out and been able to find a job in the wine world,” Watson says.
Jack: “Man! That’s tasty!”
Miles: “That’s 100 percent pinot noir. Single vineyard. They don’t even make it any more.”
Jack: “Pinot noir?”
Miles: “Mmm-hmm.”
Jack: “Then how come it’s white?”
Miles [laughs]: “Don’t ask questions like that up in wine country. They’ll think you’re some kind of dumb****, OK?”
– Sideways (2004)
Northwest Oregon offers the perfect climate to grow the kinds of grapes needed for delicious pinot noir. This is evidenced by the large number of Oregon-based pinot noir distributers throughout the region.
Jessica Cortell, a vineyard management instructor, sees the international success and renown of Oregon’s pinot noirs as indirect support of the wine education offered at places like Eola.
Cortell, who grew up in Oregon, currently owns a vineyard management and consulting company in the Willamette Valley.
Fundamentally, she says, “It’s coming from having viticulture and enology education programs. We also have OSU that teaches classes in vineyard management and winemaking.”
She has an undergraduate and master’s degree in horticulture from Oregon State University. In addition, she completed her doctorate in food science and technology at OSU, where her research focused on the influence of vine vigor on fruit and wine phenolic chemistry.
The repercussion of these programs on the wine economy, and within the wine industry, is profound.
This is a result of the graduating students.
“It’s just a great opportunity right here in their backyard,” Cortell says. “Being able to follow from pruning all the way through to harvest, then from harvest all the way through to bottling – the whole process.
“You look at the number of students in the industry who have taken classes here, or got a degree here, and it’s pretty amazing. It seems like almost everyone has taken at least one class here.”
Cortell says that between OSU and Eola, there has been “quite a few years of adding a lot of educational value that helps raise the bar and the quality and the status of Oregon wines.
“We’ve had a lot of good students come through. And those of us on the faculty – we’ve also worked in the industry, so we come with a lot of industry experience.
“We’re not just book learned.”
Interestingly, that sentiment also applies to many of the students who attend Eola.
Although there are a few traditional students of a younger age, many more, Mack says, are older, non-traditional students who already have completed professional programs.
Those individuals are now either looking to change fields or establish something resembling retirement plans.
Fischer falls into the former demographic.
Having spent a number of years in wine sales, he says his current plan is to learn about other aspects of the business.
“I lost my job in 2011,” Fischer says, “And it was a fantastic opportunity for me to re-examine my life – to think about what my next step was going to be.
“This program was something that I knew about, and it was something that I had wanted to do. But I never really had the opportunity to pull myself away from work and other obligations to really dedicate the proper amount of time to it.”
Last Call
Chemeketa’s official recruitment and awareness brochure states that the vineyard acreage and number of wineries in Oregon have increased steadily in the past few years.
The size of individual wine grape plantings also has increased, with a projection for continued growth.
For a student or career-minded individual who has a passion for wine, and also may be looking for an employment opportunity within a thriving business economy, Eola stands as an excellent option.
With three different but interconnected programs to choose from, the Northwest Viticulture Center stands apart as place to obtain a well-rounded learning experience.
For more information on the programs, term schedule, or campus, visit the website, www.eola.chemeketa.edu.
Or just take a drive out west along Hwy. 22, and keep an eye out for the little blue sign.
“Late in the evening,” Adams says, “looking out over the vineyard at the sun just beginning to set in the west – amazing.”
Kind of like a good wine.

In: May 15, 2013 | | #

By Agness Shull

Since 2011, Chemeketa has been without a theater program, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have drama.

Starting April 26, the Chemeketa drama club, Theater By Storm, will present two short plays: Cell/Block and Breaking and Entering, in the Bldg. 6 auditorium.

The plays also will be featured April 27 and 28th and again on May 3 and 4. The plays begin at 7 p.m., with matinee showings at 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

Tickets are sold at the door for $8.

According to Theater by Storm members, Cell/Block is a short play that features the death row inmate (played by Aaron Tagabuel) and his incompetent lawyer (played by Indiana Miranda) attempting to get a last-minute pardon from the governor.

The second play, Breaking and Entering, features a robber (played by Tavis Evans) who breaks into a apartment, only to discover that a mysterious woman (played by Jini Martin) has been there first.

Chantelle Gemmill, an actor in Breaking and Entering, said that she thought that people would enjoy the show.

She said, “It’s a good romantic comedy that includes partial nudity; for instance, Tavis is in his boxers,” she said.

Gemmill said that her favorite part of acting was having people enjoy the show, and the euphoria she got from being on stage and being the focal point of the audience’s attention.

Auditions were held in late January. The show has been in rehearsal since early February.

Matt Foley, the club president and main producer for the show, said that he became interested in theater in junior high and high school and wanted to share that interest with other students.

His early experience inspired him to become a part of the theater club, he said.

Foley is not acting in the play, but he does a great deal of technical work behind the scenes in addition to his work as producer. He helps the production team stay on the right track.

Foley said that the Chemeketa administration has been highly supportive of the club. The college has provided the auditorium for the play dates, as well as giving space to rehearse.

Terry Rohse, the club’s adviser and the Chemeketa auditorium coordinator, said, “We have had administration support from Don Brase, the dean of humanities, as well as from the Chemeketa marketing department, which gives advertisement information for the college.”

Rohse said he hoped that people would come to the show.

“The students have done a great job of keeping theater alive and should be awarded by audience applause,” he said.

In: April 10, 2013 | | #

by Monica Lang

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all people cry, laugh, eat, worry and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try to understand each other, we may even become friends.” A quote from Maya Angelo that portrays the opportunity that Chemeketa is offering its students.

The International Programs department is sending approximately sixteen applicants to Oaxaca, Mexico this July for a ten day experience from the 14-24th. It is a part of a class that students can enroll in if they are selected to go on the trip, and it’s not just limited to students. “Any community member can go. People who aren’t a part of Chemeketa can audit the class if they choose and still be a part of this experience,” said Cecelia Monto, the Director of Evening and Weekend classes.

Students will be able to participate by spending mornings learning Spanish, and in the afternoons provide service to the community. Monto described what it would be like to visit a place that has a different level of poverty than what we are used to locally. “The city is a lot like rings of a tree. The further you go out the poorer it gets. This is really where the need is, and it’s really tough to see.” Monto herself is clearly passionate about what she is able to lead here at Chemeketa and goes on to add, “Community service and travel are my passion. If you want to see a community firsthand, service is the way to go.

“We’ll do a short project with construction, but then we will do things like arts and crafts. People ask me all the time if they will get to help children. And the answer is yes!” Monto added with a laugh, “Don’t bring your best shoes. We will be working with concrete at some point I guarantee it.”

Saturday and Sundays participants will be able to go to the rural areas to witness the challenges the population faces, and the necessity in which women work at crafts to take care of their families. “The people here are truly beautiful,” Monto adds. Visiting ruins of Monte and Alban is a must see that Chemeketa students will be able to experience.

The total trip cost is $1875, which includes tuition for the class, the flight, lodging, and most meals. Applications are due by May 1st, and there will be a required orientation session April 24th. There are four classes prior to the trip to be held at the Woodburn campus prior to the trip mid July. Teter Kapan, the Director of International Programs, encourages students to not let cost discourage them from applying. “We can sit down and work out fund raising ideas, and there are possibly some scholarships available.” Financial aid can be applied towards the cost as well.

Monto’s answer as to whether there is any dislike of the students who travel by the local population: “If you are someone genuinely interested in culture, and want to help – because that’s what this community trip is about – you will be liked.

“If there is nothing else you walk a way with from this class and trip, it’s that I can make a difference. There is a lot of pride of indigenous community, and if you are a photographer you should bring a camera. It is beautiful!”

A final informational session will be available Thursday April 11th from 1-2 pm at the Salem campus in Building 2 in the Muticultural Center. Any questions regarding the trip please contact Cecelia Monto cecelia.monto@chemeketa.edu, or International Programs international@chemeketa.edu, call or text 503-428-0399. 2-176.

In: April 10, 2013 | | #

By Travis Loose

On Feb. 27, Chemeketa’s Board of Education voted unanimously in favor of a $6 per credit hour tuition increase to begin at the start of the summer term.

The board acted on the advice of the college’s administrative team, which made its recommendation because of growing statewide pressures to achieve Oregon’s 40/40/20 goal.

But according to JoAnne Beilke, the board chairman, that isn’t quite the whole story.

“My personal opinion [is that] we’ll never reach 40/40/20. It’s just way too up there,” Beilke said in early April.

“I don’t see it happening without a great influx of investments into education. Oregon and the nation, over the last 20 years, have disinvested.”

Beilke, 71, has served on the board for the past 18 years and has been its chairman three different times. She has a background in real estate and as a business owner.

Unfortunately, she said, “Most students, and most people, do not understand education financing. … We have a $300 million budget, and we only get 25 percent of it from the state of Oregon; the rest comes in the form of grants, etc. You really have to understand the pie to see where the money comes from.”

But Beilke also considers where it’s going.

Because the state budget was decreased by $100 million over the past few years, more than pressures from the 40/40/20 goal – pressures to pay salaries and medical insurance gaps, as well as providing educational programs and keeping the lights on – have taken a higher financial priority, Beilke said.

The programs and salaries and monthly bills are all related to the looming 40/40/20 goals, which state that by the year 2025, 40 percent of adult Oregonians will have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher, 40 percent will have earned an associate’s degree or post-secondary credential, and 20 percent or fewer adults will have earned a high school diploma or GED.

In simple terms, to achieve the state’s goals, Chemeketa must increase its graduation rates. To do that, the college must invest in educational programs that are run by motivated staff and faculty members who are adequately compensated.

For staff and faculty members to work efficiently, the lights must remain on.

This is where student dollars come in.

Before the board voted to increase tuition rates, the Associated Students of Chemeketa, the college’s student government arm, surveyed 218 students at the Salem campus during the winter term.

The questions: How would you feel about a tuition increase? And if tuition is raised, where do you want the money to go?

James Cutz, the president for the Associated Students of Chemeketa, said, “It was really interesting to see how students reacted to the tuition increase – how many students responded to the survey, the kind of responses we got from the survey, and what students are willing to do about” the college’s financial situation.

But Cutz also expressed frustration.

“A lot of students weren’t even willing to fill out the survey. Some students didn’t even put whether they supported it or not. Some people wrote the most ridiculous things on that survey.

“This is the smallest way that students can contribute – to fill out a piece of paper and have their voice be heard,” he said.

Cutz said that student government members tried to obtain as many responses as they could to accurately convey how Chemeketa students felt about the tuition increase proposal.

“But students are still not rising to the challenge,” he said.

Student responsibility, he said, goes beyond achieving a letter grade or simply attending classes regularly.

“As students, our job is to inform the decision-making process of the administration,” he said. “If no one steps up to voice their opinion, then [the administration] is just going to go on whatever they think is best.”

In this case, a $6 tuition increase was recommended, and the board approved it.

According to Beilke, however, student reaction is carefully weighed and considered; every decision is not rubber-stamped.

In 2012, for example, an administrative proposal was sent to the board to implement a mandatory parking fee that would be paid by all students, regardless of whether they drove to school.

After an outcry, the board sent the proposal back to the administrative team with the suggestion that its members reconsider the proposal.

But would an informed student response have swayed the board’s decision to increase tuition this time?

“I doubt it,” Beilke said. “We absolutely know what investments we need for the overall good of the college’s students.”

Cutz said that the student government group’s participation in the process, and at the board meeting that took place in February, was a foregone conclusion.

“Quite honestly,” Cutz said, “I believe the decision was already made. The ASC represented students, but I don’t believe it was as big a factor in the board’s decision-making process as we would have liked it to have been.”

The college is a business, Cutz said, “but if you are going to raise the prices, we would like to inform where those dollars are being spent on campus.”

Interestingly, the specifics of that question remain mostly unanswered today.

Cheryl Roberts, Chemeketa’s president, said that the administration heard the students and that students would see “a lot of things in the budget in April that they’ve been talking about.”

“Unlike many of our sister community colleges, we are proposing some budget increases in staffing, programs, and services that students value,” she said. “We believe these investments will position us for the future as we focus on student success through access, retention, progression, and completion.

“We are fortunate that prudent financial decisions we have made in the past enable us to make investments in exceptional teaching and learning experiences for our students.”

But what specifically are those investments?

Greg Harris, the college’s marketing dean, said, “There’s going to be increased support for more advising, and increased support for a range of technologies that help students to understand what they need to do in order to fulfill the requirements for their programs.

“But I really can’t say anything more specific at this point.”

Harris cited an upcoming reveal of the budget proposal that will be presented to the Board of Education as the blockade preventing specific details from being leaked to the public at this time.

Patrick Lanning, the college’s vice president for academic affairs, provided a bit more detail without actually giving any more specifics.

“The tuition and fee increase will support some faculty positions where we’ve been spread thin, or areas that have seen significant enrollment increases. We are also looking at staff investments in areas that directly support students in classes/labs and areas like advising,” he said.

“The investment in technology will also provide students, faculty, and staff better access to student information and allow students to get their own information, like degree progression, without needing to wait in line.”

Beyond the issue of exactly where the money is going to be spent, however, the college’s board chairman is interested in exactly what kind of student attends Chemeketa.

Beilke said that as Chemeketa transitioned from an enrollment-based to a graduation-based budget, the college would have to look more carefully at the admitting procedures.

“I think accessibility is going to be tough,” she said.

“Student success and achievement compacts are whittling out [students] and putting new expectations on them. And that’s where I’ve always said it should be. I’ve always felt that personal responsibility is where it’s at.”

While the decision to raise tuition has already been made, the next big question for students is how that money will be spent.

The first budget committee hearing will take place at 7 p.m. April 10 in the boardroom in Bldg. 2, immediately opposite the Planetarium. A second budget committee hearing will be held at 4:30 p.m. April 17 in the same location.

Board of Education budget hearings will follow in May and June.

The accessibility for each student will only be limited by the student’s own abilities, Beilke said. “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”

In: April 10, 2013 | | #

By Matt Rawlings

Even though the Storm don’t have a shot at making the NWACC Playoffs, the team’s mentality on the diamond didn’t waver.
“Our goals haven’t changed since the start of the season,” coach Nathan Pratt said.
“We want to be playing our best baseball at the end of the season, and that is what we have been doing.”
The Storm took both games of a doubleheader on Saturday, winning the first game 6-3 and taking the second game 5-0.
Despite committing four errors in the opener, the Storm got great pitching performance from freshman Alex Emerson.
Emerson threw eight innings, giving up seven hits and only one earned run as he helped lead the Storm to victory.
“Alex did a great job rolling ground balls and just getting outs for us today,” sophomore second baseman Jake Reynolds said.
Freshman third baseman Brendan Shaffer went three-for-four with a double and two runs scored, and sophomore first baseman Garrett Mills went two-for-four with a two-run homer.
Freshman right fielder Jake McGraw and sophomore left fielder Jon Munson also added two hits.
The Storm started threatening in the bottom of the first, stringing together three base hits.
But they came away empty after Mills was thrown out at the plate after a two-out single by McGraw.
After giving up two hits in the first inning, Emerson settled down in the top of the second when he retired the side in order.
Emerson also retired the first two batters in the top of the third, but Clackamas then started a two-out rally on two infield singles, two walks, and a Chemeketa error, producing two runs before the Storm was able to stop the bleeding.
But Chemeketa came back with two runs in the bottom of the third, thanks to a two-run homer by Mills, which tied the score.
Emerson kept Clackamas off the board and off the bases in the top half of the fourth and fifth innings.
Emerson did give up a leadoff single in the top of the sixth, but he was able to get the next three batters on groundouts.
The Storm erased the 2-2 tie in the bottom of the sixth when they broke out for three runs.
Schaffer doubled to the right-center field gap, and freshman designated hitter Noah Westerhuis reached base on an error by the third baseman and stole second to move into scoring position.
Munson then stepped to the plate with runners on second and third and two outs. After working the count to full, he laced the payoff pitch up the middle for a base hit that scored the go-ahead run.
After Munson advanced to second on an errant throw by the center fielder, freshman catcher Hector Ferrer hits a Texas-League single into left field, scoring Westerhuis and Munson, making the score 5-2 Storm.
Emerson gave up his first earned run of the day in the top of the seventh, but he was able to get out of the inning with limited damage.
In the top of the eighth, Emerson faced an incredibly tough task with the bases loaded and nobody out.
He then forced the Clackamas nine-hitter to fly out to shallow right field and, thanks to a great throw by McGraw, the runner on third was unable to tag up and score.
Emerson next faced Clackamas leadoff hitter Josh Combs. Combs swung at the first pitch, producing a bouncer back to Emerson, who threw to his catcher for out No. 2. Ferrer then threw to first baseman Mills for out number three.
The 1-2-3 three double play got the Storm out of the inning unscathed.
Chemeketa got an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on a bunt hit by Schaffer and a single to right-center field by McGraw.
Emerson then was replaced by sophomore closer Seth Heckel, who shut down Clackamas in order in the top of the ninth to seal the victory.
In the second game, sophomore pitcher Bradley Bearden pitched a complete game shutout, striking out six and only giving up four hits.
The Storm, despite having just four base hits, used eight Clackamas errors to manufacture five runs.
Four of those runs came in the sixth inning, thanks to singles by Mills and freshman second baseman DJ Harryman and an RBI double by freshman catcher Jake Branham.
The Storm close out the season with a double-header on the road against Lane on Thursday. The first pitch is at 1 p.m.
“We would obviously much rather be heading to the playoffs but are still going to cherish the spoiler role and compete our guts at,” Reynolds said.

In: May 15, 2013 | | #

By Travis Loose

On March 27, Chemeketa’s Board of Education voted unanimously in favor of a $6 per credit hour tuition increase to begin at the start of summer term, 2013.

Chemeketa’s administration recommended that the board approve the increase because of growing statewide pressures to achieve Oregon’s 40/40/20 goal.

The 40/40/20 goal is a result of the 2011 Oregon Legislature’s Senate Bill 253.

The bill states that by 2025, 40 percent of adult Oregonians will have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher, 40 percent will have earned an associate’s degree or post-secondary credential, and 20 percent or fewer adults will have earned a high school diploma or GED.

Patrick Lanning, the college’s chief academic officer and president of Chemeketa’s Yamhill Vally Campus, said, “The Ggvernor’s 40/40/20 goal is being seen nationally as the biggest aspiration for any state. The only way I can really see Oregon achieving that goal is to make major investments in K-12, colleges, and universities.”

As a result, Chemeketa’s administration recognized the need to increase and improve the services that are offered through the college so that graduation rates will meet those state goals.

Greg Harris, the college’s dean of marketing, said, “In order to accomplish [this goal], more resources need to be applied to the systems, the services, and the technologies that help students to accomplish that.

“However, the state doesn’t seem to be willing to provide us with the funding to provide students with those systems, those services, or those technologies. So, we have to look for alternate revenue sources.

“Unfortunately, the only one we have any control over is the fee we charge for bettering education.”

Cheryl Roberts, Chemeketa’s president, said, “Why we’re doing this is really based around student success — helping all the students that pay their good money every quarter to have the services and the classes they need in place to support them. … It was about investments.

“We’re looking at over a million dollars of investment into our students. That’s huge.”

What the investments will be, exactly, remains a looming question.

Roberts cited budget laws as the reason for the lack of specifics.

“Some of this cannot be revealed until April, when we bring it before the budget committee, because they have to be the first people to read it,” Roberts said. “We haven’t even told our board because they’re part of the budget committee.”

Lanning provided some additional insight as to what students can expect.

“The tuition and fee increase will support some faculty positions where we’ve been spread thin, or areas that have seen significant enrollment increases. We are also looking at staff investments in areas that directly support students in classes/labs and areas like advising,” he said.

“The investment in technology will also provide students, faculty, and staff better access to student information and allow students to get their own information, like degree progression, without needing to wait in line.”

Chemeketa officials agreed that students would be excited about the investments that their tuition increase would provide, whatever they may actually be.

“The Academic and Student Services areas have always focused on student success. This increase won’t cover all the needs, but it will make a difference. We are fortunate at Chemeketa to have a dedicated faculty and staff,” Lanning said.

In: March 13, 2013 | | #