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18 students in Harrison to join high-tech training
project
by Gail Marsh
STAFF WRITER
A small number of high school students from Harrison
County will have the opportunity to take computer networking classes next
year that could prepare them for high-paying technology jobs or give them
a strong foundation for college.
Chester Hall, computer teacher and coordinator of the newly established
Cisco Regional Networking Academy at Robert C. Byrd High School, said the
school will be able to accept 18 students into the program, three from
each of the county's high schools, for classes that will begin in the fall.
"We want to get the word out that the class will
be offered to students throughout the county, and to let the community
know that this kind of high-technology training is taking place in our
schools. This is a prime example of schools to work," Hall said.
Cisco Systems Inc., headquartered in California,
provides more than 85 percent of the Internet's hardware and software and
has offices in more than 50 countries. Seeing the need to fill more than
350,000 current job openings in the information technology industry, Cisco
has helped to establish training academies at school systems around the
nation. The computer labs can provide students with needed training to
work in the field of networking technology.
Robert C. Byrd High School was chosen as a Cisco
regional site earlier this year because of its computer facilities, one
of eight sites in the state. Trained staff members will be able to teach
students and other educators in 11 counties, and will help to establish
local academies at other high schools.
The fall networking course open to qualified juniors
and seniors will cover a complete range of basic-through-advanced-networking
concepts, from pulling cable to subnet masking rules and strategies. Students
who pass all four semesters and certification testing can begin working
in the information technology field with an estimated starting salary of
$35,000 to $45,000, or can use the training to continue college studies
in the computer science field.
An informational meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. March
2 at RCB for potential students and parents who want to learn more about
the class. Applications are available from guidance counselors.
Rockefeller: I'm in the cockpit now
by Paul Leakan
STAFF WRITER
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., told area aviation
officials Wednesday that his recent appointment to the Senate Aviation
Committee could help them in their efforts to improve and retain air service.
"My new role on the aviation subcommittee means that I am in an even better
position to help address the air service problems plaguing small communities,"
he said. 'I will use my position on the committee
to fight for rural airport funding, take on airline practices that hurt
small communities and limit competition, and develop new ways to attract
more and better air service to West Virginia."
Rockefeller announced his appointment to the subcommittee to area aviation
officials at the Robert C. Byrd National Aerospace Education Center Wednesday
afternoon. The subcommittee oversees the operation of the Federal Aviation
Administration, and helps determine the country's aviation policies.
The senator said one of his top priorities on the subcommittee
will be to protect and restore air service in rural communities, especially
those that have been hit hard by deregulation of the industry. Namely,
Rockefeller has sponsored the Air Service Restoration Act of 1999, a bill
that seeks to bring more affordable, higher quality air service to West
Virginia.
The legislation includes a 5-year, $100 million
pilot program for up to 40 small and underserved communities, and grants
of up to $500,000 to each community for local initiatives to attract and
promote service.
The bill also calls on the Department of Transportation
to review airline industry marketing practices and, if necessary, issue
regulations to curb abuses that block entry into the market. The bill is
cosponsored by Senators Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Tom Harkin,
D-Iowa, and Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.
Smaller airports have been hit hard by soaring costs
for service, said Benedum Airport Manager Jim Griffith, all of which makes
Rockefeller's help so important, he said. "Air service changes so quickly,
so dramatically," Griffith said.
"And the challenges that go along with retaining air service (and hopefully
improving it ) becomes monumental in a very short time."
Wednesday's discussion was "a good beginning" to
future discussions of how to improve air service, Griffith said.
Rockefeller said he looks forward to working with airport officials
in the future to help improve the state's air transportation system. After
all, quality air service is vital to the future growth of the state, he
said. "I think I can make the claim that aviation in
the state will be more important than roads in bringing in business. Business
is not going to come into the state unless people can get in and out the
state."
Wesleyan has 3-ton gift from King Hussein
by Gail Marsh
STAFF WRITER
King Hussein of Jordan died recently, but his memory
and his gifts will continue in a place few would imagine. The Arab leader
gave West Virginia Wesleyan College a 3-ton gift. For the last 32 years,
the solid piece of pink Jordanian marble has served as the altar in the
Meditation Chapel in the Wesley Chapel building on the college's Buckhannon
campus.
The story of the King's gift goes back to the administration
of the late Stanley H. Martin, WVWC president from 1957-1972. Martin, who
was a Methodist minister, worked to expand the campus, including construction
of Wesley Chapel.
Kenneth Welliver, a former dean of academic affairs who still teaches
at Wesleyan, was on staff when the college built the chapel. Welliver said
Martin wanted the chapel to reflect a sense of community and tolerance.
He solicited items from various leaders and nations to place in the new
building.
Welliver said that Martin originally wrote to King
Hussein to ask for a piece of marble from the West Bank of Israel Ñ
Bethlehem in particular, which was under Arab rule at the time. "I think
President Martin envisioned a small object that could be placed in the
chapel, along with such gifts as the candlesticks sent from Pope Paul VI
or a piece of stone from the boyhood home of John Wesley," Welliver said.
King Hussein responded that he would be happy to
make a gift to Wesleyan. Martin, still visualizing a small piece of marble,
wrote the king expressing his thanks and offering to pay for any freight
charges. "We were astounded when it arrived. Thank
goodness the King paid the freight and the package wasn't C.O.D.," Welliver
said.
By the time the marble arrived, the chapel was nearing
completion. The floor of the Meditation Chapel had to be torn up and reinforced
with steel beams. A crew of 15 men using a system of rollers worked two
days to get the marble piece to its resting place.
Wesley Chapel was consecrated on Oct. 29, 1967.
Attending the ceremony that day was Ibarhim Nagaway, representing King
Hussein, who made the formal presentation to the college. The rectangular
stone, enshrined with a plaque honoring its donor, has been in place ever
since, and is not likely to be moved.
The chapel remains a gathering place for students
for voluntary services, concerts and other appropriate programs, Welliver
said. The 1,500-seat Wesley Chapel is also the site of the annual state
United Methodist Church conference each June. "The King was a man of peace
and it is an honor that a physical remembrance of his good works is in
our college's chapel," said William Haden, current president of the college.
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