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A10 -- April 30, 2015 news@newslj.com
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from page A7
problem," the Sheriff indicated.
He said the Sheriff's Office has received an
increasing number of complaints over the last
several years about drug use, distribution, and
the resulting collateral damage, and he has been
actively trying to find new tools to use in the
fight.
"Deputies have had citizens approaching
them on a regular basis, asking them to do
something to fix the drug problem in the com-
munity," Colvard professed, noting the canine
is not going to be the answer to all of the prob-
lems, but indicating the belief that it will be an
integral tool in addressing the problem.
Colvard explained that the Sheriff's Office
attempted to implement a K9 program in 2013,
but the Weston County Commissioners in office
at the time were not willing to accept donations
offered by citizens to purchase a drug dog.
That means the funding for the program was
collected by the Weston County Peace Officers
Association, and Colvard said the funds used
to purchase the dog were donated by multiple
anonymous donors.
"We would like to sincerely thank those
who donated money for the K9 program. The
Peace Officers Association continues to accept
donations to fund the K9 program, and anyone
interested in donating to the K9 fund should
please feel free to contact Melissa Stubbs with
the Weston County Peace Officers Association,"
Colvard announced.
Although he acknowledges that it is too early
to tell how successful the addition of a drug dog
will be in reducing drugs and the crimes associ-
ated with them, the Sheriff is hopeful that the
new program will make a difference.
"The mission of the K9 program is to keep
the citizens of our County safe. We want to
maintain a community we can be proud of, and
a place where families feel safe raising their
kids," Colvard asserted.
from page A1
where they want to be.
House District 2
Representative Hans Hunt also
participated in the visit, which
began with meetings with
WCSD#1 leaders, and ended
with a question and answer
session with high school stu-
dents at Crouch Auditorium.
This wasn't the first time
McGinity had traveled the state
to hear such concerns. Two
months into his new job as UW
President, McGinity and UW
Vice President of Governmental
and Community Affairs Chris
Boswell went around the state
visiting community colleges
and high schools.
"It was a real eye-opener
for me. I was aware of the
community colleges and what
they did in general, but I didn't
realize there was so much dif-
ference from one to another in
terms of what the pressures are
on them from what their local
communities' labor force needs
were. So now, with a year's
worth of experience, in terms
of a framework of what to do,
I have a better feeling about
that," McGinity revealed.
Both Bonnar and NHS
Principal Tracy Ragland felt
there have been improvements
in the relationship between
UW and local schools over the
course of McGinity's tenure,
but they emphasized some spe-
cific concerns that they hoped
more could be done to address.
According to Bonnar, one of
the things that pushed students
away from the university were
a number of comments made
by former UW President Tom
Buchanan after the creation
of the Hathaway Scholarship.
Bonnar feels that Buchanan
created the perception that
local graduates weren't cut out
for UW when he lobbied for
curriculum requirements for
Hathaway recipients by sug-
gesting that Wyoming students
were coming into UW ill-
prepared to handle the courses
offered there.
"The Hathaway was sup-
posed to open the door to all
high school graduates and from
a perception angle, I think at
least some of those kids saw it
as closing the door on them. So
from a public relations stand-
point, that lobbying effort from
the University really did hurt
the in-state recruiting in some
of these communities," Bonnar
observed.
He suggested a change in
messaging from the university,
and asked McGinity that UW
acknowledge that there is value
for some students to pursue
vocational education courses
as opposed to the traditional
courses that are best-suited to
students who hope to earn a
college degree.
"I think there are some
real gems that we are all kind
of losing," Bonnar stated. "It
makes it that much harder for us
to keep them coming to school
every day. That is really one
of my big interests, is in kids
seeing the value .of education
and not seeing this narrow
tunnel as the only way they can
derive value from it."
Ragland agreed, noting that
local statistics contradict some
of the assertions Buchanan
made. He pointed to a report
sent to the school every year
that demonstrates how well
NHS graduates are doing in
college. Ragland said that in
the past five or six years, none
of the students from Newcastle
who attended UW had been
forced to take a remedial class.
Unfortunately, a number of stu-
dents were under the impres-
sion they were not knowledge-
able enough to attend UW, and
chose to take higher education
classes elsewhere.
"In fact, the kids that were
going were fine, but that wasn't
accepted as the message. That
is a piece of the data that we
look at carefully. For a long
time that was going on and
people were saying, 'You aren't
getting them ready.'" the prim
cipal stated.
Higher education today
needs to be very different from
what it used to be, McGinity
opined, suggesting life circum-
stances are changing for people
who discover their education
has become in a world that
changes daily because of tech-
nology. He insisted that even
people with degrees are going
to need more education five or
10 years after leaving college,
and asked local education offi-
cials what they thought col-
leges should do to prepare and
accommodate that situation.
McGinity pointed spe-
cifically to the fast pace of
technology, and the manner
in which it is eroding the job
market. A consulting firm has
estimated that digitization of
the economy is increasing labor
productivity at 2 percent a year,
and that was a statistic the UW
President made sure school
officials and students alike were
aware of.
"A simple way to think
about that is, two percent of
jobs are going away every year
because machines are taking it
over. I worry about the young
folks coming out of school
today, not about their brain-
power or their work ethic. They
are looking at a situation that
is way, way more competitive
in terms of employment oppor-
tunities than certainly was the
case when I was their age,"
reported McGinity. "We, as a
K-16 system, have to figure out
ways for them to keep up. We,
along with the students, have
to figure out a way to continu-
ously upgrade their skills."
The challenge will lie in
enabling young people to
succeed in the kind of world
they will be living in by pro-
viding them with educational
opportunities at a price they
can afford that will allow them
maintain their competitiveness
over the course of time.
Rush predicted the busi-
ness community would help
by investing in training for
employees to help them adjust
to ever-changing environments,
and Hage said community col-
leges have become key players
in that regard. She reported that
in the past year a "2 + 2" plan
has been developed between
UW and the state's community
colleges. In the next month, a
website will be available that
will show a roadmap for all of
UW's 90 undergraduate pro-
grams that will show students
how to complete their degree in
four years.
"We hope just by being
transparent that we can give
parents and students and school
districts information they can
use. Then the flip piece of it is,
you guys can help us collect the
success data that we can share
with you so we can all figure
out how really are we doing in
terms of teaching (for example)
calculus in the high schools?
We need to give one another
that amount of information, so
that we can help students be
where they want to be," she
revealed.
McGinity noted that the
ability for people to get a four
year UW degree from Wyoming
community colleges was also
helping to meet the needs of
students, and local leaders said
they were encouraged by what
the university representatives
had to say.
"I like what you both are
saying. You are celebrating
the University's ability to take
whatever product we give you,
and provide them with the
tools that Dick has said they
are all going to need," Bonnar
responded, indicating that he
preferred that tone far more
than the message he thought
UW was sending to high school
students just two years ago.
R has been: awhile since a University of Wyoming
President:has Visited this community, so when Dick McGinity
Came to Newcastle aweek ago he didn't want to head back
to-Laramie without getting a chance to speak with local high
:s~dents.
After spending several hours with school officials.
McGinity and his entourage met with juniors and seniors at
Newcastle High School to answer questions,about college in
general and provide some specific information about UW.
Of course, a little recrui~g was in order too.
"We: do want you to come! I strongly encourage you
to about the University if you are thi ng about a
four year school. You will love it. Come down and visit
the folks who are here today. We would be happy to talk to
you," McG~ty told the group after they filed into Crouch
Auditorium.
: Part of the reason for the UW President's visit was an
ititerest in increasing the number of NHS graduates who
attend UW, and great interest was shown by the university
delegation to those who enquired about specific programs at
the school,
One of the first queries was in regards to computer
science, and :the courses available, and McGinity gave a
brief description of :the facilities and:: programs available
before urging the: students to visit the UW website and
contacting a faculty member in the department for more
specific mfo ation.
"Tell themwhat you are interested in, what questions you
have about what the program is like: You can copy me on the
email, and I will seeto it that you get an answer," McGinity
promised.
Associate Dean of the College of Education Leslie
Rush also talked about the teacher education program at
the University of Wyoming in response to a student who
expressed-~ ~nterest::in a career in education.
"f you decide to come to UW and major in educa-
tion y0ur fi g isi pretty good because i think we are going
to be doing some pretty amazing things with our students and
our programs in the next few years," stated Rush.