Journalism

A place just south of Bend where the smell of pine trees swarms your nose as soon as you open your car door. Where everyone waves and says hello as you ride by one another on bikes. The peaceful serenity of a walk by the Deschutes river on a summer night. A winter day full of sledding down bike trails covered in snow. A place where everyone can take a break from reality for awhile. Sunriver, Oregon is a peaceful place to get back to nature. Where log cabins stay warm in the winter from toasty fireplaces. Sunriver is a place where my family spends quality time together in my grandparents’ cabin, beating each other in board games, sitting close together on the couch drinking our morning coffee, taking our dogs for long walks, going on bike rides to the Sunriver store to buy more milk, and spending the day at SHARC, the local water park. Sunriver is located in Deschutes County, about 56 miles south of Bend. Families of any size can find just the right place to rent, whether a cabin, hou...

I have always been inspired by simple yet practical ways to provide positivity in my everyday life. I am always on the hunt for new ways to increase my happiness whether that is an inspirational quote or a social media platform all about spreading positivity, especially since the pandemic started. I thought I had heard and seen everything there is to know about finding ways to be happy until I stumbled upon Gretchen Rubin’s podcast all about creating ways and learning tips on how to be happier. “Happier with Gretchen Rubin ”, by a writer who studies human nature and is the bestselling author of “The Happiness Project,” is a podcast that she shares with her own sister Elizabeth Kraft, who is a writer and TV producer. The podcast was created back in 2015 but their conversations are still thriving and better than ever. These two sisters give advice on ways to be happier throughout our daily lives and they talk about tips and tricks on how to form better habits. Rubin and Kraft sometimes ...

Little did I know 7-year-old me would soon leave the house that built me. Of course my parents had told me several times, “Figure out what toys you want to bring to the new house,” but I'm not sure that is what I was worried about the most. My parents sat me down to tell me the news that we were going to be moving to a new house in Veneta, Oregon which was about an hour away. This new house would be closer to my mom’s work which is what my parents wanted. Being the 7-year-old I was, I had no idea where this Veneta place was but all I knew is that it was too far from our house here in Mapleton, Oregon. I could not wrap my head around the fact that my parents wanted to move when we had all of these amazing and fun things to do where we already lived. Did this mean no more boat stories at the coast from Nana or spending time with my parents in the backyard? At this time I was living that only child life. It was just my parents and I with a couple goldfish here and there. We had a big...

Linn-Benton’s baseball team is excited to finally be playing outside on the baseball field. Their first game is just around the corner on March 26. They play at Lane Community College at 1 p.m. They have 40 games ahead of them for the season ending at the end of May. Not being able to start until October and having two months off over winter break means the team is ready to get back in the groove and to start playing some games. The team usually lifts weights in the weight room at 6 a.m. three times a week and then practices on the field five to six days a week. The players and coaching staff wear masks during weight-lifting sessions and on the field. The coaching staff also tries to keep the players at a proper distance from one another. Linn-Benton has faced some challenges due to Covid. “Getting used to the protocols of wearing masks and distancing in the weight room. We have to be in groups at times which makes the days longer for players and coaches,” said Andy Peterson, head b...

10 Questions with Carol Menken-Schaudt Carol Menken-Schaudt decided to play on LBCC’s first-ever women’s basketball team, which was only the start of her outstanding basketball career. With not having much experience in basketball due to girls sports not being a priority back then, her skills began to improve immensely when she started playing for Linn-Benton. Oregon State University was calling her name and the U.S Olympic team was shortly after as well. Menken-Schaudt took every opportunity she could to continue to play basketball, being the 6-foot-4 athlete she is. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, opportunities like those were hard to find, especially as a woman. She is now working full-time in radio and most importantly spending time with her family. What was it like at that time and deciding to take on college basketball? When I graduated from high school in 1975 there wasn't a lot going on in girl's or women's sports. I liked sports and participated in high school ...

Oakland A’s outfielder Seth Brown started his baseball career at OSU as a walk-on and soon realized Linn-Benton would be a better fit due to struggling with academics, so he made the switch. When sophomore year came around, however, Brown left LBCC and took that year off from school and baseball. He ended up working at a gravel pit in Medford. Student athletes, coaches, former teammates, and fans from the Linn-Benton community listened as Brown shared his journey full of tears, sweat, and hard work -- a journey that all started right here at LBCC. Every month Linn-Benton athletics hosts a “Beaks Briefing” live via Zoom with updates on athletics from head coaches, stories from student athletes, and an “Alumni Spotlight” where a former student athlete from LB shares their story. On Feb. 10 listeners enjoyed catching up with Brown, the former Linn-Benton baseball player who now plays for the Oakland A’s. “It’s important to embrace our (LBCC) history,” said Mark Majeski, athletics direc...