Friday, June 23, 2023
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SWOCC students make their own journeys to graduation BY DAVID RUPKALVIS For The World
More than 350 students, who combined received more than 500 degrees, celebrated a huge accomplishment during the 62nd commencement ceremony at Southwestern Oregon Community College. SWOCC President Patty Scott said the Class of 2023 included nine high school students who earned associate degrees, at least 56 students who earned their GED as part of their journey to graduation, 12 veterans, 80 student athletes and 26 graduates from Curry County. Scott told the Class of 2023 that their journeys to graduSWOCC continued on page 3
Photos by David Rupkalvis/For The World
Grads – The Class of 2023 at Southwestern Oregon Community College wait to receive their diplomas.
OIMB celebrates the arrival of new marine research vessel BY BREE LAUGHLIN The World
Photos courtesy of OIMB
1 - Dr. Dennis Beetham, a benefactor of the vessel, christening the R/V Megalopa with a bottle of champagne. Megalopa is the scientific name for a baby crab.
The University of Oregon's Institute of Marine Biology in Charleston is a world-class research and teaching institution. Now, the marine biology institute has a brand-new worldclass marine vessel to help them carry out their research. After nearly 5-years of fundraising, design and construction, the new 48-foot aluminum vessel will be used by marine biologists and their students for teaching and research over the Oregon
continental shelf. On Saturday, June 10, the University of Oregon's Institute of Marine Biology celebrated the completion of their new research vessel, R/V Megalopa, with a gala christening party and seafood lunch at their Charleston campus. More than 150 people attended the "Launch and Lunch" celebration, including county officials, local citizens, volunteer docents from the marine life center, University of Oregon officials and faculty, administrators and scientists, and marine biology students.
“It’s a big deal for us. This is something that many people have worked together on for years to make it happen,” said Craig M. Young, professor at University of Oregon and director of the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology “The reason for having an event was to thank all of those people for their support and show them what they invested in, and also to get the community excited about it,” he said. OIMB continued on page 18
Military vet returns home to start small-scale cattle ranch BY BREE LAUGHLIN The World
Dale Stark with his wife Amanda and daughters Holly and Sarah.
Dale Stark is a 1997 Marshfield High School Graduate who went on to have a successful career in the military. He first enlisted in the Air Force as an aircraft mechanic and worked his way up to become an A-10 pilot and squadron commander in the United States Air Force. Stark is back in the community after serving nearly 24 years with military, and is starting a new chapter of life back in his hometown. Stark plans to start a small direct-to-consumer beef cattle business, continuing a lifelong interest in farming and agriculture. Stark said he learned valuable lessons in the military that impact the way he operates in his everyday life. “It was a structured environment with clear goals to achieve. I could see the direct result of hard work. Reaching those milestones and being Courtesy photo able to do what I wanted
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to do taught me those lessons,” he said. Stark earned his commission in 2003 and became a pilot, flying the iconic A-10 Warthog aircraft. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2006, 2010 and 2014. In 2018 he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and offered the opportunity to become a squadron commander, leading a group of skilled and talented airmen. Throughout his career, Dale remained committed to his duties, always recognizing that his achievements were the result of a team effort and the support of his family and community. “In a way, I started learning those lessons wrestling at Marshfield and at SWOCC, then into the military. I learned the benefits and rewards of being disciplined and making steady progress toward your goals,” Stark said. Stark progressed through his military career while also raising a family with his wife Amanda, who graduated from North Bend High School in 1997. She went on to become a chemistry teach-
er, and they have two daughters, Holly and Sarah. With Stark’s retirement from the military approaching, the couple started contemplating the next steps for their family. “We starting thinking, ‘Where do we want go? What do we want to do?’ For me I grew up surfing and I love the ocean, clean air and clean water, a small community but not tiny,” Stark said. “As the list grew, Amanda said, ‘We are describing where we grew up.’ It made sense but we weren’t really planning to come back.” They started making more trips back to Coos County and discovered the area had a positive energy. They began to fall in love with it again, Stark said. The family bought a property that was a dairy farm many decades ago with a barn and pastureland. “A good amount of it is taken over by berry bushes. So we have been busy clearing out brush and berry bushes, repairDale Stark continued on page 18
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