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Rep. Kirkpatrick Announces New Job Training Pilot Program, Resources for Broadband Expansion in San Carlos(Targeted News Service Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) CASA GRANDE, Az., July 12 -- Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz.(1st CD), issued the following news release: Representative Ann Kirkpatrick Thursday held two events in San Carlos to announce new projects that will expand economic opportunities in Gila County. The initiatives, a jobs training program and plans to expand telecommunications infrastructure in San Carlos, will provide resources to spur growth across the region. Rep. Kirkpatrick joined Gila Community College Senior Dean Stephen Cullen at GCC's San Carlos Campus to update folks on the new health care job training pilot program in San Carlos, which will start immediately at that location. The effort will provide new skills to area residents, with a special focus on at-risk youth in San Carlos Apache communities, in advance of the opening of the San Carlos Hospital. The pilot program, made possible through the Congresswoman's close work with officials at the U.S. Department of Labor, is an important step toward bringing a Jobs Corps Center to Gila County. It will give folks in the region a chance to demonstrate to the Labor Department both the need for and their commitment to such a site. The Job Corps facility would be built on U.S. Forest Service land near San Carlos Apache tribal communities and would be able to provide young people with opportunities to continue their education and learn new vocational skills in vital areas like forest health management and wildland firefighting. "In these tough economic times, I am fighting to make sure Greater Arizonans have the resources they need to find well-paying jobs," said Rep. Kirkpatrick. "This job training program will help prepare folks to find work in a growing field. In addition, the project strengthens our opportunities for a future Job Corps site that will offer different types of vocational training vital to our local communities." Rep. Kirkpatrick has been working with community and tribal leaders in Gila County since the beginning of her time in Congress on the competitive process to bring a Job Corps Center to the area, and she is continuing to push the Labor Department to achieve this goal. As Arizona's only representative on the House Committee on Small Business, the Congresswoman has been fighting hard in her first term to bring new economic opportunities to Greater Arizona and provide new resources to hard-working families with limited cost to the taxpayers. The Department of Labor's $250,000 grant to create the job training program is being made available through already budgeted funds and will be a tremendous economic boost for the area. Rep. Kirkpatrick also visited San Carlos Apache Telecommunications Utility, Inc. (SCATUI) to announce crucial assistance it will receive through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to provide broadband internet connections in five tribal communities. This investment will improve access for over 6,000 people, 20 businesses, and 50 community institutions. "The expansion of this crucial infrastructure will bring broadband and telephone services and provide much-needed support for homes, businesses, medical facilities and emergency personnel," said Rep. Kirkpatrick. "This project will create jobs, attract new businesses and create a 21st century foundation for future growth." SCATUI will receive a grant of $5.2 million and a low-interest loan of $5.2 million to provide fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) service to the San Carlos Apache Nation, helping to increase public safety, open new education opportunities and build on other economic development measures to revitalize the region. TNS MkTanz-JF78100713-2910835 StaffFurigay (c) 2010 Targeted News Service |