Mount Hood

Try these inexpensive thrift stores nearby Monmouth

Rylie Horrall  |  Lifestyle Editor

For many college students, money can be a burden that weighs heavy on minds. Because of this, finding cheap options for household items and clothes is a welcome relief. For me, it feels rewarding to find thrift stores that sell these items at a reasonable price, and luckily there’s a few options near Western.

Help and Hope to Others, more commonly known as H2O, is located in Dallas at 451 SE Maple Street. It’s a secondhand non-profit thrift store that accepts donations from the surrounding community. It then sells everything they receive at much lower and affordable prices, and their stock is constantly changing based on what is donated.

Their mission statement expresses that they wish to help those in need, and the store itself has a few ways of helping the community. For example, they have food boxes available for families in need to pick up, and also have a Helping Hand program to provide household items that struggling families and individuals are looking for; both are programs that volunteers can help with. H2O is open from Mon–Sat from 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

In Independence, there’s a thrift store located at 150 C St called Fashion Sense. It was initially open in Monmouth for about a year back in 2016, but moved into a larger space in Independence in 2017. In addition to clothes, Fashion Sense also buys back various furniture and home decor. They try to buy items from customers as much as they can, but due to the limited amount of space, try to pick out items that will sell the quickest. In addition, clothes that are being sold can be brought in bags and don’t have to be on hangers, but all commodities brought in should be cleaned and washed.

Everything that’s sold in the shop is at a low price point, and can be shipped once bought or held in store until it can be picked up. Fashion Sense is open from 12–6 p.m. on Monday and from 11 a.m.–6 p.m. on Tues–Sat. 

Robin’s Roost is a store located at 283 S 2nd St in Independence, but, according to their most recent post on Facebook, have begun closing their doors after nine years. They still remain open on Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m.–6 p.m., and on Saturday from 11 a.m.–5 p.m. to clear out inventory. Offers can still be made on their remaining stock; if one of their signs is out on the corners of the street, then they are still open.

 

Contact the author at rhorrall17@wou.edu

Student actors performed with passion in the production of “It’s a Wonderful Life”

Never Retallack  |  Entertainment Editor

Directed by one of Western’s theater faculty members, Professor Kent Neely, comes “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.” This classic Christmas tale is based on a short story called, “The Greatest Gift” by Philip Van Doren Stern published in 1943. Later on, it became a film, and then adapted into a play — Western’s performance is based off Joe Landry’s adaptation of the screenplay.

Landry’s adaptation is a radio show reading, where the actors on stage are acting like they are actors for a radio. This brought some much needed comedy into the somewhat sad play, with silly ads for dandruff and dirty car windows sung to the tune of classic Christmas carols.

Emily Hedges, an interdisciplinary studies senior at Western said, “I’ve seen the play before, but never as a radio show; it made it a very unique and interesting performance.”

Watching the student actors perform, I was pleasantly surprised with their quality and dedication throughout the performance.

With only ten actors, and one accompianist, it was an intimate cast with each actor playing more than one role. This is where the talent of the cast shone through; certain actors would speak in a heavy Irish accent one minute, then a tough east coast accent within the next breath, never missing a beat.

An interesting aspect of this production was also the use of a live sound effects board containing many objects for two cast members to create realistic noises without technology. The objects included a belt, marbles, a wooden box, a whistle and so many more. Like dropping objects into a box during a scene where they were collecting money.

The two cast members who managed the sound board, Trina Schwabauer and Sara Wright, had other roles as well, juggling the sound effects and their characters. This added another element of interest for viewers, since there were no props for the story of “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play,” they were on a set, but not interacting with anything — staying stagnant in front of their microphones. 

Overall rating: the actors in this production did a great job, jumping around from character to character, all with interesting facial expressions and compelling dialogue. It was an all around enjoyable performance.

 

Cast List

Jake Laurents ……… Matthew Ramage

Sally Applewhite ……… Lea Sheldone

Betty Smith ……… Selena Moreno

Lana Sherwood ……… Citlalli Castaneda

Freddie Filmore ……… Jacob Fritts

Harry “Jazzbo” Heywood ……… William Evans

Homer Duncan ……… Steven Cummings

Opal Ferguson ……… Sara Wright

Sharon Cook ……… Trina Schwabauer

Patricia Dowd ……… Lexie Warner

Accompianist ……… Devin Desmond

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo by Mikayla Bruley

Review of the unsettling film “The Lighthouse”

Never Retallack  |  Entertainment Editor

There are films that require more than one viewing — and then there are films like “The Lighthouse.” Those like the latter require at least 10 viewings to fully grasp what happened on screen. 

The drama-horror movie directed by Robert Eggers — the same man who brought the fan-favorite “The VVitch” (2015) to life — stars only two cast members: Willem Dafoe as Thomas and Robert Pattinson as Ephraim.

“The Lighthouse” was unique as soon as it started — switching from widescreen trailers to old-fashioned fullscreen, the entire film was in black and white. This set the dark and somber tone of the film before meeting the characters.  With just two men on an isolated island, maintaining the lighthouse becomes a lot more challenging as strange events chip away at their sanity.

The movie is set in the 1890s on a mysterious island in New England. Thomas is the “wickie” or lighthouse keeper, and when Ephraim arrives to do grunt work on the island, he becomes Ephraim’s cruel boss.

Without spoiling too much of the plot, there are several odd elements to this movie that viewers should know about: obscene amounts of masturbation, lots of tentacles, sirens and violence against seagulls.

Throughout the entire two and a half hours of the film, I felt a general discomfort and unease in my stomach, struggling to watch or fathom what I was watching.

A challenging element of the movie was the thick sailor accent that Dafoe spoke with, making most of what he said unintelligible. It would be beneficial to rewatch the film but with subtitles provided; there was so much symbolic imagery — I can’t imagine what I missed in the dialogue.

The film only gets more complicated when the audience doesn’t know who to trust — both Thomas and Ephraim tell completely different tales, and with no clear clarification, it becomes hard to know what is reality in this twisted nightmare.

Between endless amounts of drinking, constant yelling and general distrust, the relationship between Dafoe and Pattinson’s acting was captivating and disturbing. 

Overall Rating: I think the film alludes to a much bigger picture that I could not grasp, but I highly recommend this movie to anyone looking for something unique and challenging for the brain.

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Senior send-off for Wolves football, brings home a sad loss

Hannah Greene | Sports Editor

Football came to an unfortunate end last Saturday, Nov. 16 when the Western Oregon University Wolves fell to the Eastern New Mexico University Greyhounds — a game for the seniors, but an outcome to leave them wishing for more.

Opportunities were endless, but completion wasn’t matching up. The Wolves’ defense continued to carry the team on their backs, which forced the Greyhounds to punt on multiple fourth downs. 

The Wolves’ offense couldn’t find a way to stay connected and maintain their possession or capitalize on scoring moments. The Wolves’ special teams had a difficult time making smart decisions during play, making the defense spend more time on the field.

Though the Wolves had a difficult time finishing, they created many great plays that kept the fans on their edge of their seats. No. 23, sophomore Omari Land, made two chunk runs to get the Wolves into a great position to score. The Wolves were in the redzone on fourth down and went for it, but quarterback, Ty Currie, of the senior class, got sacked for a turnover on downs.

Before the half ended, Western had the ball — it snapped back by Jacob Pruitt to Currie, who threw an ill-advised pass into triple coverage (three opposing players covering one teammate) which resulted in an interception by the Greyhounds.

The half ended with ENMU in the lead, 28-7.

The second half started with the Wolves getting a quick score and their defense held the Greyhounds to a three and out — three plays and a punt.

Western had the ball again with 11 yards to go on fourth down, but failed to convert and the possession went to ENWU. 

Eastern’s triple offense posed as a large threat for Western’s defense to stop.

The third quarter ended with a solid run by No. 3, junior Curtis Anderson.

During the fourth and final quarter, action and suspense filled every second. A one-yard run by number seven, senior Nico Jackson, made the score 35-20, with the Greyhounds still in the lead with 11:40 left.

Western’s defense continued to make harmful plays against the Greyhounds to keep them from scoring. Number 32, Nate Proctor of the senior class, sacked the Greyhound quarterback for a significant loss in yards and resulted in 4th down. ENMU wasn’t able to score.

The Wolves continued to push forward and not give up, but failed another conversion, giving the Greyhounds possession with seven minutes left in the game.

Western’s defense held up a barrier and didn’t allow for an attack from Eastern New Mexico. With the Wolves’ offense back on the pitch, a touchdown was on the horizon.

A dart was thrown by Currie in the endzone, which was caught by No. 11, sophomore Thomas Wright, to complete a touchdown. The Wolves were now within eight of the Greyhounds.

The Wolves attempted to take an onside kick with No. 96, Andrew Gross, a junior, slamming the ball into the side of a Greyhound players helmet — but the Greyhounds gained possession over Western. 

The game concluded with a 35-27 score, Greyhounds won. 

Western left the gridiron with their heads down and their season done. It was a great game from the first minute to the last, but not quite the send-out the seniors had hoped for.

Congrats to the seniors — Braelan Evans, Tyler Reid, Nico Jackson, Ty Currie, Joey Roos, Derek Parnell, Nate Proctor, Aaron Turner, Joseph Gonzales, Anthony Kennison, Court Hammond and Tyrell Cummings— for an overall great 7-4 season.

 

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

Photos by Hannah Greene

Somebody call 9-1-1, Men’s Basketball is on fire with third win in a row

Hannah Greene | Sports Editor

Win, win, win — Western’s Men’s Basketball team is on fire, having won their first three games. 

From Nov. 15 to Nov. 16, the team held a four-game tournament consisting of the Concordia Cavaliers, the Hawaii Hilo Vulcans, the Warner Pacific Knights and the Western Oregon Wolves.

On Friday, Nov. 15, the Wolves took on the Knights during their second exhibition game of the season. The Wolves opened the game to a quick lead after the Knights took the first points. Western continued to score and got a seven point lead — never falling behind the rest of the game. 

Multiple three-pointers were made, a crucial tactic for the game. The first half concluded with the Wolves ahead, 40-25, a 15 point lead.

Western held their momentum throughout the rest of the game to bring home their first tournament win over Warner Pacific University, 85-68.

Western saw their second game, and the first regular season game, against the University of Hawaii Hilo, a team that made the Wolves earn every point. 

The play was a consistent battle back and forth — Vulcans ahead, Wolves ahead — keeping the players, coaches, fans and spectators eager and unsure of who was going to take the “dub.”

The first half ended with a tie, 31-31.

No. 25 of the Wolves, Darius Lubom, got the scoring started during the second half but turned it over to the Vulcans after a shooting foul. The Vulcans took advantage of this and converted the three point play. 

The play stepped up and the Vulcans took the lead after more three-pointers were made, 44-42.

Western wasn’t done; No. 2, Jaylyn Richardson, made for an acrobatic layup to narrow UHH’s lead by three.

Towards the end of the game, multiple timeouts were called, the energy intensified and the Wolves and Vulcans tried everything to finish the game ahead. With three minutes left in the game, No. 15 of the Wolves, Zach Baugher, broke the tie with a finished three-pointer.

Vulcans were in possession of the ball when Wolves guard, Lubom, stole the ball. The scoring continued to be both sided.

With 35 seconds left on the clock, No. 34 of the Wolves, John Morrill-Keeler, made a huge block to benefit the Wolves.

Only seconds remained on the clock as the Wolves attempted to run out the time — and the Wolves took home their third win in a row, 74-69. It was a tough battle, winning by only five points, but a win nonetheless.

The Men’s Basketball next home game is Dec. 14 at 3 p.m. against Corban University for their third and final exhibition match.

 

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

Photos by Hannah Greene

Salt and pepper battle leads to Wolves’ Volleyball loss

Hannah Greene | Sports Editor

Women’s Volleyball hosted the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks and Central Washington Wildcats on Nov. 14 and 16.

In the first match of the weekend, the Wolves were put to the test by the Nighthawks. During the first set, the Wolves stayed behind, but kept fighting back, only being a few points behind. 

The second set was not the same; the Wolves allowed for a quick lead by the Nighthawks until Wolves’ defensive specialist, Sarah Crowell, stepped up to dish out some well placed serves — catching the Nighthawks off guard — and racked up some points consecutively.

There were many well-executed plays made by the Wolves throughout the match including one by middle blocker, Makenzie York, who barely tipped the ball over the net to score for the Wolves.

This wasn’t enough — the end of that set had the Nighthawks up 25-19.

The Wolves started the final set, determining the tempo by scoring first, but this didn’t last long. The Nighthawks quickly returned, but the Wolves remained enthused.

NNU took the lead again with multiple unanswered points from the Wolves due to the strong defense the Nighthawks continued to put up. Western kept the pressure high, with many hard balls over, but none were powerful enough to beat the Nighthawk’s blocks.

The Wolves began to gain some momentum, but with not enough time left in the game to recover and catch up. The final set came to a close and the Nighthawks took home the win 3-0.

Western Oregon returned on Saturday with a hunger and desire to beat the Wildcats and bring home a win. 

The games started and the Wolves were blazing, winning the first two sets and dictated the energy and play of the game. During the third set, the Wildcats woke up and brought the energy higher, challenging the Wolves. The battle was back and forth with a lot of great plays by the Wildcats and not enough by the Wolves to match them. 

The game went into a fifth match, which hadn’t occured between these two teams since 2016.

Unfortunately, the fifth and final match was not in the paws of the Wolves, leaving the “dub” in the fangs of the Wildcats. 

The Wolves now have a 4-21 record with only one win at home. Women’s Volleyball have two more games, their last of the season, on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. — come and support your Wolves’ Volleyball for their final matches of the season.

 

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

Photos by Mikayla Bruley

After news of low enrollment, the Student Health and Counseling Center struggles to meet the growing needs of students, sparking conversation about stigma and human connection.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow | News Editor

According to the 2018 Marion-Polk Community Health Profile, depression ranks as the most common chronic condition experienced in our community, and approximately 1 in 10 adolescents reported having attempted suicide in the last year. 

At Western, appointments to the Student Health and Counseling Center are booked until finals week. Director of the Student Health and Counseling Center, Beth Scroggins, said, “we are aware that it is an issue, we are aware that there are students who are just now getting an intake done and it’s going to be January before they will get to be seen.”

In Monmouth, students have few options for mental health services and their coverage depends entirely on insurance. Their student fees cover the cost of mental health services on campus, but therein lies the problem: “Everything that runs (the Student Health and Counseling Center) is only provided through student fees … funding keeps going down because of lowered enrollment, but demand for services goes up,” reported Scroggins. 

However, Scroggins divulged that she is “glad we have this problem and not the other problem — that students won’t come in.” She revealed that this year in particular, she has seen a rise in students accessing services and thinks that some of “the stigma has diminished.”

“We are looking at how we can accommodate more and what that is going to look like,” she said, but as of now they’re still in the planning stages.

Despite that, Scroggins assured that the Student Health and Counseling Center will “always have crisis services available,” and emphasized the various new support groups on campus that have been created from student need and initiative. She also expressed admiration for the amount of “faculty, staff, students, and community members (who) do a great job of referring students to us,” and wanted to stress the importance of community involvement. 

Of the optional survey that students can complete after their visit to the counseling center, Scroggins asserted that she always reads “every single one of those,” and that they’ve “already made some changes to student services based on those, so (she) takes student feedback very seriously.”

And while she believes that stigma has reduced, “people are a lot more comfortable talking about depression, anxiety, self-care … when we start talking about PTSD, trauma, sexual assault, abuse, psychosis … people don’t know how to respond to that because lack of information or knowledge,” she said.

“People worry so much about saying the wrong thing … that they say nothing. Say something,” Scroggins urged.

As a community, we need to be “comfortable with hearing things that are uncomfortable,” and remember that, “people don’t have to be experts to be a support system,” Scroggins said. She followed up with that, sometimes, all it takes is noticing the differences in a person’s behavior or listening to someone and directing them towards help to make a difference. 

Regarding the student suicide that was reported in an email sent out on Nov. 6 by Western’s vice president of Student Affairs, Gary Dukes, Scroggins stated, “when there is a student death, it does affect everybody … I think that mental health is an issue for everybody; even if they aren’t directly experiencing it themselves, someone they know is.” Scroggins reminded all students to “give themselves grace,” count their support systems, engage in self-care and set healthy boundaries. 

“Things will be okay, and even when they’re not, they will be,” Scroggins concluded.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Health and Counseling Center 

(503) 838-8396

Psychiatric Crisis Center

1 (888) 232-7192

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