Byesville Rotary gets update on construction at Vocational Center

Pictured: Dan Coffman, Director Mid-East Career and Technology Center, Buffalo Campus, and Phyliss Jeffries, Speaker Host.

Reading for Nov. 6; November Rotarian, "Culture shock," p. 45.

Dan Coffman, Director of the Mid-East Career and Vocational Center, Buffalo Campus, updated Byesville Rotary members on the construction at the Buffalo Campus. The campus is adding more space for classrooms and labs. The new construction is designed to be more energy efficient and greener.

The current construction project will join the original two buildings on the campus. The new addition will contain 2 science labs, English and math classrooms, a computer lab, and rooms for the “Extra Help” program. When the new construction is complete, the existing buildings will be gutted and the space will be reconfigured.

The new construction will be certified by LEED and will conform to specifics standards of “greenness.” Some of the processes that the certification will affect are the way the Vocational Center will deal with waste water and effective use of natural light.

Trailers or temporary buildings will be rented to provide space for classes while the current classrooms are renovated. Coffman stated that the Vocational Center will use the need for temporary quarters as an opportunity to provide hands-on experience to the students in the Building Trades program. Students will have the opportunity to build some of the temporary quarters needed. He expects that a limited number of summer internships and /or apprenticeships will be made available.

Currently the campus is busy with up to 25 contractors on campus at any one time. Coffman was pleased to report that the electrical foreman responsible for the Buffalo campus construction is a Meadowbrook graduate who attended classes on the Buffalo campus.

Club projects for the holiday season include the annual Christmas Food Basket program. Fundraising for this service project is underway. Anyone wishing to make a donation can contact Bob Long, 740-685-3620. Club members are needed to schedule a shift for bell ringing. The Meadowbrook Interact club has volunteered to take responsibility for staffing Thursday shifts at Advantage Bank in Byesville. The Breakfast with Santa committee reported that the date for the breakfast will be Saturday, December 22.

The club meets 7:30 am every Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Evelyn Spring, 740-439-4343.