Program helping former miners retrain
By C.V. Moore Register-Herald Reporter
MONTGOMERY — Kim and Robert Ruff are looking for some stability. In June of last year, Robert was laid off from Progress Coal’s mine in Whitesville. Ever since, he and his co-workers have been bouncing from job to job, dodging layoffs amid a weak coal market.
“You might work a month and get laid off again,” he said. “It’s not a very stable job. Mining is slowly dwindling down. There’s not much left.”
But now the Fayetteville couple is enrolling in a program for miners and their families that provides $5,000 for retraining in high-demand fields.
Robert is looking into diesel tech and Kim wants to pursue a career in law.
On Monday, they met with representatives from the UMWA Career Center and Bridgemont Community and Technical College to fill out an enrollment application.
Kim encouraged other miners to look into the program as she flipped through Bridgemont’s course catalog, looking at the estimated salaries for various jobs. Today the couple will visit New River Community and Technical College to compare programs.
“A coal miner is resourceful. They’re like MacGyver,” said Brett Dillon, director of the UMWA Career Center.
“The older ones think it’s all they can do, but if you sit down and talk to them, you’ll be amazed what kind of transferable skills they have.”
Dillon estimated 3,000 miners have been laid off in southern West Virginia in the past year.
His organization obtained a National Emergency Grant from the Department of Labor, which provides funding assistance in response to large economic events that cause significant job losses.
The program provides each participant $5,000 toward training, labs, books and tools and up to $100 per week in travel expenses.
Participants can use the money to attend a community college, vo-tech or trade school in high-demand occupations like welder, pharmacist tech, lineman, criminal justice, dental hygienist, diesel technician, licensed practical nurse or nursing assistant.
They can work on an associate’s degree, finish a bachelor’s degree or complete another certificate program. Training must be completed by the end of June 2014.
Dillon said 200 applicants have been interviewed and almost 80 ended up registering in the program since it began.
“They have to come away with something in hand that’s going to help them get a job and be marketable,” said Tim Nibert, a career counselor at the UMWA Career Center.
have had to quit school when they were laid off from the mines, said Joyce Surbaugh, director of Enrollment at Bridgemont.
“It’s a very beneficial program, and people should take advantage of it,” she said.
Bridgemont has seen several laid-off miners enroll in school as a way to cope with the changing labor market.
Convincing laid-off miners to take the first step toward applying for school can be a challenge. “Some of them are older and they are scared,” said Surbaugh.
But they shouldn’t be, said Dillon. “We sit down and talk to these people and pick their brain for something they’ve always wanted to do, or something they did in the mines that could be an easy transition,” he said. In walked two men who were laid off from the Georgia Pacific plant in Mount Hope in 2010. They enrolled at Bridgemont to retrain in engineering, as did 25-30 of their former co-workers. Surbaugh called them “living proof” that workers can successfully make the transition into school.
Larry Taylor of Oak Hill holds down a 3.9 GPA and said he enrolled in community college to try to find work “where you’re not out there killing yourself for $10 an hour.” Though it was a little hard at first, he’s doing just fine now. Scott Cox of Fayetteville said he treats school like a job, and that helps.
To be eligible, you must be a miner who was laid off after March 1, 2012, and received a Worker Adjustment and Retrainment Notification (WARN). Spouses and adult dependents of miners may also apply to participate. Both union and non-union workers are eligible.
Dillon said even if you don’t meet these requirements, his door is always open and he does whatever he can to “serve all coal miners” in difficult situations.
He also refers people to WorkForce West Virginia.
“If you’ve ever wanted to do anything else, now is the time. You’ve got nothing to lose,” said Dillon. For more information about the retraining program, contact Nibert or Dillon at 304-253-3772.
Mountwest Community and Technical College hosting first
spring orientation
HUNTINGTON -- Mountwest Community and Technical College hosted its first spring semester orientation session for new students on Friday at its new facility on 5th Street Road.
Nearly 200 students were welcomed to campus by Mountwest Community and Technical College President Keith Cotroneo and staff.
Billie Brooks, dean of Student Services, was pleased with the response.
"We are thrilled and overwhelmed with the response," Brooks said in a release. "Our enrollment is up, and we're very excited to welcome these new students to begin their journey at Mountwest."
Cotroneo spoke about the importance of time management and how anyone is capable of obtaining a college degree if they stay committed and allot the appropriate amount of time to study.
The spring semester will be the second Mountwest will offer classes on its new campus at 2205 5th Street Road, Huntington. Spring classes began Monday.
For more information, please call 866-676-5533 or go to www.mctc.edu.
New River CTC schedules public forums for presidential candidates
New River Community and Technical College will have a series of public forums so faculty,
administrators, staff, students and the general public can meet the two finalists for the presidency of the college.
The finalists are Dr. Debra Teachman, vice president for academic affairs at New Mexico University Alamogordo, and Dr. L. Marshall Washington, vice president of the Lancaster Campus of Harrisburg Area Community College in Pennsylvania.
Each forum will have a brief introduction of each candidate followed by a question-and-answer session. Comment forms will be given to all who attend. The completed comment forms will be collected at the end of each forum and given to the New River Board of Governors for review.
Teachman's schedule:
Jan. 22, 9-10 a.m., Greenbrier Valley Campus, Hollowell Auditorium; 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Mercer County Campus in Princeton, Room 205; 2:15-3:15 p.m., Ghent Advanced Technology Center, T302. Jan. 23, 9-10 a.m., Nicholas County Campus, Student Commons; 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Beckley Campus, C-9.
Washington's schedule:
Jan. 24, 10-11 a.m., Greenbrier Valley Campus, Hollowell Auditorium; 1:30-2:30 p.m., Mercer County Campus, Princeton, Classroom 205; 3:15-4:15 p.m., Ghent, Advanced Technology Center, T302.
Jan. 25, 9-10 a.m., Nicholas County Campus, Student Commons; 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Beckley Campus, C9.
The successful candidate will replace Dr. Ted D. Spring, who left New River in early November to become president of Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, N.C. Dr. Merle Dempsey is serving as interim president until the new president is hired.
New River Community and Technical College serves nine counties in southeast and south central West Virginia from locations in Beckley, Lewisburg, Ghent, Princeton and Summersville. Administrative offices are located in Beckley.
WV students worry about proposed budget cuts
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's request that state agencies, including the higher education system, cut 7.5 percent of their budgets has some college students worried they may pay the price.
Adam Fridley, who serves as the chief of staff of Marshall University's Student Government Association and chairman of the Higher Education Policy Commission's Advisory Council of Students, told a legislative interim committee Jan. 7 that the cost of higher education keeps increasing. That, on top of the governor's budget cuts, could result in fewer students enrolling in colleges because they can't afford it. "We feel this is incredibly problematic with respect to the Higher Education Policy Commission budget and the CTC budget," Fridley told the Legislative Oversight Commission on Educational Accountability. "These budget cuts hit right at the heart of our colleges."
Fridley pointed out the importance of obtaining a college degree. He cited recent statistics that forecast the need for 40,000 additional college graduates by 2018 just to keep up with current market demands. A 2011 Georgetown University study found students with at least some post-secondary education weathered the economic recession better than those with a high school diploma.
"In fact during the recovery, there have been five million additional job losses for those with just a high school education," Fridley said.
The cost of college has increased steadily over the past 30 years. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average cost of tuition and fees at four-year, public universities was $891 in 1983. In 2007, the average cost of tuition jumped to $4,101.
"We've seen a cost-shift," Fridley said. "I think a cost-shift is a very appropriate term."
According to studies from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the cost of education since 1980 has shifted. The studies found that since that time, the amount of money states appropriated for public institutions has decreased. This puts a heavier burden on students, Fridley said.
"We see this a lot in our retention rates," Fridley pointed out.
Budget cuts mean more than rising tuition, pointed out ACS member Loren Bell from West Virginia University-Parkersburg. In some institutions, students participate in work study programs to mentor or tutor other students who may be falling behind. If budget cuts affect those programs, those struggling students may not get the additional help they need.
"If you have budget cuts, that's not going to be an option anymore," Bell said. "Our institutions frankly can't afford it with a budget cut."
Without peer mentoring and tutoring, many students will be forced to drop out of college or face carrying a low grade point average with them throughout the rest of their college careers, Bell said.
In many instances, it often takes longer than four years for a student to earn a bachelor's degree. Fridley said he's heard the misconception that schools benefit when students are forced to stay there longer, so they make it harder to graduate on time. However, Fridley pointed out that many times, the length of time a student is in school has nothing to do with academics.
"I would say the cause of that isn't the university agenda. It's tuition that's gone up hundreds of percent since 1980," Fridley said. "Students are taking fewer credit hours and working more hours in the field. The longer they're there, the fewer hours they take, the less likely they are to complete the program."
Since the Promise scholarship's inception 10 years ago, thousands of West Virginia students have completed degree programs at one of the state's four-year schools. However, the Legislature has changed the eligibility requirements several times, something Bell says puts lower-income students at a
disadvantage because they typically don't attend the best schools.
"By making eligibility more difficult, it's going to push out the students with lower income," she said. "They're not going to be able to afford (college). As a nation, we want our students to get a college degree." This isn't the first time higher education institutions have been asked to scale back their budgets. Sen. Bob Plymale, D-Cabell, pointed out that higher education went through budget cuts during the Bob Wise administration. Then, as it is now, the rising cost of health care is to blame.
"We've never been able to get our hands around the Medicaid budget," Plymale said.
Although the state has balanced its books and maintained excellent bond ratings, the cost of Medicaid is once again expected to increase next year. To save money and ward off a deficit, Tomblin asked state agencies in September to take a look at their budgets and cut 7.5 percent. That money would be used to pay down the Medicaid debt.
Plymale said tackling the cost of health care would help higher education and other state agencies. "One of the things that will help higher education is getting a handle on health care inflation and Medicaid," Plymale said.
WVUP to install access control system on campus
PARKERSBURG - Officials at West Virginia University at Parkersburg are taking bids to install an access control system to the campus' main building.
Katie Wootton, director of communications for WVUP, said the college has a bid out seeking access controls for approximately 50 exterior doors at WVUP's main building. Wootton said there was nothing in particular that promoted the steps.
"Basically, we are always looking for ways to make the college safer and more secure for the college's students, faculty and staff."
Al Collins, campus police, and Dave White, facilities and grounds director, stand outside the entrance to WVUP Monday. School officials are taking bids to install an access control system to the campus’ main building. Katie Wootton, director of communications for WVUP, said the college is seeking bids for access controls for approximately 50 exterior doors at the main building. (Photo by Jody Murphy)
Wootton said officials want to add the access controls to the building's exterior doors and as many internal doors as the budget will allow. She declined to say how much money has been set aside for the project, noting the project has been put out for bid. She said the money is being provided by internal funding as well as state appropriations.
Wootton said the college's applied technology center and the early learning center are already slated to have the access controls incorporated into the facilities.
Wootton said securing the main building is only phase I of the project. School officials expect to have phase I of the project completed by July 1.
Phase II is to complete everything on the main campus, Wootton said.
The college is also adding an additional campus police officer, who will start once they complete West Virginia State Police Academy training.
WVUP has also implemented an emergency alert system. Wootton said the new system allows officials to send out an emergency message alert in seconds. She said the system will be used to keep students, faculty and staff apprised of inclement weather, environmental hazards, power issues and terrorism.
"We can get a text message out to over 4,500 people in three seconds," she said.
"We have a safety committee and collaboratively we are always looking at ways to make the campus safer and look at what other campuses are doing," she added.
"We are hearing more and more of incidents in schools. It's a precaution; trying to make our campus safe for everyone."
Southern offers Associate Degrees for the future
In our current economy two things are true, first, everyone wants a high paying job and second everyone wants a bargain. Earning an associate degree at Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College may give you both.
The good news is that is isn’t too late to begin. Southern has extended registration for the spring semester through January 17. New and returning students may enroll in person at any of the college’s five locations or at southernwv.edu. Hours are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
According to the Census Bureau, associate degree holders earn an average of $400,000 more over a lifetime than high school graduates. Annual tuition may be less than $3,000, making it an educational bargain.
Southern offers many programs that are considered careers to see ‘growth’ in the job market. Some of the hottest job prospects are in Accounting, Nursing, Applied Science and Information Technology.
With an associate degree in accounting under your belt, you’ll be prepared for a number of entry-level accounting jobs. One such occupation is an accounts receivable/payable clerk. According to Salary.com earnings start around $26000and could reach nearly $50000 with experience.
An associate degree in nursing can land you a staff position in a hospital or other inpatient facility. Job growth in the field should remain strong through the decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to the BLS, the 2010 median annual pay for full-time RNs was just under $65,000.
Applied science is a broad field of study that can include concentrations in electrical engineering and survey technology. Depending on the field of study the BLS reports that salaries range from about $40,000 to more than $90,000 for experienced workers.
An associate degree in information technology may qualify you for a job as an IT specialist, network technician, help-desk analyst, support specialist, computer specialist or data-processing auditor. According to the BLS, job growth in all IT areas should remain high through 2018, with plenty of opportunities for advancement. Many experienced workers choose to start their own computer-consulting businesses. Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College is currently registering for the spring semester. For more information visit our website at www.southernwv.edu.
Southern provides accessible, affordable, quality education and training at each of its four campuses in Boone, Logan, Mingo and Wyoming counties and its Lincoln County High School location in Hamlin. For further information visit www.southernwv.edu or call 1-866-SWCTC1.
Barbara Elliott, Director of Public Relations
221 George Street, Suite 2
Beckley, WV 25801
304-929-6727
January 14, 2013
NEW RIVER ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE OF PUBLIC FORUMS FOR
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
Dr. Debra Teachman Dr. Marshall Washington
[Beckley, W. Va.] New River Community and Technical College has announced
the schedule for public forums with the two finalists for the presidency of the college.
The finalists are Dr. Debra Teachman, vice president for academic affairs at New
Mexico University Alamogordo, and Dr. L. Marshall Washington, vice president of the
Lancaster Campus of Harrisburg Area Community College in Pennsylvania.
Each finalist will participate in a series of public forums that are open to faculty,
administrators, staff, students and the general public. There will be a brief introduction
of each candidate followed by a question and answer session.
Comment forms will be given to all who attend and the completed comment
forms will be collected at the end of each forum and given to the New River Board of
Governors for review.
The schedule of forums is as follows:
Dr. Debra Teachman
Tuesday, January 22, 2013:
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Greenbrier Valley Campus
Location: Hollowell Auditorium
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Mercer County Campus, Princeton
Location: Classroom 205
2:15 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Advanced Technology Center, Ghent
Location: T302
Wednesday, January 23, 2013:
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Nicholas County Campus
Location: Student Commons
11:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
Beckley Campus
Location: C-9
Dr. L. Marshall Washington
Thursday, January 24, 2013:
10:00 a.m.- 11:00 a.m.
Greenbrier Valley Campus
Location: Hollowell Auditorium
1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Mercer County Campus, Princeton
Location: Classroom 205
3:15 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Advanced Technology Center, Ghent
Location: T302
Friday, January 25, 2013:
9:00 a.m.- 10:00 a.m.
Nicholas County Campus
Location: Student Commons
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Beckley Campus
Location: C9
The successful candidate will replace Dr. Ted D. Spring, who left New River in
early November to become president of Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington,
N.C. Dr. Merle Dempsey is serving as interim president until the new president is hired.
New River Community and Technical College serves nine counties in southeast
and south central West Virginia from locations in Beckley, Lewisburg, Ghent, Princeton
and Summersville. Administrative offices are located in Beckley.
PRESS
RELEASE
*****FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*****
Media Contact
Leslie See
304.260.4380 ext. 2107
Berkeley Spring, WV
. With the recent Grand Opening of the Blue Ridge Community and
Technical College Center located in Morgan County, course offerings continue to
expand. As the Spring 2013 semester gears up, Career Advancement Education also
offers exciting new training programs to the residents of Morgan County and the
surrounding areas.
For individuals who enjoy caring for animals, Career Advancement Training is offering
Animal Care Nursing Assistant Training, preparing students for work in veterinary
hospitals, animal care and research facilities and more. The course will be held Tuesdays
and Thursdays at the Morgan County Center, March 12 through June 29, 2013. Topics
include veterinary office procedures, medical terminology, animal restraint techniques,
small animal care and animal nursing procedures. Students must be at least 18 years of
age to enroll and carry medical insurance for any potential injuries.
West Virginia Residents may qualify for financial aid through Higher Education Adult
Part-Time Student (HEAPS) grant, which does not have to be repaid. To reserve a seat
within the course, or to learn more about HEAPS funding, contact Ce Nichols,
Enrollment Specialist at 304.260.4380 extension 2411 or email [email protected].
Enrollment and funding is limited so early registration is encouraged.
Blue Ridge Community and Technical College offers more than 40 associate degree and
certificate programs, as well as workforce development training. Blue Ridge Community
and Technical College is conveniently located on Route 45 West past the Commons
Center, at 13650 Apple Harvest Drive. For more information on Blue Ridge Community
and Technical College, please call 304-260-4380 or visit our website at
www.BlueRidgeCTC.edu
.
###
Barbara Elliott, Director of Public Relations
221 George Street, Suite 2
Beckley, WV 25801
304-929-6727
January 14, 2013
AUTOMOTIVE TIRE SERVICE CERTIFICATION COURSE TO BE OFFERED
AT ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY CENTER
[Ghent, W. Va.] The Tire Industry Association will offer its award-winning
Automotive Tire Service (ATS) Certification Course at the New River Community
and Technical College Advanced Technology Center in Ghent, W. Va., March
5-8.
ATS is a 300 and 400-level certification program that provides in-depth
and comprehensive instruction and hands-on training on the recommended
procedures for servicing modern automobile and light truck tires. The certified
ATS course is designed for the professional passenger and light truck tire
technician and is taught in 15 modules that cover topics such as puncture repairs
that meet current guidelines, low profile tire service, the relationship between
torque and clamping and TPMS service and relearn procedures on domestic and
import vehicles.
Certified ATS also includes an exclusive module on Tire Conditions
Analysis that uses images from TIA’s Passenger and Light Truck Tire Conditions
Manual to educate technicians on the most likely reasons for common irregular
tread wear patterns.
Those who attend the four-day class will be certified as advanced ATS
instructors, allowing them to train and certify ATS instructors and technicians in
the field.
The class will meet from 8:30-5 p.m. for the first three days and from 8:30
a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on the final exam day. The usual tuition has been reduced
to $750 for this class. Additional information can be found at
www.tireindustry.org
., or contact James Blair, automotive instructor at New River,
at (304) 929-3317 or e-mail jblair @newriver.edu.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 01/11/2013
Contact: Shirley Dyer Phone: 304-710-3377 URL: www.mctc.edu Email: [email protected]
Mountwest Welcomes New Students
Huntington, W.Va., <January 11, 2013>: Nearly 200 new students were welcomed by
Mountwest Community and Technical College President, Dr. Keith Cotroneo, and staff on Friday at Mountwest’s new campus atop Fifth Street hill.
This is the first time orientation has been held for the spring semester, and Billie Brooks, Dean of Student Services, was pleased with the response.
“We are thrilled and overwhelmed with the response,” said Brooks. “Our enrollment is up, and we’re very excited to welcome these new students to begin their journey at Mountwest.”
Dr. Cotroneo congratulated the incoming students, and said, “This is the best investment you can make in your future.” He spoke about the importance of time management and how anyone is capable of obtaining a college degree if they stay committed and allot the appropriate amount of time to study.
The Spring 2013 semester will be the second semester Mountwest will offer classes on its new campus at 2205 Fifth Street Road, Huntington. Spring classes begin January 14. For more information, please call (866) 676-5533 or go to www.mctc.edu.
Mountwest Community & Technical College provides programs to meet the varied educational and workforce development needs of its students and the community. Mountwest offers two-year degree and one-year certificate programs in Allied Health, Business and Information Technology, Human Services, Occupational and Technical Programs, as well as numerous continuing
education opportunities and customized instruction. For more information about Mountwest programs and opportunities, please visit www.mctc.edu.
# # #
press release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1/10/2013
Mountwest Awards Spring Scholarships
Huntington, W.Va., <January 10, 2013>:
Mountwest Community & Technical College
has awarded eight students with scholarships for the spring semester.
The following Mountwest students received spring 2013 scholarships from the
Mountwest Foundation:
Advanced Technical Solutions Excellence in IT Scholarship recipient is Roger
Ash of Huntington, WV.
Allied Health Scholarship recipient is Jason D. Watson of Crown City, OH.
Bulldog Creative Services Scholarship recipients are Nathan Workman of
Huntington, WV, and James C. Dubois of Lesage, WV.
Cengage Learning Scholarship recipients are Terry J. Marchetti of Eleanor, WV,
Gregory L. Napier of Hamlin, WV, and Jerry M. Wells of Wayne, WV.
Desiree L. Franklin Scholarship Recipient is James Clark of Huntington, WV.
Local businesses and individuals made generous financial contributions to make these
scholarships possible.
The Mountwest Foundation currently has West Virginia state tax credits available for
new scholarship gifts of $500 or more through the Neighborhood Investment Program.
Donors can receive 50% of eligible gifts back in the form of state tax credits through this
program. To make a gift to the Mountwest Scholarship Fund, contact the Mountwest
Foundation at (304) 710-3271 or
.
Fall 2013 scholarships will be available in March. For more information on how to apply,
contact the Office of Financial Aid at (304) 710-3370 or visit
www.mctc.edu/scholarships
.
Mountwest Community & Technical College provides programs to meet the varied
educational and workforce development needs of its students and the community.
Mountwest offers two-year degree and one-year certificate programs in Allied Health,
Business and Information Technology, Human Services, Occupational and Technical
Programs, as well as numerous continuing education opportunities and customized
instruction. Mountwest is now located at its new campus located atop Fifth Street hill in
Huntington. For more information about Mountwest programs and opportunities, please
visit
www.mctc.edu
.
press release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1/18/2013
Contact: Shirley Dyer Phone: 304-710-3377 URL: www.mctc.edu Email: [email protected]
Mountwest Career Services Launches New Online Job Board
Huntington, W.Va., <January 18, 2013>:
Mountwest Community & Technical College
Career Services has gone live with College Central Network (CCN), an online career
management system that will provide job postings to students, alumni, employers, and
community members. CCN is the leading provider for over 600 college and university
campus career and employment centers in 43 states across the country.
Glen Midkiff, Career Services Coordinator, said the new career management system will
be an enormous benefit for students and alumni that are job seeking as well as
employers looking for qualified workers. In addition to job postings, the new website will
include a job postings and employer resume search function, a resume builder, career
advice articles, podcasts and videos, the ability to search college's secure jobs
database, CCN's Jobs Central national job board, and a career document library.
The new job board is very user-friendly, according to Midkiff. All students, alumni, and
employers need to do is login, update their profiles, and begin exploring the services
available. “Everyone involved will find it beneficial in using and maintaining an up-to-date
account,” said Midkiff. “Both local and national employers will be posting their job
openings on CCN and also searching for skilled job applicants.”
In addition to Tri-state area’s specific postings, the national job board has more than a
half million jobs – from tens of thousands of unique sources, comprising all of the major
job boards as well as newspapers, associations, and company web sites.
To help students and alumni prepare for internships or job hunts, CCN has a library of
articles, videos, podcasts full of tips and advice. CCN has tools and templates that make
it easy to build industry specific resumes and portfolios.
press release
Students/alumni and employers may access the site to register by visiting
www.collegecentral.com/mountwest
.
For more information or assistance please contact Glen Midkiff, Career Services
Coordinator, by calling 304-710-3184 or emailing
.
Mountwest Community & Technical College provides programs to meet the varied
educational and workforce development needs of its students and the community.
Mountwest offers two-year degree and one-year certificate programs in Allied Health,
Business and Information Technology, Human Services, Occupational and Technical
Programs, as well as numerous continuing education opportunities and customized
instruction. Mountwest is now located at its new campus located atop Fifth Street hill in
Huntington. For more information about Mountwest programs and opportunities, please
visit
www.mctc.edu
.
# # #
B8 MINERAL DAILY NEWS TRIBUNE Wednesday, December 12, 2012
TODAY IN HISTORY
December 12
1786 Charles Town was established by an act of the Virgin-ia General Assembly on the property of Charles Washington, brother of George Washington. Charles donated the four corner lots at the center of the town which intersected the appropriately-named George Street and Washington Street.
1787 The town of Watson in Hampshire County was estab-lished by the Virginia General Assembly on the lands of the late Joseph Watson. Watson later became Capon Springs, birthplace of Herman Guy Kump, West Virginia’s 19th governor.
1846 The Literary Society of Romney was permitted by the Virginia General Assembly to establish a seminary.
1916 West Virginia University’s fi rst Reserve Offi cers Train-ing Corps (ROTC) was organized. The author was a gradu-ate of the university’s 60th graduating class.
BIRTHDAYS
December 12
1805 - Henry Wells, founder (American Express Co & Wells Fargo & Co)
1879 - Laura Hope Crews, actress (Camille, Gone with the Wind)
1893 - Edward G Robinson, actor (10 Commandments)
1932 - Robert Pettit, NBA player (St Louis Bombers/1959 MVP)
1943 - Dickey Betts, guitarist (Allman Bros-Ramblin’ Man)
1946 - Clive Bunker, rock drummer (Jethro Tull)
1953 - Bruce Kulick, guitarist/singer (KISS)
1963 - Teresa Blake, actress (Gloria Marsh-All My Children)
1972 - John Walsh, NFL quarterback (Cin Bengals)
1972 - Missy Francis, actress (Little House on the Prairie)
For the News Tribune
MOOREFIELD — As registration for the spring 2013 semester enters into full swing at Eastern WV Community and Techni-cal College, a Nov. 26 re-port from “Community College Week” showed the strength of the college’s recent growth.
In a survey of all com-munity colleges with a to-tal enrollment less than 2,500, based on data from the US Department of Ed-ucation, Eastern ranked 21st fastest-growing nationwide.
“This is great news for the college,” said Rob-ert ‘Buck’ Eagle, East-ern’s dean for academics and student services. “Be-tween 2010 and 2011, we achieved a 21.2-percent growth in enrollment. It means that our dedi-cation to provide quali-ty programs and superior student services is bear-ing fruit. And we look en-thusiastically to build on
that quality and level of service to our communi-ty in the upcoming spring semester.”
Open registration for spring classes continues at Eastern through Jan. 11, with an additional week allowed for late registra-tion. Students may reg-ister for associate degree and certifi cate programs in business, accounting, computers, wind ener-gy technoloener-gy, automotive technology or early child-hood education. They may also choose a general ed-ucation program as prep-aration to transfer for a four-year degree.
“And at Eastern, our Fi-nancial Aid offi ce works with every single appli-cant to fi nd the best fi nan-cial aid package possible,” said Eagle.
For more information about Eastern’s regis-tration, fi nancial aid op-portunities, programs of study and workforce training, call toll free: 877-982-2322; or check the
College’s website: www. easternwv.edu.
“Across the country some 6.5 million people ages 16 to 24 are both out of school and out of work,” Eagle noted, quoting a study just out this month from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. At the same time, he said, the study emphasized that employ-ers routinely cannot fi nd workers with the neces-sary skills to fi ll the jobs that are available, and that will become available, in our rapidly changing 21st-century economy.
In a statement accom-panying publication of the Casey report, Patrick McCarthy, president and CEO of the Foundation, pointed out that “ensur-ing youth are prepared for the high-skilled jobs available in today’s econ-omy must be a nation-al priority, for the sake of their future roles as citi-zens and parents, the fu-ture of our workforce and the strength of our nation
as a whole.”
Eastern’s mission, Ea-gle said, directly supports that priority. “We’re all about getting students in-to college classes— wheth-er they’re recent high school graduates, or old-er adults who have been out of school, for a while — to get the learning and skills they need to succeed in today’s and tomorrow’s workplace.”
Serving the residents of Grant, Hampshire, Har-dy, Mineral, Pendleton and Tucker counties, and fully accredited by the Higher Learning Com-mission of the North Cen-tral Association of Colleg-es and Schools, Eastern West Virginia Communi-ty and Technical College is a comprehensive and equal opportunity com-munity and technical col-lege bringing the resourc-es and assets of Education That Works to the fami-lies, communities and em-ployers of the Potomac Highlands.
WEST VIRGINIA
Eastern ranked
as fastest growing
The Associated Press
STARKE, Fla. — A for-mer Florida police offi cer was scheduled to be exe-cuted Tuesday for the mur-der of nine people in a 1986 rampage over three months.
The execution by lethal injection of 56-year-old Manuel Pardo was set for 6 p.m. at Florida State Pris-on in Starke. A federal judge denied Pardo’s request for a stay Monday.
Offi cials said most of Par-do’s victims were involved
with drugs. Pardo con-tended that he was doing the world a favor by killing them in 1986.
“I am a soldier, I accom-plished my mission and I humbly ask you to give me the glory of ending my life and not send me to spend the rest of my days in state prison,” Pardo told jurors at his 1988 trial.
Pardo’s attorneys are try-ing to block his execu-tion, arguing in federal ap-peals that he is mentally ill, something his trial attorney
believed more than two de-cades ago.
Pardo was dubbed the “Death Row Romeo” af-ter he corresponded with dozens of women and per-suaded many to send him
money.
Regino Musa, the broth-er of one of Pardo’s victims, said it’s diffi cult to grasp that the execution will fi nal-ly happen. He and his elder-ly mother plan to attend.
NATIONAL
Fla. ex-cop set for execution in 1986 killing of 9
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — e-WV: The West Virgin-ia EncyclopedVirgin-ia, found at www.wvencyclopedia.org, will include a special homep-age feature about the Silver Bridge Collapse on its Dec. 15 “This Date in History.”
This year marks the 45th anniversary of the disaster.
The online encyclopedia also includes a full article and illustrations related to the tragedy. The bridge span-ning the Ohio River at Point Pleasant collapsed on Friday, Dec. 15, 1967, at about 5 p.m. There were 37 vehicles on the bridge with 67 people in them at the time of the col-lapse. Of these vehicles, 31 fell with the bridge.
Twenty-one people es-caped injury or were res-cued from the river. There was a total of 46 fatalities, including fi ve killed on the Ohio shore. For 16 days fed-eral, state, local, and private organizations conducted ex-tensive rescue and recovery operations.
The Silver Bridge, so named because it was the fi rst bridge in the area to be painted with aluminum paint, had been designed by the J. E. Greiner Company of Baltimore. The bridge was
built by the American Bridge Company of Pittsburgh and opened to traffi c on May 19, 1928.
The full Silver Bridge ar-ticle, found at www.wvency-clopedia.org/articles/419, is among the 2,300 articles in-cluded on the reference re-source. A project of the West Virginia Humanities Coun-cil, e-WV is a free interactive website that features arti-cles on West Virginia’s histo-ry, culture, and people. It is thoroughly innovative, en-hanced with audio and vid-eo, hundreds of illustrations, maps, time lines, and other features.
e-WV is the latest product of the West Virginia Ency-clopedia Project, which has been under way at the Hu-manities Council for more than a decade. The project is best known for its one-volume West Virginia En-cyclopedia, which became a regional bestseller after its publication on June 20, 2006.
For more information contact the West Virginia Humanities Council, 1310 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charles-ton, WV 25301; (304) 346-8500; or visit e-WV at www. wvencyclopedia.org.
WEST VIRGINIA
e-WV will feature
Silver Bridge
Landmarks
The Local Historic Sites of Mineral County
is now available.
To obtain your copy of this 64 page glossy book,
start a subscription for yourself or a friend or
relative for the special price of $9.00 for 1 month
or $12.00 for 2 months.
Stop by the News Tribune
to start your subscription
today and get your copy of
this great historical book.
21 Shamrock Dr.
P.O. Box 879
Keyser, WV 26726
(304) 788-3333
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