Cloverdale sees community use of resources

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Although its only existed for four months, the Knoy Resource Center at Cloverdale High School is getting quite a bit of use.

On Monday, center coordinator Toni Tomlinson approached the Cloverdale Community School Board with an update on the facility, which officially opened on Sept. 8.

CCSC Supt. Carrie Milner informed the seven board members Monday that the center had recently received an additional $100,000 in grant money through the office of community and rural affairs at the Putnam County Community Foundation.

"We've been fortunate to have grant dollars come to us from (the foundation)," Milner said.

Milner told the board Monday that the new grant is set up for 18 months.

The center came together with the help of several area agencies, including the Cinergy Foundation, DePauw University, First National Bank, Indiana Association of United Ways, the Lyon Family Foundation, the Putnam County Community Foundation, Vectren Foundation, Verizon Foundation, and Wal-Mart Foundation.

Currently, it is equipped with several desks, tables, chairs, conference rooms, 30 Dell computers, three laptops and two Macintosh computers.

On Monday, Tomlinson said several community members have taken advantage of the center since its opening.

"We're making it accessible for everyone," she said.

She said the center will now offer "soft skill" improvements for interested patrons, including classes on handling stress management, interviewing skills and resume writing.

Tomlinson said the center has already housed a class on handling stress management and plans to have another soon.

She said G.E.D. classes will also soon be available at the center. She added the center will be open during the summer as well.

Meanwhile, the board voted in favor of allowing the corporation to purchase at least 30 new computers for a new lab.

Milner told the board Monday that she believed there was a donor for the computers, but the corporation and the possible donor had not reached a full agreement.

Still, Milner said it was imperative for the corporation to make the purchase, estimated between $25,000 and $30,000.

"We'd like to get that up and going so we can get that lab up and running," Milner said.

Milner said the money was there to purchase the computers, but board member Todd Whitlock stressed the importance of allowing the community to have access to the technology.

"Are we going for community involvement for support with this," Whitlock asked.

Milner said the community would have access to the computers.

Board member Don Albietz then made the motion for the purchase with Bobbi Nees making the second. The board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

In other news, the board:

-- Recognized elementary student Makanna Muse, middle school student Katie Fulkerson and high school student Cassandra McWilliams as Students of the Month.

-- Awarded a corporation insurance bid to carrier Indiana Insurance through agency First National Insurance by a unanimous vote.

-- Approved two facility use requests.

-- Approved 20 professional leave requests.

-- Approved three field trip requests.

-- Learned from Milner that a proposed field trip to Washington D.C. later this year has been canceled due to insufficient funds.

-- Approved a temporary teaching contract for Amanda Roberts by a 6-0 vote. Nees was not in the room when the vote took place. Roberts has been teaching seventh-grade social studies.

The board meets regularly on the second Monday of each month. Its next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m., Feb. 12.

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