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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
July 5, 2007     Shelton Mason County Journal
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July 5, 2007
 
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Spotlight: ;00on re-tools at OCS for a new career  .y REBECCA WELLS edt ,,, . ft working in a field where people .--ave a fighting chance at chang- 1 n r g for the better is where Ron VChilders hopes to be heading. . ere would he find such poten )1 • nlally rewarding outcomes from a vtOb? For him, it's in juvenile pro- ]Dallon. He ran West Bay Auto Parts in -yort Orchard and similar stores Iun • tll he encountered some medi- Cal problems, which cornered him into finding a new line of work. on is back in college now, study- iItng for his new career. tw His college career initially be- klm back in 1982, when he took a "=lb w basic courses at a community lnlollege in Long Beach, .California. 3ast-forward to the present and idon has progressed much further hby completing a year and a half lnibf full-time studies at Olympic tiollege Shelton. He has lived in ndVlason County for the past seven ears and is enrolled in a criminal Lttustice class for the summer term. , € This course of study involves neebout half a dozen required class- .es, including criminal law, the th$ociology of corrections, juvenile ldelinquency and police adminis- 'hration, plus some related math d {and science classes. SO FAR, RON has been very .mpressed with the education ae's received at OCS. "The faculty -nere, they go the extra mile for [v erybody and anybody. It doesn't Inave to be something that they're Leaching for them to help you with 00e00eyll help you with anything Y can - and that starts with Kim and goes all the way down," he says, referring to Kim McNa- mara, the college director. 00outh center _}olks to serve 00gummer food " Th . e SOCK Youth Center on m'ranklin Street in downtown Shel- El,on will be hosting the Simplified  Ummer Food Program for Chil- l |ten. Meals will be made avail- lble at no charge to people ages 18 | ears and younger. [I Dinner is available to all attents [ [ng youth during the Friday Nigh [ SOCK Program, and lunch is tvailable to youth enrolled in the [ [Ummer @ @ SOCK Program. The [ mmer SOCK Program is full tt this time, but interested parties lh an register on the waiting list. Meals will be served a the elton Transit and Community enter, 601 West Franklin Street . Shelton Friday Nights @ SOCK rogram dates will run from 7 to 8 /.m. on July 6, 13, 20 and August [, 17, 24, 31. Meal times are 7 to The Summe, pro- = meal times will be from noon -}o I p.m. on dates throughout the Ummer. J SOCK stands for Save Our ounty s Kids. More information . available from Hannah Franks Y.e-mail at: hannah@sock.org mr by telephone at at 432-0842. SEATED IN HIS Olympic College Shelton office is Ron Childers, vice president of the associated student body. Not only is Ron a student at Olympic College, he's also vice president of the associated student body there. "Being on a small cam- pus like this is great! I don't know if I'd want the job up in Bremer- ton," he says. For the last two years, he has run unopposed for the elected of- rice, which is a paid, part-time position worth 15 hours per week. "You know, I feel if there's some money there, you might as well spend it on having some fun," Ron considers. He's enjoying his role in stu- dent government. He's helped co- ordinate two food drives, a blood drive and a breakfast for 50 grad- uates from the Shelton branch. The associated student body also organized a Halloween costume contest and a drawing for a Val- entine's dinner for two, catered by Vern's Restaurant. RECENT ACTMTIES have also included coordinating an Earth Day event and a health fair on campus. He also joined college personnel in representing the campus at the Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce's Bite of Shelton/Business Expo in May. Ron had a hand in presenting the new We 2 Lecture Series and a roundtable discussion of envi- ronmental issues, featuring Tim Sheldon, the state senator and county commissioner, as well as representatives of the real-estate industry. "Everybody I talked to since I've seen them said they wanted to do the round-table again," Ron says enthusiastically. He's al- ready working on planning next year's round-table discussion, this one focused on music. "It's going to be interesting," he adds. One of the planks in his plat- form as vice president has to do with promoting the various schol- arships available for students at the college. Every quarter the as- your 00lic library Be a detective. Find out what a¢tivities your library is offering this summer. ) To find your local library visit www.libraries.wa.gov 0 WASHINGTON STATE U|ILI sociated Student Body awards six scholarships• Last year only five students even applied for them, leaving one unclaimed so the fol- lowing quarter the college tacked it on and offered seven scholar- ships, while encouraging students to look into these very available opportunities. The effort paid off and there were 19 applicants. ADDITIONALLY, Ron serves on a college panel which serves as a sounding board for the college president and the trustees. He also participates on the Environmental Task Force and the Washington Wellness Works Committee. Due to his disability, he receives financial aid from the Social Secu- rity Administration. While therapy he received at Harborview Medical Center helped treat his chronic fa- tigue and get him back on his feet, Ron still is dealing with the effects of carpal-tunnel syndrome and fi- bromyalgia. Thanks to the series of voice- activated typing courses offered at the college, which have been his favorite to this point, his physical limitations haven't held him back academically. "Voice-activated typing is great because I can speak a lot faster than I can type," Ron says. This particular technology doesn't stop at simply typing, but incorporates word processing and spreadsheets with other voice-activated pro- grams which allow him to do most of his homework. WHAT'S SURPRISED him most about going back to college has been the broad spectrum of ages he's come across in the stu- dents. "We have a lot of adult stu- dents here and a lot of Running Start, so it's a variety. And watch- ing them interact on campus is re- ally neat and cool," he says. His wife JoAnne is also study- ing at the college and preparing to graduate with an associate's degree in office management. She works as a technician in the inter- active program on campus, setting up classrooms where professors teach in one place and broadcast live lectures into other class- rooms. "It works really well," Ron says proudly. "Because that way we can get a lot more classes down here, too." Along with this interactive-tele- vision program, the college also provides prerecorded telecourses and classes over the Internet. Ron has taken all three. One of his most important lessons has just been learning techniques on how to study. He and JoAnne have a 15-year- old son, Andrew, plus four other children from previous marriages. What do their children think of the parents going to college? "THEY THINK it's great," Ron says. He is set to graduate from Olympic College next spring. From there, he's looking into transfer- ring to either Saint Martin's Uni- versity in Lacey or Boise State University in Idaho to continue his studies in juvenile parole. Ron is taking all of the factors into account in order to keep his education a top priority. Boise draws him because some of his friends have moved there and want him to join them. "They're giving me quite a few openings over there," he says. Alpine Way thanks its residents who have l supported freedom and independence for our country by serving in the military, raising strong families, working in our communities and supporting our nation in more than we can count. ALPm WAY RETIREMENT APARTMENTS, ASSISTED LIVING AND ALZHEIMER'S SPECIAL CARE (360) 426-2600 900 West Alpine Way. Shelton Thursday, July 5, 2007 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 15 Spotlight: ;00on re-tools at OCS for a new career  .y REBECCA WELLS edt ,,, . ft working in a field where people .--ave a fighting chance at chang- 1 n r g for the better is where Ron VChilders hopes to be heading. . ere would he find such poten )1 • nlally rewarding outcomes from a vtOb? For him, it's in juvenile pro- ]Dallon. He ran West Bay Auto Parts in -yort Orchard and similar stores Iun • tll he encountered some medi- Cal problems, which cornered him into finding a new line of work. on is back in college now, study- iItng for his new career. tw His college career initially be- klm back in 1982, when he took a "=lb w basic courses at a community lnlollege in Long Beach, .California. 3ast-forward to the present and idon has progressed much further hby completing a year and a half lnibf full-time studies at Olympic tiollege Shelton. He has lived in ndVlason County for the past seven ears and is enrolled in a criminal Lttustice class for the summer term. , € This course of study involves neebout half a dozen required class- .es, including criminal law, the th$ociology of corrections, juvenile ldelinquency and police adminis- 'hration, plus some related math d {and science classes. SO FAR, RON has been very .mpressed with the education ae's received at OCS. "The faculty -nere, they go the extra mile for [v erybody and anybody. It doesn't Inave to be something that they're Leaching for them to help you with 00e00eyll help you with anything Y can - and that starts with Kim and goes all the way down," he says, referring to Kim McNa- mara, the college director. 00outh center _}olks to serve 00gummer food " Th . e SOCK Youth Center on m'ranklin Street in downtown Shel- El,on will be hosting the Simplified  Ummer Food Program for Chil- l |ten. Meals will be made avail- lble at no charge to people ages 18 | ears and younger. [I Dinner is available to all attents [[ng youth during the Friday Nigh [ SOCK Program, and lunch is tvailable to youth enrolled in the [ [Ummer @ @ SOCK Program. The [ mmer SOCK Program is full tt this time, but interested parties lh an register on the waiting list. Meals will be served a the elton Transit and Community enter, 601 West Franklin Street . Shelton Friday Nights @ SOCK rogram dates will run from 7 to 8 /.m. on July 6, 13, 20 and August [, 17, 24, 31. Meal times are 7 to The Summe, pro- = meal times will be from noon -}o I p.m. on dates throughout the Ummer. J SOCK stands for Save Our ounty s Kids. More information . available from Hannah Franks Y.e-mail at: hannah@sock.org mr by telephone at at 432-0842. SEATED IN HIS Olympic College Shelton office is Ron Childers, vice president of the associated student body. Not only is Ron a student at Olympic College, he's also vice president of the associated student body there. "Being on a small cam- pus like this is great! I don't know if I'd want the job up in Bremer- ton," he says. For the last two years, he has run unopposed for the elected of- rice, which is a paid, part-time position worth 15 hours per week. "You know, I feel if there's some money there, you might as well spend it on having some fun," Ron considers. He's enjoying his role in stu- dent government. He's helped co- ordinate two food drives, a blood drive and a breakfast for 50 grad- uates from the Shelton branch. The associated student body also organized a Halloween costume contest and a drawing for a Val- entine's dinner for two, catered by Vern's Restaurant. RECENT ACTMTIES have also included coordinating an Earth Day event and a health fair on campus. He also joined college personnel in representing the campus at the Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce's Bite of Shelton/Business Expo in May. Ron had a hand in presenting the new We 2 Lecture Series and a roundtable discussion of envi- ronmental issues, featuring Tim Sheldon, the state senator and county commissioner, as well as representatives of the real-estate industry. "Everybody I talked to since I've seen them said they wanted to do the round-table again," Ron says enthusiastically. He's al- ready working on planning next year's round-table discussion, this one focused on music. "It's going to be interesting," he adds. One of the planks in his plat- form as vice president has to do with promoting the various schol- arships available for students at the college. Every quarter the as- your 00lic library Be a detective. Find out what a¢tivities your library is offering this summer. ) To find your local library visit www.libraries.wa.gov 0 WASHINGTON STATE U|ILI sociated Student Body awards six scholarships• Last year only five students even applied for them, leaving one unclaimed so the fol- lowing quarter the college tacked it on and offered seven scholar- ships, while encouraging students to look into these very available opportunities. The effort paid off and there were 19 applicants. ADDITIONALLY, Ron serves on a college panel which serves as a sounding board for the college president and the trustees. He also participates on the Environmental Task Force and the Washington Wellness Works Committee. Due to his disability, he receives financial aid from the Social Secu- rity Administration. While therapy he received at Harborview Medical Center helped treat his chronic fa- tigue and get him back on his feet, Ron still is dealing with the effects of carpal-tunnel syndrome and fi- bromyalgia. Thanks to the series of voice- activated typing courses offered at the college, which have been his favorite to this point, his physical limitations haven't held him back academically. "Voice-activated typing is great because I can speak a lot faster than I can type," Ron says. This particular technology doesn't stop at simply typing, but incorporates word processing and spreadsheets with other voice-activated pro- grams which allow him to do most of his homework. WHAT'S SURPRISED him most about going back to college has been the broad spectrum of ages he's come across in the stu- dents. "We have a lot of adult stu- dents here and a lot of Running Start, so it's a variety. And watch- ing them interact on campus is re- ally neat and cool," he says. His wife JoAnne is also study- ing at the college and preparing to graduate with an associate's degree in office management. She works as a technician in the inter- active program on campus, setting up classrooms where professors teach in one place and broadcast live lectures into other class- rooms. "It works really well," Ron says proudly. "Because that way we can get a lot more classes down here, too." Along with this interactive-tele- vision program, the college also provides prerecorded telecourses and classes over the Internet. Ron has taken all three. One of his most important lessons has just been learning techniques on how to study. He and JoAnne have a 15-year- old son, Andrew, plus four other children from previous marriages. What do their children think of the parents going to college? "THEY THINK it's great," Ron says. He is set to graduate from Olympic College next spring. From there, he's looking into transfer- ring to either Saint Martin's Uni- versity in Lacey or Boise State University in Idaho to continue his studies in juvenile parole. Ron is taking all of the factors into account in order to keep his education a top priority. Boise draws him because some of his friends have moved there and want him to join them. "They're giving me quite a few openings over there," he says. Alpine Way thanks its residents who have l supported freedom and independence for our country by serving in the military, raising strong families, working in our communities and supporting our nation in more than we can count. ALPm WAY RETIREMENT APARTMENTS, ASSISTED LIVING AND ALZHEIMER'S SPECIAL CARE (360) 426-2600 900 West Alpine Way. Shelton Thursday, July 5, 2007 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 15