Madison College hosts police training for Alzheimer’s disease patients

From wkow.com: “Law enforcement agencies say Alzheimer’s is becoming a growing problem” — Of all the types of emergencies police officers, fire fighters and EMT’s respond to on a daily basis, Alzheimer’s Disease isn’t one that most people think about. The disease is typically associated with senior care centers and retirement communities, but law enforcement officers say the issue is becoming a bigger part of their daily lives.

“We’ve seen a startling increase in calls in recent years,” Alzheimer’s response trainer Hank Levenson says.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, a person is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s once every 68 seconds. There’s a 60% chance that they will wander off or get lost at least once in their lifetime. That is where local law enforcement agencies come in. Officers say they’re being called out to an increasing amount Alzheimer’s related situations.

“Not knowing how to recognize that it may be Alzheimer’s, you look at it as possibly someone who is just being uncooperative, somebody that might have been drinking,” Levenson says.

The issue has prompted the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) to organize a nationwide training initiative. A team of trainers is currently traveling to several cities across the country to teach officers the signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s. On Monday they held a training session at Madison College for nearly a hundred police officers and first responders from across the state of Wisconsin.

“Wandering is a huge issue with Alzheimer’s patients. If someone is out in the weather, on the street, inappropriately dressed, officers and first responders need to understand that is not a deliberate act that they’re doing,” trainer Deborah Thompson says.

One of the most important lessons that instructors are teaching first responders and officers is that if they come across someone who might have Dementia or Alzheimer’s is to not run the sirens or the lights on their vehicles. They say the patient may become confused or violent in that situation. Trainers say violent behavior is already a major concern in Alzheimer’s situations. Law enforcement agencies receive numerous domestic violence calls every year. By knowing how to deal with these patients, officers are hoping to not only protect the patients and their families, but other people in their community as well.

“It’s a huge issue and it’s only going to increase in magnitude. It’s not going to reverse,” Thompson says. “It’s not just people who are 65 and older anymore. It’s people who are in their 30’s and 40’s. It’s really becoming a big issue.”

View video from wkow.com

Western hosts Health Summit

From lacrossetribune.com: “La Crosse summit seeks Rx for health gap for disadvantaged” —Coulee Region health officials are pressing their quest to improve residents’ overall well-being by diagnosing the impact of factors such as socioeconomic conditions.

The evolving concept of health equity “includes health care, but it’s a lot more,” said Jordan Bingham, who will address the topic as keynote speaker Friday at the annual Health Summit of the La Crosse Medical Health Science Consortium.

“Having access to health care is only about 20 percent of it,” said Bingham, health equity coordinator for public health in Madison and Dane County. “Other things include the environment — and I don’t mean just clean air and water. Those play a part, but it also includes healthy housing, healthy food and healthy activities.”

Some people don’t have access to such advantages, she said, adding, “Where people live, their education, their income, race and social class are significant health predictors.

“Over the years, we’ve educated people on how to be healthy but not addressed the environmental factors,” Bingham said.

The theme of the summit from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Lunda Center at Western Technical College is “Health Equity: The Opportunity for Health Begins in Our Families, Neighborhoods, Schools and Jobs.”

It piggybacks on the outcome of the summit last year, when participants resolved to examine factors such as income, poverty and education, consortium executive director Catherine Kolkmeier said.

“I hear more and more in the community about how health is tied to people’s circumstances — how we live, where we work,” Kolkmeier said.

“There is a lot of momentum in the community about neighborhood revitalization, and that is tied into health,” Kolkmeier said.

Previously, health considerations often were split into clinical care at hospitals, the physical environment in the city and county and socioeconomic conditions that various public agencies addressed, she said.

“It’s become more obvious now that you can’t separate the health and the socioeconomic conditions,” she said.

Although data exist on the federal and state levels, it’s harder to discern statistics locally, so the consortium is working on that, Kolkmeier said.

The consortium, which covers 20 counties in the tri-state area, and other local agencies have developed a reputation for taking health initiatives seriously, said Bingham, who previously was the state’s Healthy Communities coordinator.

“A lot of places around the state see La Crosse as a leader,” she said. “Folks there are doing great work with smoke-free living … and increasing access to healthy foods and activities.”

Avoiding the political rabbit hole of the Affordable Care Act, Bingham said Obamacare at least is creating access to health care for people who didn’t have it before.

Beyond that, though, she said, “What is our responsibility to create opportunities for people to live, work, learn and play?”

Bingham acknowledged differences between urban and rural areas.

“Urban communities traditionally are more walkable, more dense and have more resources,” such as being able to get to a park to exercise, she said.

“In rural settings, which are a huge challenge in Wisconsin, people may have a lot of physical activity. But in reality, most who live in rural areas traditionally drive to their jobs,” she said.

“When it comes down to it, the reality is we don’t all have the same opportunities,” she said. “I live close to two grocery stores. I can ride, walk, bus or drive to work.

“I can provide the basic needs, but people on limited income or with disabilities or who live in apartment where the only place to play is the parking lot cannot,” she said.

“All of us need to understand that our community isn’t healthy until all have the opportunities to close the health gap,” Bingham said.

“It may be obvious — but maybe not — it’s a sad state of affairs when where people live or their ZIP codes determine how healthy they are or how long they live.”

Fox Valley Tech helps displaced workers find new careers

From thenorthwestern.com: “Life after Oshkosh Corp” — Evaristo Mondragon Jr. got used to the lines.

He had lined up for interviews and skill tests at job fairs across the Fox Valley, welding gear usually in tow, since February. An assembler at Oshkosh Corp. for four years, until he was laid off last July, Mondragon’s unemployment benefits had run out and graduation from Fox Valley Technical College’s welding program in May approached fast.

The cold-calls to companies throughout the valley, like the job fairs, produced only glimmers of hope. Mondragon, 30, was told he wasn’t quite qualified yet, even for the part-time jobs, so often he can still recite the standard response from memory.

“‘We like everything about you, but we really need someone with three to five years of welding experience,’” he said.

So earlier this month, when officials at Ariens Co. directed him to another line, after the lines for his interview and another for the skills test, he wasn’t sure what this line was for.

“Eventually one guy walking by told us ‘They’re offering you a job,’” Mondragon said. “A couple of days later, I got offered a job on second shift. They either liked something in my skills test or they liked everything.”

This summer more than 700 Oshkosh Corp. employees will face those same lines as they look for new work in the wake of another layoff driven by declining orders for the company’s military transport trucks.

But examples like those of Mondragon and others who were let go in previous layoffs offer hope, for both the former employees and for the broader economy, that there is life after Oshkosh Corp. for the company’s former employees.

Life after layoffs

Mass layoffs are never easy affairs.

They can depress a regional economy, push longtime employees into a crowded job market, strain families and require government assistance to support and retrain people in the name of recovery.

And then there’s Oshkosh Corp.’s 2013 layoffs.

As defense revenues declined by more than 30 percent, the size of the company’s workforce had to shrink. After 8,700 Mine-Resistant All-Terrain Vehicles and 26,000 Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles trucks and trailers rolled off the line, layoffs had to come once the orders were filled.

But an odd thing happened: The region’s economy absorbed a significant portion of the 1,150 production and office employees Oshkosh Corp. laid off last year.

After the layoffs in April and July of 2013, local unemployment rates in Winnebago, Outagamie and Fond du Lac counties continued to decline for the rest of the year. At a job fair Oshkosh Corp. held last year to help more than 500 laid off workers find new jobs, it boasted that participating companies had more jobs to fill than there were employees being laid off.

And that hasn’t changed. Even today, 19 companies have 121 welding and metal fabrication jobs available in the region according to Wisconsin TechConnect, a job service offered through Wisconsin’s technical colleges.

“It shows the brilliance of the economy up there,” said Reed Hall , CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. They’ve been through these issues before,” Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Reed Hall said. “The good news is there are not a lot of mass layoffs going on. Mass layoffs at a 10-year low which is a good sign for our economy.”

Support systems

When Oshkosh Corp. completes the layoff this summer of another 700 production and 60 office employees itwill have laid off more people than the combined workforces of both hospitals in Oshkosh.

Affected employees aren’t the only ones taking notice, though, as local, state and federal agencies continue to look for ways to help soften the blow.

Just last week, the WEDC unveiled a special loan program to help manufacturers, fabrication shops, machine shops, parts suppliers and other parts of the supply chain months ahead of time specifically to help Oshkosh Corp. suppliers.

Hall, WEDC’s CEO, said the agency would provide a loan or loan guarantee of $50,000 to $250,000, provided the company matches 50 percent of the loan amount, to help businesses fund equipment purchases, add staff and take other steps to pursue other business opportunities.

“We certainly understand the impact the Defense Department cuts have and how that ripples through our economy,” Hall said. “We’re doing what we can to retain these jobs here in Wisconsin. And Oshkosh Corp. will make it through. We have a lot of confidence in Oshkosh Corp., that they will … grow again.”

The WEDC program is just the most recent of a series of federal, state and local efforts to mitigate the impact of the layoffs.

The Department of Defense took notice last fall and awarded the East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission an $837,000 grant to find ways to soften the blow of defense cutbacks on the company’s supply chain. The grant includes funds to explore diversifying the economy and specifically allocated funds for a marketing and cluster study for the aviation business park under development at the southeast corner of Wittman Regional Airport.

Chamco CEO Elizabeth Hartman said the study will identify a focus, or market, for the aviation business park that would identify 20 to 30 companies economic development officials could target to fill the park.

“When they reach out to contacts, they really try to identify potential folks that would want to be a part of a cluster centered around a business issue or cluster,” Hartman told the Council in March. “You already have built-in prospects as a result. There’s also a marketing aspect to it, but there might be some additional work we want to do locally.”

Moving forward

Some former Oshkosh Corp. employees, like Mondragon, went back to school for new training. He said the state offered him $1,000-per-semester to help with tuition and that FVTC staff “was a pleasure to work with” and helped make sure he started school in the fall.

Fox Valley Technical College Welding Instructor Ben Cebery said the college’s Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Center welcomes 64 new students to its one-year welding certificate training program each school year. In addition, students are able to take individual courses to upgrade their skills.

“All of our classes have filled up to the max for a long time now,” Cebery said. “There’s definitely a mix between laid off workers and young people here for their first series of training. The night classes are definitely a big mix.”

Others found new jobs, like machinist Pat Wallace, who said he was offered three jobs within a month after he was laid off last summer.

“It was a good time to be laid off,” Wallace said.

Wallace opted to take a job as an inspector at Eagle Supply and Plastics over ones at F. Ziegler Enterprises and Mercury Marine because it paid better and he could work first shift. An added bonus: He’d be working with his friend and former Oshkosh Corp. coworker John Schmitz.

Wallace, 55, was prepared for the worst, though, because he had already been there five years ago. He had worked at Marvel Manufacturing for 22 years when the recession struck. Sales plummeted and so did the hours.

In 2009, Wallace landed at Oshkosh Corp. at a time when production was ramping up so fast then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited the company on Nov. 12, 2009. Gates called what he saw the most impressive military vehicle production run since World War II.

Workers hired at that time largely knew going in that they were being hired for the duration of the order, and that peacetime would bring reduced orders and a scaled back work force.

Wallace said his job search experiences, in good times and bad, have taught him that staffing companies can be useful, but workers should avoid signing contracts with them; that age isn’t the issue older workers may think it is, and that building up savings is key.

“It worked out that my training and experience were right for Eagle,” Wallace said. “The only thing I was worried about was health insurance. I’m older. But I had money in savings to hold me over.”

Brothers receive Western Tech College Distinguished Alumni Award

From wxow.com: “La Crescent men receive WTC Distinguished Alumni Award” — Two La Crescent brothers are this year’s Western Technical College Distinguished Alumni.

Jeff and Brian Wieser graduated from Western in 1983 and 1986, respectively, completing the Wood Tech Program.

The brothers are now the owners of Wieser Brothers General Contractors in La Crescent.

The business has grown from two employees to 85, with annual sales exceeding $30 million dollars.

The Wiesers have stayed connected with the college over the years; they have established a scholarship fund and serve on the foundation board.

View video from wxow.com

Milwaukee mayor describes ‘ladder of opportunity’

From jsonline.com: “Building a ‘ladder of opportunity’ ” — By Tom Barrett – Too many Milwaukee workers are either unemployed or underemployed, and too many local businesses assert they cannot find the skilled workers they need. City government is committed to doing what it can to connect workers with jobs. The federal government is stepping up, too.

The Obama administration with its American Job Training Investments: Skills and Jobs to Build a Stronger Middle Class announcement earlier this month is making a priority of job training, apprenticeships and partnerships between community colleges and businesses.

Several years ago, I attended a community meeting and listened to frustrated residents say they could not find jobs. On the same day across town, at an event at an employer, I listened as company executives said they had a shortage of qualified workers. This experience led to the development of Milwaukee’s proactive, employer-driven training initiative, the Mayor’s Manufacturing Partnership. Since the launch of the initiative, more than 100 area employers have hired or advanced the skills of more than 800 individuals in the manufacturing industry.

President Barack Obama has highlighted the Milwaukee area’s innovative workforce partnerships in his visits here, and he has engaged in discussions about replenishing the workforce as baby boomers retire. We have a real need to expose more young people to skilled labor trades. The federal investments outlined in the American Job Training Investments announcement will be responsive to these issues and support the current efforts.

In Milwaukee, we are ahead of the curve. Milwaukee’s workforce system, coordinated by the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board, fosters strong relationships among industry, businesses, the technical college system and training organizations to train workers for current job openings. Milwaukee area manufacturers work closely with the technical college system and workforce partners such as the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership to develop employer-driven customized training. As a result, technical college graduates, from schools such as the Milwaukee Area Technical College, are being hired by local manufacturers, many of them with industry certifications, such as Manufacturing Skills Standards Council certification.

Our regional economy is growing and needs skilled workers, from entry-level workers to higher-level workers with specific skills. The commitment outlined in the announcement supports workers who face challenges in upgrading and certifying their skills, as well as middle- and lower-income city residents who have been particularly hard hit by the economy. The investment the White House is making in technical college education and apprenticeships will deliver newly skilled workers and build the pipeline needed for the growing economy, enhancing the efforts of Milwaukee’s forward-thinking business community.

And the timing couldn’t be better.

The City of Milwaukee has developed plans for an advanced manufacturing center at Century City, at the site of the old A.O. Smith industrial site. The center will be operated by a coalition including our technical college, workforce investment board and businesses to train and connect workers with real jobs in modern manufacturing. The Century City location puts this innovative center close to new and existing manufacturers in the 30th Street Industrial Corridor. It will be close to potential workers who are unemployed or underemployed.

Another added benefit is the investment to be made in modern equipment to train advanced manufacturing workers also will be available to companies for prototyping and testing operational improvements. Manufacturing provides a large number of well-paying jobs, with wages 31% higher than the regional average for all workers. Manufacturing is the very heart of our region’s “ladder of opportunity.”

Our goals are aligned. The City of Milwaukee and the business community are working collaboratively with workforce partners to close the mismatch between jobs and workers and to connect the public and private sectors to research and innovation.

 

BTC instructor earns national award

From wispolitics.com: “Instructor earns American society of Microbiology Faculty Enhancement Award” — Dan Harrigan, a lab tech assistant instructor at Blackhawk Technical College’s Monroe Campus, is one of three college instructors from across the nation to be named a Faculty Enhancement Travel Award winner by the American Society of Microbiology.

In bestowing the honor, the organization described Harrigan as a “stellar example of commitment to teaching undergraduate microbiology and biology.’’

Harrigan will receive a one-year society membership and funding to the ASM national convention for undergraduate educators from May 15th to May 18th in Danvers, Mass.

The Faculty Enhancement Program Travel Award recognizes leaders in biology education and provides them with opportunities to learn research and pedagogy developments, practice new technologies and techniques, and connect with other educators and researchers by attending ASM national convention. Awardees are educators who teach microbiology at two- or four-year institutions with large percentages of historically excluded and underrepresented students selected based on their leadership capacity, commitment to improving teaching, and dedication to participating in education and outreach programs, among other criteria.

The other two awardees are Nastassia Jones of Philander Smith College, Little Rock, Ark., and Carol Stiles, Georgia Military College, Valdosta, Ga.

Sponsored by the ASM Committee on Undergraduate Education, a committee of the ASM Education Board, ASM convention is an interactive, four-day conference where educators learn and share the latest information about microbiology and biology as well as their most effective teaching strategies. The conference program includes poster presentations and plenary, concurrent, and exhibit sessions. Participants engage in formal and informal small group discussions among colleagues who are all focused on the same goal— improving teaching and learning in the biological sciences.

Nicolet College, UW-Stevens Point partner for education program

From uwsp.edu: “Nicolet College, UW-Stevens Point partner for education program” — A new program at Nicolet College, Rhinelander, will provide a smooth transition for students interested in completing a bachelor’s degree in elementary education at UW-Stevens Point. It begins in June 2014. 

The associate of science elementary education emphasis program will allow Nicolet College graduates to transition into the School of Education at UW-Stevens Point. 

Nicolet students who transfer to UW-Stevens Point after completing an associate degree will have satisfied all UW-Stevens Point general education program requirements plus 48 required credits toward a bachelor of science in elementary education. They will be on schedule to graduate with students who started their elementary education major at UW-Stevens Point. 

“We’re committed to providing our students seamless pathways to earning a bachelor’s degree that ultimately lead to multiple career options,” said Teresa Rose, Nicolet College transfer coordinator. “This collaboration is a perfect example.” 

“Both partners value the collaboration and thrive on enabling our students to be successful future educators,” said Patty Caro, head of UW-Stevens Point’s School of Education. 

Nicolet students will now be able to transfer to UW-Stevens Point and pursue a bachelor’s degree to teach middle childhood through early adolescence level, ages 6-13. A program for students to teach early childhood level, ages 0-8, regular education and early childhood special education has been in place between Nicolet and UW-Stevens Point since 2006. 

For more information, visit nicoletcollege.edu or call the Nicolet College Welcome Center at (715) 365-4493, or visit the UW-Stevens Point School of Education at www.uwsp.edu.

Survey finds more applicants lying on resumes

From weau.com: “Survey finds more applicants lying on resumes” — Have you ever lied on a job application?

According to a recent survey by careerbuilder.com 18% of people say they’ve done it and 38% say they’ve stretched the truth on their job responsibilities.

Local hiring managers want to remind people that honesty is always the best policy when it comes to trying to get a new job, and they say technology is making it easier to make sure a resume is telling the truth.

“I have two weeks left and I’ll graduate from CVTC,” Luke Monson said.

Monson had his resume in hand as he talked with employers at the Chippewa Valley Employment Expo Thursday afternoon. Monson says he is ready to launch his career in information technology, landing that job though is a lot easier said than done.

“I think if you don’t stand out you’ll just be tossed to the side,” Monson added.

Kelly Services in Eau Claire says when it comes to hiring, businesses are expecting more from job applicants.

“It’s rare to find a position in manufacturing or other opportunities where you don’t need to use a computer to do your job,” Katie Reid with Kelly Services said.

The high expectations coupled with a more competitive job market are just one of the reasons why carreerbuilder.com says more applicants are turning to lies on resumes. The Eau Claire Job Center says these days employers have a number of tools they can use to make sure what they see on a resume is what they get in an employee.

“Employers are doing more background checks. They are looking on CCAP and they are doing a background check and looking at Facebook and social media,” Eau Claire Job Center employment and training specialist Amber Hoffman said.

The Job Center in Eau Claire says lying on a resume can get you fired. In the long run, Kelly Services says misrepresenting your skills on an application won’t end up benefitting you or your prospective employer.

“You want to be honest and you also want to find the best fit for you and if an employer isn’t aware of everything you have to offer,” Reid said.

The Eau Claire Job Center does offer regular workshops for resume writing at its office. You can also get one on one help on resume writing with an employment specialist at the Job Center during regular business hours.

Madison College instructor advises protect data before selling device

From nbc15.com: “Protecting your data when selling a device” — As phones become more sophisticated, we store more and more data on them, use them for more and more tasks, and put personal information more and more at risk.

With smartphones, you’ve got probably photos, videos, your entire phone list, even credit card information stored on there. And if you don’t take the proper precautions, you become vulnerable to identity theft, fraud and blackmail.

These days folks are always trying to keep up on the latest technology; trading up for the newest and best on the market. And it’s so easy to ditch your old devices and make some green in the process. You can sell online, at places like gazelle.com, Amazon, EBay, and Craigslist. You can also sell devices in person, back to your phone carrier or at a pawn shop

But, before you fork over your phone, listen up! If you have an SD card, take it out. The same thing goes for any memory cards.

Most newer phones, like the iPhone, have a factory reset button under Settings. But, if you have an older model, you’ll want to double check your work.

“On some of the older phones, you can go in, go through and pull data it off” says Mike Massino, an Information Security instructor at Madison College.

If that leaves you a bit hesitant, you have to ask yourself: “is the value of my personal data worth more than the phone I’m trying to sell?”

Nick Koshollek, owner of Tech Heroes in Madison, says companies have taken great strides, in recent years, to help consumers protect personal information.

“We’re actually required by law to wipe all the devices and to remove all user data before we resell the devices again” says Koshollek.

Seeing personal information left on devices isn’t shocking for Koshollek. He says folks come in all the time with data still on their phone…a scammer’s dream come true

Does this mean you shouldn’t sell your old devices? No. But when in doubt, take your phone to an expert like Koshollek, before shipping it off to a new owner.

Walker signs bill to boost worker training partnerships

From lacrossetribune.com: “Walker signs jail transfer, training bills” — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed bills introduced by area legislators into law Wednesday.

Senate Bill 648, written in the Assembly by Rep. Jill Billings, D-La Crosse, will reduce jail expenses by allowing localities to transfer inmates to less expensive facilities in neighboring counties.

La Crosse County had identified Houston County, Minn., as a potential cost-saving destination, but state law previously barred such transfers. The new law allows transfers to neighboring counties, in or out of state, if the savings is 25 percent or greater.

Assembly Bill 226, co-written by Rep. Steve Doyle, D-Onalaska, allows more businesses to benefit from worker training partnerships with Wisconsin Technical College by expanding the eligibility for Workforce Advancement Training grants to businesses with up to 250 employees (up from 100). This bill also allows the Wisconsin Technical College System Board to award a grant to a district board to provide assistance with market expansion or business diversification.

Students tour new Advanced Manufacturing Training Center in Milton

From nbc15.com: “New advanced manufacturing training center in Milton” — Milton — “This is going to be a state of the art facility,” said Gary Kohn with Blackhawk Technical College.

Right now, it’s hard to see with all of the construction. But you can call it a sneak peek for nearly 230 high school students in Rock County.

Kohn is Wednesday’s tour guide. He’s showing off the college’s new Advanced Manufacturing Training Center in Milton.

“We want them to understand the programs a little bit better, so they see what kind of possibilities there are for their education,” said Kohn.

Cory Thomson, is a senior in high school, and among the 230 students, checking out the new construction.

“I can just imagine all the machines around there and all of the cool equipment that’s going to be there for kids to use and learn on,” said Thomson.

In six weeks, Thomson is graduating, and will pursue a career in manufacturing.

“You could make upwards of $75,000 to $100,000 a year,” said Kohn.

A booming business, and one in-demand. That’s the message Kohn is trying to hammer home to the future job seekers.

“All of the manufacturing programs would tell you they are fast growing, and there are many many jobs in need,” said Kohn.

Phase I of the building will be done, and open, by August. Making next school year the first that anyone can sign up.

View video from nbc15.com

Careers may finally separate twins

From chippewa.com: “Careers may finally separate twins” — EAU CLAIRE — Charles and Sam Welbourn are finally facing the moment when they will likely be going their separate ways, but they are OK with it. They each have their sights on a career in law enforcement, and now that they have their certification after graduation from the Chippewa Valley Technical College Law Enforcement Academy last Thursday, it’s time to look for jobs.

“We are both very close, but we’ll go wherever we get hired. We know we’re not going to be together,” said Sam.

Charles and Sam have been nearly as inseparable as they are indistinguishable from one another. In 2008, the identical twins graduated together from Chippewa Falls Senior High School, where they played both soccer and basketball. They attended UW-Stout together for two years, then both transferred to UW-Eau Claire, where they took up majors in criminal justice. They graduated together in May 2013.

Then came the 14-week CVTC Law Enforcement Academy, which consists of a series of classes held five days a week, eight hours a day, leading up to the granting of the certificate needed for employment as a public law enforcement officer in Wisconsin. A major requirement for admission is a minimum of 60 college-level credits, according to Eric Anderson, associate dean of the Emergency Services programs at CVTC. CVTC’s program is highly regarded, and Academy students can come from all over the state. The Welbourns were among 17 graduates in this spring’s class.

Back at Stout, Charles was listed as an engineering major, but Sam was undecided. They talked together about their next move before choosing law enforcement.

“We like the legal aspect of it,” Charles said. “And we liked the problem-solving aspect of it, and you get to work with your community through many different angles.”

“We like the unpredictability of the job. Every day is something new,” Sam added.

Yes, law enforcement can be a dangerous job, but that did not deter the Welbournes.

“It never crossed our minds,” Charles said. “It’s there, but it doesn’t affect us one bit.”

That’s because they will rely on the training they received at the Academy that taught them how to be conscious of the dangers, and how to look out for their own safety while serving the public.

“We had really good instructors here,” Sam said. “Passing on their life experiences was really valuable to us.”

One of the Welbourns’ fellow graduates, Joshua Pettis, spoke of safety in his remarks as the class speaker.

“Each day on duty, remember officer safety. You want to go home feeling as well as you did when you started,” Pettis said.

Pettis also advised the graduates to use their heads in every situation. “Your mind is your greatest weapon. Be sure to use it,” he said.

The guest speaker was Dallas Neville, the United States marshal for the western district of Wisconsin, who remarked on what he learned at each stage of his career, which included six years as Clark County sheriff. He advised the graduates to maintain high standards of integrity.

“You have all the control over your integrity, but if you ever lose it, it’s very difficult to get back,” Neville said. He added that they should remember that as patrol officers, they will represent not just the departments they work for, but all of law enforcement.

Recruiting women for apprenticeships

From fox11online.com: “Recruiting women for apprenticeships” — Northeast Wisconsin Technical College says it’s getting the word out to women.

Construction jobs pay well, and companies are looking for apprentices.

Look around the average construction site, and you might notice a gender divide.

“Historically, it’s been about 96 percent male,” said Todd Kiel, the NWTC Apprenticeship Manager.

So is the apprenticeship program .

Only about a dozen of the 500 current apprentices are female.

At this info session Tuesday, NWTC urged interested women, like Delphina Orosco, to apply.

“I was looking to get into carpentry,” said Orosco. “Currently, I work at the casino, so there’s not a lot of room for advancement there. But here, there are a ton of advancement possibilities.”

NWTC says apprenticeships are cost-effective ways of job training. Students get paid to be in the classroom or out on a job site.

“Generally speaking it’s one day every two weeks you get paid your regular eight hour a day salary to be here for apprenticeship training,” said Kiel.

The U.S. Department of Labor says women make up more than half of the minimum wage workers in Wisconsin.

That means they make $7.25 an hour.

Jim Golembeski with the Brown County Workforce Development Board says skilled apprentices make a lot more.

“This one says anywhere between 12 and 24 dollars an hour for a carpenter journeyman,” said Golembeski, showing a listing on the Wisconsin Job Center web site.

Right now the Wisconsin Job Center lists 111 construction openings in Brown County alone.

“After a long drought in the construction industry, things are booming,” said Golembeski.

Hopeful carpenters like Orosco say despite the gender gap, they’ll take the chance on building a better life.

“I’m ready to take that on,” said Orosco.

The Brown County workforce development office says there is no guarantee of work, after you finish an apprenticeship program, because it’s too far out to know what the economy will do.

Learn motorcycle safety at WCTC

From wisn.com: “Motorcycle safety on the minds of some riders after two fatal crashes” — Four people died in motorcycle crashes in Wisconsin in the past two days.

“While I’m driving checking my mirrors and looking behind me to see if there’s any cars that are coming up fast,” said motorcyclist Jason Laitsch. “A minor accident in a car can be a life-ending accident on a motorcycle so I’d say defensive driving is one of the biggest things they teach you in safety classes.”

Laitsch learned motorcycle safety classes over the spring and summer at Waukesha County Technical College.

WCTC will host more than five dozen motorcycle safety classes this spring and summer.

“We already completed the liability form we’ll talk more about that,” said instructor Jim Imoehl, a motorcycle riding coach.

Imoehl said this week’s deadly motorcycle crashes should serve as a lesson for those who drive cars.

“As community members and as car drivers we need to be aware that there are going to be more motorcyclists on the road,” he said.

Jill Congelmi is enrolled in the safety course.. She said learning to ride is on her bucket list, having survived breast cancer.

“A year ago I would have told you I just wanted to be a passenger and now I want a little bit of freedom to go when I want to go. So I want to know how to do it right and get some training,” she said.

Green vehicle workshop highlights alternate fuels

From jsonline.com: “Seeking savings when filling up, fleets turn to propane, natural gas” — The newest police vehicle in the city of Port Washington is powered by propane instead of gasoline.

The fuel known most for lighting gas grills and heating rural Wisconsin homes has emerged as an alternative that provides savings for owners of small fleets – like the seven patrol cars in the Port Washington police department.

Port Washington Police Capt. Mike Keller said he started exploring alternative fuels as a way to find a way to chip into the more than $60,000 a year the agency spends on fuel.

“For a small department that’s a lot,” so I’ve been doing research since 2012 looking for ways to reduce our operating costs and fueling costs,” Keller said during the Green Vehicles Workshop held Tuesday at Milwaukee Area Technical College.

The department considered vehicles fueled by compressed natural gas before deciding on propane instead. The first vehicle: A Ford sport utility vehicle that can run on gas or propane.

“The squad here went live in very late December a few months in, but based on usage so far saving $500 a month on fuel on one car vs. what we paid for gas,” Keller said.

The propane shortage that hit much of the country during the deep freeze this winter didn’t affect the department because it had already paid for the propane.

Until this year, the price of propane has been stable whereas gasoline prices have been much more volatile, said Jason Ebert, fleet and facilities manager with Go Riteway, which operates propane-powered buses and airport shuttles as well as propane-fueled school buses.

“Typically it’s gasoline that will fluctuate rapidly. Propane in its history has been a very stable fuel so that’s one thing that is very appealing,” said Ebert. “However we did have this issue this winter, due to our wonderful Wisconsin winter.”

Go Riteway had a “ceiling price” on propane that kept its prices from being too exorbitant when prices spiked temporarily this winter, he said.

The type of alternative fuel fleet operators are seeking depends on the kind of vehicles and the size of the fleet involved, said Ted Barnes of the Gas Technology Institute near Chicago.

Propane is best suited to small fleets given the lower up-front and capital costs associated with going with propane, compared with CNG.

Compressed natural gas, Barnes said, is best suited to larger trucks that burn a lot of fuel. Case in point: refuse trucks like those in the city of Milwaukee, which has 21 natural gas-fueled refuse trucks that double as snow plows, with another 22 on order, said Jeffrey Tews, fleet operations manager for the city’s Department of Public Works.

The city is saving about $6,500 per year per truck because of the price advantage natural gas enjoys over diesel.

With an upfront extra cost of $39,000 for buying the natural gas-powered vehicle, “that amounts to a six-year payback if we buy them outright, which is what we’re planning to do,” Tews said.

FVTC president responds to controversy over body farm

From postcrescent.com: “FVTC President Dr. Susan May: It’s time to put ‘body farm’ to rest” — You may have seen the flurry of media recently regarding a forensic training field at our Public Safety Training Center. The concept of an outdoor forensic training field may make for a tempting headline, but it is far from being anything final.

I’m sure you may be wondering about this development, so I’ll attempt to provide some clarification about this proposed aspect of the overall facility.

First, the concept of an all-season forensic training field has been included from the very beginning through all planning and referendum communication phases of this center. The very first rough drawings of this facility included this potential outdoor lab, as did early conversations with community leaders in 2009. As the project progressed, we often addressed questions about it, but this part of the center wasn’t highlighted because it’s by no means the primary focus of this new facility. From the beginning, it was considered a longer-range project for possible development in the future.

Right now, the forensic training field is only a concept, an idea, a possibility for further consideration. We are nowhere near actual implementation. Before any action is taken, we would need to address regulatory requirements, reporting standards and operational processes, let alone the research and development our staff would need to undertake. We have many more critical priorities than this, both in getting the PSTC up and running and across the college overall. Ultimately, we may determine that it simply isn’t worth pursuing if the regulations are prohibitive and/or costly.

Looking back, it’s important to remember that public hearings were held to provide information and answer any questions on all of our referendum projects, which were widely supported by the public in 2012. FVTC delivered more than 125 community presentations, our web site included detailed information on the projects, and communications were sent to municipalities, planning commissions, the state Department of Natural Resources, and many other agencies. We sent letters to the adjacent property owners to inform them about the PSTC and invited them to contact us with any questions or concerns.

We were also required to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment for the PSTC development. In that report, the forensic training field was specifically referenced in terms of secured access, visual appearance and odors. This was made available for public review and feedback, and a public hearing was held specifically on this report. The final document has been posted on our website since it was published in September 2012.

Our local media sources have really gotten ahead of themselves on this one; perhaps some of our own exuberant and well-meaning staff has as well. I find it very interesting that all of this media attention has generated a number of inquiries from people about donating their bodies for this type of research, as well as contacts from several universities worldwide interested in working with us at this facility. They, too, are perhaps getting ahead of themselves.

Is there merit to the idea of creating the nation’s first all-season forensic training field to support forensics education, training and research? Absolutely. But, as I’ve tried to convey, there’s a lot more homework to be done. And if this moves forward at some point, it will need to be done with respect for process, laws and regulations, neighbors and communications that are appropriate and timely.

New Emergency Medical Technician course offered at Blackhawk Tech

From wisbusiness.com: “Blackhawk Technical College offers new Emergency Medical Technician course” — Blackhawk Technical College is offering a new basic Emergency Medical Technician-Basic course over two semesters, the first time a Wisconsin Technical College System school has received approval to split the five-credit, 180-hour course into two sections.

The new arrangement will see the EMT-Basic course divided into a two-credit summer school offering and a three-credit class in the fall semester. The summer school class begins June 10th and runs through July 29th . This class will be held on Tuesdays from 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.

The fall semester class will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 to 11:00 a.m. Blackhawk also will continue to offer the five-credit, EMT basic course on Mondays and Wednesdays mornings at the Central Campus and evenings at the Monroe Campus during the fall semester.

Registration for the two-tiered course and the five-credit course begins April 28th. The courses prepare students to take the national certification test for EMT-Basic.

“We listened to feedback from our students,’’ said David Peterson, the Fire Services Training Coordinator at Blackhawk. “We learned that some students in the Fire Protection Technician Program were going beyond the two years in which the program is intended to be completed because of the academic and clinical needs of the EMT Fundamentals course.’’

The two-credit, 54-hour summer class will cover cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, airways, anatomy, hazmat response, lifting and moving patients, incident command and other technical information.

The three-credit, 126-hour fall class includes a 10-hour clinical as well as the handling of cervical and spine injuries, burn injuries, heart and breathing related problems, shock and other trauma injuries.

High school students tour new Advanced Manufacturing Training Center

From wisbusiness.com: “Edgerton and Milton High School students to get sneak peak for new Advanced Manufacturing Training Center” — Some 240 high school students – 90 from Edgerton High School and 150 from Milton High School – will receive a sneak preview of Blackhawk Technical College’s new Advanced Manufacturing Center in Milton this Wednesday as part of an encompassing tour of Blackhawk’s facilities and manufacturing programs.

Milton students will get the first taste of their new neighbor starting at 8:30 a.m. After the 90-minute tour, the Milton students will head to Blackhawk’s Central Campus, where they will have the opportunity to learn about eight of the school’s Advanced Manufacturing programs.

The Edgerton students will reverse that route, first heading to the Central Campus in the morning, before heading to the Advanced Manufacturing Center at 12:30 p.m. for an afternoon tour.

Students from all four years of high school will be represented at the event.

Phase one of the Advanced Manufacturing Center is set to open in August for the fall semester of the 2014-2015 school year. The second phase of the facility will be completed in the summer of 2015.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for us to highlight our programs and how they will fit in at the new facility,’’ said Barrett Bell, Blackhawk’s Director of Enrollment Services. “In addition, these two schools and their students will get first hand exposure to the variety of our Advanced Manufacturing programs and the new facility.’’

While at the new Milton Campus facility, students will spend 25 minutes in three sessions – a tour of the building, an admissions seminar and a panel discussion on the Advanced Manufacturing programs.

While at Blackhawk’s Central Campus, students will have the opportunity to investigate current facilities for one of two tracks of programs.

The first track covers a new Blackhawk program — Manufacturing Information Technology Specialist – plus Automated Systems, HVAC-R and Computer Numeric Control Technician.

The second track will introduce students to programs in Industrial Maintenance, Welding, Mechanical Design and Electrical Power Distribution.

Earth Day activities scheduled at Gateway Tech

From journaltimes.com: “Help the world: Earth Day activities scheduled in Racine, Kenosha counties” — Racine and Kenosha counties offer plenty of opportunities to actively observe Earth Day again this year today and through next weekend.

And while most of these events are specific to Earth Day and the surrounding weeks, eco-friendly volunteer and learning opportunities abound at other times of the year — such as the May and June projects at Wheatland’s Woodland Education Center noted below.

Earth Day has a special place in Wisconsin history, as it was Wisconsin’s U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson who came up with the idea for a day — April 22 — for a “national teach-in on the environment” in 1970, according to earthday.org.

Want to do some good for the local environment or learn more about how to care for the Earth? Here are some options for you:

Today — Medicine Collection Day for Households, 6200 21st St. (west of Highway 31), Racine, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Prescription medication and over the counter medication, ointments, sprays, inhalers, creams, vials and pet medications are acceptable. Keep all medications in original bottles (cross out name but leave medication name visible). Put all medications in a sealed bag. Do not bring needles, sharps, biohazardous materials or personal care products.

Today — Cleanup and Ladybug Unveiling, 1-3 p.m. Volunteers are needed to fan out over streets surrounding the Wadewitz COP House, 1750 Mead St., Racine, to pick up litter and waste during a spring cleanup effort. A new art project will be unveiled at Hamilton Park. Youth-painted ladybug rocks will be scattered about the park for those to find. Ladybugs can be brought home and kept as a token of appreciation for the volunteer’s work. All ladybugs will be number and presented additional awards.

Today — The Racine Wastewater Utility household hazardous waste collection program will hold its collection from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the waste collection site, 6200 21st St., Racine. The program is open to residents of Racine, Caledonia, Mount Pleasant, Sturtevant, Wind Point, North Bay and Elmwood Park. Residents are encouraged to bring harmful chemicals from around their home to the permanent collection site. Collections occur every third Saturday through October from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, go to http://www.cityofracine.org/Wastewater.aspx.

April 22 — Party for the Planet, Racine Zoo, 2131 N. Main St., Racine, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Informational tables in the Vanishing Kingdom building letting people know what things they can do to help the planet and craft stations where children can create special crafts related to the theme.

April 24 — Drive up-drop off medication collection at Raymond Town Hall, 2255 S. 76th St., Raymond, 6-8 p.m. Racine County residents should bring medication in original bottles with patient names crossed out. The name of the medication should still be visible. Do not bring needles, syringes or any biohazardous materials. For more information, call 262-930-6380, or 262-763-4930.

April 26 — Reuse-A-Shoe, Cesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave., and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, 1134 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Racine, 9 a.m.-noon. People can donate used athletic shoes. All brands of used, dry, mud-free athletic shoes are acceptable. The following items will not be accepted: Shoes containing metal parts; cleats, spikes, thongs, sandals, pumps, dress shoes and boots; shoes in plastic bags or tied together. The shoes will then be donated to the Nike recycling center.

April 26 — Raking leaves and spreading mulch at St. Andrew Lutheran Church, 1015 4 Mile Road, Caledonia, 10 a.m. Bring gloves and rakes. Children welcome if accompanied by an adult. Register by calling Mark Trinklein at 414-217-3043.

April 26 — Garlic Mustard Pull-A-Thon, 9 a.m.-noon, Colonial Park. Meet at West High Street parking lot, Racine. Contact Drew Ballantyne at drewbtyne@live.com; or Melissa Warner at melissa.warner3@sbcglobal.net.

April 26 — People can celebrate Earth Day while helping out and enjoying Wisconsin state park, forest, trail and wildlife properties during the sixth annual Work Play Earth Day from 9 a.m. to noon at Richard Bong State Recreation Area, 26313 Burlington Road, Bristol. Volunteers can help repair and enhance park, forest and trail properties. Activities include planting trees and shrubs, installing benches, removing invasive plants, painting picnic tables and other structures, raking and cleaning up leaves and picking up litter. Volunteers should wear work boots or athletic shoes, long pants and bring their own work gloves.

Refreshments will be provided and Friends of Wisconsin State Parks will also provide appreciation gifts for volunteers. When the work is done, volunteers can stay to enjoy hiking or biking park trails, visiting the nature center or enjoying any of the recreational opportunities available at the different properties.

To sign up, call Bong State Recreation Area at 262-878-5600. People should check in at the Visitor Center where they will be split into work crews for the morning. No state park vehicle stickers are required while volunteering.

April 26 — Gateway Technical College has expanded its Celebrate Earth Day activities and demonstrations for 2014 to include even more hands-on demonstrations, family-friendly activities and ways community members can be gentle on the environment at work and home.

The event will be held 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 26 at its Kenosha and Elkhorn campuses, featuring a number of Earth-friendly activities, informational booths and children’s crafts. For the entire event listing — including campus-specific activities — go to http://www.gtc.edu/earthday.

Visitors at each campus will receive a reusable grocery bag, courtesy of event sponsor, Snap-on Inc., as well as a variety of other “green” focused items. The event is free and open to the public.

April 26-27 — To celebrate Earth Week and Arbor Day, Apple Holler, 5006 S. Sylvania Ave., Yorkville, is inviting the public to visit the orchard and farm park, including the baby animals, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at no charge. Visitors will learn more about Apple Holler and their farm. Apple Holler will be planting 2,000 new fruit trees this year. Call 262-886-8500 for more information.

May and June — Seno Woodland Education Center, 3606 Dyer Lake Road, Wheatland, needs volunteers with many projects including pulling garlic mustard, cutting young box elder trees, cutting thistles in the prairie, tree planting, trim pea bushes and white pine branches, clear around trail signs, buckthorn and honey suckle cutting and spraying, rendezvous projects, public events, replacing barn entry doors, and repairing pavilion overhang and adding vents. Call 262-539-3222, or go to senocenter@senocenter.org.

Candidate Burke visits Western Technical College

From wxow.com: “Mary Burke visits college students, pushes jobs plan” — Governor Scott Walker visited on Tuesday, and democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke followed by bringing her “Invest for Success” tour to La Crosse on Wednesday.

Burke toured the Health Science Center on the UW-La Crosse campus on Wednesday, and spoke with health and science students.

Burke said she is committed to making Wisconsin a top ten thriving economy, creating more “good-paying” jobs, and making sure workers have the necessary skills to fill those jobs.

Burke also met with students at the Lunda Center on the Western Technical College campus, as she believes technical colleges plays a critical role in worker training—which would fuel job creation and strengthen Wisconsin’s middle class.

“We are constantly looking at how to produce more at a lower cost, and we have to approach education in the same way. We still want to keep quality really high, but we need to have more people to get skills and education after high school,” Burke said.

Burke said to help send the future workforce to college, she plans to increase tuition and fee deductions to help make higher education more affordable and available for middle class families.

“In terms of job creation, we are 9th our of ten Midwestern states. (Governor) Walker has cut funding for the technical colleges just at the point where we need to make sure we are investing in our students and investing in their skills,” Burke said.

Burke said 70 percent of new jobs created will require more education, and she said she believes the earlier they speak to high school students on what the next steps are ahead of them, the better Wisconsin will be able to create jobs.

Skilled workers in demand

From chippewa.com: “Workers in demand” — EAU CLAIRE — As a student in Chippewa Valley Technical College’s (CVTC) Machine Tooling Technics program, Eric Weining of Menomonie has a valuable set of skills for potential employers. Unfortunately, it was probably too late for the employers at the CVTC Spring Career Fair Wednesday, April 9, to entice him.

Weining will not graduate from the program until December, but that didn’t stop him from getting a job at Phillips Plastics in Menomonie. He started about four weeks ago.

“I work in the tool room as a mold machine technician,” Weining said. He heard about a job opening there and had some contacts in the company, but his plans to finish his degree at CVTC was key. “That was motivation for them. They had been looking to hire a student from CVTC for their program.”

Starting early

In a sign of improving economic times, participation in the CVTC Spring Career Fair was up once again, and the message to employers was clear: Start your recruitment efforts early, as skilled workers are in high demand.

Overall, 81 private and public employers set up tables at three CVTC facilities at this year’s Spring Career Fair, up from 69 last spring and from 58 in spring 2012. The 37 employers at the Manufacturing Education Center represented an increase from 30 at the Spring 2013 Career Fair. In spring 2011, only 22 manufacturing businesses participated.

Kuss Filtration in Bloomer had never participated in the Spring Career Fair before, but it was time for the company that was spun off from Cummins Filtration to get proactive.

“Now that we’re spun off, there’s no outside support for troubleshooting equipment,” said Ben Rubenzer, manufacturing engineering manager for the company. He’s looking to expand a maintenance team of 14 at the plant that employs up to 170 workers.

“We’re looking at exploding our capabilities and our skill set internally,” Rubenzer said. “We’re looking at Electromechanical (Technology) students.”

Kuss Filtration was not the only company looking for people with the training to design, program and maintain the often automated equipment found in today’s manufacturing plants, nor was Kuss the first new employer to take part in the fair. Universal Services, a power line installation company out of Hastings, Minn.; Crown Trucks, a lift truck manufacturer from St. Paul; and Koch Pipeline were among several new Career Fair participants looking for people with such skills.

Some employers are anxious to find applicants.

Increased demand

Brad Moran at the TTM Technologies table said he has 31 maintenance workers at the Chippewa Falls plant, but he could use 40. “We’re constantly adding equipment. We’ve been on the increase the past two and half years,” Moran said.

A crowd of Machine Tooling Technics students gathered around the Riverside Machine and Engineering table, examining some of the small metal parts the company manufactures. The plant, which will be moving from Chippewa Falls into part of the Hutchinson Technology building on Eau Claire’s north side, has needs for machinists, inspectors on all shifts and calibration technicians. A sign at the table requested applicants for those jobs.

“About 90 percent of our crew is CVTC graduates. We recruit very heavily here,” said Elisia Gonsowski of the Riverside team.

Giles Nielsen of Five Star Plastics in Eau Claire was looking for Electromechanical Technology students, but also had his eyes open for people with other skills as well. On his table were two plastic prototype parts made through use of two different kinds of three-dimensional printers. CVTC recently added one of those types of printers.

“We have a rapid prototyping department,” said Nielsen. “If they know about this process and how to run these machines, it’s all the better.”

Plenty of openings

Companies tended to be quite familiar with CVTC graduates.

“We hired a CVTC student last year who is a multi-craft technician. He does a little bit of electrical and instrumentation and mechanical. He’s doing a great job for us. We’re looking to see who else is available,” said Natalie Caldarera of Koch Pipeline.

Denise Nelson of Universal Services had openings for as many as eight Electromechanical Technology technicians, four aerial linemen and a diesel mechanic – all skills taught in specific CVTC programs.

Students in the sought-after programs found a lot of interest from potential employers, but, as in Weining’s case, it was often too late – for the employers.

Electromechanical Technology student Charlie Yohnk of Bloomer has been working at Catalytic Combustion in Bloomer since September. “I plan to stay there, but I’m going around seeing what everyone else is up to,” he said.

It’s not too late for companies to spark an interest with Sam Reider, who can bring a diversity of skills. The 2007 Chippewa Falls High School graduate attended CVTC in the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Technology program, then served his country in Afghanistan as a diesel mechanic in the service. He’s now a CVTC Industrial Mechanics program student.

“I like fixing stuff. I want to see what’s out there after I graduate,” Reider said. He drew some early interest from Five Star Plastics, even though he’s not graduating until May 2015.

For Career Fair employers, recruitment is a long-term project.

MPTC eyes $1.5 million addition

From fdlreporter.com: “MPTC eyes $1.5 million addition” — A proposed $1.5 million addition planned for Moraine Park Technical College will enhance the front entrance, centralize services and accommodate student veterans.

The addition will be located on the west side of the C-Building in close proximity to the C-Parking (visitor) lot. A ground-breaking ceremony is scheduled for June 2.

The Student Services Addition Project is pending May 6 approval by the Wisconsin Technical College System State Board.

The project will move MPTC from “good” to “wow,” said Stanley Cram, vice president of student affairs. The new “one-stop shop” includes a walk-up service area for enrollment and eliminates the current physical barriers between staff and the student.

“Like any business it is important that customers — in our case student learners — are able to quickly identify where they need to go for information and services they are seeking,” Cram said. “We recognized the Fond du Lac campus most obvious need is to have a clearly identifiable ‘Front Door.’”

There will be a concierge desk for visitors and students and offices for recruitment staff, academic advisors, and student counselors. The addition will provide a handicap-accessible entrance.

“We are creating the space with a Ritz Carlton concierge concept of service,” Cram said. “When individuals enter the front door they will be greeted by a concierge desk who will determine their specific needs and will guide them to the appropriate services.”

The space will also include a welcome center, which will be staffed with advisors, a veteran’s representative and trained recruitment staff. Cram said the plan includes technological features such as flat-screen meeting notices.

A separate area is dedicated to assisting veterans through the admission, enrollment and financial aid processes and introduce them to veteran services offered by the college.

The project will be funded with $300,000 from college reserves and $1.2 million promissory note borrowing.

Bids for the project will be opened at 2 p.m. April 24 during a public bid, and the project is expected to be approved at a May 21 meeting of the Moraine Park Technical College District Board. Bid requests were sent to 15 pre-qualified general contractors, said Tim Flood, director of facility services.

Somerville Inc. of Green Bay is the architectural firm that designed the 5,212-foot concrete block addition to match facilities at MPTC’s Beaver Dam and West Bend campuses.

“I think it’s an outstanding design that ties into the existing building,” Flood said.

The main entrance will be closed during construction and students will access the school through the C-2 entrance, which is off the main parking lot. The driveway will remain open.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of November and ready for students for the winter/spring 2015 semester.

Cram said additional services will be considered during the second phase of the project.

“I want Moraine Park to be home for our students and alumni. If you need us you have a home that will always strive to provide the best experience for a lifetime,” he said.

Green Bay area students learn about employment in agriculture

From greenbaypressgazette.com: “Area students learn about employment in agriculture” — Seventh- and eighth-grade students from five area public schools had the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of 32 different agricultural employment fields at the Kewaunee County Economic Development Corp.-sponsored Ag Career Days. More than 900 students gathered at Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy April 10-11 to learn about potential future careers based in agriculture.

“Today is about showcasing opportunities available in agriculture,” said Tori Sorenson, GreenStone Farm Credit Services and co-chair of the KCEDC Ag Committee. “Students are getting further away from family farms, and we want to make these local opportunities known.”

Students had the opportunity to rank four different “clusters” of careers: Dollars and Sense, Grinding Gear, Diggin’ Deep and Cow “Tipping,” with the intention of learning about specific jobs within those clusters.

After a bus tour of the Ponderosa, the students broke into their groups and had the opportunity to interact with local business people.

“We need to put the tools in the toolbox and offer the opportunity to learn about where food comes from,” Sorenson said.

Monica Streff, a nutritionist at Cornette Farm Supply, dairy farmer and custom calf ranch raiser, served as one of the stops in the Cow “Tipping” cluster, and she talked about mixing products to create a formula for calf nutrition.

“I look at kids as the future of agriculture. If we don’t educate them today, we may not have a future,” Streff said. “There are jobs that involve more than just animals, like in horticulture, crops, sales, mechanics, fruits and vegetables.”

Steve Bretl of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College was a presenter in the Grinding Gear cluster, informing students about the diesel technician program at NWTC. He was showing the students how to use a PTO dynamometer, which can calculate if a piece of machinery is producing the horsepower and torque it is rated for.

“The complexity of the industry requires students to have communications, math, and technical skills in high school to prep them for program soft skills,” Bretl said. “It is important to make them aware now of what they can do and how they can obtain their goals.”

Students from Luxemburg-Casco, Algoma, Kewaunee, Denmark and Southern Door attended the two-day event.

NWTC budget up slightly, but tax levy plummets

From greenbaypressgazette.com: “NWTC budget up slightly, but tax levy plummets” — Gov. Scott Walker’s property tax cuts mean a big change in the way Northeast Wisconsin Technical College balances its books.

The community college’s general fund budget for next school is expected to increase by about 1.8 percent from $77.2 million this year to $78.7 million for 2014-15.

But NWTC’s local tax levy will drop by about half, from $59.3 million to $27.6 million, under the Republican governor’s plan to use the state’s projected $977 million surplus to cover property and income tax cuts. The measure, approved by the state Legislature and signed by Walker last month, sends $406 million to technical colleges to reduce property tax levies.

That means the owner of a home valued at $150,000 in NWTC’s district would pay about $115 for that portion of their tax bill, compared with $240 last year.

A public hearing on the budget proposal is set for next month.

“It didn’t give us more money,” NWTC President Jeff Rafn said of the changes. “It just swapped state money for local money.”

NWTC will receive about 42 percent of its funding from the state, compared with 9 percent currently, he said.

“In my view it is good and properly re-balances things,” Rafn said. “The down side would be if they would eliminate property taxes altogether. Then we would become a state institution and would lose local control.”

Some people have expressed concerns that technical schools can raise taxes yet are governed by appointed bodies rather than elected officials, Rafn said. He noted the state’s 2013-15 budget limits property tax increases to value added by new construction in municipalities within the school’s district in the past year, which is anticipated to be less than 1 percent for NWTC.

“Property taxes aren’t going to go up,” he said. “But taking away local control would hamper our ability to make quick local decisions.”

Rafn cited expansion of nursing programs to meet higher demands at NWTC as an example.

The state Legislature has formed a Special Committee on the Review of Wisconsin Technical College System Funding and Governance — co-chaired by Republican Rep. John Nygren of Marinette — to review the process.

As part of next year’s budget, NWTC is looking to increase some offerings, including programs in fire-medic, therapeutic massage and software development.

The school also will expand some programming, such as its health and wellness program and joint programs with area high schools.

It will use grant money to fund a variety of learning coaches and tutors.

The school plans to eliminate a financial institution management program which is losing enrollment, but Rafn said students enrolled in the program still could finish.

ABB enables students to utilize latest technology in lab

From controldesign.com: “ABB enables students to utilize latest technology in lab” — ABB Inc. recently donated eight democases from a new DTC product line to Waukesha County Technical College’s Automation Technology Program, which will enable students to utilize the latest technology in lab work and applications.

With hands-on access to newer technologies, it is believed that the utility of learning will be accelerated in both the school and workplace environments.

Delivery of the democases, “enables us to upgrade our labs – and gives students enhanced hands-on training with the latest available drives technology,” said Jesse Stuller, automation instructor and supporter of industry-academic support programs at WCTC. “Our goal is to provide the highest quality education to our students. Our partnership with industry provides the avenue to accomplish that goal.”

The drives democases donated are from the new ACS880 high performance DTC product line.

“These units provide a simple, yet comprehensive, all-in-one solution that is specialized for training and learning,” said Dennis Miller, ABB Sr. Technical Instructor, who arranged the donation. “The democases facilitate a complete application simulation.”

Miller also said the older democases feature older technology and have been in use for over 15 years, making the upgrade current with the latest technology ABB offers end users and keeps the Automation Technologies Program up to date.

Self-contained Labs

The donated drives are extremely user friendly and ideal for students to use.  Students will be able to program and test them as they become familiar with drive technology for the first time.

The drive is connected to a small motor and has an external input/output control panel wired to the analog inputs, digital inputs, digital outputs and analog outputs.

Students can fully simulate use of controls for any given application, and spin the motor like in a real application. The democase’s user friendly properties is said to aid in the learning process, even in the areas of serial communications and PC interfacing. The whole gamut of applications can be simulated from basic speed-control to more complex torque-control applications. They are ideal for facilitating learning with parameter adjustments and incorporating drives into electronics projects/applications.

The drives also offer networking capability to DeviceNet and other communication module protocols, so students can see and understand how computers are used in industrial environments. Programming and monitoring of the drive can be accomplished via specific PC or Drive software.

Students will program the drives and operate motors that simulate real-world installations and loads.

Beyond an introduction to the technology, students will have an opportunity to drill into the equipment’s performance characteristics in order to understand what control features they will be able to access, modify and offer customers in the workplace. This shortens the distance between experience in school and the workplace. The ACS880 democase can be used to teach and illustrate “complete” motor control.

Benefits of Using Drives

The benefits of using drives also include teaching energy consumption to the students.  This fact is becoming more and more useful as the world becomes more energy conscious.

The Adjustable Speed Drives (ASDs) are drives that can be used in any application where mechanical equipment is powered by motors. They provide extremely precise electrical motor control, allowing motor speeds to be ramped up or down, or maintained. Utilizing only the energy required rather than having the motor run at constant, fixed speed saves an excess of energy.

The ability to manipulate motor control helps motor users realize 25 – 70 percent energy savings, according to ABB experts. Using an AC drive also prolongs the operation of small motors and reduces wear and tear in installations.