Youth Services Martin Luther King Education Center E-Newsletter
Sept. 2010

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It's That Time of Year: Back to School at MLK Ed. Center
Welcome students and staff to MLK Education Center for another year of educational development, success and triumph. This year, we welcome new staff and look forward to serving more than 200 students.
 
We encourage everyone to start the academic year fresh with a positive attitude and an eagerness to learn.
Quotable
MLK Ed. Center students who spent two days in the kitchen baking up chocolate and vanilla cake and one day serving the free cake to more than 1,800 seniors at the Lane County Fair were complimented in a thank you letter from Cindy Jensen, Senior Day Dessert Social coordinator, to Jos� Alvarez, MLK's Food and Nutrition Services supervisor: 
 
"[MLK students] were efficient, respectful and very professional as they served the seniors. Please let your students know how very much their efforts were appreciated." 

MLK Ed. Center In the News
Many local media outlets featured MLK Ed. Center staff and students - and their outstanding activities - this past month.
 
MLK Ed. Center's booth at the Lane County Farmer's Market  was recently highlighted by two Eugene area television stations, KEZI-TV and KVAL-TV. MLK students and staff were interviewed about the center's programs and its offerings at the market, which include organically grown produce harvested by MLK's student horticulture crews and lunch entrees prepared by the MLK student catering staff. MLK's produce and lunch entrees will be offered at the market on Tuesdays, Sept. 28 and Oct. 12, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Eighth Avenue and Oak Street in downtown Eugene.
 
Also, The Register-Guard reported on MLK student Kyle Starner's video, "Vents," earning second place in DIVA's 2010 Youth Visions' Teen Video Challenge. The video, along with other challenge winners, will be screened as part of the Mayor's Teen Art Show hosted by the Maude Kerns Art Center through Oct. 1, at 1910 East 15th Ave., in Eugene.
Introducing Becca English-Ross, MLK Employment Specialist
As the school year kicks off, we want you to get to know the staff at MLK Ed. Center better, so for the next several months, we will highlight teachers, advisors, assistants and some interesting facts about them. 
 
Introducing: Becca English-Ross, employment specialist
 
Q: What is your favorite color?
A: Purple. 
 
Q: Where were you born?  
A: Madison, WI. 
 
Q: If you could have lunch with any person, who would it be and why?
A: My grandmother, Marcelliana Mamenta, from the Philippines because I never formally met her. She started Luna College, a kindergarten through college school in the Philippines that most of my relatives and thousands of others attended since it opened in 1938. She also raised six kids during WWII and hosted many American soldiers (Japan controlled parts of the Philippines from 1941 to 1944).
 
Q: Who was a great influence or mentor to you while you were growing up?
A: My mother, Norma English, who is a working professional; great mom, who attended all my sports events (carpooled often, too); and the most loving person I've ever met. 
 
Q: Why did you enter this field of work?
A: Initially, I wanted to work with more challenging youth and became a relief counselor at Looking Glass in a residential treatment program. Seventeen years later, I left that program and began working for Lane County. I enjoy working with youth, being a positive role model, and teaching and learning from young people. This work helps me to be a better person.

Q: What is your favorite part about working at the MLK Ed. Center?
A: Seeing youth working in the vocational programs and hearing them talk to the public about what they've learned and how the program has helped them.
 
Q: What is something about you nobody would know?
A: Most people don't know that I learned most of what I know along the way, regardless of the jobs I've held.
In This Issue
Back to School at MLK
Quotable
MLK In the News
Introducing Becca English-Ross
Horticulture Program
Technology Program's Tips for Cleaning Your Computer
Culinary Arts Program
Students Spotlight
Transitions
MLK By the Numbers


25 chocolate and vanilla sheet cakes
prepared and served by MLK students to more than 1,800 seniors at theLane County Fair's Senior Day Dessert Social.
 
35 pounds of handmade gnocci rolled by MLK student Orion Clemens during his internship at Friendly Street Caf� in Eugene.
 
50 plates of carne asada sold in just one day at the MLK Ed. Center's booth at theLane County Farmer's Market.
 
1,000 hot dogs prepared and served by MLK student catering staff during the City of Eugene Outdoor Program at the River House's annual Riverfest event in July.
Upcoming Events
Tuesdays, Sept. 28 and Oct. 12: MLK Ed. Center students sell produce and lunch entrees at the Lane County Farmer's Market, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Eighth Avenue & Oak Street, downtown Eugene
 
Thursday, Sept. 30: Orders due for smoked top sirloin, BBQ briskey, and smoked chicked prepared by MLK's Culinary Arts students. Orders will be available for pick-up on Friday, Oct. 1, just in time for the UO football game. For more information, e-mail MLK staff or call 541-682-7922.
 
Through Oct. 1: Fast Forward: Mayor's Teen Art Show juried exhibits, including MLK stuent Kyle Starner's video, "Vents" - which earned second place in DIVA's 2010 Youth Visions Teen Video Challenge - will be featured at the Maude Kerns Art Center at 1910 East 15th Ave. in Eugene. The exhibit is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
 
Horticulture Program: Horticulture Students Take to the Trails
Horticulture Crew StudentWith the garden crew helping the Culinary students at the Farmers Markets, the forest and city crews took the lead on other outdoor activities.
 
The Juvenile Forest Work Crew spent time on a variety of trail maintenance projects throughout the McKenzie Ranger District of the Willamette National Forest. Crews worked on the French Pete Trail, which is located about 10 miles south of the Cougar Dam. Work on the trails was particularly laborious, as no power tools are permitted within the Three Sisters wilderness area. Forest crews brushed the trail using only hand tools and elbow grease.
 
Continuing to toil away on city parks and open spaces, the city crew completed work along the Willamette River bike path near Marist High School. The crew removed pesky blackberry brush and pulled invasive scotch broom.
 
In the coming months, forest crews will be working with acclaimed bridge designer and builder Wayne Chevalier to craft 40-foot and 60-foot bridges on the McKenzie River Trail. Materials for the bridges, with the exception of a few suspensions and the hardware, will be all natural materials sourced from the surrounding forested areas.
Technology Program's Tips for Cleaning Your Computer
Why clean your computer? Dust build-up, especially on internal components, can lead to many problems. Think of dust as a blanket that keeps the chips of your computer hot. The more dust that gathers, the hotter they get. How much dust is too much? How about .005 millimeters, almost too little to detect it visually? That small amount can raise the internal temperature of your components by as much as 5 percent and shorten the life of your system by years.
 
In addition, dust can contain conductive elements that can create partial short circuits in the system. Other elements in dust can accelerate corrosion of electrical contacts, resulting in poor connections.
 
Here are a few tips compiled by MLK's Technology Program for properly cleaning your computer: 
 
Step 1: Disassemble your computer. This means taking the side off the case at a minimum. Some people take the disassembly process as far as removing the computer's motherboard, but that's usually not necessary. It's best to use common sense when disassembling a computer. If the machine is not very dirty inside, you probably don't need to do a lot of disassembly. However, if you're working with a machine that is exceptionally dirty, consider removing the disk and hard drives. In order to have a clear path to the motherboard and all its components you should also remove all the boards from the expansion slots. 
 
Dos and Don'ts
 
Do:
1. Vacuum the inside of the case to remove all dust and debris. If you don't have access to a vacuum, blow the case out with a can of compressed air, but keep in mind that dust and debris will be pushed into the air causing some to fly back into your computer. If you're not comfortable removing internal components of your computer, stop here and be pleased with yourself - you've done more than most people to maintain their computer system!
 
2. Clean the cooling fan blades, power supply fan, CPU cooling fan and the case fan.
 
3. Clean all the drives (hard drives, floppy, CD/DVD/Blu-ray and others).
 
4. Clean the outside of the case and keyboard. Vacuum carefully around the access doors to the drives. Many drives, especially CDs and DVDs, have very specific cleaning procedures - it's best to refer to the manufacturer's instructions for cleaning these parts.
 
5. Store your computer off the floor to help keep it clean. (They are called desktop computers for a reason!)
 
Don'ts:
1. Don't use a brush directly on circuit boards or chips. Doing so may generate a static discharge that will damage the circuits in these components. A small brush can be used to carefully loosen dust and accumulated dirt inside a PC before vacuuming or spraying it with canned air. Use a brush only on parts such as fan blades, case, keyboards and air vents.
 
2. Don't use a pencil eraser to clean contacts! This can easily cause a static discharge, and the abrasive action on the contact surfaces can rub off the gold or silver coating on the contacts.
 
3. Don't use rubbing alcohol as a cleaning solution for your computer as it may contain water or perfume. Only use cleaning solutions that are designed specifically for electronic devices. The new "citrus-based" biodegradable cleaners are popular but have caused swelling of some plastics, silicone rubber and PVC plastic - use with caution.
 
4. Don't "motor" the case or processor fans with compressed air. The small bearings of these fans are only designed to run at lower speeds and are easily damaged by over speeding.
 
5. If using compressed air, be sure to hold the can upright so only gas comes out of the can, not liquid propellant.
 
You should take the time to clean your computer at least once a year.
Culinary Arts Program: Culinary Students Are Back by Popular Demand
This month, Culinary students participated in three downtown Farmers Markets, whipping up 50 plates of carne asada and helping to sell more than $450 worth of produce at a time. Students grilled the steak and fresh corn, prepared the rice, beans, guacamole and sour cream, and made the grilled, homemade salsa for a popular authentic Mexican dish, which frequently sold out before the market was over.
 
Culinary and Horticulture students joined forces for the Farmers Markets to help sell fresh produce from the DYS garden, which was harvested, washed and prepared for resale just the day before. Not only did the Culinary students do a great job of whipping up delicious meals, but they also learned and demonstrated customer service skills that will be helpful for future public events.
 
Looking forward, the Culinary students prepare for their final Farmers Market in mid-October, as well as a breakfast for the Airport Rotary Club and a dinner for the Sons of Italy.
Student Spotlight: Dylan Gilder
Dylan GliderDuring his time at the MLK Ed. Center and with the Horticulture Program, Dylan Gilder learned a lot. He harvested and planted plants, vegetables and fruits in the DYS organic and native gardens, removed brush and maintained trails for the city of Eugene, Lane County, Bureau of Lane Management and the U.S. Forest Service. His experience taught him to enjoy working outdoors during the summer, breathing fresh air, seeing mountain views, and visiting parts of Lane County he had never seen before. He also learned how critical bees are to native plants, and how detrimental invasive species can be to plant life.



Transitions
Congratulations to several MLK students who received positive evaluations and a 25-cent per hour pay increase to their hourly stipend. These students include: Christian Batchelder, Amberlynn Briggs, Javier Chavez, Orion Clemons, Jessica Coles, Eduardo Curiel, Dylan Gilder, Lisa Lattymer, Jon McDaniel, Jesus Mejia, Derek Moncrief, Scott Reymundo and Candace Unsain.

Orion was also placed in an internship at the Friendly Street Caf�. He works with the owner and lead chef, Mario Tucci. Last week, Orion helped prepare and serve 35 pounds of gnocchi, all made from scratch. Orion is enjoying his new internship. 
 
Kyle Robinson and Michael Norton have passed four of the five GED tests and are scheduling their last test soon. Chris McGough, an MLK summer school GED student, passed his first GED test and has scheduled another.

Jessica Coles continues to impress seniors and staff at the Campbell Senior Center. She works as an intern every Wednesday helping serve the seniors their weekly "Lunch Bunch." Jessica has adapted well to working in a new kitchen with other volunteers. MLK Ed. Center staff and Jessica thank Tom Powers and Mel Mann for helping to supervise this unique internship opportunity. 
 
Chris Ledgett successfully completed his internship at Garden Way ShelterCare. Chris had the opportunity to express his creativity in the kitchen with food preparation and presentation for ShelterCare clients. He was also able to build lasting relationships with clients and co-workers at the facility through food service. Jose Soto, Chris' supervisor, expressed his gratitude for Chris' performance, commitment to the facility and positive attitude. Chris was asked to apply for the relief cook position at the facility.
 
Kayla Brown completed her work experience at Warp Grafix, where she received instruction from Warp Grafix's owner, Dave Miller, and had the opportunity to learn about the machines that produce graphics put on vehicles and used at sporting events. Kayla is now employed at the 4J School District as an on-call food service worker. She also started working at Brewed Awakenings coffee shop as a barista.
Save 20%
Save 20% on your next catering order of $50 or more with the MLK Jr. Education Center Culinary Arts Program. 
 
To place a catering order, call (541) 682-2423, or e-mail [email protected].
 
Print this coupon and present it in person to redeem value.  Limit one per person.  Offer not valid with other discounts or prior purchases. 
Offer Expires: October 25, 2010.
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