Salyersville Mayor Writes Op-Ed in Praise of Job Corps

The following letter from Salyersville, Ky., Mayor Pete Shepherd appeared in the Op-Ed section of the Floyd County Times:

Salyersville residents will always remember March 2, 2012, as the day tornadoes ripped through our town, destroying homes and businesses in their path. I am proud of the way Salyersville families and businesses came together to help their neighbors in a time of great need.

Even more heartwarming is the support that came into our town from elsewhere. Some of the earliest and most extensive disaster assistance came from Prestonsburg, courtesy of the students and staff of the Carl D. Perkins Job Corps Center.

In the days following the devastating storms, more than a hundred Job Corps students and staff came to Salyersville to log more than 700 volunteer service hours. Students in the construction trades are helping our community clean up and rebuild, and students training in the culinary arts are preparing meals for senior citizens. Students training at the center to work in the security field are helping ensure the smooth operation of the local clothing bank.

On behalf of the people of Salyersville, I want to thank the Job Corps students and staff for their selfless assistance.

Eastern Kentuckians have always known that Job Corps is important to our area. The Carl D. Perkins center is one of 125 local centers across the country that train disadvantaged youth in fast-growing trades so they can overcome personal obstacles and become active contributors to the local tax base instead of relying on it. Nationally, 85 percent of Job Corps graduates find and keep jobs, enlist in the military or continue their education.

Because of the local revenue this generates and jobs that Job Corps supports, every dollar invested in the program returns about $2 to the local economy. These outcomes make Job Corps the most effective national residential career-preparation and academic remediation program serving youth ages 16-24.

The Carl D. Perkins center alone trains 500 young people every year for careers in industries with jobs available right here in Eastern Kentucky, including facility maintenance, construction, security, hospitality, electricity, HVAC and masonry.

Unfortunately, the Carl D. Perkins center and others like it across Kentucky and the United States are in danger of being shut down if Congress does not continue to invest in this important economic growth program. Planned cuts to the Job Corps program would leave 6,000 at-risk youth without the opportunity in a safe environment to gain the job skills they need. If they are not properly prepared for the workforce, these young people would cost U.S. taxpayers more than $2 billion in lost productivity and larger government programs.

I plan to continue discussing the importance of continued Job Corps support with Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul and Congressman Hal Rogers so they understand why Job Corps is so important to our area’s economy. The recent service its young people and their staff provided to the families of Salyersville are testament to the fact that Job Corps works for our communities.