Student Newspaper: Cascades Insight
April 2007

Cascades Insight is published monthly by
Cascades Job Corps Center, Sedro-Woolley, Washington.
Managing Editor: Bob Cockburn
Typographer and Web Design: Kate Weisel

Cascades Insight is a monthly publication of Cascades Job Corps Center in Sedro-Woolley. All items for publication must be turned in to the Newspaper Mailbox in the Staff Lounge in the administration building by the 10th of every month. Letters to the Editor must be legible, double spaced, and signed by the writer with complete address and phone number. No letter will be published that is of a personal, libelous, or malicious nature. The writer's name may be deleted by request of writer and acceptance of the editor.

Please scroll down this page to read stories from this issue.

Center Director’s Message

We had a pleasurable graduation ceremony last week, twelve students participated. We had more graduates, but a number of them were already on the job and were unable to attend. Graduation is always an exciting day on our campus. We take the time to honor and celebrate our students and their achievements.

Some staff members recall when the students first entered the program and compare that person with the one now graduating. It is a very gratifying experience for all staff to know that they played a part in the student’s accomplishments and the positive changes.

Graduation day is when staff get their batteries recharged. I want to publicly thank all the staff at the Cascades Job Corps Center for their hard work, consideration, thoughtfulness, encouragement and the help that they give to our students. Many go above and beyond the call of duty on a daily basis. I am very grateful for all of their efforts.

Our next graduation is in a couple months on May 18, 2007 at 3:00 pm. Come and join in the fun and excitement. Other graduations do not compare to a Job Corps graduation.

Blood Drive Set for April 19 in the Gym

Come help replenish blood supplies that benefit all citizens in need. Your donations are critical to maintain a stable blood supply for medical emergencies and to support patients battling life-threatening illnesses. Anyone under 18 needs a parental permission form signed before April 19. They are available in the Medical Center at Cascades. On behalf of the patients in western Washington, Puget Sound Blood Center thanks you.

National Youth Service Day is Saturday, April 21. Student volunteers will be helping at Washington State Parks again this year.

Cascades Job Corps Center Graduation March 23, 2007

• Abdirahman Ali (1), Cement Masonry
• Wendu Ayansa (3,4), Nursing Assistant
• Jennifer Caswell (3,4), Medical Assisting
• Fetiha Ejabo (3,4), Nursing Assistant
• Arthur Esparza (4), Carpentry
• Crystal Feltman (4,*), Medical Assisting
• Andrew Foster, Electrical
• Benson Freeman (1,3,4), Business Technology
• Steven Freeman (1), Business Technology
• Melissa Golden (2,*), Business Technology
• Terrin Guisti (2), Carpentry
• Mariza Hassen (3,4), Nursing Assistant
• Cristobol Ignacio (1,2,4), Carpentry
• Corey Kalles (1,2,*), Electrical
• Samantha Martin (2,*), Business Technology
• Christafer Murray (2), Carpentry
• William Murray (2,*), Electrical
• Vu Nguyen, Facilities Maintenance
• Trevor Pearson (1,2,*), Electrical
• Ryan Smith (2), Carpentry
• Stephanie Weir (2), Painting

Notes: (1) Obtained High School
Diploma at Cascades Job Corps
(2) Obtained GED (General Education Diploma)
(3) Accepted in ACT program (Advanced Career Training college program)
(4) Accepted into the National Technical Honor Society
(*) Full-time employment

Editor's Corner

It is easy enough to be pleasant,
When life flows by like a song,
But the man worth while is one who will smile,
When everything goes dead wrong.

If we stop to think about this there are always ways to make things better. But if you feel you are living in a negative world, it’s hard to turn it around. Positive thinking sometimes is more work, but the rewards are outstanding. My dad used to say he would walk a million miles for a smile, but not even one mile for a frown. Let’s all put on a happy face.

Bulletin Board

GED Achievers

• Sean Conner*, 2/16/07
• Casey Ryals, 2/16/2007
• Spencer Ogdon**, 2/16/2007
• Jordan Adams*, 2/20/2007
• Andrew Bray, 2/23/2007
• Earlene Warren, 2/23/2007
• J.D. Hill, 3/6/2007
• Anthony Newsome, 3/6/2007
• Jeff Fox, 3/13/2007
• Brandon Walker*, 3/13/2007
• Jay Schnoor*, 3/13/2007
• Misty Shoemaker**, 3/13/2007
• Leanna Campbell*, 3/13/2007
• Evanne Prather***, 3/13/2007
• Bianca Maldonado**, 3/13/2007

* Honors (2,500+); ** High Honors (2,700+); *** High Honors With Distinction (3,000+)

How To Deal With Frustrations Appropriately

Frustration is defined as extreme disappointment. We all get disappointed. There are things that happen which we have no control over. Disappointment doesn’t have to lead to frustration though. Being frustrated, like being angry is a choice.

Frustration comes in many different forms. There are internal and external forms. There are internal and external triggers to our frustrations. Some are minor, and have little effect on our lives. Some are major events which can have a significant effect. There are also rational and irrational frustrations. No matter where it comes from or how significant the frustration is, it can always be overcome.

We all have a choice to be controlled by our frustrations or to be in control of our frustrations and in control of our lives. The ability to do this depends on our resources and our own efforts of utilizing what resources are available to us. This includes the people around us, our environment, and knowledge.

A good metaphor for the frustrations in our lives would be turbulence on a plane. If you have never flown before and experience turbulence during a flight, the first thoughts that might come to mind are, “There’s a problem, we’re gonna crash. I’m gonna die.”

The external trigger is the turbulence, but fear is created internally and is projected by our irrational thoughts, which makes the minor problem an unnecessary major one. For the rest of the flight, we are perturbed and even the most insignificant events extremely disappoint and frustrate us. Time can compound this feeling with more negative thoughts and feelings causing us to lose our composure.

If we are surrounded by positive passengers, they may recognize what’s going on within us and help us out. They can offer a different perspective to the situation, bring some reality to it, and calm us down.

If the passengers we are surrounded by are negative, they could provoke frustrations by being negative and unaccepting towards us. This would turn our frustrations into anger, and the negative consequences would result. If we entered the situation with proper knowledge, we could eliminate our frustrations as well. Knowing that turbulence is caused when colder more dense air falls onto warmer air from the Earth’s surface and displaces it vertically and horizontally, can bring the reality that there is no real danger.

There are many appropriate ways to deal with frustrations. We can sometimes change the environment we live in. Bring in Job Corps is taking that step in the right direction. Even here, the “passengers” can be positive or negative though. We have to make the choice to surround ourselves with first class attitudes and behaviors. We can seek out the staff and their guidance so they can help us when we become frustrated or angry.

The programs Job Corps offers and the resources available to us can give us the knowledge we need to anticipate situations and be prepared to face them, can make even the heaviest of turbulence feel like a light breeze. It is essential to be prepared because there are a lot of cold dense people who will clash with our warm radiant selves, creating a displacement of emotions. We can eventually learn to steer clear and avoid such problems. Eventually we can become the pilots or our own lives.

Students Practice Hard For Basketball Tournament

Student/Staff Pool Tournament

Photo at right is of the winner Travis Casey (staff person, left).

Travis Casey (staff person, left) and runner up Chris King (student, right). The event was held over a couple of months and had a total of 41 staff and students participanting. It was a single elimination 8-ball tournament. Travis beat Chris King four games to nothing and won a trophy and a pool stick. We are currently taking names to hold another event with the same format.