Open House: Ky. Coal Academy hosts event in Pikeville
By: Medical Leader Staff/Press Release/Other
October 5, 2007

PIKEVILLE — Big Sandy Community and Technical College (BSCTC) hosted an open house for the Kentucky Coal Academy at the BSCTC Pikeville Campus on Sept. 27.

The event marked the opening of BSCTC’s second training program for coal miners under the auspices of the Kentucky Coal Academy. With programs now located at the BSCTC Hager Hill Campus in Johnson County and the BSCTC Pikeville Campus in Pike County, training is available within easy driving distance of any miner or potential miner in eastern Kentucky.

Among the partners joining BSCTC for the event were officials from the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College for Mine training and Energy Technologies, Fifth Dimension Technologies, Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc., Whayne Supply, CSE, Pike County Fiscal Court, MITOC-Emergency Communications System, WestCare and BIO-Marine.

Dr. Bill Higginbotham, Executive Director for the Kentucky Coal Academy spoke to the crowd about the coal academy. He noted that the Kentucky Coal Academy was the first such academy in the United States.

“We have trained more than 13,000 coal miners so far. We have been instrumental in founding the first junior coal academy in the United States, right here in eastern Kentucky,” Higginbotham said. “The JR Coal Academy in Lawrence County will serve as a model for JR Coal Academies across the state and worldwide. These will be our feeder systems for the Kentucky Coal Academy.”

Dr. George D. Edwards, President of Big Sandy Community and Technical College, welcomed the attendees and described the College’s desire and intent to work closely with the coal industry to train new coal miners and to provide retraining opportunities for current employees of the coal industry. He introduced Elmer Howard, Excel Mining and Dennis Hatfield, Booth Energy, who described their highly successful partnership with BSCTC that has been ongoing since 2005.

That program is a true partnership that featured a customized training initiative focused on the needs of their two companies.

A highlight of the evening was the signing of an agreement between Big Sandy Community and Technical College, Pike County Fiscal Court, and WestCare. The agreement will provide training through the Kentucky Coal Academy for rehabilitation clients of Westcare, to give these participants a second chance at having a successful career in the coal industry.

Pike County Judge Executive Wayne T. Rutherford, Dr. Bill Higginbotham, Dr. George D. Edwards and WestCare Representative Jennifer Nolan signed the agreement.

Tours of the simulators and programs were available for the overflow crowd following formal presentations in the atrium.

Mining supply vendors and the Kentucky Coal Academy provided informative displays of equipment and cutting edge technology.

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