April 30,2003
he Clackamas Print
cGuire keeps constructive outlook
Elisabeth Meyer
Feature Editor
ELISABETH MEYER
Ken McGuire doesn’t wake up at
4:30 a.m.
“I usually wake up a couple of
minutes before—you know, 4:26,
4:27, 4:28—because I don’t like the
sound of my alarm,” McGuire
laughed.
If you’ve
come
in
the
Beavercreek Road entrance of the
campus, you’ve probably seen
McGuire in the Baugh-Skanska
booth. Since late summer he’s been
directing construction vehicles to
various sites and helping new work
ers get oriented.
McGuire’s wake-up-before-the-
alarm sensibilities pervade his life.
Before fall term began, McGuire
took a tour of the campus, armed
with a campus map. Aside from
keeping on top of construction traf
fic, he’s also'helped students and vis
itors find their way around campus.
On his biggest day, he estimates he
gave 30 people directions.
His positive outlook kicks in
when he gets up in the morning.
For a self-described former “night
person,” this took some transition.
Though he used to enjoy going out
late, McGuire said he’s learned he
has to budget his time and energy.
He describes his, life outside work
as quiet.
“Sometimes I’ll get together with
Clackamas Print
Baugh-Skanska employee Kevin McGuire directs con
struction traffic, as well as disoriented visitors, from his
booth at the Beavercreek Road entrance to campus.
a group of friends, and I go to church
on Sunday, but mostly when I get
home I just crash,” he said.
His system works: “I start every
day at a ten,” he said. “I might end
the day at three, but every morning I
start over at ten. If your body says
‘it’s time to go to bed’ at seven, and
you want to watch ‘24,’ well, that’s
what VCRs are for,” he said-
McGuire said “a good job, a hot
cup of coffee, and a sunrise to
watch” are things that make his life
enjoyable.
“Once when we were working on
“Baugh-
Skanska is my
savior. I’m still
excited to
come to work
every day.”
Ken McGuire
Baugh-Skanska
employee
t
a job at the airport, someone said to
me, ‘Why are you so happy all the
time?”’ he recalled. “I told them,
‘You don’t know how many blessr
ings I have.’”
The biggest blessing, the nearing
50 year-old McGuire said, is his job.
After an on-the-job accident in 1985,
doctors said he would never walk,
stand upright or speak without stutter
ing again. His sight and hearing were
damaged as well. Three years later, he
could walk unsupported. In 1991,
when a teamster learned that he was
living in a handicapped home on
Social Security disability, the union
got in touch with Baugh-Skanska.
“I talked to Mr. Barber at Baugh-
Skanska and 15 minutes later, I was
on my way to a job and they were
figuring out ways I could work,” he
said. He started working split shifts.
It took nine months before he could
work a full day.
McGuire can’t say enough to
praise his employers.
“Baugh-
Skanska is my savior. I’m still
excited to come to work every day,”
he said.
“Other companies I’ve worked
for just squeeze everything they can
from you. (Baugh-Skanska is) just
incredible,” said McGuire. “I was
turned down by literally hundreds of
companies after (vocational) rehab.
No one would touch me.”
McGuire appreciates Baugh-
Skanska’s policy of making workers
“stretch and flex” in the morning,
which reduces injuries, of paying
attention to workers and letting
workers know in advance when a job
will end.
“I’m probably the biggest walk
ing advertisement for Baugh-
Skanska,” McGuire said. “Maybe it
sounds corny, but I’m grateful every
morning. They gave me my life
back.”
Criminal justice instructor selected for Fulbright
Award to teach at community college in Caribbean
The Clackamas Print
“It’ll be a very interesting experi
ence,” said Ida Flippo, criminal jus
tice instructor here at Clackamas
Community College.
Ida Flippo applied for a Fulbright
Award on Aug. 1, 2002. The award
would allow her to teach overseas for
five months. The time that followed
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to increase mutual understanding
between the people of the United
States and the 140 countries that par
ticipate in the Fulbright program,”
said the chairman of the Fulbright
Scholarship Board, Caroline Matano
Yang.
Although Flippo has a Master’s in
teaching
and
Bachelor’s
in
Criminology, she considers herself
fortunate to have received the award
since it is most often presented to
someone with a PhD.
was greeted with anxious anticipa
tion as she waited for the reply that
finally came April 9, 2003. She
received a letter from the Fulbright
Foreign Scholarship Board, congrat
ulating and informing her that she
had been selected to receive a
Fulbright Award.
The Fulbright program gives
well-educated citizens an opportuni
ty to contribute to the lives of other
cultures around the around the world.
“The Fulbright program attempts
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Flippo will have the opportunity
to spend five months on the beautiful
Caribbean island St. Lucia, while
teaching at Sir Arthur Louis
Community College, a beautiful 18th
century British fort, and assisting in
the design and development of a
criminal justice degree.
During the application process,
Flippo was asked to submit a sample
syllabus of the courses she proposed
to teach and what contributions she
hoped to bring to the island.
“A better appreciation for the
police officers,” said Flippo. The
population, which averages 160,000,
contains 750 police officers, most of
whom have never set foot inside a
college building.
“Most of the officers are only
required to finish secondary school,
which would be high school,” said
Flippo.
Considering the lack of educa
tion most of St. Lucia’s officers pos
sess, they are understandably looked
down upon by many of the
islanders. Flippo hopes to raise the
standard of die police officers and
call the people to a greater respect
and appreciation of those in the jus
tice system.
She plans to bring her husband, a
Portland police officer, and her two
teenage sons with her to St. Lucia,
IDAFUPPO
and looks forward to their August
departure.
St. Lucia, whose main industries are
bananas and tourism, is filled with rain
forests and surrounded by beautiful
beaches. Although the temperature
there averages 80 degrees, Flippo
admits her time there will be during the
rainy season. Just as well, considering
much of her schedule will be filled
working with students and the faculty
of Sir Arthur Louis, as she brings her
knowledge and expertise to the only
community college on the island.
The Fulbright program usually
sends people overseas to study and to
research. Flippo was pleased to hear
she’d be able to teach and work one-
on-one with the students.
“This is a hands-on job,” said
Flippo, “and I’m looking forward
to it.”
Why do people
always have to
fight? If we could
all just learn to hug
or read The Print,
then we would all
get along!