Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier
Transcription
Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier
Volume 3, Issue 2 May 2016 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier Ravalli Electric Cooperative Teams Up with the Trapper Creek Job Corps for Some Impressive Energy Savings Jim Maunder, Member Services Manager, Ravalli Electric Cooperative, Corvallis, Montana—Reprinted with permission from the December 2015 issue of the Bulletin magazine. ©2015 by the Northwest Public Power Association. All rights reserved. In 2011 the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) notified Ravalli Electric Cooperative (REC) that their wholesale power cost was going up. In turn, REC alerted its membership of the pending rate increase. So, consequently it was no surprise when REC’s largest consumer of electricity, the Trapper Creek Job Corp (TCJC), contacted Ravalli Electric to learn how they could become more efficient. Not only were they interested in saving money, but Executive Order #13423 requires federal agencies to reduce their energy consumption by three percent each year to hit 30-percent reductions by 2015 from 2003 levels. As a federal agency, TCJC had to comply and wanted to start the process of improving the center’s energy efficiency. From that point on, the wheels were set in motion: Ravalli contacted its energy efficiency representative at BPA, Dan Villalobos, to get some technical assistance from BPA’s energy engineers; Villalobos put Ravalli in contact with Erik Boyer in their Spokane office; and an energy scoping audit with Boyer and TCJC staff was set up for mid-July 2011. The objective of the energy scoping audit was to investigate TCJC’s energy use and to provide general recommendations for site energyefficiency measures. “Establishing the working relationship with Bonneville Power and Ravalli Electric Co-op has proved to be a very rewarding experience. Their assistance has brought our 50-year-old facility out of the dark ages in terms of energy efficiency, and from that we’ve become much more responsible facility stewards,” said Daniel Gager, work programs officer for Trapper Creek Job Corps. “We’ve seen remarkable return of investment. We’re not only improving our facilities’ efficiencies, but were also saving significant taxpayer dollars, at a time when program budgets our shrinking.” So far, the outcome has been quite remarkable — through October 2015, the energy-efficiency measures installed at TCJC have decreased their annual energy consumption by more than 14 percent in the past four years. (continued on page 3) Wilderness Discovery Certification Program Tina J. Terrell, National Director, Job Corps National Office In 2015, the Trapper Creek Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center (JCCCC), located in Darby Montana, partnered with the Bitterroot National Forest and the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center to develop the Wilderness Discovery Certification (WDC) program. The WDC provides Job Corps students with the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to complete wilderness and trail work on public land through classroom and hands-on learning and work opportunities. This training program has been implemented at Trapper Creek for two years and is being implemented on eight other Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers (continued on page 2) 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 Last year 11 students worked on the SelwayWilderness on the Bitterroot National Forest; this year 27 students are completing the WDC training program at Trapper Creek. (JCCCCs) located across the United States in 2016. The eight week classroom training will provide wilderness awareness to JCCCC students who are all too often unfamiliar with these special places. The WDC program students train to be familiarized with the Wilderness Act, its proponent Aldo Leopold, and the special requirements for visiting or working in wilderness areas. The classroom training is accompanied by traditional skills training such as ax use and cross-cut saw training. Last year 11 Trapper Creek students worked on the Selway Wilderness on the Bitterroot National Forest; this year 27 students are completing the WDC training program. Additionally, the training has been exported to eight other JCCCCs with the intention of expanding the program to hundreds more youth. The Forest Service Job Corps program anticipates the training offered at JCCCCs will grow with each successive year. This unique training and work experience can be transformative for students who may not otherwise see, work on, or appreciate our national wilderness areas. Students who participate in the training are educated on wilderness stewardship and develop a land ethic which can help them apply for temporary and permanent wilderness, recreation, or environmental education positions with a public land management agency. Wilderness Discovery Certificate Program participants remove tree from the Tin Cup Creek trail on the Selway Wilderness on the Bitterroot National Forest. Photo courtesy of Adam Washebek. Students who graduate from the WDC program obtain a certificate from the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center and are certified to lead or participate on wilderness crews. The mission of the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center is to equip and inspire agency leaders and partners to ensure that America's National Wilderness Preservation System endures for future generations. The Center accomplishes this mission through training, information, and education. The Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center is being supported by all four land manWilderness Discovery Certificate Program student works on reconstruction a 35’ bridge on the Selway Wilderness on the Bitterroot National Forest. Photo courtesy of Adam Washebek. Pathway to Employment Wilderness Discovery Certificate Employ & Engage Program graduates are prepared for immediate employment and can hit the ground running! agement agencies: the National Park Service, the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In its recent newsletter, the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center’s “Certification to Professionalization” diagram described the three focus areas of the Wilderness Discovery Certification program that is featured at left. Page 3 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier Ravalli Electric Cooperative Teams Up with the Trapper Creek Job Corps for Some Impressive Energy Savings (continued from page 1) Jim Maunder, Member Services Manager, Ravalli Electric Cooperative, Corvallis, Montana—Reprinted with permission from the December 2015 issue of the Bulletin magazine. ©2015 by the Northwest Public Power Association. All rights reserved. “It’s a great project to be involved in, helping Trapper Creek achieve their energy efficiency goals,” said Mark Grotbo, general manager for Ravalli Electric Cooperative. pentry shop, dormitories, gymnasium, education building, recreation center, and the three emergency backup generators for the food service, water, and wastewater systems. Background In the spring of 2012, the energy-efficiency measures that were installed included the following: performance testing and sealing the ductwork for the forced air heating systems in the dormitories; and installation of ductless heat pumps in the student transitional houses as well as ceiling insulation. Trapper Creek Job Corp is located south of Darby, Mont., up the west fork of the Bitterroot River. The campus serves on average about 225 students in addition to 50 permanent and 20 temporary employees. Students have two main breaks during the year from June 28 to July 19 in the summer, and December 19 to January 5 in the winter. Most campus buildings operate during the hours from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The campus was originally built in the 1960s and is currently used as a Job Corps Center. Job Corps is a no-cost education and career technical training program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor that helps young people ages 16 through 24 improve the quality of their lives through career technical and academic training. TCJC has 20 main buildings of significant loads with many other small outbuildings/storage structures. Baseline monitoring completed in 2011 and 2012 indicated that the buildings with the largest energy consumption were the welding shop, food service building, gym, carpentry shop, recreation building, and the dormitories. Highlights of the energy efficiency projects With the large loads identified, energy monitoring and data logging began by the end of 2011 (and continued through 2012) in the following center buildings: food service, car- Measurement and verification of the energy-efficiency measures installed in the dormitory buildings was impressive. The duct testing and sealing, plus ceiling insulation, for Dorm #1 showed annual savings of 56,321 kilowatt-hours (kWh), a savings of 48 percent over the previous year’s bill. Residence #28 of the transitional houses showed great annual savings as well. Residence #28 posted a savings of 50 percent. The prior year’s usage was 24,966 kWh compared to 12,444 kWh after the ductless heat pump was installed. To date, Trapper Creek Job Corp has achieved over 14 percent energy savings since the project was started. 2010-11 were used as part of the BPA Scoping Audit in late 2011. The documents helped identify the buildings to install energy-monitoring equipment and data loggers: food service, dormitories, education, recreation, carpentry, welding, gymna- sium, administration, and the healthcare facility. The transitional student houses were also analyzed. Some of the issues identified by the scoping audit included (continued on page 4) Project overview A review of TCJC’s five-year average showed an annual energy usage of approximately 3,200,000 kWh a year. The center had a summer peak of 125,000 kWh per month and a winter peak of around 422,000 kWh a month; their non-weather consumption averaged 135,000 kWh a month. An energy study from 1997 and a facility study conducted in BPA’s Erik Boyer checks the monitoring equipment on the HVAC system for the education building. Page 4 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier Ravalli Electric Cooperative Teams Up with the Trapper Creek Job Corps for Some Impressive Energy Savings (continued from page 3) Jim Maunder, Member Services Manager, Ravalli Electric Cooperative, Corvallis, Montana—Reprinted with permission from the December 2015 issue of the Bulletin magazine. ©2015 by the Northwest Public Power Association. All rights reserved. deteriorated ductwork and antiquated thermostats in the dormitories. Aging HVAC systems in the food service, education, and recreation buildings, as well as antiquated and non-functioning packaged thermal air conditioner units in the welding shop were also identified. The backup emergency generators located adjacent to the food service along with the center’s water supply and wastewater systems were monitored as well. 50-percent energy savings in the first year. EnergyEnergy-efficiency measures highlights The administration and healthcare buildings had duct testing and sealing performed on their HVAC systems along with the installation of Webenabled programmable thermostats and their attics were upgraded to R-49 insulation levels. In addition, Ravalli Electric retrofitted 38 existing security lights that had 175-watt high-pressure sodium fixtures to 50-watt LED ones. The energy monitoring of the heating system run times provided valuable information as to how the furnaces were being operated in the dormitories. The run times of the furnaces in each dormitory did not match each other. Some showed run times when the students were out on campus attending class, while others had different zones of the building off when the areas were occupied. It was also noted that center staff and students complained about comfort levels in the dorms. The energyefficiency measures installed in the dormitories included duct sealing and repairs, air sealing, attic insulation, and the installation of Web-enabled programmable thermostats. The energy savings for the dorms after the energy efficiency measures were installed had a simple payback of two years. The center has three transitional houses for students in their last semester of study; each house has four students living in it. The houses were constructed in 1967 and they have electric baseboard heat. The energy efficiency measures identified for the houses were to upgrade the attic insulation to R-49 and install a ductless heat pump in Project savings As 2015 comes to an end, TCJC is on its way to achieving even more energy savings. They have completed an LED retrofit of all of the center’s emergency exit signs, and they have installed four commercial-grade ductless heat pumps in the education building as well as an LED lighting retrofit. The average annual energy consumption for Dorm #1: the red line is the baseline annual energy consumption; the blue line is the post-energy consumption; and the green line is the annual energy savings. Ravalli Electric Cooperative teamed up with Trapper Creek Job Corps to investigate the center’s energy use and to provide general recommendations for site energy-efficiency measures. The results for the dormitory buildings (pictured above) were impressive, resulting in an annual savings of 56,321 kilowatt-hours, a savings of 48 percent over the previous year’s bill. In 2016, the recreation building’s HVAC system is scheduled to have duct testing and sealing, Web-enabled programmable thermostats installed, and the attic upgraded to R-49 insulation. BPA also conducted a scoping study to look at the feasibility of installing a geothermal (continued on page 5) the main living area of each house. Residence #28 achieved some very impressive annual energy savings. The year prior to the ductless heat pump being installed, the house had an annual energy use of 24,966 kWh; the year after, the annual energy use was 12,523 kWh. Residence #28 had a one-ton ductless heat pump installed in December 2012. With the installation of the ductless heat pump, Residence #28 achieved The graph shows the pre– and post-energy use for Residence #28. Page 5 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier Ravalli Electric Cooperative Teams Up with the Trapper Creek Job Corps for Some Impressive Energy Savings (continued from page 4) Jim Maunder, Member Services Manager, Ravalli Electric Cooperative, Corvallis, Montana—Reprinted with permission from the December 2015 issue of the Bulletin magazine. ©2015 by the Northwest Public Power Association. All rights reserved. heat pump system to handle the center’s gymnasium, which has a very antiquated forcedair electric furnace with no ventilation air capabilities to meet current building codes. The U.S. Forest Service is looking at upgrading the HVAC systems in the dormitories as well; they’re considering installing heat recovery ventilators and heat pump upgrades. “We’re excited about some of our future efficiency projects that include providing better living conditions for our dormitories and replacing obsolete HVAC with a ground source heating/ cooling system,” said Gager. The graph tracks the energy savings at TCJC from 2011-2015. The cumulative energy savings for TCJC is approximately 14.6 percent. Energy savings continues to grow as other efficiency projects are completed. Ravalli Electric Cooperative, BPA, Trapper Creek Job Corp, and the U.S. Forest Service continue to work together on this ongoing project and are eager to see what progress lies ahead. Trapper Creek Job Corps Facts Students: 217 Employees: 67 Associated Forest: Bitterroot National Forest Program Year 2014 Graduate Placement Rate: 91.6% Vocational Trades ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Culinary Arts Electrical Office Administration Facilities Maintenance Forestry Conservation and Firefighting Union Carpentry Union Cement Masonry Union Painting Welding Boxelder Job Corps Center Greenhouse and Garden Project Expands Bonnie Fuller, Academic Manager, Boxelder Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center The Boxelder Job Corps Center Greenhouse and Garden project began in 2011. In 2015, the Center began working with the non-profit Seed Savers Exchange, procuring 36 heirloom seed packets to plant in its version of a Peoples’ Garden. The Peoples’ Garden has been a huge success incorporating both classroom instruction, experimentation, recycling, and teaching responsibility. This will be the second year that the Boxelder Garden and Greenhouse has included an apiary and chickens into its learning environment. The chickens were donated by a Boxelder employee. The assimilation of living things into the classroom and living environ- ment has greatly benefited the students. The garden provides a great opportunity to connect staff and students in a positive, relaxed, and constructive way. Boxelder is implementing a new practice by inviting teams of staff and students to manage a plot. This is in hopes that all staff and students will feel as though they have ownership and rights to the garden, to support an overall sense of belonging, and foster good relationships. Historically, staff and students who are “in the right place at the right time,” have enjoyed the benefits of this space. The new structure is intended to broaden the access so that more people can enjoy and contribute to the Peoples’ Garden. Ideally, inter- ested staff from each department will work alongside students. Students and staff will attend mini-classes to learn gardening skills like how to run the temperamental water pump, basic plant (L-R) Boxelder Science Teacher Michelle Crane assists student Ibrahim biology, harvestKhatib with the Center’s apiary. Photo courtesy Bonnie Fuller. ing seeds, and chicken hypnotism. When they opened the hives to This last winter season was the first for the bee hives and everyone was anxious to see if the bees had sustained themselves through the winter. observe the survival rate, they found that one hive had survived and one had not. The hive that survived appears to be “bee” taking honey from the failed hive (continued on page 6) Page 6 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier Boxelder Job Corps Center Greenhouse and Garden Project Expands (continued from page 5) Bonnie Fuller, Academic Manager, Boxelder Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Center’s culinary arts department. The eggs are free range; they are not considered organic at this time, but could easily be up for certification at a later date. Sixty dozen eggs have been produced in less than six months. Boxelders Big Green Garden and Greenhouse proJasmine the chicken enjoys the view from Boxelder student Dan Sierra’s shoulder. Photo (L-R) Boxelder students Joseph Nimubona, Blu Gay, and Tayvis Harris eating honey vides a sense of courtesy of Bonnie Fuller. fresh from the honey comb. Photo courtesy of Bonnie Fuller. home and belonging to the students Boxelder students have been chicken feed until the staff can option of participating in halfby creating a community that able to enjoy honey fresh from become certified in eggday science labs once a week. supports itself and in which they the honeycomb and learn bee handling. participate in work, food producThey are learning about chicken keeping skills such as how to tion and the nurturing of other Students care for the chickens reproduction, comparative anatapproach the hive and sedate living things. through daily chores and other omy, species hardiness through the bees. maintenance, and they find natural selection, and artificial Although this quality is more This year, the goal for the bee discipline in their work. selection for human purposes. difficult to measure, it is by far hive is for the students to learn the most important. Boxelder The students have helped in Importantly, these animals also about animal behavior. The stustudents, who come from varidesigning, repairing, and buildallow students to connect to dents will research anatomy, ous backgrounds and countries, ing a new coop and fence to their food sources. Caring for pollen production, honey prooften have previous experience house the chickens. They also the chickens, egg collection and duction, and bee behavior. with poultry production. They learn to mitigate the problems remember this and feel at home. of predators and inclement Boxelder Job Corps Facts Students: 169 Employees: 55 Associated Forest: Black Hills National Forest Program Year 2014 Graduate Placement Rate: 83.5% Vocational Trades: Boxelder student Tristian Pope weighs an egg produced by a Boxelder chicken. Photo courtesy of Bonnie Fuller. Interactions with domestic animals provides students a direct learning connection to biology education standards. They participate in lab-based lessons that revolve around the chickens and the students have the cooking with the eggs allow students to gain a deeper understanding of the energy inputs, including labor, that food production requires. The eggs also are offered in exchange for a donation toward (L-R) Boxelder students Delano Jackson and Neil Smith ponder the chicken or the egg question. Photo courtesy of Bonnie Fuller. weather that impact the chicken operation. The chickens’ egg production could significantly offset the costs of purchasing eggs in the ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Culinary Arts Electrical Facilities Maintenance Nursing Assistant Home Health Aide Office Administration Union Carpentry Union Painting Welding Page 7 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier Centennial Job Corps’ Ranking Returns it to the Top Tier of the Nation’s 125 Job Corps Centers— Best Practices on Improving Your Job Corps Center’s Performance Mike Delaney, Career Technical Training Manager, Centennial Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center departmental communications. We agreed that staff had to work together, as a team, toward student retention. Without all staff having the same commitment to moving in the same direction, the Center was destined to fail again in the new program year. (L-R) Centennial Job Corps fire camp crew members Larissa Peppers, Cibrianna Wood, and Joshua Hensley. Photo courtesy of Mike Delaney. To the disappointment of all its staff, Centennial Job Corps had the worst performance year in its history during the 2014 program year (PY). Centennial’s drop to a ranking of 94 after being a consistent Top-50 Center was alarming. As of February 2016, Centennial rose to an overall rating of 105.50% and is now ranked number 9 out of the 125 Job Corps Centers across the nation. The closure of the Treasure Lake Job Corps Center, although due to consistently poor performance, made Centennial’s leadership and staff realize that changes had to be made in the way that Centennial Job Corps was doing business as we entered the new program year. The Center’s biggest issue in PY14 was student retention. We were losing many of our students due to resignations and absent without leave separations. We also had disciplinary separations, but those were to be expected. Student dropouts were our main concern because as Department of Labor Program Manager Brendan Kenney said to me during our Department of Labor Regional Office Center Assessment, “If today’s students don’t like a situation, they will vote with their feet and just walk away.” Looking back over the past year, Centennial’s staff members agreed with his assessment. The correction plan to end the Center’s downward trend began with a group of staff volunteers who formed an Outcome Measurement System (OMS) workgroup. The group’s goals included determining the various reasons of why students were walking away and developing a list of changes to stem the tide of non-completers. The OMS workgroup also wanted to make the Center more pleasant and user-friendly. Before the first OMS workgroup meeting, a survey was sent out to staff members asking them to poll their students to get feedback on what they perceived as the reasons so many students were leaving the program. Center staff came to the first meeting with a laundry list of issues to begin the discussion. One of the first things that the work group addressed was inter- “We have to remember that students are our customers. Without customers we don’t have a job.” Mike Delaney, Career Technical Training Manager, Centennial Job Corps As career technical training (CTT) Manager, I was tasked with visiting each department to train staff on the OMS; most staff had heard of the OMS, but not all of them understood how the pools and credits impact a Center’s performance. The work group realized that the Center had to maintain a focus on OMS ratings and rankings. The OMS training was also designed to show how each staff member’s actions and interactions with students could impact the Center’s OMS standings on a month-to-month basis. Centennial Job Corps implemented many new best practices. One change made was to reduce the size of new student input groups to allow Center staff to spend more one-on-one time with new students and help them adjustment to their new environment. Working with Outreach and Admissions Counselors, we also are actively recruiting students to fill open trade slots. New students have a reserved slot in their trade of choice. This helps Centennial Job Corps welding student. Photo courtesy of Mike Delaney. the Center to not loose students because they are not able to get into their preferred trade. Center staff are also trying to get new students involved in student committees, so that they feel ownership, that they are making a difference, and that their presence and participation helps to make Centennial Job Corps a better place for all students. To reduce the number of quitters, we took steps to improve communication amongst students and staff. Staff are doing a better job at treating students like customers and also treating them like we ourselves would like to be treated if we were students. The “golden rule” works very well here. Sometimes, we all get caught up in the “us versus them” mentality and that can kill a Center. This is a thought process that, if it’s not monitored by Center management, can be in danger of allowing staff to fall back into their old ways. Center staff also are trying to find “outside the box” ways to work with students, so that we can achieve a win for both the student and the Center. Staff are not letting students slide on issues, but we are letting them know where they need to improve and then rebuild their self-esteem during behavior discussions. This way, students leave feeling like they can make a change and get out from under whatever issue they are facing. (continued on page 8) Page 8 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier Centennial Job Corps’ Ranking Returns it to the Top Tier of the Nation’s 125 Job Corps Centers— Best Practices on Improving Your Job Corps Center’s Performance (continued from page 7) Mike Delaney, Career Technical Training Manager, Centennial Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center We work hard with problem students, but there is a point where you have to cut ties and let them go. Centennial Job Corps computer technology student. Photo courtesy of Mike Delaney. Job Corps’ Zero Tolerance policy on drugs, alcohol, and violence, and other serious behavior issues, are dealt with according to the Policy and Requirements Handbook requirements. However, where there is flexibility in dealing with minor behavioral issues, we work with students to allow them to stay on-Center. There is a fine balance between the human side of Job Corps statistical metrics. In most cases, Center staff try to make their decisions in the best interest of the student; however, there are times when a Center has one student whose behavior is so disruptive that it causes other students to leave the program. We work hard with problem students, but there is a point where you have to cut ties and let them go. When dealing with the OMS, you have to understand that for every negative (non-completer) it takes about 1.5 completers to make up the difference. When dealing with the OMS, you have to understand that for every negative (non-completer) it takes about 1.5 completers to make up the difference. In the end, the formula is pretty simple --you have to put out more completers than non-completers every month. Sometimes, it’s hard to stay focused on those reasons because staff can get caught up in the negative daily dramas that occur on every Job Corps Center. Keep in mind that problem students make up about ten percent of your student population. Take time every day Centennial staff members examine the OMS numbers on a month-to-month basis because the Center can control our student flow better over shorter periods of time. Your time will be well spent, and you’ll brighten someone else’s day. Your day will definitely change for the better. Remember that it costs you absolutely nothing to be nice to someone. Remember what inspired you to work at a Job Corps Center. Most of us come to Job Corps to have a positive impact and help our young people change their lives. The bottom line is that Job Corps Centers live or die based on the OMS. Low performing Job Corps Centers should look at what other high performing Centers are doing and try to model their processes. Sometimes it’s hard to stay focused on those reasons because staff can get caught up in the negative daily dramas that occurs on every Job Corps Center. Lastly, Centennial’s management is working towards total Center involvement in reaching OMS goals. Every staff member has either a positive or negative effect on student retention. In most cases, that effect comes from how a staff member interacts with the students. to walk your Center and pat the other ninety-percent of students on the back and thank them for doing a good job and making changes in their lives. Centennial students working an Earth Day trail rehabilitation project for the U.S. Forest Service Lucky Peak Plant Nursery. Photo courtesy of Mike Delaney. Mike Delaney, Career Technical Training Manager, Centennial Job Corps As a staff, we all know that we have to do better in this area because we all sink or swim together. I have one parting thought about Center performance and how all of the Civilian Conservation Centers can do better. In the end, the formula is pretty simple--you have to put out more completers than noncompleters every month. We have to remember that students are our customers. Without customers, we don’t have a job. Mike Delaney, Career Technical Training Manager, Centennial Job Corps Remember what inspired you to work at a Job Corps Center. Most of us come to Job Corps to have a positive impact and help our young people change their lives. Centennial Job Corps nurse assistant home health aide. Photo courtesy of Mike Delaney. Page 9 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier Columbia Basin and Ft. Simcoe Job Corps Centers Aid the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Karl Lester, Center Director, Columbia Basin Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Columbia Basin Job Corps Facts Students: 280 Employees: 68 Associated Forest: OkanoganWenatchee National Program Year 2014 Graduate Placement Rate: 85.3% Vocational Trades: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Computer Networking/Cisco Culinary Arts Facilities Maintenance Nurse Assistant Home Health Aide Office Administration Pharmacy Technician Union Carpentry Union Cement Masonry Union Painting Union Plastering SVACT– College As part of the continued relationship building between Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers and national forests, Columbia Basin Job Corps Center Cement Instructor Harry Kozachenko and cement students Krystal Hartshorn, Collin LaClair, Alexander Tolley, Unique Washington, Eric West, Kalen Perrone, and Robert Fielding, with the assistance of Ft. Simcoe heavy equipment operations students, completed a cement project for the Entiat Ranger District on the Okanogan -Wenatchee National Forest. Ft. Simcoe Job Corps hauled up heavy equipment to remove old trip hazard cement sidewalks from around the District Ranger’s office. Columbia Basin Job Corps cement students then poured new sidewalks. The project was a huge success and provided great training opportunities for both Centers. Columbia Basin’s dormitory staff member, Belinda Thompson, chaperoned the students in the District’s bunk houses for four nights and culinary arts student Capri Lawrence cooked and prepared meals for the team. Columbia Basin Job Corps Cement Instructor Harry Kozachenko kneels in front row. (L-R, back row) Cement students Robert Fielding, Capri, Collin LaClaire, Kale Derrone, Unique Washington, Krystal Hartshorn, Eric West, Tolley Alexander, and Tristan Barnes. Photo courtesy of Belinda Thompson. “As a big supporter of the Job Corps program, I was impressed with the speed and quality of the work performed at the Entiat Ranger Station. The work leader and students were attentive to the needs of the USFS and learned ‘real life’ construction skills. I look forward to working with the Job Corps again.” Brantley Bain, P.E. Forest Facilities Engineer Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest Ft. Simcoe Job Corps Facts Students: 170 Employees: 50 Associated Forest: OkanoganWenatchee National Program Year 2014 Graduate Placement Rate: 89.2 Vocational Trades: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Automobile Technician ♦ ♦ Union Carpentry ♦ Union Heavy Construction Equipment Mechanic Brick Masonry Culinary Arts Heavy Truck Driving Mechanics Union Heavy Equipment Operations Page 10 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier News from the World of Civilian Conservation Centers On Wednesday, May 4, 2016, Job Corps National Director Tina Terrell presented Flatwoods Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center with the 2016 National Director’s “Center of the Year” honor award; Center Director David Scholes accepted the award. Flatwoods Job Corps was selected for this honor based upon a number of program year 2014 accomplishments, including its high ranking amongst the top 25 Job Corps Centers out of the 125 Centers nationwide, a ranking that it has maintained for three consecutive program years. The “Center of the Year” award is the highest honor awarded by the Job Corps National Director. Winning this award this year was an especially sweet reward to the staff at Flatwoods because the Center had been placed on a performance improvement plan (PIP) in 2010 due to declining performance ratings. To graduate from a PIP, a Job Corps Center must receive a regional office center assessment score of at least 4.0, maintain a vacancy rate no higher than 5%, maintain student on-board strength of 98%, and receive student satisfaction scores at or above the national average, all of which the Center accomplished. On November 4, 2015, the Department of Labor identified Flatwoods as meeting all the performance requirements needed to be removed from a PIP. Congratulations to the hard working and dedicated staff at Flatwoods Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center! Using its computer numerical control table router and recycled furniture from its student dorms, Wolf Creek Job Corps constructed a table and benches for the Umpqua National Forest Supervisor’s Office reception area. Photo courtesy of Sidney Lilienthal. (L-R) Cass Job Corps students Maxwell Drizner, Trey Oleson, Darryl Dannie, Robert Slaughter and Maylin Gomez were amongst 130 Cass Job Corps students who collected 193 bags of litter along the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest “Pig Trail.” Photo courtesy of Darrell “Wallie” Shaw. (L-R) Flatwoods Job Corps Center Director proudly accepts the 2016 Job Corps National Director’s “Center of the Year” honor award from National Director Tina J. Terrell based on upon the Center’s exceptional performance in program year 2014. The “Center of the Year” award is the highest honor awarded by the Job Corps National Director Photo courtesy of Steve Lenzo. (L-R) Frenchburg Job Corps wildland firefighters, the “Frenchburg Firebirds,” Ansel Cole and Joseph Powell, crew boss Brad Adkins, and students Catherine Oxley and Jazrielle Wilson deployed on April 21, 2016, on a 14 day detail to the Silver Mine Fire in Hot Springs, N.C. Photo courtesy of Brad Atkins. Coasters produced by the Collbran, Harpers Ferry, Schenck and Weber Basin Job Corps Centers in celebration of the Albuquerque Service Center’s (ASC)10th anniversary celebration held on April 21, 2016. Photo courtesy of ASC. Page 11 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier Anaconda Job Corps Center Constructs Ladder for Anaconda Local Development Corporation Anaconda Job Corps cement students Jeff Exline, David Montoure, Hunter Weber, Tanis Peterson, Ethan Marple, Lane George, George Herdt and Aiden Peterson recently constructed a ladder for the Anaconda Local Development Corporation’s (ALDC) road crew. The crew needed a ladder for their crusher to make it safer for workers to walk up into and down from the machine with tools. The students applied skills mastered during their vocational training and learned valuable lessons, including how to work safely in outdoor conditions, measuring and laying out stairs, calculating angles on channel and pipe, squaring, coping and mitering of pipe, and building handrails, stairs and ladders according to Mine Safety and Health Administration and Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards. (L-R) Welding students Hunter Weber and Jeff Exline. Photo courtesy of Ronnie Morgan. (L-R) Welding students Ryan Phillips, Ethan Marple, and George Herdt. Photo courtesy of Ronnie Morgan. (L-R) Welding students David Montoure and Jeff Exline. Photo courtesy of Ronnie Morgan. (L-R) Welding students Tanis Peterson and Jeff Exline. Photo courtesy of Ronnie Morgan. Welding student Ethan Marple. Photo courtesy of Ronnie Morgan. (L-R) Welding students Hunter Weber and Jeff Exline. Photo courtesy of Ronnie Morgan. (L-R) Welding students Hunter Weber and Jeff Exline. Photo courtesy of Ronnie Morgan. Welding student Aiden Peterson. Photo courtesy of Ronnie Morgan. (L-R) Welding students Tanis Peterson and Jeff Exline. Photo courtesy of Ronnie Morgan. Page 12 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier Angell Job Corps Center Restores Historic Silcox Hut on the Mt. Hood National Forest Stan Esler, Career Transition Liaison, Paradigm Works Group, Inc./North West Dynamic Education Systems Inc. Originally built in 1939 as the upper terminal for the Magic Mile chair lift, Silcox Hut sits at 6,950 feet above sea level on Oregon’s Mt. Hood. Named after the fifth Chief of the Forest Service, Ferdinand Silcox, the hut was abandoned in 1962 after the chair lift was relocated. In 1985, the hut was added to the National Registry of Historic Places, and in the early 1990’s, a nonprofit organization known as the Friends of Silcox Hut began restoration efforts. In August 2015, Mark Roddy, the International Masonry Institute instructor at Angell Job Corps and an original board member of the Friends of Silcox Hut, travelled to Mt. Hood with three masonry students to continue restoration. Roddy and Angell masonry students Steve Hartman, Sam Thompson, and Jamie Watson, repointed the west wall, pressure washed and reset the stone stairs for the bunk room door, and applied sealant to the windows in order to prevent snow infiltration. The crew will continue restoration in the fall of 2016. (L-R) Angell Job Corps masonry students Jaimie Watson and Sam Thompson mix mortar. Photo courtesy of Angell Job Corps. (L-R) Angell Job Corps students Steve Hartman, Jaimie Watson, and Sam Thompson repoint the structure’s west wall. Photo courtesy of Angell Job Corps. (L-R) Angell Job Corps masonry students Steve Hartman and Sam Thompson reset stone stairs. Photo courtesy of Angell Job Corps. Angell Job Corps masonry student Steve Hartman pressure washes the stone stairs of the Silcox Hut. Photo courtesy of Angell Job Corps. Forest Service Washington Office Staff Visit Harpers Ferry Job Civilian Conservation Center (L-R) Business Operations Supervisory Budget Specialist Tracey Hanson, Public Affairs Specialist Tiffany Holloway, Business Operations Project Manager Bill Helin, Center Director Ralph DiBattista, Business Operations Chief of Staff Anna Briatico, and Job Corps National Director Tina Terrell learn about the Computer Technician A+ program from Instructor Kevin Shirley on February 12, 2016. (L-R) Public Affairs Specialist Tiffany Holloway, Business Operations Supervisory Budget Specialist Tracey Hanson, and Business Operations Project Manager Bill Helin tour a Center dorm, led by Residential Living Supervisor Earthene Sibley, of the student dorms. Photo courtesy of Alicia D. Bennett. Page 13 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier Curlew Job Corps Complete an “Extreme Makeover” of the Spokane Humane Society Watch Curlew students performing this extreme makeover: http://www.kxly.com/ news/spokanenews/curlew-jobcorps-pitches-in-onspokane-humanesocietymakeover/38156094 Page 14 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier Been There: Trapper Creek Instructor Is Former Student Perry Backus, Associate Editor, Ravalli Republic, Originally published in The Missoulian and Ravalli Republic sas City to those in Denver. Often, they were homeless. “We were evicted time after time,” he said. “I remember being awakened in the middle of the night and my mom loading us up in an old station wagon for a drive to the next homeless shelter.” Trapper Creek Job Corps Fire Training Specialist Danny Atkinson. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Israel. Danny Atkinson knows what it’s like to make the best of a second chance. Trapper Creek Job Corps’ newest natural resource instructor wants to pass that on to a new generation of young men and women who’ve faced their own demons in their lives. “I was the elite of the dysfunctional,” said the 36-year-old Atkinson. “I was very violent. I hated everything. I hated everyone. I didn’t care if I lived or died.” He was youngest of five in a family that moved between the mean streets of downtown Kan- Atkinson burnt down an apartment building when he was nine. By the time he was in his teens, he had been charged with assault numerous times. “I joined a gang,” he said. “I felt like they gave me a sense of family, but it ended up being never even close to that. I had no sense of responsibility. No vision. I didn’t care about anything.” As he grew into young manhood, a lot of friends either killed themselves or got killed by others. Atkinson’s sister asked him to go with her to a Christian camp. “I got there and everyone was talking about God and about Jesus,” he said. “They were all running around and smiling, and there I was going through my own Armageddon. I just wanted to get out of there.” After one of the talks, Atkinson went outside and looked toward the sky. “I said: ‘Where are you man. What’s this all about. Show me something.’” Of course, nothing happened. When his sister found him, he said he wanted to leave. He told her he didn’t belong there. “Look at these people. They are all so different than me,” he said. About that time, the pastor walked by. Atkinson reached into his pocket, where he kept his knife. When the pastor stepped closer, Atkinson told the man: “Don’t you ever touch me. I will cut you open.” The pastor was a large Asian man. He looked at the young teen and said he just wanted to tell him something. Atkinson stared back defiantly. “He said to me: ‘When I look into your eyes, I see a little boy just wanting to be loved for who he is and not judged for what he does.” Atkinson remembers that he started to cry. “I never really cried before,” he said. “I had been taught not to show my emotions.” Atkinson handed the pastor his knife. And the man responded with a hug. “And God came into my life,” Atkinson said. Atkinson was doing his best to stay away from trouble after that, but there were peaks and valleys “Determination and perseverance will take you to places that you have never dreamed of. That’s what this place did for me. Without it, I was dead or in prison, for sure.” Danny Atkinson Fire Training Specialist Trapper Creek Job Corps as he remained in a place where everything seemed bad. He was working construction in downtown Denver when he noticed a Job Corps advertisement stapled to a telephone pole. He met with a Job Corps screener in 1997. The next year, he was enrolled at the Job Corps Center at Trapper Creek. When he arrived, his reading and math skills were at a fourthgrade level. Beyond the huge challenge of catching up academically, Atkinson came with his mind set on embracing this second chance in life. He found his passion in the yellow and green Nomex of the wildland firefighters. “I was finally away from all the negative stuff in my life,” he (continued on page 15) News from the World of the Civilian Conservation Centers The International Masonry Institute in the Job Corps program’s Region 2 awarded its Project of the Quarter award to the Pine Knot Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center. Photo courtesy of Pine Knot Job Corps. (L-R) Cass Job Corps students Derrell Robinson and Zachary Bieber observed Meadors Lumber Company Yard Manager Mike Frazier on Groundhog Job Shadow Day which allows students to learn onthe-job skills and receive exposure to new jobs and expand their network of employers. Page 15 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier Been There: Trapper Creek Instructor Is Former Student (continued from page 14) Perry Backus, Associate Editor, Ravalli Republic, Originally published in The Missoulian and Ravalli Republic said. “I was out of the conflict zone. That’s huge. In this place, you get away from everyone you know and everything that people know about us. It gives you the opportunity for a second chance to change your life from the inside out.” Atkinson embraced all of it. He took advantage of all the leadership positions that were offered. By the time he graduated, his reading and math skills were just short of being equivalent to a college freshman. “I had it in my head that I was nobody when I first came here,” he said. “I wanted to be somebody. I wanted to do great things. This place, this staff, “I could remember that small voice inside of me that said ‘You can be somebody.’ And now I hope that I can help others find that little spark that can change their lives. I can’t teach them that. It’s something that they have to find themselves, but once they get it, the floodgates come open.” helped me achieve that. They gave me the tools that I needed to be successful.” “If I can do it, everyone can do it.” That’s the message that he brings to his 30 students in the natural resources program at Trapper Creek. Determination and perseverance will take you to places that you have never dreamed of,” he said. “That’s what this place did for me. Without it, I was dead or in prison, for sure.” “It doesn’t matter who you are or how you’ve lived. If you are willing to change and find something that you are passionate about, you can go places that you never dreamed were possible,” Atkinson said. “It’s a powerful thing to see when someone overcomes all the obstacles that were there in front of them. I know what it takes. I’ve been there. I’m one of them and now I want to pay it forward.” On that first day of teaching at Trapper Creek, he walked into the classroom and looked out the young faces staring back at him. “It was just surreal,” he said. “I looked at them and I saw me.” Atkinson said he couldn’t believe all of his hard work and determination had brought him full circle back to the very classroom where his second chance on life had started. “It had brought me to a place where I not only have the opportunity to help other students, they help me at the same time,” he said. “There was just a flood of memories that came back when I first stepped into that classroom. “I could remember that small voice inside of me that said ‘You can be somebody.’ And now I hope that I can help others find that little spark that can change their lives. I can’t teach them that. It’s something that they have to find themselves, but once they get it, the floodgates come open. They know they want to be somebody. I want to help them find that.” He knows they will have to face all kinds of challenges along the way. When those happen: “I look them straight in the eye and tell them: ‘I believe in you. We’re going to do this together.’” Sometimes, Atkinson looks back at his life and wonders how it could all be true. “I can hardly believe it,” he said. “It seems like yesterday that I was sitting in those same blue chairs in the same classroom where I now After he graduated from Trapper Creek, Atkinson went to work with the U.S. Forest Service wildfire fighting corps. When he accepted the job to teach at Trapper Creek this year, Atkinson was serving as a division trainee with the federal agency. “I was in charge of millions of dollars of equipment,” he said. Trapper Creek Job Corps forestry students study alternatives available to remove a fallen tree from the Tin Cup Creek Trail on the Bitterroot National Forest. Photo courtesy of Adam Washebek. “We all want to be respected for the right reasons.” teach. I can’t believe what a difference God has made in my life. I can’t believe the difference that Trapper Creek Job Corps has made in my life. It’s made me the person that I am today.” Atkinson was married in March. The young couple bought a house and is settling in for the long haul. “I’m going to be here until God tells me something different,” he said. “I’m so happy that my perseverance and attitude has brought me full circle back to this place. There is no other explanation than God is good.” “In the end, all of us just want somebody to love us for who we are,” Atkinson said. “I care for all of these students immensely. I want to do whatever I can for them.” Atkinson knows the importance of being real with his students. “I know that I need to just be me,” he said. “I want to show them that I’m excited about my life. I want to show everyday that I’m excited about being here.” “They can take it or leave it, but when they come into my classroom, we’re at full throttle,” Atkinson said. “We will be great. We will do great things … People are here to better themselves. You don’t want to get in the way because we’ll run you right over.” Every student at Trapper Creek comes with his or her own story about how they ended up here. “Yet, we’re all here wanting the same thing,” he said. “We want to change our lives and be somebody. We all want to be respected for the right reasons.” Page 16 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier Cass Job Corps Students Enter the High-Tech Video World Darrell “Wallie” Shaw, Teacher, Cass Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Cass Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center students participating in ‘Jobs for America’s Graduates’ (JAG) are taking the lead in developing interactive virtual reality (VR) scenarios for the their Center located in Ozark, Arkansas. (L-R) Cass Job Corps students Kimberly Heath, Elijah Coleman and Elisa DeManty practice their virtual reality development skills. Photo courtesy of Darrell “Wallie” Shaw. The JAG students are developing a virtual tour of their campus which will ultimately lead viewers through each vocational trade program as well as other areas of center life. The VR environments will also connect traditional Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) learning techniques with Cass trade programs. The JAG students are using the project to develop environmental sustainability VR environments. Interested persons can flip through the virtual tour of Cass Job Corps’ at: http://108.174.199.16/. http://108.174.199.16/. Pine Knot Job Corps Cleans Up During the Clean Sweep of U.S. Highway 27 Donna Coffey, Support Services Supervisor Pine Knot Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center On Thursday April 21st, 2016, 20 Pine Knot Job Corps students and four staff members participated in the “No Place Like Home Clean Sweep of US 27,” part of the 2016 Personal Responsibility in a Desirable Environment (PRIDE) Spring Cleanup. Sixteen students worked to remove trash and debris from the roadside and four culinary arts students pre- pared and served lunch to hungry volunteers. Students and staff reported that everyone felt a sense of accomplishment in helping the community and the environment. Pine Knot students always appreciate the opportunity to volunteer and enjoy and look forward to supporting local community events throughout the year. Golconda Job Corps Camp Crew and Community Partners Cleanup Lake Glendale Recreational Area Steven Beattie, Works Program Officer, Golconda Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center At 8:00 AM on a Saturday morning late in April 2016, Golconda Job Corps’ camp crew loaded onto a bus headed for the Lake Glendale Recreation Area on the Shawnee National Forest. On an event long in the planning, the eight member crew, along with Job Corps Works Program Officer Steven Beattie and Motor Vehicle Operator Hassan Lot, picked up trash on the three mile trail around Lake Glendale. The crew had breakfasted on meals ready to eat; however, after a hard morning’s work, the students sat down for a BBQ for lunch. After lunch, the crew learned how to properly ignite camp fire from pine needles and sticks. Volunteer events like the cleanup teach students the importance of maintaining the nation’s public lands alongside community partners. Page 17 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier Angell Job Corps’ Honor Guard Develops Young Leaders While Assisting the Local Community Mikell P. Sumerau, Center Standards Officer, Angell Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center I started the Angell Honor Guard in February 2012. The idea was to create a group to work with students who had aspirations of joining the armed forces when they completed the program. Since its inception, the Honor Guard Program has grown to include students from all over center without regard to future armed services goals. The program has grown in complexity and drive with duties that include but are not limited to the following: Most Angell Honor Guard members complete the program with high honors and move on to advanced training, the armed forces or emergency management services. organization. Training includes the following: ♦ Advanced 1st aid, including C.P.R., A.E.D., Triage, Extraction, Scene Security, I.C.S. 100, Initial Vital Signs, and SOAP report (40 hour course). ♦ Advanced Leadership, including normative culture, mentoring, peer counseling, performance appraisals, incentives, and discipline (20 hour course). ♦ Security on center ♦ Critical Emergency Response to community events; ♦ Maintenance and care of veterans memorials and burial sites; ♦ ♦ Assisting the elderly with labor intensive assignments; Verbal conflict resolution in the form of Verbal Judo (8 hour course). ♦ Drill and Ceremony, including forming of ranks, chain of command, marching, flag responsibilities, and ceremonies with flags. ♦ Supporting Forest Service law enforcement with cleanup of illegal camp sites; ♦ Assisting local law enforcement with running aid stations on hiking/biking events; ♦ Maintaining the Centers normative culture. The Honor Guard is supported by the Oregon National Guard, Veterans of Foreign Wars, The American Legion, The Tribal counsel of the Confederated tribes Siletz, and the Oregon Disabled Veterans Group. The support comes in training materials, event sponsorship, and letters of recognition. Members of the Honor Guard receive training not offered to other students and in return for the training credentials the Honor Guard swear to provide community service to all nonprofit organizations at no cost to the Most Angell Honor Guard members complete the program with honors and move on to advanced training, the armed forces or emergency management services. These select few students operate by the decree “Take a personal responsibility for the success of others.” The Honor Guard has helped halt numerous behavior incidents on the Center, from drug use to violence. With its help, the culture at Angell Job Corps Center has been changing for the better. Every time the Angell Job Corps Honor Guard meets a goal, it simply sets the bar higher—and it starts working on a new challenge. Page 18 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier Golconda Job Corps Participates in America the Beautiful Quarter Unveiling Bob Coulson, Center Director, Golconda Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center (L-R 1st row) Golconda Job Corps students Johnnie Moore, Angelique Fortier, and Caprice Burley. (L-R 2nd row) Golconda students Beto Obuy, Blake Czak, Cody Teen-Southard, and Dariana Robinson. (L-R 3rd row) Golconda student Ruben Maldonado, Shawnee National Forest Supervisor Allen Nicholas, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell, and Golconda student Zachary Neswick. (L-R 4th row) Golconda students Jess Dale, Zack Garner, Duvante Dean, Jermaine Phillips, and Diez Carter. Photo courtesy of Golconda Job Corps. On February 4, 2016, the Golconda Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center joined U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell and the U.S. Mint to celebrate the unveiling of the America the Beautiful Quarter® Program honoring the Shawnee National Forest. The Golconda Job Corps Center is associated with the Shawnee National Forest. Eighteen student leaders, each representing a Center trade, were chosen to attend the coin release ceremony. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell served as a guest speaker at the event. Golconda students had the opportunity to meet Chief Tidwell and share their experiences at the Center and explain their leadership positions and individual trades. The quarter honoring the Shawnee National Forest features the Garden of the Gods’ Camel Rock. The quarter is the 31st release in the U.S. Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Program. The Garden of the Gods is full of sandstone rock formations and is one of the Shawnee’s and Southern Illinois’ most visited recreation sites. Of the many formations at the Garden of the Gods, Camel Rock is unique in that it resembles a calm camel looking over the care of the Forest and spectacular landscape like a silent sentinel. have performed over the past 50 years include cement masonry crews building and maintaining the walk ways by placing and securing the sandstone paths and stone steps, urban forestry students trimming trees along pathways and camp sites and clearing away ground clutter, the welding trade fabricating a locking system for the water station, and carpentry students replacing kiosk roofs. Not only is the Shawnee National Forest a WorkBased Learning site for Golconda students, Center recreational staff often take students on trips to the Garden of the Gods where they can walk along the pathways, climb rocks, and enjoy the scenery. Many of the Golconda’s students come from around the Chicago urban area and have never experienced nature. Golconda Job Corps Facts Students: 187 Employees: 50 Associated Forest: Shawnee National Forest Program Year 2014 Graduate Placement Rate: 82.1% Vocational Trades ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Brick Masonry Construction Craft Laborer Medical Office Support Union Carpentry Urban Forestry Electrical Union Painting Welding After the official coin release, Golconda Job Corps students had the opportunity to participate in a coin exchange, with each student receiving a commemorative coin. The students wrapped up the day by going to the Garden of the Gods for a group photo at Camel Rock. Golconda Job Corps Center is intricately connected to the Shawnee National Forest and Garden of the Gods Recreational Area. Many of the Center’s trades have assisted the Shawnee National Forest Supervisor’s Office with the improvement and maintenance of the Supervisor’s Office and on the national forest. Highlights of the work the Center’s students (L-R) Golconda students Cody Teen-Southard, Johnnie Moore, Robert Dancy, Zachary Neswick, Caleb Pretzler, Jesse Dale, Ruben Maldonado, Brian Jordan, Beto Obuy, Blake Czak, Zack Garner, Angelique Fortier, Darren Spearman, Diez Carter, Jermaine Phillips, Caprice Burley, and Dariana Robinson display their commemorative coins at Camel Rock in the Garden of the Gods on the Shawnee National Forest. Photo courtesy of Golconda Job Corps. Page 19 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier A Farrier Comes to the Pine Ridge Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Carpentry Students Romulus Kost and Chase Engel and United Brotherhood of Carpenters Carpentry Instructor Kevin M. Miller, Pine Ridge Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center On the morning of February 25th, 2016, Jacob Butler brought his equipment and expertise in horse shoeing to the Pine Ridge Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center. Butler works with his father and brother at the Butler Professional Farrier School, located near Crawford, Nebraska. of creating nail holes which requires repeated heats of the metal. The hot metal is placed over a square hole, called a hardy hole, in the top of the anvil and a punch and hammer is used to make the perforations in the flat face of the shoe. Butler made 3 nail holes ¾ to 1 inch on each side of the shoe. Each year the school trains new farriers from around the United States as well as the world. Egg Bar horseshoes start out in a similar fashion except that the toe bend on each end is replaced with a ½ inch scarf in preparation for welding the two ends together. Butler conducted a one hour demonstration on how to forge different types of shoes in front of close to 30 welding apprentices and Center Welding Instructors Ira Mckillip and Ken Winner. Also attending were two carpentry apprentices who had an interest in the farrier arts and blacksmithing. During Butler’s presentation he hammered out regular and Egg Bar horseshoes. He used a portable propane forge for his demonstration instead of traditional coal forge because propane forges can be set up more quickly and are smaller in size yet capable of substantial heat. With each type of shoe, Butler’s process began in the same way. First he took a length of 5/16th inch by ¾ inch mild steel bar which he placed into the gas forge and heated (1900-2000° F) to a light yellow color. Butler then used the face of his anvil and hammer to make a toe bend on one end of the steel. Once completed, he reversed the material and inserted it back into the fire in order to heat the other end. Once hot, the steel was returned to the anvil and a second toe bend was created. That completed, the material began to take on the appearance of a traditional shoe. Next, Butler began the process Once the scarfs are completed, a flux is applied and both ends are heated to a welding temperature well over the temperature needed previously to shape the metal. One end overlaps the other and the ends are permanently attached together using anvil and hammer. Butler's preferred flux for this process is Iron Mountain brand. Pine Ridge Job Corps welding apprentice and carpentry students gather around Farrier Jacob Butler as he prepares a Egg Bar horseshoe. Photo courtesy of Kalli Streit. Once welded, the shoe is in the shape of a circle. A fuller tool is used to form a crease on both sides of the shoe where the nail With each type of shoe, Butler’s process began in the same way. First he took a length of 5/16th inch by ¾ inch mild steel bar which he placed into the gas forge and heated (1900-2000°F) to a light yellow color. Farrier Jacob Butler finishes a forge weld with his hammer, permanently connecting the two ends of a horse shoe. Photo courtesy of Ken Winner. holes will eventually be punched. According to Butler, this crease creates more shoe traction. However, before creating these holes over the hardy hole of the anvil, final shaping occurs around the anvil horn while the metal is hot. Since the shoe is made of mild steel, it can still be reshaped to fit a specific horse when the horse is being shod. Using a punch and hammer over the hardy hole of the anvil, Farrier Jacob Butler creates nail holes that will be used to attach the horse shoe. Photo courtesy of Ken Winner. Page 20 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier What Can Civilian Conservations Centers Do For Your National Forests and Grasslands? Sample Work Forest Service Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers National Forest Systems Recreation • • Trail construction, trail maintenance • • Installation of picnic tables, fire rings Recreation site improvements: painting (signs, picnic tables), facilities maintenance, construction, brush removal, mowing, trailhead maintenance) Kiosk construction and installation 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 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers (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 JCCCC 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 National 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. Forestry • • • • Pre-commercial thinning, tree planting, timber marking Stream maintenance -gabion installations Nursery work -tree lifting and packing, seedling planting Cone collection 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 ; however, 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. 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 Job Corps students on deployment to Colorado in response to a 2013 1,000 year flood event. 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 Ouachita Job Corps urban forestry graduate Sandra Machado working at Garvan Woodlands Gardens. Photo courtesy of the Sentinel-Record. 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 Applied learning in academics at Boxelder Job Corps. Photo courtesy of Bonnie Fuller. 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 • • Data collection Prescribed fire Research Inventory Columbia Basin Job Corps culinary arts students serve a Thanksgiving meal to local community. Photo courtesy of Columbia Basin Job Corps. Oconaluftee Job Corps student helps construct a retaining wall on the Cheoah Ranger District on the National Forests in North Carolina. Photo courtesy of Oconaluftee Job Corps. Page 21 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center Courier 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. 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. USDA Forest Service operates 27 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers (JCCCCs) with a capacity to house, educate, and train over 5,200 enrollees. 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). Students attend academic and vocational classes and learn critical life skills in preparation for long-term employment, careers in natural resources, continued education or military service. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users). Alicia D. Bennett Public Affairs Officer/Editor USDA Forest Service Job Corps 740 Simms Street Golden, CO 80401 Phone: 303-275-5934 E-mail: [email protected] Assistant Editors: Program and Policy Analyst Joy Nasados 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/