Feature
Clackamas Print 5
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007
Coburn connects
Nike Guldice
The Clackamas Print
She plays in a competitive
¡arts league, loves country
jusic and is extremely cam-
ra-shy. In her 15th year at the
allege,. Athletic Department
lecretary Dotty Coburn serves
jlackamas faculty and stu-
|ent athletes with the utmost
assion and effort.v.
Coburn not only is on staff
i Clackamas, but was once
student here as well. She
{tended the college in 1990
ad went on to study at the
thool for two years, leav-
ag with a 3.5 Cumulative
iPA. She »recently finished
ier Bachelor’s at Marylhurst
Jniversity,
majoring
in
Communications.
Coburn has worked in
ie Athletic Department for
ight years, previously put-
ing in time for ASG as part
fa work study program. She
ioroughly enjoys her current
osition because she is able
j showcase her secretarial
kills - but most importantly,
ecause she gets to inter-
ct with the student ath-
etes.
“I’ve always worked
nth students, and that’s
?hat I really enjoy. A lot
if the athletes refer to me
sMom,” Coburn said.
While Coburn’s good
ttitude, work ethic and
rganizational skills are
11 stellar, it’s her mater-
al nature that really
lands out.
“I get a lot of satis-
iction helping people ...
here’s nothing beneath
le.
Coburn, in fact, does
o it all; outside the office
lie can be seen helping
at at sporting events by
forking the gate. She also
ids her “kids” when they
ome to her asking for
anything from food to assis desk setup, Colburn is not
tance with homework assign /a cubicle type person. She
’enjoys being out working
ments.
Sports have always been at the games, interacting
an interest of Cobum’s; she with students and working
participated
out.
in gymnastics,
“It’s not
volleyball and
really like
softball in high
a job ...
“/ get a lot of
school. When
Working
satisfaction
asked what her
with
the
favorite sport
student ath
helping people
is, however, she
letes, see
... There’s
refused to com
ing
them
ment in fear of
nothing
overcome
being “black
barriers
beneath me. ”
balled” by ath
and accom
letes involved
plish things
in other sports.
is
very
Dotty Coburn
Getting
to
rewarding.”
Athletic Department
see the students
Coburn
Secretary
excel in school
lists dead
and move on to
lines
as
greater things is
the
most
something that Cobum cites as frustrating part of her job,
another reason why she enjoys but with the teams being
working at Clackamas.
her number one priority,
“It’s really neat to see stu she takes pride in making
dents grow up and come back sure they are taken care
here, oftentimes as coaches,” of and live comfortably on
Cobum said.
the road. Booking lodging,
Although she may have meals and managing entry
an office with the standard
are just one extremely
important aspect of
her job.
Being as she her
self was once part of
organized teams, she
understands the ardu
ous lifestyle that the
athletes must endure,
and tries to help them
as much as possible.
Dotty Colburn is a
special woman, who
has a big heart and
infectiously sweet
demeanor. While she
has three children,
her caring and con
siderate ways reach
far beyond her fam
ily, affecting count
less students daily.
The world needs
more Dotty Colburns;
just ask anyone in the
Athletic Department.
Nuclear jazz man:
From Chernobyl to CCC
Leia Dickerson
The Clackamas Print
Considered to be the “oldest new
student” in the jazz ensemble here
at the college, Ralph Patt has lived
an interesting and full life, to say
the least.
Patt was bom in 1929 in
Kittanning, Penn. He studied geol
ogy at the University of Pittsburgh,
and graduated in 1952. That same
year, he got married and, so as not
to be drafted, joined the First Army
Band out of Governor’s Island.
Though he enlisted to play gui
tar in the band, the Army then had
no place for a guitar player. To
avoid being sent directly to the front
line, he quickly learned to play the
French horn and filled an opening
in the ensemble. As a new husband,
his preference was to learn to play a
new instrument than risk dying
on the front line.
After his service, he toured,
playing guitar with many bands,
including Neal Hefti (1955),
Frankie Carle (1956), Les Elgart
(1956) and Benny Goodman
(1957). Playing on the road was
the way to get into the studios,
according to Patt, and studio
players made money.
“The first part [of being on
the road] is a real thrill, then the
reality of the road hits on being
away from the wife and kids,”
he said.
Tired of the long trips and
short visits with his family, Patt
quit touring and found a studio
job. He later worked as a stu
dio musician for ABC. He was
never-unemployed.
“Those were the good days,”
Ralph said. “I had a swimming
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Every once in a while there is
that odd occurrence of a dog inside
a building. But this is just like any
other day for Amy Sharer.
Sharer is training a service dog.
They can be found on campus occa
sionally.
A service dog is defined as a
dog trained to perform tasks directly
related to a person’s disability. Sharer
is training her dog, Tux, to help with
mobility assistance, so he is mainly
asked to walk calmly beside his han
dler and retrieve different objects.
Sharer and her sister alternate
in training Tux, but Sharer mostly
works to reinforce the training. She
goes out with Tux in the environ
ments he would be working in.
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pool.”
Soon, finding a job as a musi
cian became difficult, and in 1975,
Patt went back to college to get his
doctorate in hydrogeology.
But why hydrogeology?
“Hydrogeology is not like build
ing a building,” Patt said. “It’s guess
work, trying to understand what you
can’t see. [It] is more like an art than
a science.”
With this degree, he became a
nuclear waste consultant for facili
ties including Chernobyl, in Russia,
and Hanford, in Washington. He is
currently a consultant for the U.S.
Department of Energy on nuclear
ground water contamination.
Though Ralph Patt has played
with the greats, he now plays with
the Clackamas jazz ensemble.
Why?
“I love jazz; I love improvisa
tion,” he said, smiling.
(503) 515-5000
.Vo inquiries from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and 5:00 to 7:00 pm please.
SHARER AND TUX
These places include grocery stores,
the bus and school.
Sharer and her family rescued
Tux when they found him in a field
after he had been thrown over a
fence. His ears and tail were bleed
ing from what the vet believed was a
home cropping job. The Sharer fam
ily was not even sure that he would
survive for the first couple of days.
He is now in full health.
One of the biggest challenges
Sharer faces is people coming up to
Tux without permission to pet him.
‘Teople will randomly come up
and go ‘Doggie, doggie!’ If you
see a dog where it doesn’t belong,
you have a pretty good chance that
the reasoning is [that it is] a service
animal,” Sharer said.
Even though it may not look like
it, when these dogs are with their
handlers, they are constantly being
trained. Some of the dis
abilities for which the dogs
are trained are not always
visible, so please always
ask the handler before
approaching to pet the dog.
It is also against the law
to interfere with a service
dog, or their handler. The
complete set of laws for
service dogs can be found
at www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/
adahoml.htm.
There are many orga
nizations that support and
encourage people to get
involved in the raising and
training of these animals.
For more information, visit
the Delta Society Web site
at deltasociety.org.