An employment fair will be Aug. 17 at Bluegrass Community and Technical College, 2020 Rolling Hills Lane, from 9 to 10 a.m. for veterans and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the public. Employers wishing to participate may contact the Chamber of Commerce at 744-6420. Job seekers should come prepared to interview and have resumes available.
A candidate forum, co-sponsored with the Chamber, will be Oct. 25 at the Extension Office, 1400 Fortune Drive.
New at Central Elementary School this fall will be Arts at Central. Volunteers are being sought who can teach or demonstrate any type of art, including visual, performing, graphic, etc. The pilot project will begin in September for six weeks and serve third, fourth and fifth graders. Anyone willing to volunteer an hour each Friday may contact Heffner at 745-3946.
School board vice-chair Debbie Fatkin announced the recent hire of Mark Thomas as chief academic officer for Clark County Public Schools. She reported on the success of the Summer Learning Academies across the district in June for rising kindergarten through eighth grade students. Students focused on the areas of math and reading, and each age group saw improvement in those areas.
The new high school is 80 percent complete, with only $45,000 in change orders. The Area Technology Center construction package was approved and architects Sherman Carter Barnhart were hired for the renovation projects at the high school and Clark Middle School, which will be converted to middle and elementary schools, respectively.
There will be a meeting July 31 to discuss the configuration options of the renovated elementary schools. Superintendent Elaine Farris is working with school-based councils from each of the middle schools to discuss the merger into the current high school facility.
Barbara Disney, director of student support services for Clark County Public Schools, reminded the group that school will begin Aug. 9. To date, 5,546 students have enrolled.
BCTC Winchester campus director Bruce Manley noted that registration for the fall semester is open through Aug. 1 for transfer students. Two new programs are being offered: health information technology and medical information technology. The campus has an opening for a full-time custodian, with benefits. Adult Education classes (GED) will begin soon. Job opportunities for teaching positions are available on the website, www.kctcs.edu.
Betty Berryman, Partners In Education coordinator, announced that PIE has received a Clark County Community Foundation grant for the new fiscal year. The organization is now a 501(c)3 organization and joined the Chamber as a non-profit. During the previous school year, 113 volunteers served in elementary and middle schools and more than $10,000 was donated to these schools by their partnering businesses. A breakfast to recognize volunteers was hosted by Clark Regional Medical Center at their new facility in late April. More than 400 children in grades 3-5 were served by the Kiwanis BUG program. Twelve Kiwanis members went into the schools at the end of each grading period to give out awards and to encourage and congratulate the students for their hard work. The Craft Nook continues to support PIE by having a display of RADA knives in the store. These knives are a year-around fundraiser for the program.
