Jessica's Blog

2009-12-02T04:04:00.000-08:00

Who: Black Friday Shoppers
What: Shopping on one of the craziest days of the year
When: Thanksgiving Day
Where: Las Vegas, NV
Why? To get the beast deals on items they want

When people didn’t think Las Vegas could get any crazier, one must think again. Hundreds and hundreds of people flock to the designer brand stores to get great discounts on highly wanted items.

One would think Las Vegas is crazy weather shopping is involved or not, but think again. More than millions of people this year will be shopping at the wee hours of the morning on the Friday after thanksgiving. This day has been known to be one of the biggest shopping days of the year, and hopefully this year it will help the economy and show an increase in sales.
But why the big hype? Is standing in line for hours really worth the half price socks? Some may say yes but other like Enedelia Schofield has a whole different schedule. “I woke up this morning (Thanksgiving Day) and saw that the stores were open today and decided to go and not wait for midnight to roll around”. This year at the Premium Outlets of Las Vegas, retail stores were open Thanksgiving Day with items already marked on sale for Black Friday. This was done to see if the attendance of black Friday would be lessened if the stores were already open. “Now I won’t have to deal with the crazies and waiting in line. I got 5 hours worth of shopping done in about 2”Schofield exclaimed.
Later on the line for the Coach Outlet weaved its way through the walkways, some discouraged by the line. “Im not sure if waiting in line for that long is really work it. I might miss the sales at other stores,” stated Kara McGir, and out of town shopper looking for good deals. Some of the great deals seen where Coach purses for nighty nine dollars, Banana Republic boxers for five dollars, Revive tank tops for three dollars, and Juicy Couture track jackets for seventy dollars. “It’s been hectic but having the stores open on thanksgiving also will hopefully relieve the stress and not overwhelm us later on” said Store clerk Macy Gillson who works for Juicy couture.
Next year the stores plan on being open Thanksgiving Day to hopefully to lessen traffic through the outlet. More information will be printed in the paper when this time of year rolls around. “I will for sure come thanksgiving day next year to shop. It was actually calming and not hectic like it has been on years past” said Schofield.

last story topics

2009-11-18T11:02:00.000-08:00

Possible topics:
Interview Angela Seraceno
Cover a speech or meeting
Do a follow up of a story already done
anything that randomly comes up that interest me.....

treats for the troops

2009-11-18T00:25:00.001-08:00

This article is about a group of volunteers that are making car packages for our troops overseas.
Who: Give 2 the Troops
What: Make care packages for deployed troops
When: Now
Where: Albany, OR and branches all over the country
why? To show support for those deployed

"Supporting the troops is more than slapping a sticker on the back of your car!" said Sharon Crary, Director of Give 2 the Troops. In the Commuter last Wednesday there was an article written by Alethea Skinner about this organization and how it helps our military overseas.
This group is a non-profit organization which sends care packages and necessities to our troops. There have been many companies as well who have teamed up with G2TT for example ICEE and starbucks sending over ICEE machines and coffee packets where only water is needed.
Supporting the troops is an important thing these women believe in. They may not come in numbers but they want everyone to see that one thing can effect someone so greatly. On Oct. 15 4 women met up in Albany to have what they call a "packing party", Here they packed for a troop out of Dallas, OR. Some are in close relation to someone deployed while others just wanted to help and support."Our troops need to know that we support and appreciate the sacrifices they make for us, our families and our future. This is about giving back to those who give all."

speech or meeting story

2009-11-17T23:17:00.000-08:00

Who: Kappa Delta
What: Meeting discussing barn dance
When: Monday Nov 16
Where: Corvallis OR
Why? This would be a meeting to discussing tasks for everyone in order to have a succesful event.

This past monday there was a meeting within the Kappa Delta sorority, the topic, Barn Dance.One of the biggest events through the year for this sorority. This is an anual dance the members have where they invite a date and dress in country attire.It is held every year usually in fall term. The meeting was lead by Tiffany Banker, the current Social Chaiman of the chapter." i want this barn dance to be amazing!" Banker said. She brought up topics involving a venue, shirt ideas, theame, and other topics that came up along the meeting. Members in attendance included Milan Laurent, Kendall Smith, Tori Chapman, Nicole Brabrahm, Jasmine Wagner, and Andrea Aronson. The first topic discussed was a venue. There were ideas of the fairgrounds, the country club, and a barn. Tori Chapman volunteered to be in charge of finding a venue " i really want our dance to actually be in a barn" Chapman Stated.. Banker begain talking about a shirt chairman, and Jasmine Wagner volunteered to be in charge of those. Wagner then asked the members in attendence what colors the members would like the colors to be and it was decided on navy blue, pink and gold. There was no set theme decided and the group chose to ask the rest of the chapter house for oppinions on a quote to become the theme. This quote would be put on the shirts for the members and their dates. The meeting was cut short because of lack of members in attendence, and unable to assign tasks to people. They decided on reschduleing the meeting to a weeks later on Monday Nov, 23.

democrat harold

2009-11-09T00:49:00.000-08:00

The Democrat Harold, not your movie news room.

Who: Democrat Herold
What: Not like the news rooms seen in the movies
When: Friday 6, 2009
Where: Albany OR
Why: School field trip

We have all seen the crazy news rooms the portray in the movies, but is that really what they are like? As a field trip my class was able to experience a real news room and to my surprise it was as calm as could be. Was there no big stories or breaking new? yeah there was but this news room seemed to know exactly what they were doing.

It was around noon eleven in the morning as we walked in to a quite room of many papers being read. Wondering what they were doing a student asked, and they were delightfully answered by Steve Lundeberg, the Associate Editor of the Democrat Herold. "they are editing and prof reading the paper before it goes out to the public" Lundenberg answered.

In the movies people always have seen craziness and running, lots of yelling,and a fast paced environment. Not here. Everyone has their assigned duty and does it to a great extent. As we were greeted by everyone we passed we headed to a room with much noise coming from it. And what to my eyes did i see? Machinery here and there, spinning and pulling, printing and pressing, the smell of the news paper filled the air. The speed of that machine was intense! The feeling of having a paper cut from that made my body shiver.

We quickly hurried through the press machine room trying to avoid the ink getting all over us and made our way to the advertising room. This room was less filled with people due to the fact that they were all out talking to companies and business owners about placing ads in the paper. This was something to my surprise because i had always thought that those people came to the newspaper to put add in it not the other way around.

This trip was something that change my prospective. I had always saw what was portrayed in the movies of a news room and boy was i wrong! Here at the Democrat Harold, its more of a home town feeling. These people truly care about the information they are releasing and about their audience. Its really what a new paper should be.

Fun Fact: One roll of printing paper unrolled is 7 miles long.

2009-11-06T10:53:00.000-08:00

Who: Milan Laurent
What: attending school in Oregon
When: Now
Where: Corvallis, OR
Why? Getting away from California, embarking on a new part of life.

Q & A with Milan Laurent
Out of state sophomore from southern California is bringing that So-Cal Sunshine to the rainy state of Oregon.

What made you come to Oregon State?
I really wanted to stay in state, but i felt like I needed to get away from California. I looked around and thought of Oregon as a place far away but not too far and when I began looking at schools I fell in love with the campus. I decided to apply, got accepted and 4 months later I was Oregon bound. Not to mention OSU gave me a scholarship.

Is California really different from Oregon?
The only major difference is the people here are way more laid back. Everyone just goes with the flow of things, where as in Cali it’s so fast-paced and here and there in a second. There is also a lack of sun here. The past week it’s been in the 80’s where I live and here it’s like a high of 62 degrees! I also love that the colors of the trees are changing. I don’t get to see that where im from because all we have are palm trees.

What do you want to study?
I was thinking about being a writer but I had a bad experience with it so now im a little discouraged. I guess you could say right now im undecided, but im kind of thinking about becoming a teacher. I love little kids so maybe something along those lines. We’ll just have to see. Maybe ill have a major and a double minor because new media communications has always sounded fun to me. Im just up in the air at this moment.

Is it hard being away from your family?
Yeah, but I do talk to them a lot. There are those days though that I miss things and I wish I was there for. Like one of my little brother plays football and id always get the updates of his games but some I wished I wouldn’t have missed. Like right now im not sure if im going home for thanksgiving which isn’t to fun but I know ill be back a few weeks later for Christmas. And really my life is kind of here now. I’ve met some really fun people. One of them has even invited me to thanksgiving with her family! It’s nice to know that you can have a family other than your own to be there for you when you need them. But I do miss them.

What is one thing that most people don’t know about you?
That’s kind of personal. (Laughs) um I really like to quote movies. All my friends laugh because somehow I always relate back to a movie. I probably quote step brothers the most, its one of my favorite movies and the things they say are hilarious.

Due to privacy reasons Ms. Laurent doesn't want her contact information posted on this blog. As for now she is attending school, an active member in her sorority and just living the wonderful life of a college student.

possible q&a

2009-10-26T11:32:00.000-07:00

1. Athlete...OSU or LBCC
2. Professor... OSU or LBCC
3. Student, in my major or just a random one i find interesting :)
4. Co-worker
5. Incoming freshman

Story #2

2009-10-23T01:25:00.000-07:00

At a Glance:
Who: Hillsboro High School Boys Soccer.
What: Finally lose a game this season.
When:October 20, 2009
Where: Hillsboro, OR
Why: The Hilhi boys soccer team finally loses a game ending an almost perfect season to none other than their cross town rival.
Record: 11-2

Hillsboro High School boys soccer team finally loses a game 2-1 ending an almost perfect season.

After having an almost perfect season the Spartans of Hillsboro High School finally lost a game. This year the Boys soccer team was planning for a perfect season hoping for another state title. That was until last Tuesday when Hillsboro played the game of the season.

The Hilhi boys have been waiting for this game all season. "I'm so ready!" stated senior player Roberto Carmolinga, "this is the game I've been waiting for". It was a game against their cross town rival Glencoe who not only have shared the title of state champion once in the past 4 years.

Going into this game Hilhi has been ranked number one while Glencoe has been ranked at third.

"It was a really intense game" said onlooker Kayla Renz. "You could tell both teams had a lot of passion, none of them wanted to give up and it was heart breaking to see Hilhi lose."

The game started with Glencoe controlling the ball. Hillsboro seemed a bit slow and out of sync and Glencoe did take advantage of that. In the first half Glencoe scored leading 1-0. Finally in the second half was when hillsboro picked up the pace and scored. But it wasn't enough to hold off Glencoe who won 2-1. "We played bad the first half and never were able to get fully back into the game" Carmolinga added.

Even though the Spartans did have their first loss they are still at the top of the state rankings according to Oregon live polls. They hope to overcome the loss and do well in the playoffs coming up in the next few weeks. Losing for Hillsboro is not usually heard of. As a team they still stand high atop their conference. With playoffs right around the corner they will being entering as either ranked number one or number two in the Northwest Oregon Conference. That is when winning and losing will really count for this team who are not willing to be beat.

Next Game: Tuesday Nov. 10 against the number two seed of the Inter-mountain league

Alisa Miller

2009-10-21T11:20:00.000-07:00

The world audience is getting a lesser and lesser amount of real world news as times change.

Alisa Miller may not be known to all people, but she is one that should be known. Miler is the CEO and President of Public Radio International. In her latest focus of global news programming Miller brings up many thoughts to the public in a past speech.

In February 2008, Miller held a speech for the TED audience in Monterrey, Calif. She asked "how does the news shape the way we see the world?" In recent years the new coverage of events have decreased the coverage of worldly news and had an increase in the coverage of celebrity gossip and scandals. Miller provided the numbers of the death of Anna Nicole Smith vs. the IPCC report (Smith receiving ten-times the amount).

Why is that? Covering celebrity and popular news is is said to be cheaper. The US makes up 79 percent of the worlds news. Miller wonders and questions why the world news is just not being seen.

These days college graduates and those of lesser education are not being able to see and learn about the world as those who did 20 years ago.

" the real question is this: is distorted world view what we want for Americans in our increasingly connected world i know we can do better and can we afford not to" States Miller.

2009-10-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

"These days you must watch your back," States Lee "living dead" LaFever of the commoncraftshow.com. His video about "How to survive a zombie" shows people on this day and age how to really truly survive a zombie attack. Now that Halloween is just around the corner there is a lot that is needed to be know about zombies. LaFever gives 3 simple rules of how to survive: 1. identify 2. plan 3. KILL!

Identify. how does one identify a zombie? according to the video it states that a zombie can be anyone, a friend, family member, neighbor,etc. But you really have to look for certain characteristics. Zombies all have unnatural mouths, dark eyes, hanging arms, limp legs, and pale skin. Knowing this a person can identify who really is a zombie. But there is only one place to hide! wonder where that might be? at your local Costco of course!

Costco is the best place to hide because a person has all the needed supplies. Around a body of water is also a suggestion due to the fact that zombies cannot swim. They are very fast but in cold areas their quickness is slowed by the cold temperature.

But don't underestimate zombies. Lefever state that if you get bitten by a zombie there is not hope, and if your Friend or family gets bitten you must kill them. "The idea is: kill the zombie, kill the brain". That is the only way to keep yourself alive.

Story #2

2009-10-12T11:12:00.000-07:00

Sorority Fall Recruitment:
1. OSU
2. Fall term
3.Houses
4. Eligibility
5. Number of new members for each house.

Source Possibility:
1. Panhellenic Council
2. A sorority house
3. A new member

5 Questions
1. How does the process work?
2. How big is each chapter?
3. Does a girl always get the house she wants?
4. Is it a scary process for new girls?
5. Was the outcome a good one?

From playing sports to making it a career.

2009-10-09T11:37:00.000-07:00

Nut Graf: Small town boy Justin Fulps is persuing a sports wrting career by taking classes at Linn Benton Community College.

Justin Fulps is a regular college Journalism student. As a kid growing up in Reedsport, a small town in Oregon, Justin played sports all his life. " Sports is what I always did growing up, I played it all through high school and could have in college". Fulps was considering playing football for Eastern Oregon University but turned that down to focus more on education, not to mention his lack of wanting to be in a small town. That is what landed him here in Corvallis. Fulps is dual enrolled at LBCC and OSU as an english major and of course his focus is in sports writing. "I want to someday write for ESPN the magazine" he exclaimed. With OSU not having any journalsm classes it brings him to LBCC. Justin has high hopes and dreams for himself and seems to have the drive to succeed. It wouldnt be a surprise if in later years Justins articles and stories will be in sports magazines all across the country.

LB sports: to go or not to go?

2009-10-07T11:04:00.000-07:00

At A Glance
Who: LBCC students
What: reasons for not attending LB sporting events
Reasons: OSU, lack of knowing, no relation to athlete.
When: this year at LBCC
Change? will there be a change in fan attendance?

Why do students at Linn Benton not attend LBCC sports? It’s a question that I think most people would ask, along with many athletes. Last year I attended OSU full time, but this year thought I’d try the Degree Partnership Program. So in my first term taking class at LB I wonder one thing: Why doesn’t anyone attend LB sports? I know people may ask why I think no one goes, but get this, last year I was one of the maybe 5 people at attendance at a LB baseball game ( I was there in support if a friend on the opposing team). So I ask why? Erika Woosley, a sophomore student, sad this “I don’t go to LB sports because I can go to the OSU games. Why would I pass up being at a big college game? The whole atmosphere is intense!” Most students who are enrolled at LB can get tickets to OSU sporting events a measly 10 miles away. OSU is a Division-I school in probably one of the hardest divisions in college football, The Pac-10. LB doesn’t seem to compare one bit. Molly Zook, a junior at OSU stated, “I’m so used to going to OSU sports, I don’t think I would go to an LB sporting event, it just wouldn’t be the same”. Zook later went on to say, “I don’t have anything against LB sports and I wish them all good luck this season”. So is that it? Just because students at LB can go to OSU event doesn’t mean they can’t go to a LBCC athletic event. So what next? I began asking students what would make them go to a LB sporting event. “If I knew more of the people on the teams I feel like I would go in support of them”, Expressed Hailee Smith, a student dual enrolled. “Because come on who wouldn’t want to support their friends?” Woosley suggested “maybe if they advertised them more, I never hear of anything going on sports wise at LB”. So I say this. LB athletes, let yourself be known. Make friends, because then they will come support you, tell your classes when your next match or game is, do something to let people know about your team. And LB students, take a chance, go and support your fellow classmates even if it’s just for a few minutes. You never know you may start a trend and going to LBCC sporting events will become the “thing to do”.