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Bits ‘n’ Pieces: Camas man takes spin on game show

The Columbian
Published: March 15, 2010, 12:00am
4 Photos
Camas resident Barry Williams will be on &quot;Wheel of Fortune&quot; Thursday.
Camas resident Barry Williams will be on "Wheel of Fortune" Thursday. Photo Gallery

Barry Williams got the e-mail inviting him to audition for “Wheel of Fortune” on March 31, so the Camas phlebotomist and Clark College student suspected it was a scam or an April Fool’s Day prank. But it wasn’t, and Williams will appear on Thursday’s episode of the game show, which airs at 7:30 p.m. on ABC channel 2.

Williams’ wife, Suzanne Luttrell-Williams, had filled out an online application for him during the winter 2008 snowstorm. He never expected to actually make it on the show.

“I’ve watched all those game shows for so many years, so getting a chance to be on one was fantastic,” said Williams, 35.

He auditioned in Portland in April, and filmed in Culver City, Calif., in November. He’s planning to celebrate his television appearance with a viewing party for about 125 family members, friends and co-workers at Big Al’s in Vancouver.

Filming was a “surreal” experience, he said.

“When you see (hosts) Pat (Sajak) and Vanna (White) and meet (announcer) Charlie (O’Donnell), when you’re actually right there on the stage with the wheel, it’s very overwhelming,” he said. “It’s just like the shortest 30 minutes of your life. It flies by so fast.”

Ogden helps celebrate women

Val Ogden remembers a time when newspaper articles referred to her as Mrs. Daniel Ogden, and only her husband’s name was listed in the telephone directory. Women have come a long way in her lifetime, said Ogden, an 86-year-old Vancouver resident who served in the state House of Representatives for 12 years.

Ogden was tapped to deliver the keynote address at the International Women’s Day celebration hosted by The Social Action Council of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Vancouver on March 12. She planned to discuss key factors and moments in women’s advancement, such as Title IX, which gave women equal opportunity in federally funded educational settings, and the publication of “The Feminine Mystique” and its impact on the feminist movement.

Though women have made great strides, there’s still progress that needs to happen.

“Women still are not equal in terms of executive positions,” she said. “The glass ceiling is still there. Wages (for women) are still lagging.”

New chapter for Vancouver author

Vancouver author Lisa Jackson, who has written more than 75 novels, can’t remember the last time she wrote a book that stood on its own and didn’t tie into an ongoing story line.

But that’s the case in Jackson’s latest novel, “Without Mercy,” which will be released later this month.

A desire to mix things up led Jackson, 58, to pen the novel, which doesn’t have any connections to her other works, other than a minor character.

“I have always written a variety of books, so I like to make things different,” she said. “I like to keep things fresh.”

One of the main challenges that Jackson, a suspense writer, faced in writing “Without Mercy” was how to convey isolation in an era where text messaging and smart phones are common. The book is set at a private school for troubled teenagers in Southern Oregon. “Everybody’s got a phone where you can text. Everyone has an iPhone where you can be on the Internet. It’s harder to isolate the teens now,” she said.

And even though “Without Mercy” doesn’t have direct connections to Jackson’s earlier works, Jackson isn’t necessarily leaving the book’s world behind. “There are a couple of characters who will show up again, but not in the foreseeable future,” she said.

Bits ’n’ Pieces appears Mondays and Fridays. If you have a story you’d like to share, call Features Editor Elisa Williams, 360-735-4561, or e-mail elisa.williams@columbian.com.<I>

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