Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 1, 1993 TAG: 9310010244
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By MICHAEL CSOLLANY staff writer
DATELINE: WILLIS LENGTH: Medium
Randy Arno has sent an application to the Department of Labor to start a Job Corps program at a county-owned site here.
Job Corps is a program that helps 16- to 24-year-old "at-risk" men and women. They are typically poor or unemployed, or they have dropped out of high school. They are referred to the program by social service agencies and enter voluntarily. The program teaches vocational skills in a residential environment.
People at the proposed Floyd facility would come from Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington.
The facilities would be at the intersection of U.S. 221 and Virginia 758, where a prison camp has stood vacant for nearly 10 years.
The county has attempted to sell the 25-acre site.
If the project is approved, it could boost the local economy. Approximately $10 million for construction of five buildings and the renovation of two existing buildings are needed to bring the facility up to par.
Arno also said the program could provide jobs for county residents in the fields of vocational training, professional teaching and counseling.
The proposal has received backing from the Board of Supervisors, Sen. Charles Robb, Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, a variety of businesses, community groups, hospitals, local colleges and schools. Many have pledged support of supplies, services and personnel.
The county administrator said there have been a lot of misconceptions about a proposed center and he knows the questions, because he has had them, too. Arno said it's often easier to dispel the myths by saying what the program is not.
"Job Corps is NOT a mandatory juvenile delinquency program," Arno said. "It is a juvenile training program for at-risk youth - not criminals. They're there voluntarily, and they can leave voluntarily. And they will be asked to leave involuntarily if they misbehave."
The county's proposal calls for 252 young people to live on the site and an additional 40-50 students to commute. On-site child care would be available for single parents.
The Department of Labor will select eight sites from approximately 70 proposals received, according to Job Corps National Director Fleming Anderson.
The decision should be made in early 1994.
People who live near the proposed site had a variety of opinions, mostly reservations and mild concern.
"I don't want to put down what they're trying to do," said Lesa Bolt, whose property is adjacent to the site.
"And I don't want to judge people before they're here, but when something's in your back yard, it's kind of a touchy situation. I would rather see it for more kids in this area," she said.
Some other residents expressed concern with the prospect of housing large numbers of young people of any background nearby. Many had questions about the facility.
Greg and Marie Vaughan, whose property faces the site, had a different perspective.
"I'd like to see them do something with it. It's just going to waste," Greg Vaughan said.
The Vaughans said they would be amenable to just about anything there, except another prison.
"I definitely don't want it to be another prison," Marie Vaughan said. "I don't think anybody would like to see something like that come back into the county."
A few others expressed unwavering support for the job corps proposal.
"If the community doesn't bend over for these kids, it's only going to cost us in the long run," said Verna DiMaio.
Betty Barker, an administrator for a Job Corps facility in Marion, said there was some opposition there when the center started. But through the efforts of a community relations board, Barker said the facility now has more support from the community than ever.
Barker said there have been discipline problems but that rules are enforced. The security that supervises the facility, she said, also routinely patrols the surrounding area.
by CNB