It’s an idea that has been discussed for years, and it was echoed again in late January when a local resident, Gary Pollard of Port Angeles, wrote a letter to Peninsula Voices, the Peninsula Daily News’ letters to the editor column.
” . . . I can tell you from experience that there is a definite need for a vocational/technical facility (on the North Olympic Peninsula) that has the capacity and focus to thoroughly prepare individuals in order to successfully compete for jobs,” Pollard wrote.
“The benefits of building and operating something such as this are endless — jobs for teachers, training opportunities for the growing marine repair trades, a place where local employers could send their employees to upgrade their skills, education funding dollars, and perhaps most importantly of all, a long-term, sustainable and renewable resource.”
Two prominent educators who have been working together to make this concept a reality as the North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center — a concept that took its first steps forward last week with $3 million in state funding — immediately answered Pollard’s letter.
Dr. Thomas Keegan, president of Peninsula College, and Dr. Gary Cohn, superintendent of the Port Angeles School District, enthusiastically agreed with Pollard.
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The rest of this story appears in today’s Peninsula Daily News Clallam County edition. Click on “Subscribe” to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.
