Weekly Wrap-Up

LBCC was awarded $1.5 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to help fund renovation and construction of the Advanced Transportation Technology Center in Lebanon. LBCC’s project was one of four projects chosen for funding, part of a $7.2 million investment to support business development and job training in Oregon, California, Nevada and Utah. The ATTC will be the only major training facility for alternative fuel vehicles between Seattle and San Francisco, and will serve as a first step toward creating a base for alternative fuel technology in the Willamette Valley. The grant will be used to renovate an existing 35,000-square-foot building on the Lebanon site to house the automotive technician program, and to construct a new 10,000-square-foot innovation center beginning winter 2014. LBCC is continuing to raise funds to support moving the heavy equipment and diesel program to the center, with plans for an additional 20,000-square-foot building to be built on the site. Future plans include the construction of compressed natural gas and propane fueling stations, and electrical charging stations. The college has raised approximately $6.2 million for the project. In addition to the EDA grant, major funding for the center includes: more than $2 million in private donations; $1.4 million from the City of Lebanon Urban Renewal District; $800,000 from Oregon lottery funds; $100,000 from the Lebanon Industrial Development Corporation; $350,000 from the Meyer Memorial Trust; and $50,000 from Drive Oregon. Industry partners include Snap On, Pacific Power, John and Phil’s Toyota, and CoEnergy Propane of Corvallis.

Former art faculty member Gary Westford recently donated several art pieces from his personal collection to the college. Working with the Art and Aesthetics Committee and the college Foundation, the pieces include original works by Gustavo Martinez, silkscreen prints by Henri Matisse, Andy Warhol, Joseph Albers and Keith Haring, along with ceramics, wooden bowls, a Chinese scroll, and replicas of Egyptian sculpture and paintings. The art will be on view throughout the college in the Learning Center, Library, Madrone Hall, North Santiam Hall and the Periwinkle Child Development Center. Gary also made several monetary donations to college scholarship and grant funds in memory of his parents, including: $2,500 to the Department of Fine Art Foundation in memory of his father; six - $250 artistic merit grants to the Department of Music Foundation in memory of his mother; and $1,000 to the Department of English in support of the Valley Writers Series in memory of his step-mother.

The community phone survey will continue through next week to assess the level of taxpayer support for possible future LBCC construction projects. The survey was developed after a series of focus groups and interviews with community leaders designed to assess what the community believes it needs from LBCC, and it also considers needs the college has identified. It’s likely we’ll hear from people who have been contacted to take the survey. Please let them know this is part of the process to determine the needs of our community and to learn at what level the public will support developing the facilities to meet those needs.

Former art faculty member Gary Westford stands next to
an oil painting titled "Bounty" by artist Gustavo Martinez,
which is hanging in the college Learning Center.

Donated oil painting "Watermelon in the Moonlight" by
Gustavo Martinez, hanging in the Learning Center.