2 The Clackamas Print
W ednesday, May 16, 20 1 2
newsed(3>clackamas. edu
News
Wildland firefighting class leads to hot jobs
By Craig Hartrampf
The Clackamas Print
S tu d en ts w h o w o u ld like to
m ake $ 1 0,000 over th e sum m er
fighting fires, o r w o rk som e
w here in, the-great o u td o o rs like
Yellowstone N atio n al Park, m ay
be in terested in certificatio n
a n d tr a in in g in t^ e Fire Science
(W ild la n d )
o r W ild e rn e ss
Survival a n d L eadership p ro
gram s offered at th e T raining
C e n te r o n cam pus. T h e center
is discreetly tu c k e d aw ay n ex t to
G lairm o n t H all.
N o t o n ly .is th e Fire Sciehcè
p ro g ra m a , certified tra in in g
site b y th e Pacific N o rth w est
W ild fire C o o rd in a tin g G roup,
it ds recognized by th e O reg o n
D e p a rtm e n t o f F orestry a n d the
N a tio n a l F orest Service. T h e
p ro g ram is also full o f career
o p p o rtu n itie s fo r stu d e n ts .
P o ten tial enrollees w ill experi
ence som e o ld fashioned h a rd
w o rk a n d earn o n e o f th e career
te ch n ical degrees o ffered a t
C lackam as. B o th p ro g ram s are
o p en to m en : an d w o m en from
th e ages o f 16 - 6 5 ^ z
T h e w ild lan d fire course isn’t
th e o n ly p o p u lar class th e d ep art
m e n t offers. T h e W ild ern ess
Survival p ro g ram developed at
C lackam as C o m m u n ity College
offers stû d en ts th e chance to
learn a b o u t th e o u td o o rs a n d
gain know ledge a b o u t topics
such as la p d nav ig atio n a n d
w ilderness first aid. T h is is a
T 2 - 13 credit p ro g ram th a t
earns a certificate th a t co u ld
lead to em p lo y m en t at places
like su m m er cam ps o r parks a n d
recreation positions. |
A ccording to T om Laugle, a
fire science instructor, th e p ro
gram ’s p o p u larity is a big h it
a n d it 'fills u p because o f w ord
o f m o u th .
W h ile th e d e p a rtm e n t offers
different courses “ for stu d e n ts to
-choose w h a t th ey w an t, m o n ey
is a n im p o rta n t subject to co n
sider. S tu d en ts can w o rk over
th e su m m er in th e field a n d
learn w hile m ak in g extra cash.
A ccording to Laugle, stu d e n ts
can m ake as m u ch as $ 1 0 ,0 0 0
over th e su m m er : w o rk in g in
these fields.
T h e d e p a rtm e n t fu rn ish es
th e tex tb o o k s s tu d e n ts n eed
to e a rn th e ir certificate so
less m o n ey com e o u t o f th eir
pockets. T h e stu d e n ts also keep
th e books th a t th e d e p a rtm e n t
provides. T h is co u ld p o ten tially
save stu d e n ts h u n d red s ,o f dol
lars o h books. T h e stu d en ts n o t
o n ly save m o n e y -b y enrolling
in this program , h u t th e degree
th ey earn can take th em any
w here, according to D a n Logan,
p a rt-tim e fire science instructor*.
T h e benefit o f th e degree isn’t
lim ite d to ju st the'N orthw est*
“Q n c e y o u get ’a degree,
y o u can be deployed anyw here
in th e U .S ,” said Logan. “You
can w o rk for any governm ent
d e p a rtm e n t a n d -y o u will skip
som e o f th e b eg in n in g parts o f
acareer.”
A ccording to B eth M illican,
an adm inistrative assistant for
th e tech, h ealth a n d o ccupa
tio n w orkforce d ep artm en t, th e
tra in in g stu d e n ts receive also'’
catapults th e m above th e begin
n in g process th a t m o st people
face w h en th e ir ju st starting.
“It goes bey o n d th e degree;
it’s really an o p en d o o r for stu
d ents,” said M illican!
M e n aren’t th e on ly gender
th a t can m ake a living in this
line o f w ork; w o m en are greatly
em braced. M a n y o f th e recent
success stories fro m th e d ep art
m e n t have com e fro m w o m en
w h o have b een successful in th e
w ildfire fig h tin g w orld.
T h e n a tu re o f th is train in g
m ay have som e w o rried a b o u t
th eir perso n al safety a n d . th a t o f
others. M illican addresses those
co n cern s b y m a k in g it clear
th a t n o o n e has been seriously
in ju re d d u rin g train in g a n d th a t
all classes stress safety a n d the
risks in h e re n t in the field.
W ildland fir e science instructor Tom Laugle.talks about the
correct use o f a fir e hose a n d other aspects o f the wildfire classes.
“Safety has never b een a n
issue w ith a n y C lac k am as
C o m m u n ity C ollege students,”
said M illican.
B o th p ro g ram s, a n d th e
d e p a rtm e n t as a w h o le, are
h ighly praised b y em ployers o f
these stu d en ts. M a n y in stru c
to rs refer stu d e n ts to p o te n
tial em ployers possible career
o p p o rtu n itie s w ith th e ho p es o f
in creasin g th e ir em p lo y ab ility
u p o n certification in th e p ro
gram s.
URBAN AG: Traversing green streets of farming in city limits
Continued from Page 1
being developed by horticulture students, thrives',in the spring sun.
Students are trained in many
aspects o f urban farming explained
Howley. T hey learn w hen to plant
an d harvest as well as w hat fruits
andvegetables^are m ore profitable as
cash crops. T hey are taught the busi
ness side o f being an urban farmer
and they get trained in the use o f
power an a hand tools. M any o f the
classes offered also have a lab com
ponent which allows Clackamas
students to have the opportunity to
learn more about organic systems
and production methods.
“W e had classes start in the fall,
but a lot o f students held off until
it was state certified,” said Bruce
Nelson, horticulture instructor.
“This is a half-acre plot right here,
and theyre hopefully learning the
basics o f growing vegetables.”
Metamorphoses, which is strictly
all about food and the American
— T h e com m unity gardens close to
food system. T h e class teaches the
Clairmont have been designated as
a new urban farm site. Students get
to p ut their hands in the dirt and
get a real idea o f w hat farming is all
ab o u t Right now only half o f the
plot is being used to plant; next year
the departm ent is hoping to plot the
second half, explained Nelson.
“I would say it puts Clackamas
on the map. It seems like it would
help hom e gardeners like me, and
people like you w ho w ant to get
into this,” said Trista ‘ Cornelius,
English instructor. “If it means cities
and. countries could grow theirow n
food, it would cut dow n on our
carbon footprint.”
C o rn e liu s ’
te a c h e s
Hum anities-170, a class called
benefits o f urban agriculture on a
local scale.
T h e certificate can be completed
in four terms and classes are offered
every term except during the sum
mer; however there are .cooperative
works hours that are offered during
the summer. Students m ay begin the
program fall, winter or spring term.
Classes include food production,
organic farming, farm equipment,
food harvest and fruit an a berry
growing. T h e horticulture depart
m ent also offers other certificates
in horticulture, plant health ’care,
landscape practices an d irrigation
technician. T hey also offer associates
degrees in horticulture and land
scaping.
... P O W HAT?
T/ie Clackamas Print aims to
report the news in an honest,
unbiased andprofessional
manner. Content published in
The Printis.riot screened or
subject to censorship.
19600 Molalla Ave.
Oregon City, OR 97045
Editors
Editor-in-Chief: Brian Baldwin
Copy Editor: Katherine Suydam
News Editor: Joshua Dillen
Arts&Culture: Isaac Soper
Sports Editor: John William Howard
Associate Sports Editor:. Ernily Rask
Writers
&
Photographers
David Beasley
Breanna Craine-
Jo.ey.Çjsher
Craig Hartram pf
Patrick Quinn
Felicia Skriver
Chris Taylor
Steven W eldon
Photo Editor: Brad Heineke
Web Editor: AnnaAxelson
Design Editor: Jarogs Dunean
Ad Manager: Patrick Emerson
Adviser: Melissa Jones
503-594-6266
Production Assistants
Christian Ada ms
Mollie Berry
Jaronte G oldsby
M artin Gonzalez
Harley Jackson
Hicham Kerkour
Joey Nardin
Darla Nguyen
Ellen Niles
¿ Jjp n t Noon
Evon Trem bly
Contact Inform ation
chlefed@ clackam as.edu
copyed@ clackam as.edu .
new sed@ clackam as.edu
aced@ clackam as.edu A
sportsed@ clackam as.edu
photoed@ clackam as.edu
adm gr@ clackam as.edu
we bed ito r @ clacka mas. edu