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f ebPuary 2001 Farmer Fletcher em111vees experience difficult times JOANN LANDRY Staff Tf 'riter Fletcher Paper Company was not just a paper mill. It was the employer of almost 200 people from our community who are now unemployed. Harold Wilson, who was employed with Fletcher Paper Company for the past 15 years said, "It not only affected me and the 140 union workers ( of Fletcher) it also affected our wives and our children and the 50 or so salaried people, their wives and their children. Basically it has been hard on all ofus". Mr. Wilson says that the loss of his job has been difficult for his entire family. His wife Sue, and their two children have all been affected by this. Tracy, their daughter, is a student at Central Michigan University who transferred from Alpena Community College this last semester. Their son, Tommy, is a freshman at Alpena Senior High school. The strike had an effect on each of them. It lasted about six weeks. "What was real bad about the strike" said Sue, "is that it started and you were in a low and then talk started and you were up, and then down again. Those emotions all took a toll." Union members who participated in the strike received $60 a week strike pay after the first few weeks. This was much less then their normal pay. Mr. Wilson did not expect the plant closing. Once the contract was ratifi.ed and approved many were called back to work. However, due to what the management termed 'a slow period', approximately 60 employees were laid of( including Mr. Wilson. Although he understood that the lay off would last approximately two weeks, his employer announced that they would be shutting down all operations and the lay off would become permanent. "It was just like a dea,th," says his wife Sue. . The family has had to adjust. Unemployment benefits are only about one-third what his weekly pay was. The savings have been used and will not last forever. Because they live ten miles out of town, they try to be careful about how often they travel into town a week. Gas prices have gone up and they need to watch every dollar at this point. They have had to cut down in other ways also. The family had planned on helping Tracy with her college expenses but now they cannot. Christmas was not what they had hoped for due to the uncertainty of the strike. Tommy has learned to be careful to ask for only what he truly needs. He no longer takes things for granted. The hardest adjustment has been that Harold is not getting up in the morning and going off to work each day. He normally would get up and go to work 4 days a week, 12 hours a day or more. He often put in overtime. Now he has no place to go. He also has had to cope with not seeing friends from the plant. He has seen some of them almost everyday for the past fifteen years. He has not seen many of them since the end of the strike. Even through the pain and adjustments of the loss of his job, the Wilson family have seen positives. Their family has pulled together. The community has also helped. Many people have· given their time and expertise to help the employees from Fletcher. A woman from the St. Ann's Parish and a retired gentlemen from the unemployment agency helped many write their resumes. Alpena Community College has started several activities and programs to assist former employees of the Fletcher Paper Company (see story page 1) Mr. Wilson says, " There are jobs out there. I just have to find one that I am trained for." The fore mentioned people and programs will help him increase those options. He will participate in the CDL training in the next few weeks being offered at Alpena Community College. Perhaps he will consider other training options in the future if they become available to him. Atlanta students compete in Knowledge Bowl tournament ANGELA KIRSCHNER Staff Writer Do yciu know the answer to this question? 'What was the nickname of General John Pershing?" This is a sample U.S. History question from a Knowledge Bowl web site. Knowledge Bowl is a program involving 18 high school teams from NE MI, their coaches, a host, and ACC faculty judges. The ~ssociation of Lifelong Learners also serves as judges. High school students compete academically by answering questions. A typical competition consists of a 60 question lightning round, then 2 or more oral rounds of 60 questions each. Three teams of 6 members each go against each other during the oral round. After a team buzzes in, they have 15 seconds to discuss the answer, and then the team captain must deliver their response. No points are lost for wrong answers, so it's okay to guess. The team with the most points at the end of these rounds f eafures Photo by Roxane Snyder Richard Clute Vicarious adventures with Clute ROXANE SNYDER Staff Writer We read of interesting people. We watch them on T. V. I had the opportunity to meet and speak with Mr. Richard Clute, an incredibly interesting person, that happens to teach on our very own campus. We sat in his office, filled with books and pictures, and spent some time talking about archeology, traveling, the Global Awareness Consortion, teaching and plans for the future. He is a wonderful storyteller and has the ability to take you with him on his many archeological journeys. One of his most recent trips was to Guatemala. Clute and his wife, Marla, accompanied by a guide, crawled deep, deep into the earth. The spaces were tiny and if not for forces of gravity, when their flashlights were turned off, they would not have known which way was up or down. He told me of sitting alone in the silence and total darkness, feeling what someone long ago may have felt. He The Polemic 5 thought about what they may have been thinking and what reason they had for going down in the cave. I asked him if he ever got scared on his adventures. "Dam straight! Especially when machine guns were beqig pointed at me, which has happened twice," he said. He also told me of one of his favorite places. He and his wife woke up in the sand to the last day of the last millennium to a most beautiful sunrise on Half MoonKaye,just o:ffthe coast of Belize. I wondered how he got to such remote places. 'My wife and I have a need to wander," he said. Besides traveling around the world, he enjoys going on digs right here in Michigan. One of his favorite was in St. Ignace when he was working on his Masters Degree. He studied ancient groupings of people buried together. He later made the argument that these people were reburials of members of the same families based on evidence of congenital characteristics of their bones as well as the way they were buried, and the artifacts found in the graves. Mr. Clute is also involved in the Global Awareness Consortion as a representative of Alpena Community College. This group organizes trips and guest speakers to come and share their experiences with the community. He has met many people and keeps in touch with his many friends around _the world. When asked if he has ever housed an exchange student, Mr. Clute replies, 'We haven't yet, but we are expecting to host a son of a friend from Belize. He didn't actually mean to become a teacher at ACC, but met a former ACC Dean who asked him to give ACC a try. He has been teaching here for 27 years. He teaches Sociology, Anthropology and Archeology. I · asked him for ·some advice on teaching. He said, "Keep a good attitude and enjoy your students." His future plans include traveling to Northern China and exploring that area. He also hopes to teach at Beijing Union University. When asked what artifact he would most want to find, he answered, "anything from the Griffin." The Griffin is an old sailing vessel that is rumored to have sunk off the shores of the Great Lakes. I think it would be really interesting to read about this discovery or watch it on T. V. or better yet, have our very own Mr. Clute speak on his exploration and display his artifacts. Reiki offers students a new wav to beat school stress KERRIE L. MILLER Staff Writer If someone offered you a way to learn faster, retain more and relax, would you take them up on it? With a simple visit to a practitioner you could feel more centered and balanced, would you go? . Reiki offers all of this. The ancient practice of Reiki (pronounced RAY -kee) is a matter of laying hands on the major energy centers of the body ( see side-bar). It is a natural, safe alternative therapy used to prevent disorders, maintain wellness, boost natural immunity and help in the healing process, practitioners say. It is a form of relaxation and stress relief Practitioners say, for students, it is a way to be able to retain more, and learn more quickly. Registered nurse, Gail Krebs, was once a self- described aggressive and quick- to-the point over-achiever. "Now I am the calm point in the storm for myself and others," she says. She credits Reiki for this. Krebs says that Reiki is not a religion or fad, but a practice that has beep. in use for centuries. "We all have the innate ability to do this, but through modernization, we have forgotten it," she says. To describe Reiki, Krebs uses the example of hitting your finger with a hammer. Automatically, the other hand grabs hold of the throbbing finger. That is Reiki- concentrating and directing energy to that area, promoting healing. It is a simple yet overlooked process. Reiki Therapy, like massage, is something we all know how to do, but do we do it right? With the aid of someone who practices, we can learn to use these skills correctly to help us better cope in all areas of our lives. "It has become a part of everything I do," Krebs said. Joy Kauer, also a registered nurse and Reiki practitioner, agrees. "I generally didn't cope well before learning Reiki," she says. "My life isn't any less stressful, but I feel like I am a lot more patient now. That feeling of inner peace permeates everything that I do. I have a whole new outlook on life." Both Krebs and Kauer believe that anyone can benefit from the practice. "It is something that you can do for yourself, or for others." Once you have been taught the process. They also agree that Reiki is for people with busy lifestyles. Of course, that is the typical student, balancing school, studying,jobs, family, and the lucky ones ... a social life. For students in particular, Krebs says that like meditation, R~ offers a way to reach a deep state of relaxation and balance. It de-stresses people and that allows for a clean slate. "It's like wiping the mind clean of all distractions and starting fresh." She also suggests trying it especially during finals week. Have Reiki treatments on the days before the exams. Reiki will help students refocus, come back to center, and be able to concentrate more. "This process is so simple, it may be easy for people to write it off," Krebs says. 'We have a tendency to not accept things that we don't know anything about." Kauer agrees, saying, "As a recipient, you don't have to believe it works for it to work." Just like you don't have to understand electricity to use it. Krebs is also a massage' therapist and intermingles the two. Kauer has aReiki practice called Heart in Hands, out of the Thunder Bay Chiropractic office, and the Wellness Center at Alpena General Hospital. Krebs and Kauer have started to offer classes in Reiki . for anyone interested. Call Alpena General Hospital for : more information. Points to Ponder There are seven major ener enters of the body, stemmin om the spine. These tie in wit e chakras and endocrine syst ransferring energy between th ystems. This makes the system interconnected, mind, body an ul. ey are located as follows: ) Root: is the base of the soine ) Scaral: just below the belly butto ) Solar Plexus: just under breastbon )Heart )Throat )Third eye: middle of the forehead Crown: top of head ICC's Rav new Knowledge Bowl inquisitor wms. Thomas P. Ray, an ACC English instructor, has been the host since Fall 2000 when he was asked to take the job. All kinds of questions are asked on Knowledge Bowl, "some of which are extremely difficult," says Ray. Math, Science, Language, Political Science, and Religion are just a few categories they cover. Knowledge Bowl is taped- live on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Because of this, any mistakes they make are shown on TV. WBKB Channel 11 airs the show a Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. The winners of each show get the personal satisfaction of their achievement. The finals are held at the end of each season to determine a champion team, who gets to keep the trophy at their school for a year. Ray was nervous the first few times about being on television, "and it showed," he says . ,i Now he has fun. participating and enjoys seeing the students showing pride in themselves. People now recognize him in public. When asked how Knowledge Bowl has impacted his life, he responded, "I dress better on Tuesdays and Thursdays." One of Ray's colleagues said it has improved his communication skills. The answer to the introductory question is this: "Black Jack." Here is a sample language question: "What does the Japanese word 'Kamikaze' mean?" The answer is Divine Wmd. 'How many feet are in one fathom?" There are 6 feet in one fathom ( a math question). Finally, a religious question: 'How did God appear to the children of Israel during their flight from Egypt?" The answer is either "as a pillar of fire by night" or "a cloud by day."