Will you FLIP over our new videos from Oregon Ag Fest 2008?

Last week, Capital Press received a new tool to use in their jobs. Some call it a tool. Others might call it a new toy. But the bottom line is the new Flip Video Ultra Series cameras are small camcorders that allow our staff to get another angle to our coverage.

We are now a company that is doing more than just writing for a weekly agricultural newspaper that gets into the mailboxes of farmers in the West once a week. We have a website that publishes stories daily from staff and Associated Press; we send out a daily newsletter; and we also send out breaking news alerts to those who sign up to receive them.

We have been expanding out multimedia offerings: We now have photo slideshows, audio of interviews, and — with our new tool/toy — video to add to the website.

Oregon State University Extension and Experiment Station Communications staff were kind enough to provide us some training last week, since they are familiar with the Flip Video camcorders and have used the devices for some of their work.

This past weekend, I took my Flip Video to Ag Fest in Salem to record some video, then posted it to YouTube. There are some pros and cons to the camcorder, but some of the benefits is its size, ease of use and (when all software is cooperating between Apple and Quicktime — and that’s another story!), its ease to posting to YouTube.

Here are a couple examples of what I have taped so far. Stay tuned to see a lot more of this on Capital Press’ multimedia site and/or on YouTube.

First, here's a compilation of some of the events that helped entertain as well as educate Oregon children — and adults — about agriculture. The event was held in Salem, Oregon on April 26-27.



In the second video, Michele Ruby, Executive Director of Oregon Ag Fest 2008, met with Elaine Shein of Capital Press at the end of the event on April 27 to share what a success it had been, what is its role, and how important it is to have volunteers.

Students publish newspaper, plan magazine

Wheeler High senior Jessica Miller, right, waits for a response to a phone call to a source as her reporting team members sophomore Kevin Miller, left, and freshman Levi Sharp, accompany her in the main office. Photo by Brook Griffith/Condon High School

Special to the Capital Press
FOSSIL, Ore. -- Students at two Eastern Oregon high schools are getting in the publishing business.

Earlier this spring, students at Condon High School produced the first student newspaper at the school in about 20 years. Currently, students at Wheeler High School in Fossil are in the process of producing a photo magazine.

Both publications were part of the outcome of a writer-in-residence program under the direction of visiting photojournalist Cheryl Hatch.

Volume 1 of Devil High Times was printed in March 2008 and filled with articles and photos produced by the students at Condon High School. Devil High Times focused on the pros and cons of the life of students in Condon and the events that happen around the town.

Tyler Pike, a sophomore at Condon High, was an editor for the newspaper. Pike enjoyed having the opportunity to be a part of the experience.

"It was a fun thing to do and was a break from the ordinary," Pike said. He said he developed an interest in journalism and wants to attend the University of Oregon to study photojournalism.

He likes the idea of having a steady newspaper at his school.

"Yes, I would like there to be a newspaper for the school, it would help the kids with their writing skills and give them something to read."

Brook Griffith, who served as photo editor for the student paper, is a junior at Condon High School and took the classes taught by the writer in residence, Cheryl Hatch.

"I liked having Cheryl for a writer in residence because I got to use her cool camera," Griffith said.

Griffith said she enjoys photography and plans on improving her skills by taking some college courses. She used her skills to get an article printed in The Times Journal, a local paper based in Condon, about Ryan Standiford’s success in the javelin as the 1A State Champion for 2007 and his aspirations to defend his title this year. A photo she took of Standiford accompanied the article in the Times Journal.

"I’m not real interested in the writing aspect, but definitely the photography," Griffith said. She would like to try sports photography.

The finished student-produced newspaper boasted 12 pages with 13 articles and 23 color photographs

The "Soul of Fossil" magazine, by Wheeler High Students, is still in progress and publication is expected in early May. The magazine will be a photo journal.

"There is still work to be turned in and it is still in the developmental stage," Hatch said.

Senior associate editor Lisa Wade is working to make sure everything is turned in on time. For ideas on the photo journal she thinks the area's landscape, events in the community and the daily life of the students would make good pictures to include in the magazine.

Sophomore photo editor Sammone Palazo said the magazine is starting to come together. Her job is to pick and edit photos.

Junior photo editor Anna Longstreet said the group got a slow start but hopes that "the final product represents what high school students can do."

Kylie Hankins, Michael Boehlke, Karera Carrell, Justin Phillips, Macaulay Hankins and Meagan Moore contributed to this report.

Click here to read Gary West's column about the workshop from the May 2, 2008, edition of Capital Press.

Students generate newspaper, photo projects as part of writer-in-resident program

Chyanne Stanley, freshman, interviews Megan Greenfield (left) on Monday, April 21, in Wheeler High School's general room during an all-day high school journalism workshop. Photo by Dillon Nelson.

Editor’s note: Twenty-two students from Wheeler High School in Fossil, Ore., and four from Condon High School in Condon, Ore., participated in a journalism workshop Monday, April 21, in Fossil. The workshop was conducted as part of a writer-in-residence program sponsored by Fishtrap Inc., an Eastern Oregon organization promoting "clear thinking and good writing in and about the West." The students participating in the workshop -- under the direction of Cheryl Hatch, the writer in residence, and Gary L. West, associate editor for the Capital Press -- were assigned to write stories about the writer-in-residence program in their communities.

Special to the Capital Press

FOSSIL, Ore. — This year the students of Condon and Wheeler high schools in Eastern Oregon had the opportunity to work with writer in residence Cheryl Hatch, a photojournalist based in Corvallis, Ore.

Hatch collaborated with Condon High School language arts teacher Mike Keown in Condon and with English teacher Angi Humphreys in Fossil, Ore.

Keown believes that the opportunity that the writer-in-residence program provides for students is worthwhile.

"It allows the students to have exposure to experience and topics that they wouldn’t receive in the regular curriculum," Humphreys said.

In 2007, poet Peter Sears joined the students of Condon and Wheeler high schools.
Humphreys is on the Knight Writers board that brought Sears and Hatch to the schools. Humphreys has been teaching at Wheeler for 12 years.

"I would be extremely disappointed if it were not a continued tradition," said Jon McMurray, who teaches history and Spanish at Wheeler High School and coaches the Knights baseball team, which is comprised of student athletes from the two schools and schools in Spray and Arlington.

One student who was interested in photography was Kylie Hankins of Wheeler High School. Hankins wished the program would have included more on how to develop film.

Student Tyler Pike was interested in learning more about writing through the program.

"It’s something new to do, and introduces kids to new forms of writing," said Pike of Condon High School.

For some students the program doesn’t last long enough

Megan Greenfield states, "It would be nice to have more time to work on projects and not so many classes a week," said Megan Greenfield.

Overall most of the students said the program has been educational and they have learned a lot.

"It was magical," said Kirk Fatland of Condon High School.

The writer-in-residence program was created a few years ago when Fishtrap Inc., a writers’ community in Wallowa County, asked if the cities of Condon and Fossil would be interested in bringing a rural writer-in-residence program to the two communities.

Chris Lewallen, 55, of Condon, has been the local co-coordinator for the writer-in-residence program for the past two years. The first year she worked with Adele Barnett, the founder of LB Arts, and this year she worked with Dorothy Schott, who housed Hatch on her ranch in Condon during that city's part of the program.

It is Lewallen’s job to help arrange housing for the writer, monitor the program and help to keep it running as smoothly as possible.

Kelli Kayser, Cole MacInnes, Murphy Palazo, Samonne Palazo, Chyanne Stanley, Kevin Miller, Jessica Miller and Levi Sharp contributed to this story.

The following students participated in the workshop:
Wheeler High School — Megan Greenfield, Brody D’Elia, Harold Stevens, Lisa Wade, Mitch Griffith, Anna Longstreet, Kylie Hankins, Michael Boehlke, Karera Carrell, Samonne Palazo, Dillon Nelson, Chyanne Stanley, Justin Phillips, Macaulay Hankins, Meagan Moore, Kevin Miller, Jessica Miller, Levi Sharp, Cole MacInnes, Murphy Palazo, Annie Wade and Emmalee Keys.
Condon High School — Kelli Kayser, Brook Griffith, Tyler Pike and Kirk Fatland.

Photojournalist teaches students to write with light

Sophomore Justin Phillips, right, interviews photojournalist Cheryl Hatch on Monday, April 21, during an all-day journalism workshop at Wheeler High School in Fossil, Ore. The workshop was conducted under the direction of Hatch and Gary L. West, associate editor of the Capital Press. Other student participants in the workshop can be seen in the background. Photo by Macaulay Hankins

Story by Megan Greenfield, Harold Stevens, and Brody D’Elia
Special to the Capital Press

FOSSIL, Ore. -- Cheryl Hatch, is a photojournalist from Corvallis, Ore.

Hatch is currently the writer in residence in Fossil, Ore., and is working with high school students to teach them about photojournalism. She recently finished a similar writer-in-residence stint in Condon, Ore., where she worked with the students to produce a newspaper.

The writer-in-residence program is funded by an organization called Fishtrap, located in Wallowa, Ore. The purpose of the program is to bring writers from different backgrounds into small communities and give students an opportunity to expand themselves and their knowledge of writing and photography.

The Wheeler High School librarian, Pam Hankins, noted that the program provides an opportunity for people with special talent, such as Hatch, to share that talent with others.

"I think that this is an out-of-the-ordinary experience and I hope people can appreciate it," Hankins said.

Kylie Hankins, a senior at Wheeler High School and Hankins' granddaughter, said Hatch helped her become more interested in photography.

Hatch was brought into Fossil on short notice. The original writer scheduled to participate in the program backed out at the last minute, but Hatch was found to fill in.

She was born in Germany; her father was a career Army officer, which led her to a life of constant moving. After high school she ended up in Saudi Arabia for a while. When asked where she grew up, she answered, "everywhere, there is no good answer to that question."

Hatch started taking photographs after buying her first camera a Post Exchange on an U.S. Army base.

Hatch is a photojournalist, meaning someone who tells news stories through photographs. She said she enjoys what she does, but found it difficult to switch from being a war photographer to being a more of an everyday news photographer. She said she has never worked on a project like writers in residence, but she has enjoyed working with the students and seeing new parts of Oregon that she had never been to before.

She said she has loved being a part of a small community and meeting new people. She has never been a part of a small community, nor has she ever really even been a part of any community due to moving around a lot as a child, so it was special to her to be made welcome in Fossil by the students.

While in Condon and Fossil, she has done things she had never dreamed of doing or would have ever had the chance to do if it weren’t for being brought into the communities.
She was invited to a couple different cattle brandings and helped build corrals.

The writer-in-residence program has been a success in her eyes, but if she could do it again she would like to do a few things differently.

She wishes there was more one-on-one time and "more time to build skills." She would have also liked it if she could have been in the schools for a longer period of time so she didn’t feel so rushed in producing a product. She said it was hard to come into Fossil and produce a photo project without knowing if the students had any skills in photography and produce a product in four weeks.

Amid strong farm economy, some dire signs.

At a time of record agricultural profits, concerns are mounting that American farmers could be edging toward a financial crisis not seen since the 1980s farm-economy collapse.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24227498/from/ET/

Tulip Fest extended: video with co-owner

Late in the afternoon, Barb Iverson, co-owner of Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm at Woodburn, Ore., wandered through the fields with her camera, capturing a few more images to post on her family's website.

Weather has affected the 23rd Annual Tulip Fest that the Iverson family has held, with unseasonable temperatures — and everything from hail and snow, to hot sun and rains — impacting them.

Last Saturday the temperature soared to 80F and Iverson said she has never seen such a busy day. People flocked heavily to the farm, since the month-long festival had experienced mostly cool, damp days during this month-long festival.

Some of the tulips have been delayed by the cool weather and have yet to open, so the family has decided to extend the tulip fest until April 27.

For more information, go to www.woodenshoe.com.

To see an interview Iverson did with Capital Press, click on the video below.




To see some the people that attended the tulip fest on April 17, and some of the images they saw and experiences they had, click on this video below: