May 5, 2008

There will be no formal program between 5:00 and 6:30 p.m. Citizens will have an opportunity to see displays of information, and talk informally with representatives of Catawba Valley Community College, the Hickory Metro Higher Education Center and North Carolina Center For Engineering Technologies.

Members of the Catawba County Board of Commissioners will also be available to talk individually with citizens, and staff from the County’s Parks Division, which is presently working on plans to reopen the St. Stephens Park in late 2008, the St. Stephens Library, Register of Deeds Office and Department of Utilities and Engineering will be present. Everyone who drops by will also have the opportunity to sign up for the County’s e-mailed newsletter and insure their enrollment in the Community Alert System.

The Board of Commissioners will follow the informal information sharing time by holding its regular mid-month meeting, also in the cafeteria at St. Stephens Elementary School, beginning at 7 p.m.

To reach St. Stephens Elementary School, take McDonald Parkway south from Springs Road or north from I-40. Turn east onto 12th Avenue Drive NE. Motorists should turn right at a sign for St. Stephens Elementary School, onto 28th Street Place NE., and then follow the road to the school from that point.

“The Board of Commissioners has traditionally taken meetings ‘on the road’ to areas of the county away from our usual meeting location, every few years,” said Kitty Barnes, Chair of the Catawba County Board of Commissioners. “While we’ve had success in years past when we set up general departmental information, we have decided to focus this year on specific issues and services. One of the keys to the economic recovery of our area will be the training of our work force to meet new opportunities in changing job sectors, as most of the traditional industries that once were the backbone of our local economy have located outside of the United States. We are confident that new business and industry will continue to locate in Catawba County, but it will be essential that our work force has the opportunity to train for new careers and job sectors that we are hoping to attract. CVCC has long been a leader in workforce re-training and has been joined in recent years by the Higher Education Center and the Center For Engineering Technologies. The Board of Commissioners wants to spotlight these institutions on May 19 and we encourage anyone who is thinking about training for a new career to join us that afternoon at St. Stephens Elementary School.”

Catawba Valley Community College’s mission statement says the college’s goal is to “empower individuals
and enrich the community by providing quality education and workforce training for economic and personal
development”. Founded in 1964, the college now offer 90 different programs of study ranging from two-year degrees in career areas to college transfer degrees. It set a record for enrollment in the fall of 2007, with 5,079 college-credit students. Another 10,000-15,000 students enroll in corporate and continuing education each year. CVCC is presently focusing on a strategic plan that outlines a focus on workforce and economic development. It is building a 28,000 square foot Regional Simulated Hospital, the first of its kind in the state, where students from across the region will train, using some of the most sophisticated technology available; and developing a Center for Emerging Manufacturing Solutions that will assist manufacturers with innovative concepts, research and development, testing products for reliability and quality, and more.

The Hickory Metro Higher Ed Center (HMHEC), located on the CVCC East Campus off Highway 70 between Hickory and Conover, is a collaborative partnership among Appalachian State University, Catawba Valley Community College, Lenoir-Rhyne College, Northwest AHEC, UNC Charlotte, UNC Chapel Hill, Mountain State University, Western Carolina University, and Winston-Salem State University. The mission of the HMHEC is to support and enhance the educational attainment and economic development of the region by offering a broad range of programming in targeted areas of study, as needed and requested by the community.

The North Carolina Center for Engineering Technologies, located at 1990 Main Ave. SE in Hickory, offers a bachelor’s degree program in engineering technology. The degree is designed for students who have earned an associate’s degree. The center also provides courses on product development, business process improvement and manufacturing competitiveness assistance; serves as a manufacturing /industrial incubator; facilitates intellectual property transfer know-how; and supports regional economic development activities.

While the emphasis during the drop-in informational session will be on publicly funded higher educational opportunities, other County departments will set up displays of information on the afternoon of May 19.

The Catawba County Parks Division will have maps of the entire County park system, and a continually running PowerPoint presentation showing photos from the parks. The Parks Division has applied for a State grant for the renovation and reactivation of St. Stephens Park. The nine acre park was created in 1979 and operated by the City of Hickory from 1980 until it was closed in 2005. Staff has recommended a change of use from an active recreation facility to a passive recreation facility, with walking trails, a picnic shelter and a dog park, similar to the other parks the County currently operates. The park is expected to reopen in November or December of this year, and to initially be open four days a week.

The St. Stephens Branch of the Catawba County Library, located off Springs Road, will also be represented, along with Mental Health Services, Public Health, the Register of Deeds Office, Sheriff’s Office, and Utilities and Engineering Office.

Later in the evening, at 7 p.m., the Catawba County Board of Commissioners will convene a regular meeting, also in the St. Stephens Elementary School cafeteria. The agenda for the meeting will not be finalized until Wednesday, May 14 and will be available after 3 p.m. that day at www.catawbacountync.gov.

For more information about the May 19, 2008 “drop in” community information session, from 5 until 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at St. Stephens Elementary School, at 684 30th Street NE, Conover, and the Catawba County Board of Commissioners meeting to follow at 7 p.m., you may call the Catawba County Public Information Office at 828-465-8464.