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Apprenticeship program trains coastal electricians BY WILL LOHRE Country Media
There are few things as ingrained in our society as electricity, and because of that, learning the trade of being an electrician is a very in-demand skill set. Many people may not be aware that there are programs on the coast that can give people all the tools they need to enter this lucrative and valuable trade. The Pacific Inside Electrical Apprenticeship program based out of North Bend, Newport and Coos Bay has been training electricians on the coast for decades. The program is managed by Pacific Inside Electrical JATC. JATC is an acronym that stands for Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee. According to their website, Pacific Inside Electrical JATC is jointly operated by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local Union 932 and the Oregon Pacific-Cascade Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). The committee is comprised of equal numbers of members from labor and management, dedicated to providing the most comprehensive and high-quality apprenticeship training program on the Oregon Coast. Niq Brening, training director for Pacific Inside Electrical JATC,
gave some of the reasons the program may be appealing for those entering the field. "I think for the type of people that are interested in a trade like electrical, you're going to get a great sense of gratification, as far as, like, at the end of your workday, you will feel satisfied that you're accomplishing something," Brening said. "As far as wage, it's an excellent wage not just for our area but in general. It's a competitive, family-wage job. You come out of it with no college debt or anything. So, it's an excellent alternative for someone who's not really interested in college, or it's just not for them." Three apprenticeship programs are offered. Like many other trades, the Pacific Inside Electrical Apprenticeship program allows people to work and train simultaneously. The most popular is their "Inside Program." "The inside program is the one that most people apply for because the licensing gives them the most broad ability to find work, in that they can work on most electrical systems," Brening said. "So that one, that's a four-year apprenticeship program, and that consists of 8,000 on-the-job hours and 900 classroom hours. During the apprenticeship, you're paid during your work. So, it's not like an internship; you're actually paid. The
schooling is two nights a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays." The second program they offer is a 2-year, 4,000-on-the-job hour "residential only" program that allows people to work only on very small commercial and residential house projects. The final program is a 3-year, 6,000-on-the-job hour "technical" program, which enables graduates to work on limited energy projects like telecommunications and fiber optics. The on-the-job and classroom training combines hands-on experience and by-the-book know-how. "Once you complete our program, you are fully equipped with all the knowledge you'll need become an electrician; you are an electrician when you turn out from our programs," Brening said. "It's a national based curriculum. So, we follow the same guidelines that an apprenticeship in, say, New York or California. So, it's nationally accredited." The inside program is the most popular because it encompasses all the skills an electrician could need and includes the skills from the other programs. For those interested in applying, Brening said that the technical and residential programs tend to draw fewer applications, meaning the chance of being accepted is higher. The inside program averages about 100 applicants, typically accepting 10
people yearly. Pacific Inside Electrical JATC has a satellite classroom in Newport, a classroom in Coos Bay, and its main headquarters in North Bend. They are hoping to get another satellite classroom in the Brookings or Gold Beach area. The two training facilities in Coos Bay and Newport serve as hubs for apprenticeship classes and continuing education courses for licensed Oregon electricians to maintain their licensing requirements. According to Brening, the apprenticeship program has been around since the early 1960s. "Our jurisdiction actually goes from the California border all the way to the north end of Lincoln County, so it's a pretty narrow strip of land, but it covers a long section of the Oregon coast," Brening said. "It only goes inland not much further than Myrtle Point, Powers area." The program is open to all applicants. To find more information, visit https://www.pacificjatc.com. Brening encouraged all people interested in applying to apply. "We encourage any and all applicants: male, female, minority, veterans. We have veteran programs for direct entry," Brening said. "We would like to see more female and minority applicants get involved in this; it's an industry that's not as diversified as it should be."
Giant Pacific Octopus briefly on display
Photos by David Rupkalvis/For The World
The Charleston Marine Life Center has a special guest, but its stay will be short-lived. The Marine Life Center has a giant Pacific octopus on display after the adult male was captured by a crab fishing boat recently. The boat partners with the Marine Life Center to find unique creatures that can be displayed in Charleston. The octopus was found inside one of the crab pots and brought to Charleston. It can be viewed with the Marine Life Center is open, and will also be studied by the University of Oregon students. The octopus will only be on display for around a month before it is returned to the ocean.
Portland State University surveying the Coos Bay area BY WILL LOHRE Country Media
Portland State University will be conducting a survey in the Coos Bay area as part of a research project to understand community members' trust in institutions that carry out flood mitigation efforts. According to an article about the project on PSU's website, "The study will
combine community surveys in Tillamook and Coos Bay, focus groups and game-theory-based experiments to measure how trust in institutions (from federal to local) affects decision-making related to the acceptance of proposed projects and policies intended to mitigate coastal flooding and other factors." Coos Bay has been chosen as one of the
areas of study due to its coastal location and because it is a community that may be affected by climate-change-related sea-level rise. Researchers will distribute the survey to 1,000 households in the county in the form of a postcard. People who respond have a chance at winning $100. "Once the data is analyzed, we will send the
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results to land managers in order for them to make better decisions in the flood mitigation process," Researcher Joe Riedl said. The study will help provide data on individual community members' trust in the federal, tribal, state, and local agencies that facilitate flood mitigation measures. With that data, researchers hope to understand what needs there are
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BY DR. CHARLES HURBIS For The World
Long, long ago, medicine was a true art, a calling, always enticing “the best and the brightest”. Doctors and hospitals worked cordially together and there was little medical interspecialty competition. There used to be cohesiveness in medicine, but things change. Now there seems to be an underlying friction between doctors and hospitals, and divisions within doctor groups. This animosity has been evolving for quite a while. As with many breakdowns it comes down to differing politics, an inability to exercise any flexibility, and in almost all cases, outside threats to the bottom line. At the root of this issue is likely the loss of the captain. A cruise liner which has no one at the helm is not going to track a very steady course to its destination if it gets anywhere at all. Doctors used to manage medicine. More and more though, many decisions are being made by insurance companies, the government and hospital corporations, all groups with interests more diverse than just caring for the patient. With the current evolution in medicine, your doctor has had to share the helm to these groups. And with too many groups vying for the position of captain discord was bound to evolve. Additionally, it seems our society is losing its respect for authority, and this is not just an issue with medicine. Growing up, I don’t ever recall referring to a teacher or a friend’s parents by their first names. But that is where society has gone, it’s the new standard. Everyone is now considered equal and deserves an equal voice. But, should the playing field of life be level? Probably not. Respect is something that needs to be earned, either through aging with valuable real-world experience or because of life achievement. Seniority divisions in society are not only necessary, they are healthy. The same is true in medicine, we no longer have doctors, nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants or nurses……..they have all been grouped as “providers”. There isn’t a word that bothers me more than this designation. After years of extensive training it seems your health care professional gets the same designation used by only one other profession on the planet, one that has nothing to do with healthcare. How did this happen? The medical cruise ship is well off course and badly needs its captain back, unfortunately the mutiny is still raging. Another area which has changed medicine is the legal profession bringing litigation risk. In medicine, as in all parts of life, errors can be made. In the perfect world the legal system would be able to separate out mishaps which may reasonably occur while delivering appropriate care from those which are unacceptable and therefore compensable. My father used to say, a good legal system is society’s watchdog, allowing for checks and balances in all aspects of life. Problems occur when the system is abused for profit, and with the potential for substantial malpractice settlements, abuse was inevitable. A few decades back, when malpractice mania was in full swing, doctor’s insurance rates skyrocketed because of the huge Please see HURBIS, Page A11
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and potential solutions and give insight into how other similar communities may feel. "Keep an eye out for a postcard in the mail from Portland State University which is conducting a survey in the area," Riedl said. "You may have been randomly selected to participate in our flood survey. You could win $100 by participating!"
So, What’s Wrong With Healthcare, Part 2
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