Wyoming's twenty-year effort for a $40 million Job Corps Center was rewarded today with the announcement by
US Labor Secretary Elaine Chao and US Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming) that the Fremont County BOCES proposal has been accepted.
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., announced today that work on a multi-million dollar job training center to be located in Riverton should begin soon. The center will be the first located in Wyoming.
"This new center in Riverton furthers Job Corps' mission of helping young Americans overcome barriers to employment," said Secretary Chao. "The Riverton Job Corps Center will provide education and skills training that young workers need to succeed in the 21st century worldwide economy."
"I've been working with Secretary Chao for years to make this happen and appreciate all she's done. One thing Wyoming needs more of are skilled workers and this center can help supply that need, but as much as what it can potentially do for the economy of the state, it can do even more for the individual by helping that young person achieve a better life. This is exciting news," said Enzi, who is the Ranking Member on the Senate Labor Committee.
The new Job Corps Center will provide academic assistance and career technical training to about 550 students from Fremont County and around the state. High school and General Equivalency Diploma programs will also be offered. Career technical training courses will be available that will help prepare young people for careers in high-skill, high-growth industries in the 21st century worldwide economy.
Among the criteria in selecting sites for Job Corps centers is a plan that incorporates strong community support and cooperation with state and local agencies, community colleges, local school districts and civic groups.
"Job Corps is the nation's largest and most comprehensive residential, education and job training program for at-promise youth," said Job Corps Director Esther R. Johnson. "These centers not only benefit young people in need of help, but local employers as well. Each year, Job Corps deploys to communities around this country young people who have found their place in society, young people who are ready for the workforce of the 21st century and young people who are ready to change their communities for the better."
Since its inception in 1964, Job Corps has opened the door to opportunity for more than two million disadvantaged young people ages 16-24. The program is self paced and can take between eight months and two years depending on the career area of study. Students are provided with career counseling and transition support for up to 12 months after they graduate. Enzi estimated the investment in the center would be from $30-40 million by the time the center is completed. The target for having students in the facility is 2011. Land acquisition for the center should begin this year.
"The unemployment rate in Fremont County is consistently higher than the rest of Wyoming. Riverton, the future site of the Wind River Job Corps Center, is also within the boundaries of the Wind River Reservation where great poverty and limited resources exist for educational opportunities. A Job Corps Center will provide a vital service in educating and training disadvantaged youth in Fremont County and Wyoming for employment in the energy sector," Enzi said.
Enzi gave special thanks to Chao and Iowa's Senator Harkin, the Chairman of the Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, who has been very interested in starting satellite Job Corps Centers to reach new areas. Enzi also singled out Sandy Barton with the Fremont County Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES).
"Sandy has pulled together an excellent team and did the early ground work with the local community, state and industries to gain their support. Sandy has devoted more than the last year of her life to bringing Job Corps to Wyoming and I congratulate her on her success," Enzi said.
U.S. Labor Department to Open Three New Job Corps Centers
First Job Corps Centers Ever in New Hampshire and Wyoming
WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced that Manchester, N.H., Riverton, Wyo., and Ottumwa, Iowa, will each be the site of a new Job Corps center. The Manchester center will be the first located in New Hampshire and the Riverton center will be the first ever located in Wyoming. The Ottumwa site will be the second Job Corp center in Iowa.
"These new centers further Job Corps' mission of helping young Americans overcome barriers to employment," said Secretary Chao. "The Manchester, Ottumwa and Riverton Job Corps Centers will provide education and skills training that young workers need to succeed in the 21st century worldwide economy."
The new Job Corps centers will provide academic assistance and career technical training. High school and General Equivalency Diploma programs will also be offered. Career technical training courses will be available that will help prepare young people for careers in high-skill, high-growth industries in the 21st century worldwide economy.
Among the criteria for selecting sites for Job Corps centers is a plan that incorporates strong community support and cooperation with state and local agencies, community colleges, local school districts and civic groups.
"Job Corps is the nation's largest and most comprehensive residential, education and job training program for at-promise youth," said Job Corps Director Esther R. Johnson. "These centers not only benefit young people in need of help, but local employers as well. Each year, Job Corps deploys to communities around this country young people who have found their place in society, young people who are ready for the workforce of the 21st century and young people who are ready to change their communities for the better."
Since its inception in 1964, Job Corps has opened the door to opportunity for more than two million disadvantaged young people ages 16-24.
By NOELLE STRAUB
Star-Tribune Washington bureau
with staff reports
WASHINGTON -- Wyoming's first federal Job Corps center will be built northwest of Riverton near Riverton Regional Airport, officials said Wednesday. But the facility won't be just one building.
The $36 million complex will have separate dormitory space for men, women and single parents; a child development center; a recreation center and vocational training programs.
Job Corps serves people who are between the ages of 16 and 24, and are economically disadvantaged. The aim is to help students acquire skills that allow them to become employable and independent, or to further their education.
Sandy Barton, executive director of the Fremont County Board of Cooperative Education Services, said the new facility will be able to accommodate 250 to 300 students in residence, with another 15 or so who won't have to live on campus. It will have 100 to 115 employees.
"The actual vocational training will be linked to the work-force demands," Barton noted, including such fields as oil and gas, and construction.
Barton said a construction package will be prepared and the whole project let for bid. Site preparation could begin in March. The center will take three years to complete. The facility will be similar to one in Palmer, Alaska.
It will be primarily a federally funded project, but the city and some individuals will also contribute funds, said U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.
In pushing for the center, Enzi noted that Wyoming did not have a center and he emphasized the state's tremendous need for skilled labor, U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said Wednesday.
Enzi said the state has applied for a center before, but not in Riverton. He said its proximity to the Wind River Indian Reservation and the local community participation boosted its chances.
"One of the reasons that Riverton's application was an excellent application was because of some of the local participation that they've pledged," he said. "They're really to be congratulated on coming forth with that to show they were interested enough."
"The Wyoming Business Council has agreed to do a grant that would tie in with this as well," Enzi added. "That helped to improve the application."
The Labor Department announced that Job Corps centers will also be built in two other states, New Hampshire and Iowa. Enzi said he had been working with Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., on the plans because he represents the only other state in the country that did not yet have a center.
Enzi said other states wanted additional centers or satellite campuses.
"What some of the states that were talking about satellites didn't understand was that some of us didn't have one at all," Enzi said. "So we had to get around to some of those states and talk to them and say, 'Hey, until we get one, don't you think you ought to wait on your satellite?'"
"We're just thrilled that Wyoming finally will have a Job Corps center," Chao said.
Riverton Ranger
Riverton's effort to land a Federal Jobs Corps Center was poised to pay off Wednesday afternoon.
U.S. Senator Mike Enzi and U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chow were expected to announce Riverton's selection for the coveted installation during a 3 p.m. conference call.
If approved as expected, the Job Corps Centere would be located at a site near Riverton Regional Airport.
A coalition of city officials assembled an incentive package for the Job Corps, which included the multi-acre site near the airport, along with some utility work.
The site, tentatively named Wind River Job Corps., promises an initial construction budget of as much as $20 million, according to some estimates. It would have a permanent work force of about 100 and would be equipped to train 300 Job Corps students.
A typical Job Corps center trains students ages 16-24, often from economically disadvantaged circumstances.
The Job Corps site would be expected to include classroom buildings, dormitory buildings, a recreation center, and a landscaped campus. Instruction in about 10 trades is typical.
Wyoming is one of just two states not to have a Job Corps Center. About 60,000 students participate in the Job Corps program nationwide, including about 200 from Wyoming who have had to leave the state for their training.
Support for the Riverton bid has won widespread support, with endorsements from the city of Riverton, the Fremont County Commission, Gov. Dave Freudenthal and Senator Enzi.
Sandra Barton of the Fremont County Board of Cooperative Educational Services has led the Riverton Job Corps effort.
Walter Crook
Staff Writer
Riverton Ranger
It is not often a presidential cabinet member schedules a conference call about an issue with local impact, so when U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Elaine Chao did just that Wednesday afternoon, it appeared that big news was in store.
It Was.
Chao, along with Sen. Mike Enzi (R - Wyoming), announced that Riverton soon would be home to a Job Corps: a federally funded job training program that is exdpected to create more than 100 jobs, many of them for professionals, and ease the high unemployment rate on the Wind River Indian Reservation.
The $30-40 million facility will be operational by 2011 on land donated by the city on Airport Hill in the northwest part of town. The land acquisition phase of the project will begin this year, Enzi said.
The center will house 300 students from around the state and serve a total of 550 students, according to Chao.
"One thing Wyoming needs more of are skilled workers," Enzi said, "and this center can help supply that need. It's close to the reservation - that's a very high unemployment area. It will help to solve some of that."
Chao credited Fremont County Board of Cooperative Educational Services executive director Sandy Barton's "excellent team" for formulating the "winning proposal."
Enzi did not reveal how much of the project's multimillion-dollar price tag would be funded by the federal government, but he said: "One of the reasons Riverton" was selected was because of "some of the money they have pledged."
The city, various individuals and the Wyoming Business Council, will all pitch in funds for the project's construction, according to Enzi.
"Basically, it's a federally funded project," Chao said.
Job Corps is touted as the country's largest residential education and vocational program for disadvantaged youth. Job Corps students can specialize in a variety of trades from both the white- and blue-collar worlds.
Students aged 16-24 are eligible to participate in Job Corps.
Enzi envisions Riverton's Job Corps as specializing in training for high-tech and energy related fields.
About 200 students, many of them members of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho trives, attend a Job Corps in another state, because Wyoming has no Job Corps, according to Barton.
Along with Riverton's Job Corps, Chao announced Wednesday that two others are scheduled to be built in Iowa and New Hampshire. New Hampshire is the only other state besides Wyoming without a Job Corps center.
Local officials have been trying to bring a Job Corps center to Fremont County since at least 1998, when an effort to land
Steven R. Peck
Riverton Ranger
Time seems to stretch when you're waiting for good news. But when it comes, the wait seems well worth it.
Riverton learned Thursday afternoon that a federal Job Corps Center would be placed here. The announcement, made jointly by U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, was a joyous occasion for our city.
Some people try to claim, foolishly, that government can't be viewed as economic development. Seeing the numbers associated with Job Corps tells the real truth:
- A construction project that could well total $50 million before it's finished in 2011;
- As many as 120 new, full-time jobs;
- A sustaining federal budget allocation of perhaps $15 million per year.
Don't tell Riverton that's not economic development.
Beyond that, the standard development formulas apply. If there are 120 new jobs, it could mean as many as 100 new families of two, three, four, even five members apiece.
If it's true that each new dollar generated in the local enomomy "turns over" several times, then a $50 million installation could be more like a $200 million project over the next four years - and that's before the annual appropriation is mixed in.
And if, as projected, the city can count the projected 200 to 300 Job Corps students as part of its popiulation, we could see a population increase nearing 1,000, just from Job Corps.
The Job Corps story in Riverton isn't just about economic development. The program itself has proved to be one of the most useful and productive federal works in the nation. In a region suffering from a pointed and undeniable shortage of skilled labor, we now can do our part in training capable new workers - and, we hope, benefit from those workers, too.
The idea of siting a Job Corps Center in Fremont County goes back 20 years. We took a run at it in the 1980's and again in the 1990's. The new effort dates at least as far back as 2005, with preliminary work likey begun even earlier.
Now, with the news from Washington crackling across phone lines Thursday, that effort has paid off. Many people played a role in the success, with Sandy Barton of Riverton well-deserving special praise for her skill and diligence in bringing this highly desirable facility to our community.
Feb. 7, 2007, should be remembered as a red-letter day in the history of Riverton. Now the hard but welcome work toward actually building the Job Corps campus can begin. It's a job all of Fremont County will embrace with vigor and enthusiasm. Congratulations to all who made it happen and to all who will reap the rewards in the years ahead.
Leslie Stratmoen
Staff Writer
Riverton Ranger
Bringing an entire community together to achieve a common goal means "big things can happen."
This was the sentiment shared by city, county, and state officials Wednesday as they learned Riverton landed a Wyoming Job Corps center.
The center, which will be operational by 2011 providing academic assistance and career technical training to about 550 students from Fremont County and around the state, will bring an investment of $30-$40 million into the community and provide 125 new job opportunities.
The news was particularly satisfying to Sandy Barton who is the executive director of the Fremont County Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES).
She has been working on the project since January 2006. However, she attributed the idea to Scotty Ratliff of Riverton who planted the seed.
"He walked into my office one day and said, 'we need a job center,'" Barton said.
Ratliff, a longtime educator currently working as a tribal liason to the office of Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyoming, said it was a logical step.
Wyoming and New Hampshire are the only states in the union that do not have a job corps center. Wyoming needed one and Riverton was a good place to have it, he said.
"My whole background has been in providing education for people," Ratliff said. "I believe in diverse types of education."
Bringing his idea to the BOCES office made sense.
"You had to have something that represented the county. It (the job center) isn't Riverton's, nor the county's, but the state of Wyoming's. It had to be a county project and BOCES was that kind of office," Ratliff said.
The ultimate obstacle, though, was bringing the whole community together to support the idea.
Barton took Ratliff's idea and ran with it - going first to Riverton city officials for input.
"I contacted the city and said, 'can we do this?'" she said.
The city responded by donating land in northwest Riverton off Airport Road near the Riverton Regional Airport and "we started informing and engaging the community," Barton said.
Brought into the mix was IDEA Inc., an economic development arm of the city, and local engineering and architectural firms, Inberg-Miller and JGA Architects, both of Riverton.
The job corps center is the "biggest single employer to move into the community since Wal-Mart," which opened in 1990, Phil Christopherson of IDEA Inc. said.
As for those at Inberg-Miller, working on the project has proved satisfying.
"I have never run into a better project," Howard Johnson of Inberg-Miller said. "It has been a pleasure to be a part of this."
Tom Axthelm, also of Inberg-Miller said: "I have been involved in the project from the get go. This is very exciting."
Support was also provided by Fremont County School District 25, headed by superintendent Craig Beck.
"The school district will be such a huge partner in this," Barton said.
Beck called the project "a good thing."
"Its going to bring funding and more capacity for an economic mass," he said. "It's a good stable project, not a hit and miss. It's nice to know that we will have some options for our youth."
Wyoming currently displaces 148 students a month to other states for education and training that will be provided by the Job Corps center.
North dakota is the only state currently taking single mothers and even at that have a waiting list, Barton said.
Barton, Beck, Ratliff, Johnson and Axthelm were all there at Riverton's City Hall Wednesday when the news officially was announced during a press conference.
They were flanked by city and couty officials who all supported the plan.
Barton welcomed everyone to the event by saying; "This is wonderful news for the city."
Riverton city council members voiced agreement.
"What a nice, positive thing to happen to Riverton and Wyoming," councilman Lars Baker said.
"This is a great thing," coucilman Lee Martinez said. "This just goes to show what can happen when everyone works together. I'm excited to see it. This is great."
Fremont County commissioner Dennis Heckart called Wednesday a "red letter day" for Riverton and Fremont County.
Carl Manning of the BOCES board said: "When we all put our hands together and work as one, we can get things done."
Ratliff echoed the sentiment.
"Virtually, there is nothing we can't do when the community gets behind it," he said. "I hope this template continues in other avenues."
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