Forest Service Job Corps Courier

Transcription

Volume 2, Issue 1
January 2015
Job Corps Civilian
Conservation Center Courier
USDA Deputy Under Secretary Butch Blazer and Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell Celebrate Job
Corps’ 50th Anniversary
Alicia D. Bennett, Public Affairs Officer, Job Corps National Office
In an historic effort to wipe out
the root causes of poverty, the
U.S. Congress passed the Economic Opportunity Act, which
created the Job Corps program,
on August 20, 1964.
On September 17, 2014, USDA
Deputy Under Secretary Arthur
“Butch” Blazer, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell, Forest
Service Job Corps National Director Tina Terrell, USDA Chief
of Staff for Natural Resources
and Environment Meryl Harrell
and Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center students from
across the country gathered
together in the USDA Whitten
Building to mark this milestone
and celebrate the Job Corps
program.
Since the activation of the first
Civilian Conservation Center-Lyndon B. Johnson--on February
1, 1965, Forest Service Job
Corps Centers have offered
comprehensive residential, academic, and vocational training
to the nation’s most underserved youth.
Collbran, Harpers Ferry,
Schenck, and Timber Lake Job
Corps students participated in
skills training presentations on
the Whitten Patio. Collbran Job
Corps students demonstrated
the skills used to design and
(continued on page 3)
Davidson River Initial Attack crew member Luis Duran greets Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell at the Job
Corps 50th Anniversary Celebration on the patio of the Jamie L. Whitten Building, Washington, D.C. on
September 17, 2014. Photo courtesy of USDA.
From the Desk of the National Office
Tina J. Terrell, National Director, Job Corps National Office
Last year was a remarkable year
for the Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers. We embarked in January 2014 with
much hope, opportunity, and
tradition.
public lands, and
employee engagement by training
and mentoring young people.
For the first goal, the Job Corps
program worked with the National Forest System to celebrate the 50th anniversary of
three major laws that have impacted the agency, young people, and the land.
I gave a number of goals to center directors in the beginning of
the year, and Job Corps leaders
worked with their staffs and
students to exceed my goals
and expectations.
My goals focused on three areas: celebration of three anniversary events, students working to
improve communities and their
Job Corps National Director Tina Terrell presents the Honorable Hal Rogers with an engraved plaque
designed by Collbran Job Corps. Photo courtesy of Pine Knot Jobs Corps
These three laws were the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964
(which created the Job Corps
program); the Wilderness Act of
Page 2
Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier
From the Desk of the National Office (continued from page 1)
Tina J. Terrell, National Director, Job Corps National Office
1964 which created wild places
for all of us to enjoy; and the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 which
codified in law that all of us
have an opportunity to be who
Our Job Corps Civilian
Conservation Centers
would not be what they
are without a dedicated and supported staff.
Thanks to each of you
for showing young people the way to be successful.
—Tina Terrell
National Director
we are and pursue our dreams
without discrimination. More
information is provided in the
Job Corps Courier regarding the
50th anniversary celebration
the Job Corps National Office
held in Washington, D.C. on
September 17th in the Department of Agriculture Whitten
Building (Whitten Patio). Check
It Out!!!!!!!!!!
In 2014, Job Corps students
from the 28 Job Corps Civilian
Conservation Centers again
showed their remarkable skills,
abilities, and knowledge to
build houses for low income
families; refurbish low-water
crossings on a wildlife refuge;
paint buildings; clean open
spaces by removing trash; work
on fire crews to clear vegetation
around homes, parks and communities; build and install information kiosks; and restore an
all-terrain vehicle trail.
I continue to be proud of the
work our students complete day
after day, while learning a new
craft and working to make their
lives better and to find a career.
Fire is the biggest program in
the agency and our Job Corps
“fire militia” was involved from
the very beginning of fire season. In 2014 Job Corps students on fire crews worked
160,327 hours on fire assignments and treated 57,276
acres in the wildland urban
interface. These numbers exceeded the number of hours
worked on fire assignments in
2013 by 10%. Students working
on fire assignments in the
wildland urban interface reduced hazardous fuels around
homes, communities, and infrastructure like utilities; so when
a fire occurs in an area, the fire
danger is reduced with less
vegetation to burn.
Terrell offers advice to Pine Ridge Business Administration student Desiree Levering while touring the
Center on July 17, 2014. Photo courtesy of Don Richards.
Even though many articles in
the Job Corps Courier focus on
students, there are a couple of
articles that focus on staff. In
2014, staff at our Job Corps
Civilian Conservation Centers
went above and beyond their
duties to mentor students, develop innovative and creative
programs for helping students
find jobs, or organized workshops to teach students how to
empower themselves and develop goals for success.
Each and every day, staff come
to work with a goal to make a
young person’s life better than
what that person may be addressing. Staff opens a book,
type into a computer, walk
around a classroom, talk to a
young person, or pick up a tool
and provide guidance and direction to students to help them
make something of themselves.
Our Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers would not be
what they are without a dedicated and supportive staff. Thanks
to each of you for showing
young people the way to be
successful.
As we progress in 2015, my
goals for this year are to expand
avenues for Job Corps students
to be hired in the Forest Service
Tina Terrell deep in discussion with Pine Ridge Job Corps Center Warehouse Manager Dean Hall and
Works Program Office David Jones. Terrell toured the Center on July 17,2014. Photo courtesy of Don
Richards.
through the Public Lands Corps
and to develop natural resources training programs for
Job Corps students (wilderness
ethics, waders in the waters/
aquatic education, trails management, wood bridge enhancement/refurbishment).
Regarding Public Lands Corps,
we are off to a great start as two
students have already been
converted using the hiring authority provided in the Public
Lands Corps legislation. In
2015, I envision eight (8) more
Job Corps students should be
hired into positions on a district,
forest, or Regional Office.
The Job Corps program just celebrated its 50th anniversary last
year. The success of the program has been and will continue
to be the students. We have
impacted many, many lives, and
we will continue to impact lives
in a positive way. Success is not
a destination, but a journey and
we will continue the journey to
be successful as managers, as
leaders, and as people.
I believe in the Job Corps program, I believe in our students, I
believe in our staff, and I look
forward to a successful and
remarkable year.
Page 3
Corps’ 50th Anniversary (continued from page 1)
construct a 50th anniversary
wilderness scale and over 500
wilderness award plaques.
Collbran students, who brought
along an impressive display of
produce harvested from their
People’s Garden, also discussed
the garden’s design, maintenance, and management.
Hands On Preservation Experience (HOPE) crew. Harpers Ferry
students attracted many guests
to their table by sharing exciting
footage from showing their work
restoring the historic Skyland
Stables in the Shenandoah National Park, located in the Blue
Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
Two Davidson River Initial Attack
crew members, students in the
Schenck Advanced Fire Management Training Program, discussed their experience in the
advanced firefighting trade; they
are confident that graduating
from Schenck’s program will
open up career opportunities.
Schenck’s advanced fire program graduates an average of
18 students each year and the
program has close to a 100%
employment placement rate
with federal and state governments, and private entities.
The summer of 1964 also saw
the passage of the Civil Rights
Act and the Wilderness Act. Addressing the students and
guests, Chief Tidwell noted the
changes that have occurred in
the past 50 years and reflected
that, “this is a moment in history, a time to reflect and celebrate, but also a time to dream
of what is next.”
Harpers Ferry Job Corps Center,
in partnership with The Corps
Network and the National Trust
for Historic Preservation, recently completed its first project as a
also have helped revitalize small
towns and isolated rural communities. Deputy Under Secretary Butch Blazer recalled the
positive effect when a Job Corps
Center was established on the
Mescalero Apache Reservation
in New Mexico where he grew
up. “We learned a lot, and it
USDA Natural Resources and Environment Deputy Under Secretary Butch Blazer greets Davidson River
Initial Attack crew member Nikisha Luke during the 50th anniversary celebration on September 17,
2014. Photo courtesy of USDA.
Chief Tom Tidwell points out an interesting detail on the wood map featuring the 28 Civilian Conservation
Centers to Daniel Stevenson, one of the Harpers Ferry Job Corps carpentry students who helped construct
the map, during the 50th anniversary celebration on September 17, 2014. Photo courtesy of USDA.
Job Corps National Director Tina J. Terrell presents U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell with a
Wilderness 50th Legacy Award on September 17, 2014. Collbran Job Corps designed and produced
500 of the awards . Meryl Harrell, Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary of Natural Resources and
Environment looks on. Photo courtesy of USDA.
(Back L to R) Justin Werner, Robert Matticks, Douglas Bingham, Jessica Cook, Tiffany Gottberg, and Shawna
Freed. (Front L to R) Bobby Winstead, Anthony Moul, Christopher Hughes, Tina Terrell, Arthur “Butch” Blazer,
Tom Tidwell, Meryl Harrell, Daniel Stevenson, Nikisha Luke, and Luis Duran. Photo courtesy of USDA.
Page 4
added to the diversity of our
community.”
The Economic Opportunity Act
assigned the Civilian Conservation Centers a unique conservation mission to “provide academic education and practical
training in work-based learning
to conserve, develop and manage, and enhance public natural
resources and recreation areas,
or to develop community projects in the public interest.”
To that end, just in the previous
two fiscal years, Forest Service
Job Corps students have contributed more than 500,000
hours of service work on public
lands. In turn, the program has
connected nearly 1,500 Job
Corps enrollees with training
opportunities in the 21st Century
Conservation Service Corps
(21CSC) which provides those
students career path federal
employment opportunities.
Utilizing the resources of Job
Corps Civilian Conservation Centers has been a cost-effective
method to complete worthwhile
conservation projects on national forests and grasslands that
otherwise would not receive the
necessary resources or manpower.
Reflecting on the significance of
the day’s gathering, National
Director Tina Terrell stated,
“After 50 years, it is all about
love of nature, love of the land,
and helping young folks.”
Within the Forest Service, Job
Corps most visibly honors the
agency’s mission “To care for
the land and serve people.”
On April 21, 2015,
Job Corps
students will return
to D.C. install new
benches in Rock
Creek Park and to
demonstrate their
vocational trades on
the Whitten Patio.
Harpers Ferry Job Corps Center Director Ralph
DiBattista is presented with a pumpkin grown in
the Collbran Job Corps Centers’ People’s Garden
during the Job Corps 50th anniversary celebration
on September 17, 2014. Photo courtesy of USDA.
Prominent in this USDA in Review video is the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Job Corps on Wednesday,
September 17, 2015 on the patio of the Jamie L. Whitten Building in Washington, D.C.
USDA Week In Review September 26 - YouTube
Chief Tom Tidwell congratulates Daniel Stevenson, one of the Harpers Ferry Job Corps carpentry students
who helped construct the wooden Job Corps map during the 50th anniversary celebration on September 17,
2014. Photo courtesy of USDA.
U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell chats with Davidson River Initial Attack crew member Luis Duran
and Harpers Ferry Job Corps Works Program Officer Shawn Miller. Photo courtesy of USDA.
(L to R) Collbran Job Corps students and staff: Justin Werner, Rebecca Showalter, Robert Matticks, USDA
Natural Resources and Environment Deputy Under Secretary Butch Blazer, Douglas Bingham, Caren Swales,
Jessica Cook, and Mary Kain. Photo courtesy of USDA.
Page 5
Davidson River Initial Attack crew members Nikisha Luke and Luis Duran explain the finer points of
using a pulaski, a special hand tool used in wildland firefighting that combines an axe and an adze in
one head and which is a versatile tool for constructing firebreaks. Photo courtesy of USDA.
(L to R) Harpers Ferry student Anthony Moul, Ass't. Fire Program Officer Jothan McGaughey, BCL
Anna Stead, students Daniel Stevenson, Christopher Hughes, and Bobby Winstead, Works Program
Officer Shawn Miller, and Center Director Ralph DiBattista pose in front of the wooden Job Corps
map constructed by the Center on September 17, 2014. Photo courtesy of Harpers Ferry Job Corps.
There’s a lot of fun going on at the table hosted by Harpers Ferry Job Corps. Photo courtesy of USDA.
Guests examine the beautiful produce grown in Collbran Job Corps’ People’s Garden during the 50th
anniversary celebration on September 17, 2014. (L to R) Collbran staff member Rebecca Showalter
and student Jessica Cook seated at table. Collbran Job Corps constructed the backpack scale in the
bottom left picture to celebrate the Wilderness 50th Anniversary. Photo courtesy of USDA.
Guests at the Job Corps 50th anniversary celebration had the opportunity to weigh their packs on one
of the wilderness scales during the 50th anniversary celebration on September 17, 2014. Photo
courtesy of Collbran Job Corps.
Timber Lake Job Corps student Tiffany Gottberg stands next to her winning anniversary poster contest
design based on the theme “Job Corps: 50 Years of Opportunity and Progress—Where You’re From
Isn’t Who You Are” on September 17, 2014. Photo courtesy of USDA.
Page 6
Job Corps Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act by Constructing Kiosks
Alicia D. Bennett, Public Affairs Specialist, Job Corps National Office
Collbran Job Corps students and staff join Grand Mesa Uncompaghre Gunnison Forest Supervisor
Scott Armentrout (center) to dedicate a kiosk constructed by students for the Blue Lakes Trailhead on
the Mt. Sneffels Wilderness on October 9, 2014. Photo courtesy of Bill Tiedje, Ouray County
Collbran and Trapper Creek Job
Corps Center students celebrated the 50th anniversary of
the Wilderness Act by constructing wilderness kiosks.
The Trapper Creek Center celebrated the installation and
dedication of its wilderness
kiosk at the Magruder Ranger
Station which stands between
the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness and the Frank ChurchRiver of No Return Wilderness
on October 5, 2014.
Grand Mesa Uncompaghre
Trapper Creek Carpentry students raise up their wilderness kiosk for a better view. Photo courtesy
Stephanie Israel.
Gunnison Forest Supervisor
Scott Armentrout, along with
Ouray District Ranger Tammy
Randall-Parker, Specialist Amanda Walker, and Ouray District
Recreation Staff Andrew Maher
joined Collbran Lead Carpentry
Instructor Tim Parlove and students Erik Gonzalez, Cory Cruz,
Brittany Gomez, and Derek Meyers to dedicate the Collbran Job
Corps kiosk for the Blue Lakes
Trailhead on the Mt. Sneffels
Wilderness on October 9, 2014.
“A wilderness, in contrast
with those areas where
man and his own works
dominate the landscape,
is hereby recognized as an
area where the ear and its
community of life are untrammeled by man, where
man himself is a visitor
who does not remain.”
—The Wilderness Act
Trapper Creek carpentry student Nick Saadi (L) receives assistance from painting student Alex Fridley
(L) in putting on finishing touches to Trapper Creek’s wilderness kiosk. Photo courtesy Stephanie Israel.
Trapper Creek students connect kiosk sections in
preparation to install it in the wilderness area of
the historic Magruder Ranger Station on October
5, 2014. Photo courtesy Stephanie Israel.
Trapper Creek students check to insure that the
kiosk sections are stable before raising it and
settling the posts into holes on October 5, 2014.
Photo courtesy Stephanie Israel.
Page 7
Job Corps Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act by Constructing Kiosks (continued from page 6)
“This wonderful complex here really speaks
to the Forest Service as
family. Not only in terms
of the length of its
history, but look at the
people and programs
that have been involved. There’s a lot of
ownership by a lot of
different people and it’s
a very, very special
place.”
--Mary Williams
Bitterroot National
Forest Historian
Trapper Creek students align the kiosk for installation in the wilderness area of the historic
Magruder Ranger Station on October 5, 2014.
Trapper Creek students stabilize the wilderness
kiosk as they set it into the ground in the wilderness area of the historic Magruder Ranger
Station on October 5, 2014. Photo courtesy
Stephanie Israel.
Trapper Creek students continue to stabilize the
kiosk in the wilderness area of the historic
Magruder Ranger Station on October 5, 2014.
The wilderness kiosk constructed by Trapper Creek Job Corps
was funded as a Wilderness
Partnership project with National Wilderness Stewardship
Alliance (NWSA), Selway- Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation,
U.S. Forest Service Region 1,
and the Bitterroot National
Forest.
“The intent of the project was
to bring the U.S. Forest Service
and the NWSA with other wilderness organizations together
to get something done that had
a legacy component,” stated
Selway-Bitterroot Frank Church
Foundation Executive Director
Sally Ferguson.
The wilderness kiosk project
was designed to introduce
young people and people of
diverse backgrounds to wilderness management principles,
enhance awareness of the
importance of stewardship to
national forests, showcase the
importance of stewardship to
wilderness, and celebrate the
50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act.
Weary but proud Trapper Creek Job Corps students pose in front of the kiosk they constructed for the wilderness area near the Magruder Ranger Station
which stands between the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness and the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. Forestry Conservation & Firefighting students
Eric Strom and Christopher Reid, Painting student Alex Fridley, Carpentry students Leah Frye-Wilson, Zach Muth, Nick Saadi and Riley Durfee. Photo
courtesy Stephanie Israel.
Page 8
Ouachita Job Corps Improves the Wolf Pen Gap All Terrain Vehicle Trail Complex
Roger Smith, Business Community Liaison, Ouachita Job Corps
The Mena-Oden Ranger District
has been working with community groups, trail clubs, and
agency partners to address
water quality issues at Wolf
Pen Gap All-Terrain Vehicle
(ATV) trail complex, near Mena,
AR. Improvements to the trail
complex as a result of this collaborative effort are on-going
as part of an Interim Management Plan for the area.
In May 2012, the Ouachita Job
Corps Center came on-board as
a new partner. The Center and
forest/district employees have
implemented an innovative
approach to mitigate sediment
and water quality issues at
stream crossings on ATV trails.
Interlocking concrete planks
are being used to get the
“Wheels Out of the Water” on
several priority stream crossings. “Improved water quality
and sediment reduction is the
goal” said District Ranger Tim
Oosterhous.
The newly formed partnership
with Ouachita Job Corps has
given local forest managers
another “tool in the toolbox” to
address the complex issue of
managing an ATV trail system
with an aquatic threatened
and endangered species downstream. Project highlights include:
• Four stream crossings completed
• Over 5,000 hours contributed by OJCC welding and masonry staff and students
• Local trail club has joined
the partnership and is contributing grant funds to the project
Ouachita Job Corps, Youth Conservation Corps, and Mena-Oden Ranger District employees relax for a
picture while building the "Wheels Out of the Water” stream crossings on the Wolf Pen Gap All Terrain
Vehicle Trail Complex on the Mena-Oden Ranger District. Photo courtesy of Ouachita Job Corps.
Ouachita Job Corps welding and masonry
students and staff have contributed 5,000
volunteer hours to the Wolf Pen Gap All-Terrain
Vehicle Trail Complex.
• A 10-person Youth Conservation Crew (YCC) assisted with
the installation of stream
crossings.
“Improved water quality
and sediment reduction is
the goal.”
Completed concrete plank stream crossing at
Wolf Pen Gap ATV trail complex. Photo
courtesy of Ouachita Job Corps.
—Tim Oosterhous
District Ranger
Ouachita Job Corps masonry students pour the first batch of concrete to create interlocking concrete
planks used to create "Wheels Out of the Water” stream crossings on the Wolf Pen Gap All Terrain
Vehicle Trail Complex on the Mena-Oden Ranger District. Photo courtesy of Ouachita Job Corps.
Ouachita welding students display the prototype form they designed to create the concrete plank
crossings for the "Wheels Out of the Water” stream crossings on the Wolf Pen Gap All Terrain Vehicle
Trail Complex on the Mena-Oden Ranger District. Photo courtesy of Ouachita Job Corps.
"Wheels Out of the Water” stream crossings plank built and signed by Ouachita Job Corps for the
Wolf Pen Gap All Terrain Vehicle Trail Complex on the Mena-Oden Ranger District. Photo courtesy of
Ouachita Job Corps.
Page 9
Jimmy Copeland Receives the Chief’s Honor Award for Cultural Transformation
Alicia D. Bennett, Public Affairs officer, Job Corps National Office
Schenck Job Corps Academic Manager Jimmy
Copeland. Photo courtesy of Jimmy Copeland.
On December 15, 2014, USDA
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack presented Schenck Job
Corps’ Academic Manager Jim
Copeland with the USDA Honor
Award for Cultural Transformation for his “Bridging Opportunities for Career Growth for
America’s Youth” project. Prior
to receiving this award,
Copeland also received the
Chief’s Honor Award for Cultural
Transformation, the highest
level of recognition in the U.S.
Forest Service, and the Region 8
Regional Forester’s award for
Partners and Community earlier
in the year.
“I was quite elated and surprised to receive such an honor,” reflected Copeland. The
award recognized Copeland for
his “innovative and passionate
work helping Job Corps students
gain federal employment,” enhancing programs by providing
technical training, and by building communication bridges between Job Corps and other
agencies that will connect qualified, diverse job candidates with
federal job opportunities.
Copeland has a long track record of successful collaborations,
including his most recent work
to establish an overarching
Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) between the Southern
Research Station, the National
Forests of North Carolina and the
three Job Corps Centers in North
Carolina--Lyndon B. Johnson
(LBJ), Oconaluftee, and Schenck-that will provide employment
opportunities to Job Corps students using the Public Lands
Corps hiring authority.
“Sometimes you have to do
something no one else has done
to become something no one
else has ever been,” states
Copeland.
In the world of work, the expectation of new employees to figuratively “hit the ground running”
can resonate as tired and predictable; however, when
Copeland joined the staff of the
Schenck Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center as Academic
Manager in late 2009, he not
only hit the ground running but
launched into a sprint.
and surmounted obstacles to
secure new and successful partnerships with a range of community organizations, including Blue
Ridge Community College, North
Carolina State School Board, and
AmeriCorps NCCC.
Copeland earned a M.Ed. Masters of Secondary Education from
Texas A&M University. He has
always wanted to make a different in the lives of young people.
“I have always wanted to be a
teacher. In high school, I was a
member of the Future Teachers
of America,” states Copeland. “I
loved being a mentor and assisting others in their learning goals.
As a Licensed Special Education
Teacher, I found that everyone
learns differently. People just
need time, patience, and opportunity.”
Although the Southern Research
(L to R) Forest Service Region 8 Deputy Regional Forester Ken Arney and Schenck Job Corps
Academic Manager Jimmy Copeland. Photo courtesy of Forest Service Region 8.
Copeland came on-board with
the belief that “every student
counts,” and not only has he
guided Schenk’s academic department to consistently ranking
in the top 10 of 124 Job Corps
Centers over the past three
years, he also has spearheaded
Station wanted to hire Job Corps
students using the 2012 Pathways Program, Job Corps’ program administration did not
align with the eligibility requirements in this hiring authority.
Recognizing the limitations of
Pathways to place his students,
“Jim is tireless,” says Center
Director Tammy Wentland.
“He takes the necessary
steps to achieve a goal and
is not stymied by perceived
barriers or obstacles; he just
digs in and finds resolution
to those challenges and
gets the job done!”
—Tammy Wentland
Schenck Job Corps
Center Director
Copeland constructed an MOU,
based on using the Public Lands
Corps hiring authority, to provide
Job Corps students an alternative route to federal employment.
“Jim is tireless,” says Center
Director Tammy Wentland. “He
takes the necessary steps to
achieve a goal and is not stymied by perceived barriers or
obstacles; he just digs in and
finds resolution to those challenges and gets the job done!”
Copeland’s energy and efforts
not only benefit Schenck, but
also the Oconaluftee and LBJ
JCCCCs and in the near future
all 28 Forest Service Job Corps
Centers.
Copeland’s talents to recognize
and correct obstacles facing Job
Corps students seeking federal
careers was first displayed when
he spearheaded a partnership
with AmeriCorps NCCC. That
partnership allowed students to
perform community service to
earn money for college. This
collaboration was so successful
that Schenck Job Corps has led
the nation in educational placements. Copeland also reached
out to AmeriCorps: Senior Corps
to craft an MOU to provide critical tutoring, mentoring, and
social skills services in danger
of being cut because of staff
downsizing.
Page 10
Jimmy Copeland Receives the Chief’s Honor Award for Cultural Transformation (continued from page 9)
Alicia D. Bennett, Public Affairs officer, Job Corps National Office
Uwharrie National Forest. His
efforts led to a student successfully competing for a position as
a wildland firefighter.
Jimmy Copeland congratulates Michael
Mashburn at Schenck Job Corps graduation
ceremonies. Photo courtesy of Schenck Job
Corps.
With a talent for recognizing and
correcting obstacles in students’
paths, Copeland joined the National Forest Systems Civil
Rights Committee. Copeland
was concerned that Job Corps
students lacked the funds to
pay for food and supplies when
working on Public Lands Corps
projects on remote national
forests. He successfully proposed that the committee
should provide financial support
for students working on the
“We are not just training students, but investing and impacting the lives of people who will
be tasked in the future with the
maintenance and stewardship
of the conservation of our National Forests and Grasslands,”
states Copeland. Copeland’s
track record of breaking down
barriers to youth employment
has assisted the agency with
meeting the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps goals of
the Chief of the Forest Service.
All of our students have a story
to tell. All we have to do is take
the time to listen. What makes
Schenck a great center is that
we take time to listen. Our students are our customers.”
Throughout the first nine
months of 2014, Copeland completed his Middle Leader training and a training practicum
120 day detail while continuing
to oversee Schenk’s academic
department. The department
“All of our students
have a story to tell. All
we have to do is take
the time to listen. What
makes Schenck a great
center is that we take
time to listen. Our
students are our
customers.”
126 Job Corps Centers nationwide.
Copeland is proud of the strong
leadership and teamwork the
education staff exhibited during
his absence. “We have a strong
staff full of leaders, high performers, and innovators. I believe iron sharpens iron; it may
be uncomfortable at times, but
it is a key to significant growth.”
finished its 2013 program year
amongst the top ten Centers in
the country. Out of 125 Job
Corps Centers, Schenck was
rated number one in literacy and
number 6 in numeracy in PY13;
in PY14 the center was rated
number 2 in literacy and number seven in numeracy in PY14.
Copeland has begun envisioning
his future career path in the
Forest Service. “In the next 10
years I will seek opportunities to
serve as a District Ranger, Civil
Rights Specialist, and in other
land management capacities,”
he says. “My long term goal is to
reach the level of SES--I will
either be the Director of Conservation Education, National Director of Job Corps, or a Social
Scientist. Needless to say, I
have a lot of work in front of
me,” he laughingly adds.
At the end of December 2014,
Schenck Job Corps ranked first
amongst the Civilian Conservation Centers and fourth out of
Copeland’s ambitions are large,
but looking at his track record, it
is easy to imagine that Copeland
aspirations will be realized.
—Jimmy Copeland
Schenck Job Corps
Academic Manager
Short Takes from the World of Civilian Conservation Centers
Angell Job Corps Urban Forestry students
partnered with the Siuslaw National Forest
and U.S. Forest Service State & Private Forestry Office to perform 7,560 volunteer hours
on ecosystem management, rehabilitation,
heritage resources, heritage facility maintenance, campground and trail maintenance
projects in 2014. These volunteer hours are
valued at $302,400.
Chee Jarating and Isaiah Yezzie listen to Hans Schweitzer at a brunch that included Trapper Creek electrical
students and residents of Sapphire Homes. As a decorated soldier, retired engineer for Boeing and world
traveler Schweitzer has much to offer students. Photo courtesy of The Ravalli Republic.
Page 11
Angell Job Corps Honors Sergeant Major Scott Davis and Say Good-Bye
Brady Endicott, Dorm Manager, Angell Job Corps
While undergoing a routine
medical exam prior to his platoon’s deployment to the Kandahar Province in Afghanistan,
Scott became aware of a heart
valve medical problem.
Sergeant Major Scott Davis. Photo courtesy of
Angell Job Corps.
Angell Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center lost a dear friend
and coworker, Sergeant Major
Scott Davis on July 13, 2014,
from complications from heart
surgery. Scott worked in the
Angell Job Corps Residential
Living department as a dorm
manager before taking the position as the Center’s duty driver.
Scott retired from the U.S. Army
in 2012, but he still served as a
Sergeant Major in the U.S. National Guard in Platoon 2/162
Alpha Company after joining the
staff of Angell Job Corps.
Scott was loved by the students
he served at Angell Job Corps;
the students had a lot of affection and respect for Scott and
wanted to honor his memory.
“Scott had a huge influence on
my entering the Army after Job
Corps. He took his time to explain the opportunities the Army
had to offer and guidance on a
career field. I only have one
credit left to complete my GED
and have already completed my
trade,” stated Angell student
Jorge Garcia. “I’m scheduled to
follow in Scott’s footsteps as
soon as I complete my education. Since Scott’s passing I have
been more determined than ever
to serve my Country in his honor.”
Scott’s platoon was deployed
in August 2014, just after his
death. The platoon served in
Afghanistan over the Christmas
holiday and the earliest they
will return to the United States
is late summer in 2015.
With Scott sick, another Commander was placed in charge
of Platoon 2/162 Alpha Company, which weighed heavily on
Scott.
“I’m scheduled to follow in Scott’s footsteps
as soon as I complete
my education at Angell
Job Corps. Since
Scott’s passing I have
been more determined
than ever to serve my
Country in his honor”
—Jorge Garcia
Angell Job Corps
Student
Angell students, staff and family members honor Sergeant Major Scott Davis and Pay it Forward. Photo
courtesy of Angell Job Corps.
Angell student Candelario Mendoza donated a new basketball
that was signed by every Angell
Job Corps student and staff
member to include with the
cards and gift baskets.
“Scott would have wanted
something done for his men and
I’m proud of the work our students did,” stated Dorm Manager Brady Endicott. Scott’s wife,
Sheila and his daughter McKenzie participated in preparing the
cards and gift baskets.
The Angell Job Corps family was
extremely happy to be able to
send gifts across the world to
honor one of its own.
Angell Job Corps Facts
Students: 160
Vocational Trades:








Culinary Arts
General Service
Technology
Union Bricklaying
Union Carpentry
Union Painting
Union Plumbing
Urban Forestry
Welding
In Scott’s honor, the students at
Angell made cards and gift baskets for all 100 members of
Platoon 2/162 Alpha Company
who served under Scott.
The students’ goal was to make
100 cards and gifts; however,
with tremendous efforts by Angell students, the Center was
able to make 137 baskets.
Angell Job Corps students, staff, and family members make cards and gift baskets for National Guard
Platoon 2/162 Alpha Company. Photo courtesy of Angell Job Corps.
Page 12
Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Fire, Forestry Program Exceeds Expectations
Civilian Conservation Center
Fire Program Facts
Collbran Job Corps firefighters attend a briefing while on the Thompson River Fire Complex on the Lolo
National Forest in August 2014. Photo courtesy of Collbran Job Corps.
Maybe the best word to describe the Job Corps Civilian
Conservation Center (JCCCC)
2014 fire season is “Wow!”
Two thousand three hundred
and sixty eight Job Corps students worked a total of 1,987
days and contributed 160,327
hours on wildfire and prescribed
fire assignments --surpassing
the 124,009 hours worked on
2013 assignments and despite
a slow fire season. Eleven
JCCCCs participating in Hazardous fuels reduction projects
spent 19,393 hours treating
57,276 acres, 53,222 of those
Blackwell Job Corps firefighter Michael Mason
clears brush and debris from the Northern
Research Station on October 29, 2014. Photo
courtesy of David Melancon.
acres in Wildland Urban Interface (WUI).
In less than two years since
Chief Tom Tidwell announced
the JCCCC and Fire and Aviation
Management (F&AM) partnership, the JCCCC program has
made great strides in reaching
its goal of having a Job Corps
Forest Assistant Fire Management Officer (JCFAFMO) at each
center, with over one-third of
the JCCCCs having a dedicated
AFMO on-board.
“I am extremely grateful that I
have this wonderful opportunity
to work with the Job Corps fire
program,” stated Fire Program
Coordinator Jane Eide. “The
program has far surpassed our
goals and this would not have
been possible without the outstanding partnerships the Centers have with the national forests.”
“I am very proud of the Job
Corps fire program,” stated
F&AM Director Tom Harbour at
the annual Job Corps fire program meeting in Sacramento,
California. “I built this program
in a way to sustain success and
my vision for the program is to

864 fire and camp crew
students red-carded

1,987 days worked

160,327 hours worked

19,393 hazardous fuels
reduction hours worked

57,276 WUI acres treated
train and hire graduates of the
highest caliber.”
The flagship Davidson River
Initial Attack Crew (DRIA) was
busy working nine wildfire and
44 prescribed fire assignments
in Florida, Georgia, Virginia,
Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama,
North Carolina and Texas between January 15 and April 31,
2014. The crew spent a total of
77 days on incident assignments covering 686 wildfire
acres and 46,653 prescribed
fire acres and 40 days on hazardous fuels preparation and
project work. By mid-May, the
crew had shut down for the year
and spent the summer months
on training assignments, single
resource assignments and
preparation for the arrival of a
new crew.
The Weber Basin fire crew may
not have been as busy as DRIA,
but it had another year of
“firsts” for the Job Corps fire
program when it added a Type
4 Engine from the UintaWasatch-Cache National Forest
to its resources on-center. The
Weber Basin and UintaWasatch-Cache Engine and
Initial Attack (IA) module responded to 10 requests for a
total of 112 days of forest account work, initial/extended
attack fires, severity requests
and support functions.
Fire is not the sole accomplishment of Center fire teams. Although not reflected in JCCCC
fire numbers, Centers also contribute significant hours on
natural resource conservation
projects that improve the health
of national forests and grasslands that would otherwise not
be accomplished.
The Boxelder fire crew worked
on a number of such unique
and interesting projects. For
two days in July, Boxelder Job
Corps’ Type II firefighting crew
Boxelder Job Corps Type II firefighting crew members remove the invasive common buckthorn to
protect bio-diversity within the Dugout Gulch botanical area on the Bearlodge Ranger District, Black
Hills National Forest. Photo courtesy of Boxelder Job Corps.
Page 13
Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Fire, Forestry Program Exceeds Expectations (continued from page 12)
completed a WUI project that
entailed cutting down thousands of Jack Pines that were
encroaching on Pageant Hill
and the Custer Disc Golf
Course in Custer, South Dakota.
Another example of the crew’s
efforts helping Black Hills National Forest protect biodiversity within the Dugout
Gulch botanical area on the
Bearlodge Ranger District by
removing the invasive common
buckthorn, which creates a
canopy that blocks light from
reaching through to understory
plant populations.
“This five acre project is the
beginning of a multiyear effort
to control buckthorn in the
botanical area,” stated Bearlodge Ranger District Botanist
Nick Drozda.
Another unique aspect of the
Boxelder JCCCC is that it is the
only Center with a mobile catering unit in the country. The
center is available to provide
food services to any incident
during the initial attack phase
or at any fire camp that has
less than 300 employees.
With its established Forestry
Conservation & Firefighting
trade and newly appointed
AFMO, the Trapper Creek Job
Corps fire program is looking to
make its mark and has an
evolving partnership with the
Bitterroot National Forest.
Trapper Creek’s fire and camp
crews racked up 21,417 hours
on 24 assignments with an
appraised value of
$149,089.60. Three thousand
one hundred and eighty seven
of those hours were spent on
conservation projects, including planting 5,000 saplings on
the West Fork Ranger District,
and slashing, piling, burning,
and road closures over 75
acres on the Darby Ranger
“I built this program in a
way to sustain success
and my vision for the program is to train and hire
graduates of the highest
caliber.”
—Tom Harbour
U.S. Forest Service
F&AM Director
District on the Bitterroot National
Forest.
In November, the Blackwell
JCCCC helped the Northern Research Station conduct a hazardous fuels reduction project to
help meet many of its goals, including implementation of national and regional wildfire cohesive
strategy plan and the removal of
hazard fuels.
“Officially, it was a fuels reduction
project,” stated team leader Lee
Jensen, Chequamegon-Nicolet
National Forest assistant fire
management officer and the
Blackwell’s fire instructor. “We
removed hazardous fuels from
around buildings—especially near
critical entranceways.” Valuable
lessons were built into the pro-
ject, including hands-on training
of safety, leadership training
and team building according to
Jensen.
The JCCCC and AF&M partnership is heading into its third
year. In 2015, Jacobs Creek,
Lyndon B. Johnson, and Oconaluftee JCCCC fire programs
will begin; by year five of the
partnership, every Forest Service Job Corps Center will be
able to support all-hazard emergencies, hazardous fuels and
forest health programs nationwide.
With a fully implemented program, Civilian Conservation Centers will have the capacity to
dispatch over 800 firefighter
Type II qualified students
nationwide for any type of
service needed by the national forests and grasslands.
In looking forward to what to
expect from the 2015 fire
season, Eide stated, “Our
vision for FY15 is that, at a
minimum, we have five additional centers online and we
continue to exceed our previous year’s numbers in students trained and students
on fire assignments.” Based
upon the fire programs initial
two years, there is little doubt
that this vision will materialize.
The Weber Basin and Northern Utah fire Crew gather for a photo opportunity off the line off the Whiskey
Fire, Boise National Forest in August 2014. Photo courtesy of Ryan McFarland.
By year five of the partnership between Job
Corps and the Washington fire staff, every Forest Service Job Corps
Center will be able to
support all-hazard
emergencies, hazardous fuels and forest
health programs nationwide
Members of Weber Basin Job Corps Engine and
Initial Attack Module. Photo courtesy of Ryan
McFarland.
Flatwoods Job Corp Lonesome Pine Fire Crew
work hard during physical training. Photo
courtesy of Chris Barker.
Page 14
Calendar Year 2014 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Fire Assignments by Center
Oconaluftee firefighting students light
controlled burns to reduce hazardous fuels.
Photo courtesy of Oconaluftee Job Corps.
Centennial Job Corps Civilian Conservation
Center firefighting crew. Photo courtesy of
Centennial Job Corps.
Wolf Creek Job Corps Civilian Conservation
Center firefighting crew. Photo courtesy of Wolf
Creek Job Corps.
Centennial Job Corps’ Crew 8 functions as a Type II Initial Attack (IA) hand crew. The crew is comprised of eight students and one staff member. The eight
students are combined with two Boise National Forest six person IA crews. Crew 41 from Cascade Ranger District and Crew 11 from Mountain Home are
embedded into Crew 8 to make a 20 person Type II IA hand crew. Photo courtesy of Mike Towers.
Timber Lake Job Corps Civilian Conservation
Center firefighting crew. Photo courtesy of
Timber Lake Job Corps.
Page 15
Wolf Creek Job Corps’ Public Lands Corps Projects Demonstrate JCCCC’s Value to Public Lands
Cyndi Szymanski, Natural Resource Liaison, Job Corps National Office
The 21st Conservation Service
Corps (21CSC) is an initiative to
engage young people and returning veterans to protect, restore, and enhance America's
Great Outdoors. These partnerships leverage experience and
expertise of existing Federal,
State, tribal, local and non-profit
conservation and youth corps,
and veterans' programs.
Forest Service Job Corps Civilian
Conservation Centers (JCCCC)
are substantial contributors to
this national initiative. Examining the participation of Wolf
Creek Job Corps Center, just one
of the 28 Forest Service Job
Corps Centers, demonstrates
the valuable contribution of
JCCCC students to federal lands.
Douglas County playground to
create an ADA compliant and
accessible play area for children
with disabilities. The combined
in-kind contribution for these
projects is $53,714.
Wolf Creek has preserved public
lands: Wolf Creek Job Corps
students fabricated heavy steel
gates for road closures on the
North Umpqua and Rogue RiverSiskiyou National Forests. Ten
students contributed 480 hours
of welding time and another 68
hours of painting and moving
gate components. The in-kind
contribution to the National
Forests is approximately
$10,824.
Wolf Creek has improved recreational access: Six Wolf Creek Job
Corps students spent 216 hours
fabricating Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible fire
rings for the Umpqua National
Forest. Under the supervision of
their instructors, these students
welded the rings from 12 inch
20 pound per foot channel iron.
Wolf Creek has repaired and
rebuilt campsites: Twelve Wolf
Creek Job Corps students contributed 960 hours restoring
150 picnic tables for the Department of Interior Bureau of
Land Management. Students
used new tools such as power
hand tools and forklifts for moving equipment on this project.
The valued contribution of their
effort is $21,648.
An additional 19 Wolf Creek
students laid concrete for a
These experiences and exposure to Federal lands also pro-
Wolf Creek Job Corps student Ethan Pennington with assembled parts for Americans With Disabilities
Act (ADA) accessible fire rings for the Umpqua National Forest. Photo courtesy of Sidney Lilienthal.
Wolf Creek Job Corps students (L to R) Richard Sandor, Tyler Bear, and Ethan Pennington stand by parts
fabricated to construct heavy steel gates for road closures on the North Umpqua and Rogue RiverSiskiyou National Forests. Photo courtesy of Sidney Lilienthal.
vide Job Corps students access
to career pathways in natural
and cultural resources, and environmental and other disciplines
in the federal and non-profit
sectors. In particular, the Public
Lands Corps Healthy Forests
and Restoration Act allows youth
who spend 640 hours working
on federal lands to receive noncompetitive hiring for entry level
positions. So far, two JCCCC
students have accepted career
positions with the U.S. Forest
Service and over 20 more are
likely this year.
Wolf Creek Job Corps student Ethan Pennington
with assembled parts for Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible fire rings for the
Umpqua National Forest. Photo courtesy of
Sidney Lilienthal.
Wolf Creek Job Corps student Tyler Bear checking his welds on Americans With Disabilities Act
(ADA) accessible fire rings grill tops for the
Umpqua National Forest. Photo courtesy of
Sidney Lilienthal
Page 16
My Testimony as a Public Lands Corps Graduate—Stephen Osborne
Stephen Osborne, Forestry Aide, Huron-Manistee National Forest
Forestry Aide Stephen Osborne
My name is Stephen Osborne. I
was born in Tucson, Arizona and
raised in Marana, Arizona. I have
always wanted to work in the
forest.
The forest has always been this
mystical place full of wonders
and excitement to me. Unfortunately, I was never the most ambitious kid. After graduating high
school and having a brief but
enlightening college experience I
joined the Job Corps program.
I started out in the plumbing
trade at the Tucson campus. I
wasn’t too sure what I wanted
to do then and perhaps I was a
little frightened about the prospect of too much change. However, close to graduating from
the program an urge began
overwhelming me. I felt ambition, I want to do something
more, something great! I began
looking at my options. That’s
when I discovered the forestry
program at Schenck Job Corps
Civilian Conservation Center.
After several months of attempting to get in, I finally got
accepted due to my persistence. I knew this is what I
wanted and wouldn’t let anything stop me from achieving it.
When I arrived in North Carolina
on the Pisgah National Forest I
was in awe! That moment I was
completely reassured that I
made the right choice.
The following months were
spent learning all the ins and
outs of the trade. I was completely immersed with every-
thing my instructor, Mickey
Beland, had to teach and
learned more than I could imagine and loved every minute of it!
In February of 2014, another
forestry student, Dante Sutton,
and I were sent to Oscoda, Michigan where we volunteered at
with the Huron Shores Ranger
District, part of Huron-Manistee
National Forest.
I fell in love with everything
about this event; the forest, the
community, my coworkers, but
most of all, the job itself. There’s
nothing quite like working in the
great outdoors doing a job you
respect. It felt great and still
does. After several months I
graduated from the program
and was unleashed into the real
world, where I began looking for
a job in the Forest Service. I was
especially interested in a timber
sales prep position available in
the district I had worked at,
which was basically the job I
was doing before.
Two days before Christmas I
“I fell in love with everything
about this event; the forest,
the community, my coworkers, but most of all, the job
itself. There’s nothing quite
like working in the great
outdoors doing a job you
respect. It felt great and still
does. After several months I
graduated from the program
and was unleashed into the
real world, where I began
looking for a job in the
Forest Service. “
—Stephen Osborne
Forestry Aide
received the job offer for the
timber sales prep position in
Oscoda. That was probably the
best day of my life. Now I sit in
office writing this bio and I
couldn’t be more happy thanks
to my instructor, Mickey
Beland, the Public Lands Corps
program and all the countless
others that helped me get here.
Trapper Creek Job Corps students, in collaboration with library
patrons paint the Stevensville library community room creating
long lasting benefits.
http://www.nbcmontana.com/news/job-corps-students-paintstevensville-library-community-room/30850662
Harpers Ferry Job Corps pays a visit to U.S. Senator Joe Manchin III (R-WV). (L to R) Students Ketrone
Sampson, Christian Duckett, Jonathan Parker , Brandon Carney, Kristin Moore, Senator Joe Manchin
III, BCL Anna Stead, and students Samuel McFadden, and Andre Linton. Photo courtesy of Anna Stead.
Angell Job Corps Urban Forestry students partnered with the Siuslaw National Forest and U.S. Forest Service State & Private Forestry Office to perform 7,560 volunteer hours on ecosystem management, rehabilitation, heritage resources, heritage facility
maintenance, campground and trail maintenance projects in
2014. These volunteer hours are valued at $302,400.
The Schenck Job Corps Student Government Association sponsored a fund drive that raised $130.00 for Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child to pay for the shipping costs of the thousands of donated shoe “care” boxes shipped around the globe.
Page 17
My Pine Ridge Job Corps Graduation Speech—Jacob Brown, Public Lands Corps Graduate
Jacob Brown, Visitor Information Specialist, Medicine Bow – Routt National Forest
were uncomfortable, as I was in
a culture shock and that is
where I was able to make progress to the point where I am
today.
Visitor Information Specialist Jacob Brown
To my fellow corpsmen and women, two and one-half years ago I
was going nowhere. Like many of
you I had so many options, very
few were viable, and fewer would
lead me along a good path. Then
with a push from my family
(mostly my mom for whom I owe
the origins to my success), we
went to a meeting for information
about Job Corps.
After applying and earning the
opportunity, I got ready to attend
the Pine Ridge Job Corps Center
in Chadron, Nebraska. This is the
farthest I have ever been from
home, and now I have gone even
further to Walden, Colorado on
the Parks Ranger District.
The night before I left for Pine
Ridge Job Corps I had a panic
attack. The next morning I did not
really want to go, and again it
was my mom encouraging me
towards the success I know today. I was way out of my comfort
zone. Those first days at Job
Corps and for the first two weeks
I have completed the Office
Administration trade. Despite in
the beginning I didn’t think I
could do it, but I stayed with it,
with a little encouragement
from Mrs. Hooker. I have experienced many opportunities in
my time at Pine Ridge, from
working in many of the offices
across the campus to learning
many different job skills. I have
met a lot of interesting people
In 2014, Brown
contributed 1,360 total hours and 200
hours in certified
Public Lands Corps
projects.
during my stay at Job Corps,
and I have taken their perspective and incorporated it in my
own. I never really wanted to
quit or leave Job Corps before I
accomplished my goal of making myself a better person, and
at this point, I am happy to say
that I have completed and even
surpassed that goal I made on
January 22, 2013, which lead to
my opportunities in the Public
Lands Corps program, where I
was given a chance to begin
stepping towards a long career
with the U.S. Forest Service on
the Parks Ranger District in Walden, Colorado as a visitor information specialist.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Franklin, Mrs.
Eitemiller, Mrs. Hooker, Jason
Brey and Hutson Vann, along
with many others at Pine Ridge
and the Medicine Bow–Routt
National Forest for all their hard
work in getting me to this opportunity I have been graced with.
Although most of the folks that
entered Job Corps at the same
time either left the program
early or graduated before me, I
will say this if you are ever thinking of quitting, or have doubts
about being able to finish the
program, please reconsider.
You never know what opportunity is just waiting around the corner in your near future.
Now, I am glad that I am finally
here on this stage, having read
this speech to inspire the next
group of successful Pine Ridge
Job Corps students.
• Public Lands Corps (PLC)
Act of 1993 authorizes the
Forest Service to provide
community and national
service, work experience and
training to young men and
women who are low-income,
unemployed, or underemployed persons on public
lands.
• Youth must be between 16
-25 years of age
• Work experiences are a
minimum of 640 hours supporting activities under the
Healthy Forest
Recreation Act
• Upon completion youth are
eligible for non-competitive
Federal hiring
• 20 PLC agreements exist
between JCCCC and the NFS
 In 2014, two JCCCC
students have been hired
and 13 more are in process
• For more information,
contact Cyndi Szymanski,
Job Corps National Office
Natural Resource Liaison at
[email protected]
I will say this if you are ever
thinking of quitting, or have
doubts about being able to
finish the program, please
reconsider. You never know
what opportunity is just waiting
around the corner in your near
future.
—Jacob Brown,
Visitor Information Specialist
Visitor Information Specialist Jacob Brown (far left) having an awesome time working on trails in the Great Outdoors. Photo courtesy of the Medicine Bow—
Routt National Forest.
Page 18
Blackwell Job Corps Students Work to Gain Skills and Work Toward Futures
David Melancon, Public Affairs Specialist, Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest
April Tellez and Allen Mathers check the level on a roof mock up in the
Blackwell Job Corps Center’s carpentry shop on December 10, 2014.
Photo courtesy of Dave Melancon.
April Tellez found traditional
classwork unfulfilling and realized distractions in her Madison
community were keeping her
from meeting her personal goals.
“I was not happy sitting in a chair
all day and then going home and
doing more work when I can do
something physical,” she said.
“Back at home, I was so distracted, so worried about having fun
and just making a few dollars so I
could go out and have more fun.”
Just over six months ago, she
decided to do something about
her academic shortcomings and
the distractions. Acting upon a
friend’s advice, the 17-year-old
decided to become a carpenter
and enrolled in the Blackwell Job
Corps Civilian Conservation Center. Two weeks after enrolling,
she earned her high school
equivalency diploma. “It was one
of the best things I ever did,” she
said while taking a break from
the center’s carpentry shop. “It
was work, work, work with no
breaks. I was dedicated.”
Blackwell offers training in office
automation, carpentry, construction crafts, health occupations,
masonry and welding. Additionally, students can earn their high
Antonio Searles was a member of a four-man team of Blackwell student-firefighters who traveled to the Northern Research
Station Institute for Applied Ecosystem Studies on October 29,
2014, on a hazardous fuels reduction project. Students
cleared brush and removed fallen trees making the building
less susceptible to a wildfire. Photo courtesy of Dave Melan-
school diplomas either through
a partnership with a local high
school, online or through General Educational Development
(GED) or High School Equivalency testing.
Tellez said she found her Blackwell “home” in the center’s carpentry shop. “I always liked
hands-on projects. I like working
hard and I can see it (my work)
build up as I go,” she said. “I
really enjoy the carpentry trade,
so I hope to still be working within the trade (in the future). Within this trade, the opportunities
are endless.”
Tellez graduated from Blackwell
in December. But, she has to
wait until she is 18 years old to
qualify for a union job placement. In addition to her classwork, Tellez worked with the
Blackwell staff to develop her
resume, cover letters and job
interview skills. “I feel very prepared,” she said.
Once she begins her career in
the Madison area, Tellez said
she will begin training for her
journeyman’s status and will
specialize in a skill such as roofing, possibly becoming a fore-
Blackwell student Kyle Wood struggles through some leg lifts
during a physical fitness training session at Blackwell Job
Corps on December 10, 2014. Students participating in the
Center’s wildland firefighting program get together three
times a week to increase their personal fitness and to grow
together as a team. Photo courtesy of Dave Melancon.
man in that specialty. “Blackwell
has shown me how to become
focused. Since I got here I realized it is not about now, it is
about later.”
In addition to its workshops and
classrooms, the 25-acre Blackwell campus features a wellness
center, dining facility, counseling services, a student-run bank,
a computer lab and entertainment areas located in its dormitories and campus recreation
center where students can work
out, play basketball, challenge
each other to a game of pool, or
just relax and watch a movie.
Blackwell, which celebrates its
50th anniversary in November,
plans to schedule an open
house, sometime this summer,
according to guidance counselor
Lorie Almazan.
Antonio Searles, 21, said he
enrolled at Blackwell because
he wants to stay busy and positive. Searles said he considered
enrolling in college near his
native Detroit but there were
obstacles in his way: no driver’s
license, no money for tuition
and living expenses. And, he did
not know what to study. “So,
why waste a couple of grand in
college – that’s why I came
here,” he said. “They teach lots
of hands-on (skills), how to get
along with people from other
cultures. You get a trade, you
get a license, you get a job and
you get paid.”
Searles is enrolled in the Construction Crafts and Laborer
training program, known as CCL
on campus. He spends his day
learning how to safely use hand
tools, drive a forklift, erect and
secure scaffolding, pour concrete, understand OSHA rules
and learn jobsite first aid. “It’s a
nice trade. There’s lots of hard
work that keeps me busy. I like
to keep working,” he said, adding, “That’s also why I like
wildland firefighting. That keeps
me busy.”
In addition to his work in the
CCL trades, Searles is one of
about 20 students enrolled in
the school’s wildland firefighting
program. Earlier this year,
Searles deployed to Oregon for
two weeks to battle a wildfire
there and now serves as a team
leader. I never saw myself doing
it,” said Searles. “But now I like
it. It’s a lot of hard work but it
pays off.”
Page 19
Blackwell Job Corps Students Work to Gain Skills and Work Toward Futures (continued from page 18)
David Melancon, Public Affairs Specialist, Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest
“It was one of the best
things I ever did. It was
work, work, work with no
breaks. I was dedicated.”
—April Tellez
Carpentry Student
Searles, who enrolled at Blackwell in January 2014, said he
plans to graduate this spring
and plans on starting his career
in the Milwaukee area. There is
a possibility of making firefighting a career but for now he
will rely on his CCL training, he
said. “I would recommend coming here,” he said. “Job Corps is
a good place. It will open a lot
of doors for you. If you come
here with your mind set right,
and come and do what you
came here to do, then the doors
will start opening.”
“I was not doing anything at
home — basically sitting around,
wasting time,” said Kyle Wood.
“I dropped out of school in the
10th grade so I needed a program that offered me the opportunity to gain my high school
“It’s a nice trade. There’s
lots of hard work that
keeps me busy. “
—Antonio Searles
Construction Crafts
Laborer Student
“Whatever opportunities
jump in front of me first,
then I’ll dive in—go for it.”
—Kyle Wood
Carpentry Student
diploma.” So on his stepmother’s advice, Wood, 22,
enrolled into Blackwell’s carpentry and wildland firefighting
programs in December 2013.
Wood said he is tackling his
coursework one class at a time.
But there is more to it than just
a passing grade. “It is easy to
pass the tests, but it is also
important to understand the
subjects,” he said.
Wood is working toward his
carpentry, scaffolding, forklift
operator’s, OSHA and “green
building” certificates, his
wildland firefighting “Red” qualifications card and his high
school diploma. “You can’t just
rely on one certain career. You
got to have several different
ones in case one falls short or
they are not hiring.”
Blackwell Job Corps
serves approximately
160 students. The Center
celebrates its 50th
anniversary in November
2015.
New York Times Best Selling Author Stedman Graham Advocates for Job Corps
Clara Johnson, Job Corps Liaison, Region 8/9
Graham grew up in Whitesboro, New Jersey – an all African
-American community situated in the midst of an affluent
resort region in southern New
Jersey. He remembers well
the oft-uttered phrase about
his home town that “Nothing
good ever comes out of
Whitesboro.”
town that “Nothing good ever
comes out of Whitesboro.” His
two youngest brothers were
born with developmental disabilities and he was often harassed. Also, it proved difficult
growing up in his small community as a faired-skin black man.
That painful childhood took a
toll and Graham says he spent
way too much time and energy
trying to prove to others and to
himself that he was more than
his circumstances.
In 2008, Forest Service Job
Corps Liaison Clara Johnson,
who retired in December 2014,
partnered with Stedman Graham, New York Times BestSelling Author and CEO and
Chairman of S. Graham & Associates, to build awareness
about the Job Corps program.
faced by today’s youth. Johnson
recognized that if Job Corps students were to pursue a career in
the Forest Service, they had to
be willing to take on challenges,
develop a strong identity, and
find role models to help them
achieve their dreams.
Graham is a long-time advocate
and supporter of Job Corps and
his work with the program
spans more than a decade. His
powerful personal journey resonates with the many challenges
Graham grew up in Whitesboro,
New Jersey – an all AfricanAmerican community situated in
the midst of an affluent resort
region in southern New Jersey.
He remembers well the oftuttered phrase about his home
“Stedman has a powerful message about how to create a
strong identity, the importance
of believing in yourself, and
having the grit to press through
any challenge. This message is
what I believe our young people
need to hear, especially from
someone who has walked in
similar shoes,” states Johnson.
Stedman Graham speaks to Golconda Job
Corps Center students on the Nine-Step Success Process. Photo courtesy of Clara Johnson.
In 2012, Graham spoke to
more than 200 students at
Golconda Job Corps, sharing
his Nine-Step Success Process,
a learning management system
designed to organize one’s life
around one’s identity. Graham
toured the Center and met oneon-one with the students to
listen to their dreams and to
encourage them.
In August 2014, Graham was
the featured speaker for the
Blackwell Job Corps Center’s
50th anniversary celebration.
After sharing the same message of hope and self-worth, he
announced that he would return
to Blackwell in June of 2015 to
kick off a partnership between
the Forest Service, Forest Service Job Corps Centers, and the
National Professional Anglers
Association. Graham will engage in a hands-on fishing clinic
with the Blackwell students to
encourage them to pursue a
career in natural resources.
Graham summed up his experiences at the Civilian Conservation Centers by stating, “I love
Job Corps. It’s a great program.
I want to do everything I can to
help these young people reach
their dream.”
Page 20
Ready for the Gardening Season
Bonnie Fuller, Principle Teacher, Boxelder Job Corps
The mission of the Seed
Savers Exchange is to help
save North America’s diverse,
but endangered, garden
heritage for future generations by building a network of
people committed to collecting, saving and sharing heirloom seeds and plants, while
educating people about the
value of genetic and cultural
diversity.
(L to R) Boxelder Job Corps staff members Rae Rowell and Michelle Crane and students Okony Oballa
and Ashiro Ashkaba hold the seeds obtained from seed Savers Exchange on January 26, 2015. Photo
courtesy of Bonnie Fuller.
Boxelder students and staff are
looking forward to this year’s
gardening season. The math
and science department is working hard to integrate gardening
activities into education and our
Healthy Eating Activities Lifestyle
(HEALS) program. This quarter
they will focus on seed germination and composting.
Boxelder’s Science Teacher
Michelle Crane did some research and he was able to procure a box of 36 different seed
packets from the Seed Saver’s
Exchange.
The mission of the Seed Savers
Exchange is to help save North
America’s diverse, but endangered, garden heritage for future generations by building a
network of people committed to
collecting, saving and sharing
heirloom seeds and plants,
while educating people about
the value of genetic and cultural diversity. All the Seed Saver’s
Exchange asks in exchange is
for the seeds are that we pass on
our seed harvest.
These seeds will be part of the
biology labs in education. Students will study cells, genetics,
cell division, ecology, and plant
reproduction. Students will learn
about plants scientific names,
pollination purity, and the difference between fruits that are
market mature compared to
seed mature. Paying attention to
healthy eating and garden activity will also be part of the gardening season this year.
Seeds will only do as well as the
soil they are planted in. Box-
elder’s Math Instructor Rae
Rowell, Boxelder’s will be using
the information gathered from
last year’s soil enrichment experiments to enhance the soil in
both the garden and greenhouse. Rowell and Boxelders’
Cook Supervisor Tamera
Leveque are working together to
use the kitchen’s earth tub composters to reuse materials to
enrich the soil.
In March, the math and facility
maintenance students will tour
the Rapid City compost center.
There they will learn about volume (cubic tons and cubic
yards), standard units, conversions, estimations, particle size
and surface area. The visit will
include some scientific information, such as, microbe interactions, microbial activity, and
the life cycle of microbes.
A big thanks to these two teachers for finding a way to make
education applicable to everyday activities. The time and effort they have put into the Big
Green Garden and Greenhouse
program will help create a new
generation of gardeners.
Bitter Root Backcountry Horsemen Call Upon Trapper Creek Job Corps
The talent and workmanship of
Trapper Creek Job Corps students is recognized by and
tapped often by the communities surrounding Darby, Montana. National forest staff and
residents know that Trapper
Creek staff and students can
be relied upon for expert
knowledge, advice and good
results when called upon for
assistance with a challenging
project. So it is no surprise that,
after receiving a $12,000 grant
from the Ravalli County Resource Committee, the Bitter
Root Backcountry Horsemen
(BRBH) made a beeline to the
Trapper Creek Job Corps to
discuss their vision of adding four
new campsites to the Bitterroot
National Forest’s Sam Billings
Campground. Trapper Creek welding instructors and students enthusiastically offered their skills to
build hitching racks, fire rings,
picnic table frames. The first
camp, constructed by 25 volunteers in October 2014, features a
high line that will keep horses
safe while they are tethered at the
camp. The Trapper Creek students
built tall metal posts at the camp
so that the BRBH members can
attach a cable and chains ending
with a swivel ring that visitors can
use to tie up horses.
Bitter Root Backcountry Horsemen members set one of the new hitching rails into concrete. About
25 volunteers from the group helped build a new horse camp at the Sam Billings Campground in the
West Fork of the Bitterroot. Photo courtesy of The Ravalli Republic.
Page 21
I Grew Up Under the Threat of Wildfires —Rising Star Brian Zimmerman
Clara Johnson, Job Corps Liaison, Forest Service Region 8/9
conducting surveys.
The job opportunities were limited for Brian in Bailey, Colorado.
After graduating from high
school Brian went to work for
the local deli and grocery store
where he stayed until he was 22
year old.
Fire Technician/Engine Operator Brian
Zimmerman. Photo courtesy of Clara Johnson.
The desire to be a firefighter had
stayed with him – he just didn’t
know how he was going to make
that happen. One day while talking with a friend, he learned that
the Trapper Creek Job Corps in
Montana had a great fire training program. In 2007, Brian
made the trek to Montana
where he got his first healthy
dose of fire training.
“It was exciting to be in the ac-
Brian Zimmerman is a proud, GS4 Fire Technician/Engine Operator on the Chequamegon-Nicolet
National Forest, Great Divide
Ranger District where he’s
worked as a permanent, full time
employee since 2009.
Zimmerman is no stranger to
wildland fires. Growing up in the
small mountain town of Bailey,
Colorado, he and his family were
evacuated three times in one
summer from the threat of nearby wildland fires. When he’s not
working on fires, Brian works with
the wildlife and silviculture staff
“If you are looking for a
better life, don’t get
down on yourself for the
mistakes you’ve made.
Learn from those
mistakes and keep
moving forward.”
—Brian Zimmerman
Fire Technician/
Engine Operator
tion,” says Brian. “That summer
my crew members and I saved
two bridges and kept the road
open by cutting and removing
trees from across the road.”
In April 2007, Zimmerman graduated from Trapper Creek and
transferred to the Schenck Job
Corps Center. There he completed the Advanced Wildland Fire
Program as a member of the
Davidson River Initial Attack
Crew.
Brian says he learned more than
just firefighting at Job Corps. He
said he “learned to be a leader”
and that he “gained the confidence to be a better person.”
Brian says there were people
who helped him all along the
way. Les Meyers, his first Job
Corps instructor, encouraged
and guided him. Christopher
Geidel, his current supervisor, is
very supportive and is a true
friend. Clara Johnson, Job Corps
Liaison, gave him personal and
professional tips and helped
him get a detail in the Regional
Office when he was laid off for
the summer. He said that experience “broadened his perspective” of the Forest Service and
taught him there’s much more
to the agency than just “boots
on the ground.”
As Brian makes plans for the
“Growing up, I saw wildland
firefighters keep our little
town of Bailey safe. At the
age of 12, I knew I was
made to fight fires. It was
already in my blood. I’m a
huge fan of Smokey Bear –
in fact I have a Smokey
tattoo on my right leg!”
—Brian Zimmerman
Fire Technician/
Engine Operator
next five years, he definitely
sees himself in the fire business. His preference would be
to work in Western Montana
“where the big fires are” and
where he can attain his qualifications as an IC-5 and eventually get promoted to Crew Boss.
He’s open to working for the
Department of the Interior’s
Bureau of Land Management or
National Park Service, but his
preference is to stay with the
Forest Service.
When asked about advice he
would give to other young people he says, “If you are looking
for a better life, don’t get down
on yourself for the mistakes
you’ve made. Learn from those
mistakes and keep moving forward.”
Steve Lenzo has been selected as a new Assistant National
Director of Job Corps. Lenzo was the Deputy Supervisor of
the Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands. Lenzo has
over 30 years of experience with the Forest Service and has
served in leadership positions in natural resource management in Nebraska, South Carolina, Washington, and Oregon. Steve has also worked in education, serving leadership
roles at Pine Ridge, Frenchburg, Curlew, and Timber Lake
Job Corps Centers.
Trapper Creek Job Corps Student Government Association hosted a bake sale and donated $429 to
Darby’s Bread Box on Thanksgiving Eve. Photo courtesy of The Ravalli Republic.
Page 22
From Miami City Boy to Western Wildland Firefighter—Rising Star Tavaris Evans
Evans has fought fires all over
the United States – from Alaska,
Oregon, North Carolina, Idaho,
Arizona, New Mexico, and even
in his home state of Florida.
“I spent 21 days fighting fires in
Idaho, camping out amongst the
starts, and sleeping on the
ground,” said Evans. “It just
makes me smile. Growing up in
the inner-city of Miami, I’d never
even truly experienced the outdoors before my career with the
Forest Service.”
Assistant Engine Operator Tavaris Evans. Photo
courtesy of Clara Johnson.
Tavaris Evans works as a GS-6
permanent, full time, Assistant
Engine Operator on the Cibola
National Forest in New Mexico.
Prior to that, he spent more than
seven years on the Hoosier and
Pisgah National Forests honing
his wildland firefighting skills.
Tavaris is a qualified Type 2 Firefighter, engine operator, sawyer,
and is a certified Incident Commander Type 5.
Tavaris shared that people are
surprised that he enjoys the
outdoors and wildland firefighting because they expect
“city-folk” to have little tolerance
or appreciation for the outdoors.
He said he can’t imagine himself
in another career. He loves what
he does.
Tavaris grew up in Liberty City –
a small neighborhood in the
heart of Miami, Florida. The
future for young African American men in that area was bleak.
Reports of gun-related violence
were a daily occurrence. At the
age of 16, Tavaris had dropped
out of high school. The year
2004 was a real turning point in
his life. He was living with his
grandfather, “doing nothing”
when his grandfather told him,
“You are going to be homeless if
you don’t’ get a job and finish
your education. You got to get
out of here.” “My grandfather’s
words jolted me to reality,” says
Evans. “I had passed by the
Miami Job Corps nearly every
day when I was hanging with my
friends. Well that day, I walked
in and signed up.”
After a year, Evans transferred
to the Lyndon B. Johnson Job
Corps Civilian Conservation Center where he earned his General
Equivalency Diploma. Next, he
enrolled in the Schenck Advanced Wildland Fire Program
where he earned his wildland
fire certification with the Davidson River Initial Attach Crew.
Tavaris shared that while he’s
benefited from the support and
advice of many mentors in the
Forest Service, the person who
has made the greatest impact
has been Clara Johnson, Forest
Service Job Corps Liaison. “She
helped me to secure my first job
as a student intern. Her support,
encouragement and advice are
what helped me to be where I
am today – a successful man
“I have learned
that if you want
to achieve your
dreams and
goals, then you
need to
embrace the
idea of “new”
and go for it.”
—Tavaris Evans
with a thriving career in the Forest Service. “I have learned that
if you want to achieve your
dreams and goals, then you
need to embrace the idea of
At Boxelder Job Corps, Worked Based Learning is a Hugh Success
Bonnie Fuller, Principle Teacher, Boxelder Job Corps
Boxelder Work-Based Learning student Pwey Doh stands proudly with his
supervisor Mike Runge, a member of the City of Deadwood’s Historical
Preservation Department. Photo courtesy of Boxelder Job Corps.
Pwey Doh and
Kajal Urwan
had a wonderful experience
working with
Mike Runge at
the City of
Deadwood’s
Historical
Preservation
Department.
They had the
opportunity to
catalog items
from the Chinese dig and
then transfer that information
into a computer database. Their
work enables people to immediately identify what is in the boxes.
Doh's favorite project was carefully gluing together a little Chinese bowl. The bowl was found
in pieces at a Deadwood archeological dig. Doh had to carefully
decide where the pieces fit,
apply glue, and then hold the
piece in place for about a minute and a half. “I was nervous I
would break it more,” he says
about the project. Thanks to
Doh's efforts, the bowl will soon
be on display at the Homestake
Adams Research and Cultural
Center.
The Work-Based Learning experience is a little different than
most. Although students are
putting their office administration training to work by filing
and cataloging items, they are
working with very delicate and
historic materials. Both Urwan
and Doh agreed it was a positive experience.
Page 23
Flatwoods Job Corps Civilian Conservation Rises to the Top, Saving the Lives of America’s Youth
Flatwoods Job Corps Facts
Students: 160
Vocational Trades:
 Electrical
 Office Administration
 Plumbing
 Union Carpentry
 Union Cement Masonry
 Union Painting
 Union Plastering
apparent across departments—
from academics to vocational
training to counseling. There is
a camaraderie and cohesiveness amongst the staff along
with a desire to help students
reach their potential. This commitment has been invaluable to
Marcus Britt, a 24 year old
business clerical student from
Norfolk, VA. “I would be dead or
in jail if I had not come to Flatwoods,” states Britt. “The staffs
talk to me every day on striving
towards bigger things. They
encourage me and let me know
Flatwoods students digs up the sidewalk in the town of Appalachia, Virginia. Photo courtesy of
Flatwoods Job Corps.
At the inception of the Civilian
Conservation Centers, Forest
Service leadership implemented a training program that emphasized the joint responsibility
of all center staff for operating
a successful center.
Every employee, down to cooks
and administrative clerks, were
accountable for teaching and
counseling Job Corps students
and monitoring student performance. In recent years, Flatwoods Job Corps, led by Center
Director David Scholes, has
resurrected this philosophy and
achieved remarkable results.
No matter what position a staff
member holds, whether he or
she has worked at the Center a
few months or over 20 years,
every employee can pull a transition report to determine an
individual student’s progress
and help move a student towards the ultimate goal of placing him or her in a well-paying,
career oriented job.
Flatwoods was ranked 118 out
of 125 Job Corps centers when
Scholes arrived. In PY12, the
Center gained enough ground
to move to a 105 percent rating
which moved the Center up to
spot 26 by May 2013. Today
Flatwoods is solidly performing
in the top 50 of all Job Corps
centers, at times moving all up
to number one. “I hold my staff
accountable and tell them keep
up with me,” states Scholes.
“Sometimes they are nervous
about trying something new.
They are like paratroopers up in
planes who are scared to jump
out the door. I am the one who
kicks them out of the plane.”
Center staff confirm Scholes’
management style is working.
“Mr. Scholes revamped the way
Center leadership does business, closely looking at our
budget, student scores and
behavior,” says Supervisory
Social Services Assistant Walt
Stuart, who has worked at Flatwoods for almost 19 years. “He
exhibits a quiet leadership that
emphasizes communication and
cooperation amongst employees
that takes in the marvelous
diversity of our staff. It does not
matter if you have a high school
diploma or a Master’s Degree;
staffs have to find common
ground within developed standards,” reflects Stuart.
This focus on students’ needs is
Approximately 75 Flatwoods Job Corps graduates are employed at Huntington Ingalls Industries
Newport News Shipbuilding. Photo courtesy of Flatwoods Job Corps.
Flatwoods Job Corps Lonesome Pine Fire Crew stand in front of Little Stoney Falls. Photo courtesy of
Chris Barker.
Page 24
Flatwoods Job Corps Civilian Conservation Rises to the Top, Saving the Lives of America’s Youth
(continued from page 23)
A particularly successful
partnership Tickles has
developed is with Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding. “I
had a graduate from the
Newport News area hired by
the shipyard. The hiring
manager liked him so much
that he called me and
asked me if I had any more
like him.”
“Before” picture of sidewalk in Appalachia,
Virginia before it was repaired by Flatwoods Job
Corps cement masonry students. Photo
courtesy of Flatwoods Job Corps.
“After” picture of sidewalk in Appalachia,
Virginia after Flatwoods Job Corps cement
masonry students poured new concrete. Photo
courtesy of Flatwoods Job Corps.
that I’m doing a good job. I’ve
become more humble and more
respectful towards others.”
The positive influence of these
changes is reflected in student
performance over the last three
program years--the overall average increase in Flatwoods GED/
HSD attainment is 27%.
Over 30% of Flatwoods’ students have a disability or need
some type of accommodation.
Principal Teacher Kim Wyrick,
who joined the Flatwoods staff
in 2009, initiated behavior intervention meetings for students
not demonstrating progress and
behavior meetings for student
receiving too many citations. “It
allows us to identify students
who need extra attention and
take them under our wing in a
more compassionate manner,”
says Wyrick.
“Every teacher is willing
to go above and beyond
to help a student,”
states Co-disability Instructor Adrienne Tarter.
But she adds, “We practice tough love--the staff
is not here to win a
popularity contest.”
—Adrienne Tarter
Disability Instructor
Early intervention regarding
behavioral issues allows staff to
catch and address students’
mental health challenges such
as homesickness and family
deaths. Each day the academic
staff report to the residential
department on events that happened during the day—they never just let anything go.
“Every teacher is willing to go
above and beyond to help a
student,” states Co-disability
Instructor Adrienne Tarter. But
she adds, “We practice tough
love--the staff is not here to win
a popularity contest.”
Twenty-three year old business
clerical student Laura Hanna
can testify to this approach. "If
you want to change your life and
are tired of getting in trouble,
Flatwoods is a great place to
come. I decided that life is too
short for all of the stupid things
I’ve been doing. I’ve stopped
smoking pot and straightened
out my attitude and now I’m in
—Kelly Tickles
Career Development
Specialist
the top five,” emphasizes Hanna.
When graduates arrive in the
office of Career Development
Specialist Kelly Tickles, the dedication and hard work that Flatwoods invests to prime its students for career success is
apparent.
A particularly successful partnership Tickles developed is with
Huntington Ingalls Industries
Newport News Shipbuilding. “I
had a graduate from the Newport News area hired by the
shipyard. The hiring manager
liked him so much that he called
me and asked me if I had any
more like him,” says Tickles.
“I always work with the disability
coordinator from a student’s
home area to see what type of
help they need after they leave
the Center and a lot of students
need a place to stay,” says Tickles. After placing a graduate at
the shipyard, Tickles gave her
money to allow her rent an
apartment--with the caveat that
other relocating Flatwoods graduates could stay at the apartment until they could afford a
place of their own. “This started
a chain reaction and we now
have about 75 students working
at the shipyard.”
Flatwoods graduates from all of
the construction trades, including welders, sheet metal workers, marine painters, shipboard
services (fabrication), deck electricians, and pipe fitters, are
employed at the shipyards. The
starting hourly wage is $16.16
with full benefits and some students are now making in the
$25 dollar range.
Reflecting on what he has
learned in his years as center
director, Sholes states, "My students know how to be failures
and they are good at it. They
don’t know and are afraid to be
successful.”
Flatwoods Job Corps’ motto of
“saving lives and making the
country better,” teaches its students not to fear success.
Where before Flatwoods Job
Corps was trailing the pack,
communicating, working together as one, and focusing on the
best interests of the students
has transformed the Center into
an institution that both the students and staff can rightfully be
proud.
Flatwoods graduates from
all of the construction
trades, including welders,
sheet metal workers, marine painters, shipboard
services (fabrication),
deck electricians, and
pipe fitters, are employed
at the shipyards. The
starting hourly wage is
$16.16 with full benefits
and some students are
now making in the $25
dollar per hour range.
Page 25
Oklahoma Wildlife Prairie Heritage Alliance Asks Treasure Lake Job Corps to Construct Chimney Sweep
Birdhouse Kiosks
Brad Caudill, Carpentry Instructor, Treasure Lake Job Corps
OWPHA wildlife habitat areas
that are called "loops."
Treasure Lake Job Corps students install a
second Chimney Swift kiosk at the Tillman
County Courthouse in Frederick, Oklahoma.
Photo courtesy of Treasure Lake Job Corps.
The Oklahoma Wildlife Prairie
Heritage Alliance (OWPHA) has
requested the help of Treasure
Lake Job Corps in constructing
15 Chimney sweep birdhouse
kiosks. These are not your typical “birdhouses.” They are fourteen feet tall and six feet wide.
These towers will be used as
information kiosks at the
Treasure Lake Job Corps students have volunteered to precut all of the materials that
OWPHA supplies. The class also
pre-assembled parts of the birdhouses like the tower sections
and the roof assembly from
scratch frame work, decking,
and shingling. When a project is
close in proximity to the Center,
Treasure Lake students will help
construct the kiosks on-site.
More info can be found at
OWPHA’s website:
www.owpha.org.
The Treasure Lake Job Corps’
carpentry trade also has volunteered to help OWPHA with their
annual “Hackberry Flat Day”
located in Frederick, Oklahoma.
The carpentry students are supplied with materials which students use to pre-cut bluebird
house kits. Carpentry students
have operated a "make and
take" bluebird house booth for
the past two years. School children, and sometimes parents,
use the pre-cut kits to build bird-
Treasure Lake Job Corps students help school children build Blue Bird houses at the annual OWPHA
Hackberry Flat Day in Frederick, Oklahoma. Photo courtesy of Treasure Lake Job Corps.
houses. Once complete the
child takes the birdhouse home
to hang on their property. This
event is usually a lot of fun and
Treasure Lake students get a
real sense of pride helping the
children build their birdhouses.
Treasure Lake carpentry students learn the production process, manufacturing techniques, quality control, and peo-
ple skills conducting this volunteer community service project.
More information on the
Oklahoma Wildlife Prairie
Heritage Alliance’s Chimney Sweep birdhouses
can be found at OWPHA’s
website: www.owpha.org
Treasure Lake Job Corps Steps In to Assist Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge Despite Closure
Treasure Lake Job Corps was
happy to aid the Wichita Mountains Wildlife refuge address
one of the refuge's low-water
crossing on Panther Creek that
has been a problem for years.
Treasure Lake Job Corps carpentry students pour a low-water crossing over Panther Creek in the
Special Use area of the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in November 2014. The wildlife refuge is
operated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Photo courtesy of The Lawton Constitution.
The road had washed out and
damaged vehicles several times.
Treasure Lake students built 10foot by 10 foot panels and
hauled them to the Special Use
Area. After setting up forms, the
students tied rebar to reinforce
the concrete and then, over the
Treasure Lake carpentry students lay out forms.
Photo courtesy of The Lawton Constitution.
course of two days, helped pour
and smooth 16 cubic yards of
concrete for a low-water crossing 70 feet long.
The Treasure Lake Job
Corps Civilian Conservation Center is located in
Indiahoma, Oklahoma.
The Center employs a
staff of 50 and has the
capacity provide
vocational training to 180
students in a residential
environment.
Page 26
Ouachita Job Corps’ Urban Forestry Program is a Popular Resource for the Hot Springs Community
Rickey Litzsey, Works Program Officer, Ouachita Job Corps
approached Ouachita Job Corps
to assist with the construction of
a city environmental park and
tree maintenance as a service
project.
Ouachita Job Corps Urban Forestry students care for trees throughout Hot Springs, Arkansas. Photo
courtesy of Ouachita Job Corps.
Under the leadership of Les
Arnold, the Urban Forestry vocational training program was
established at Ouachita Job
Corps in 1996. Arnold was instrumental in starting the same
program at Golconda Job Corps
several years earlier.
The program has been a success and Urban Forestry students stand out wearing their
bright orange shirts, walking
around the center in single file
everywhere they go. The Urban
Forestry crew perform tree care
cleanup duty across the center
daily. It wasn’t long before they
earned the title as being the
“hardest working crew on center.”
Word got out to the various
Forest Service ranger districts
that the Ouachita Urban Forestry program was searching for
projects to help give the students training opportunities,
while at the same time assisting
with the maintenance of the
national forest.
Soon after, the City of Hot
Springs Parks, Recreation and
Street Department asked the
students to assist in removing
storm damaged trees. Les
jumped at the opportunity to
The park features more than two
miles of hiking and biking trails, a
1000-foot wildlife conservation
trail, a playground and a handicapped-accessible fishing boardwalk. Urban Forestry students
participate in several annual
local elementary school education programs that teach and
demonstrate to school children
the importance of trees and tree
care.
Today the Ouachita Urban Forestry program still responds to
numerous requests for assistance on urban forestry projects and invitations to students to lecture on tree care.
The Urban Forestry crew
performs tree care cleanup
duty across the center daily.
It wasn’t long before they
earned the title as being the
“hardest working crew on
center.”
Ouachita Job Corps Facts
Students: 160
Vocational Trades:








Office Administration
Union Bricklaying
Union Carpentry
Union Cement Masonry
Union Painting
Union Plastering
Urban Forestry
Welding
Ouachita Job Corps Urban Forestry students perform work at the Entergy Park Arbor Day event. Photo
courtesy of Pam Cockrell.
incorporate tree removal work
into the program training and
now Ouachita Urban Forestry
students routinely perform tree
removal throughout the city
streets and parks.
Garvin Woodlands Gardens, a
210 acre botanical garden donated to the Department of
Landscape Architecture also has
requested help from the program on a continuous basis.
When Entergy Arkansas donated
30 acres on the shores of Lake
Hamilton, the City of Hot Springs
Ouachita Job Corps Urban Forestry students plant flowers at St. Joseph Hospital in Hot Springs,
Arkansas. Photo courtesy of Pam Cockrell.
Page 27
National Professional Angler’s Association Works with Forest Service to Get Job Corps Students
Hooked on Fishing
Challenge Cost-Share Agreement with the NPAA, partners
to educate the nation’s youth
on conservation, stewardship
of natural resources, and recreational uses of North America’s
fish and wildlife.
Certified Angler Instructor Greg Karch and Blackwell
Job Corps students. Photo courtesy of Clara Johnson.
The Eastern Region of the Forest Service and the National
Professional Angler’s Association (NPAA) will coordinate two
fishing clinics with 30 Blackwell
Job Corps Center students and
Stedman Graham on June 12,
2015. The clinics will be held on
Bear Lake located on the
Chequamegon-Nicolet National
Forest near Laona, Wisconsin.
The Forest Service, under a
The NPAA is passionate about
hooking young people on fishing. In 2012, they formed a
new not-for-profit – The Future
Angler Foundation – designed
to engage potential new anglers of all ages, races and
gender to the sport of fishing
while protecting the resource.
Greg Karch, a Certified Angler
Instructor and past Chair of the
NPAA Future Angler Committee,
will be leading the fishing clinic
and classroom instruction.
Greg has hosted 37 clinics in
the past year which he does on
a volunteer basis. For him, it’s
about “giving back to the people
who introduced him to the joy
and sport of fishing.” He said
there’s nothing like the look of
joy and accomplishment in a
young person’s eyes when they
hook their first fish! Greg said
his goal is to ensure every student catches a fish that day.
Karch is a world-class fisherman
and is considered a celebrity in
the fishing world. He’s been in
featured in several magazines.
“June is a great time to catch
Bluegill and small-mouthed
bass,” says Greg. “It’s going to
be an amazing day. I am doing
what I love most – helping young
people develop a passion for
fishing and for natural resources.”
The adventure-filled day in-
cludes both hands-on and classroom instruction that covers the
following:
• Safety
• How to use their equipment
• Casting and handling fish
• Tying knots
• Catch and release techniques
• Identifying the variety of fish
species
• Preventing the spread of
aquatic invasive species
• Sportsmanship and angler
courtesy
You can learn more about Greg
and view online videos at:
www.Learn2FishWithUs.com
Frenchburg Job Corps “Firebirds” Fire Team Continue Earn Qualifications Despite Dormitory Fire
Bradley Adkins, Career Preparation Coordinator, Frenchburg Job Corps
training (PT), only 14
students remained
and firefighting training was scheduled for
these committed
students. During the
training period, the
students agreed that
their call name
should be "Firebirds".
Then on September
5, 2014, the Friday
before training, a
Nineteen potential Frenchburg Job Corps firefighters listen
attentively to instructors during classroom instruction a week after
student dormitory
caught fire, burned to
In August of 2014, students
the ground and was a total loss.
signed a statement of interest
Even during this emotionally
sheet for the Frenchburg Job
trying time, these students
Corps Fire Team. Forty-six stuwanted the fire training more
dents attended the first meeting
than ever.
and began physical training (PT)
The following week during the
with Career Preparation Officer
training, the fire students were
Brad Adkins.
early to class every day, were
After three weeks of physical
engaged in class discussion and
all of them gained their fire certification. They were no longer
Job Corps students. . .they were
Firebirds.
Kentucky, the Firebirds have
been involved in many projects
and continually volunteer their
time in the community.
One week after the training,
they received a call to deploy to
California to the King Wildfire as
part of an interagency crew. The
Firebirds worked as a unit and
became even closer
as a team.
They also have worked local
fires in Kentucky on the Daniel
Boone National Forest, lead the
PT for upcoming cadets and
stay ready for that next call.
They worked in rugged terrain for long
hours but remained
diligent in their efforts. This led to a
fully successful evaluation and left a
lasting impression
on the Forest Service
staff that were on
the team with the
Firebirds.
Since returning to
(L to R) Frenchburg firefighters Brad Adkins, Damian Abbott,
Dwasken Porter, and Jacob Pope mop up on the King Wildfire in
California. Photo courtesy of Robert Ross.
Page 28
Washington Office Staff—Get Out Into the Field and Get Your Nails Dirty!
Michaela Hall, Program Specialist, Washington Office Fire and Aviation Management
Michaela Hall in Ocala, Florida on assignment
with the Davidson River Initial Attack Crew in
January 2014. Photo courtesy of Robert Cota.
I was hired as Fire and Aviation
Management, Workforce Program Specialist because of my
Job Corps background and previous work in outreach and recruitment initiatives. But, working in Fire without fire experience is like a hardhat without a
chinstrap. It just isn't right.
So, I was on a mission to gain
experience and credibility in the
Fire world. There were several
options, but I couldn’t have
made a better choice than the
Davidson River (DVR) Initial
Attack Crew. Here’s why:
DVR is made up of Job Corps
students. These trainees come
from all over the United States
and are a testament to the
diversity of the program.
There’s much talk about creating a Forest Service that reflects the public, and Davidson
River is actually producing results. I wanted to get a
firsthand look at how you can
take a group of people who are
so different and teach them to
work together. DVR Leadership
made it a point to create personal development experiences for the trainees including
introducing students to culturally diverse foods, music and
people.
It was magical. I witnessed a
self-proclaimed cheeseburger
fanatic enjoy an Indian curry
dish. On another day, I saw a
Black student from the “hood”
singing a Country song at the
top of his lungs. A student from
Hawaii taught me how to open
a coconut and then shared the
fruit with me. These experiences continued for the duration of
the trip as people broke
through barriers and grew into
a better crew and better human beings.
Another reason that DVR
rocked is because it challenges you beyond all expectations.
Sure you’ll walk for miles carrying line gear, eat smoke for
hours, and go days without
bathing. But, I’m not talking
about basic firefighting challenges. This crew takes it up a
notch. Student trainees undertake challenging leadership
opportunities such as land
navigation exercises, drafting
burn plans and mock Management roles. Constant changes
of Crew/Squad Boss Trainees
teach students to be flexible
and to work under different
leadership styles.
Careful training and preparation has created a reputation
that reaches across Region 8.
This Crew is in high demand
and Forests are consistently
pleased with the work accomplished. I felt like was riding
with a group of celebrities getting all the privileges that normal people only dream of. In
addition to participating in over
46,000 acres of prescribed
burns and over 7,600 acres of
wildfire, Not bad for a career
Washington Office employee.
Speaking of Washington Office,
Write a Job Corps Success Story for the Courier!
Help tell the story of Forest Service Job Corps and create a lasting record of what Job Corps
students accomplish each and
every day.
A good story will answer the
questions of what happened,
when did it take place, who was
involved, why was it done, where
did it take place and how did it
happen. Describe the accomplishment, internal and external
partners and why your story is
significant.
Submit high quality photographs
in .jpeg format with your story.
A good photo will convey the
essence of what you want people to remember. As they say,
“A picture is worth a thousand
words.”
Provide captions for your photographs. A reader wants the
answers to the following questions: Who is that?; What’s going
on?, When and where was this?,
How did this occur? Your audience wants to understand your
picture.
Please provide the following
information for photo captions:
Name of individuals (L to R);
Activity/project captured in photo; Name of photographer for
photo credit; Physical location
where photo was taken; Day/
Month/Year photo was taken if
available
Please submit your story in APA
Style and Franklin Gothic Book
font size nine.
Call Alicia D. Bennett at 303275-5934 or send an e-mail to:
[email protected] describing
the story you would like to write
and to discuss its placement.
Speaking of Washington
Office, it seems like this
title raised suspicions of
many I met on the road. I
think that shows the need
for more Washington
Office employees to get
in the field and get their
nails dirty. I also think it
means more people from
the field need to pull out
Sunday’s best and get to
the Washington Office.
This detail was a way for
me to see how the policies initiated in my office
affect those who implement them on the
ground. I saw the
“disconnect” in action.
—Michaela Hall
Program Specialist
it seems like this title raised
suspicions of many I met on the
road. I think that shows the
need for more Washington Office employees to get in the field
and get their nails dirty. I also
think it means more people
from the field need to pull out
Sunday’s best and get to the
Washington Office. This detail
was a way for me to see how the
policies initiated in my office
affect those who implement
them on the ground. I saw the
“disconnect” in action.
There is still much work to be
done, but with these kinds of
details, employees are able to
develop an appreciation for the
work of other employees. And
learning to appreciate the work
of other employees is a good
policy for the Forest Service. It
fits better than a hardhat with a
chinstrap.
Page 29
What Can Civilian Conservations Centers Do For Your National Forests or Grasslands?
Sample Work
Forest Service Job Corps
National Forest Systems
Recreation




Trail construction, trail maintenance
Recreation Site improvements: painting (signs, picnic tables),
facilities maintenance, construction, brush removal, mowing,
trailhead maintenance)
Installation of picnic tables, fire rings
Kiosk construction and installation
Forestry




Pre-commercial thinning, tree planting, timber marking
Stream maintenance -gabion installations
Nursery work -tree lifting and packing, seedling planting
The Forest Service is facing critical shortages of workers. Job Corps is an ideal source from which to recruit
and improve the diversity of its permanent workforce. The partnership between the Forest and JCCCCs can
benefit both parties through development of work-based learning (WBL) opportunities that provide on-the
-job training for students and help the Forest Service meet mission critical project goals. Looking to add
professional, trained, youthful, diverse staff to your project or office? Forest Service Job Corps Civilian
Conservation Center students or Mobile Corps can be a valuable addition to your next project.
Mobile Corps projects are larger scale, multi-student and/or multi-center projects. These projects have
ranged from painting/maintenance at Grey Towers Historical site, building smaller buildings and
campsite projects, to the construction of ranger stations and staff housing. A formal application process
must be completed for project consideration.
Job Corps students are eligible for federal employment. As students they can be hired using the Pathways
Program. They may also qualify for the Public Lands Corps Act (PLC). Students are able to compete
through the traditional federal hiring but using these two authorities might expedite JCCCC student hiring.
Contact Cyndi Szymanski at 303-275-5074 or e-mail at :[email protected] for additional
information.
Cone Collection
Wildlife/Fisheries/Hydrology/Soils






Install Inserts for Red Cockcaded Woodpecker
Boundary marking of Red Cockcaded Woodpecker area
Snag/Grouse drumming log creation
Mid-story removal
Gabion installations
Infestation surveys
Engineering









Pine Ridge camp crews traveled to Boulder, Colorado to assist victims of
the 2013 Colorado Flood. Photo courtesy of Pine Ridge Job Corps.
Carpentry, painting
Heavy equipment repair and maintenance, auto maintenance
Electrical, plumbing, welding
Brick and concrete masonry
Fashion stone foundations for forest portal signs
Oconaluftee Job Corps forestry students analyze
and determine the best method to remove tree
branches. Photo courtesy of Oconaluftee Job
Corps.
Stream inventory
Boundary/landline location, marking, inspection and maintenance
Road Maintenance - sawing and chipping for site clearance on
FS roads
Greening of Job Corps Centers, Research Stations, and District
Offices
Curlew Job Corps painting students make sure that Colville National
Forest signage looks new and shiny. Photo courtesy of Curlew Job Corps.
Administrative


Front desk operator /services
Data input, clerical, computer installation (Job Corps IT Team),
record keeping
State and Private Forestry


Fire suppression, rehab, mop-up, catering
Prescribed fire
Research


Data collection
Inventory
Anaconda Job Corps constructs an impressive bridge as part of “Make a
Difference Day.” Photo courtesy of Anaconda Job Corps.
Columbia Basin Facilities Maintenance student
installs underground drainage pipes. Photo
courtesy of Columbia Basin Job Corps.
Page 30
1964 — 2014
Conserving America’s
Natural Resources
for 50 Years
Job Corps is the nation’s
largest residential, educational, and career technical
training program that prepares economically disadvantaged youth, ranging in
age from 16 to 24, for productive employment. USDA
Forest Service operates 28
Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers (JCCCCs) with a
capacity to house, educate,
and train over 5,200 enrollees. Students attend academic and vocational classes and learn critical life
skills in preparation for longterm employment, careers in
natural resources, continued
education or military service.
The JCCCCs provide a unique
opportunity for at-risk youth to
take control of and steer their
lives in a positive direction and
contribute to the conservation
of the nation’s public natural
resources. JCCCCs are associated with national forests or
grasslands and are operated
by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Forest Service in partnership
with the Department of Labor
(DOL).
Alicia D. Bennett
Public Affairs Officer/Editor
USDA Forest Service Job Corps
740 Simms Street
Golden, CO 80401
Phone: 303-275-5934
Fax: 303-275-5940
E-mail: [email protected]
To subscribe to the Courier, send your
e-mail address to:
[email protected]
We’re On the Web:
http://fsweb.jc.wo.fs.fed.us/

Forest Service Job Corps Courier

Transcription

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