Southeast Community College Considers Satellite Proposal

Thayer Central Schools superintendant Drew Harris and Jeremy Voss, Thayer County Economic Development director, are in the process of coordinating with Southeast Community College for a proposed satellite campus in Thayer County.

“We want to provide a site for dual credit opportunities for all area students, for the county and beyond,” said Harris. He also pointed out that the campus would be open to adults.

The areas of focus would be  manufacturing, agriculture and health care. Each area was chosen specifically to match the counties largest job fields. The county is host to manufacturing businesses such as Metal Tech, MetalQuest and Reinke Manufacturing. Agriculture is the largest industry in the county and studying health care can lead to opportunities with Thayer Count Health Services and local nursing homes.

“Hopefully these opportunities will give kids skills that will help them to stay in Thayer County for employment,” said Harris. “It will benefit the kids and be a benefit to local employers. They would learn skills that could be applied to local businesses.”

SCC recently hired a new president with a strategic plan to create satellite location to better serve its boundaries. Thayer County is on the very western edge of SCC boundaries.

Harris believes that because this would be the closest option for many in the area, there would be a wide impact for several counties.

One possible location for the campus would be the Thayer Central primary building located on Hebron’s main street, according to Harris.

It may be several months before a final decision is made. Harris estimated it could be until Christmas or early 2016 before a final conclusion is come to.

Titan Beef Boosters

In other news, Harris provided updated numbers for the Titan Beef Boosters program that will be implemented in the fall.

So far, the program has garnered lots of community support with donations of over $16,000 plus 12 animals. This amount of donations will keep the program at the school for at least two years. Estimated costs for the program is about $7,500 per year.

A kick off for the program will be held on August 26 at Thayer Central.