Author Archive for R. Oliphant – Page 22

YAVAPAI COMMUNITY COLLEGE SCHEDULES HANDEL’S MESSIAH FOR DECEMBER 1 TO BEGIN AT 7 P.M. AT CONCEPTION CATHOLIC CHURCH PARISH IN COTTONWOOD

By R. Oliphant
Saturday, November 18th, 2023

General Admission Tickets of $20 can be purchased online from the College at its Performing Arts Center box office on the Prescott Campus.

Yavapai Community College will give a performance of “The Messiah” on December 1, 2023 in the Verde Valley. The concert will take place at the Conception Catholic Church Parish, 700 N. Bill Gray Road, Cottonwood, and will begin at 7 p.m.

Ticket Information:

Adults: $20

Youth (18 years and younger): $5

Tickets are available by calling the Community College Performing Arts Center box office on the Prescott Campus at 928-776-2000.

This special event should provide an evening of magnificent music.

Categories : Performing Arts Center

DISTRICT GOVERNING BOARD SCHEDULES THIRD BUSINESS MEETING SINCE LAST MAY FOR NOVEMBER 28, ON VERDE VALLEY CAMPUS IN CLARKDALE

By R. Oliphant
Saturday, November 18th, 2023

Workshop to run from approximately 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and a business meeting to run from approximately 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Note: Normally such meetings are held in M-137, which may not be affected by the current  renovation of portions of building “M”.)

Just to give everyone a heads up, the Yavapai Community College District Governing Board is set to convene for its third session since May on Tuesday, November 28, 2023. The meeting will take place on the Verde Valley Campus in Clarkdale. The proceedings begin at 1:00 p.m. with a workshop, followed by the main business meeting starting at 3:00 p.m.

Please note that portions of Building “M” are currently under renovation, which may affect the usual meeting location of Room M-137. The exact location is yet to be announced. Keep an eye on the Governing Board’s website for the official meeting notice, which will confirm the details.

For those interested in addressing the Governing Board, there is typically a slot at the start of the meeting for public comment. You’ll need to fill out a “Request to Speak” form and submit it to the Recording Secretary beforehand. Please be ready to keep your comments within the allotted time of one to three minutes, though three minutes is the usual limit.

Under Arizona law, a citizen has a right to attend, listen, tape record, or videotape all of these meetings. The public may not disrupt, but may speak during the Call to the Public at the beginning of this meeting if the call is on the agenda. See Ariz. Att’y Gen. Op. No. I78-001.

You may access the agenda for this meeting at the District Governing  Board’s website when it is eventually posted.

Categories : Meeting Notice

DECEMBER AT YAVAPAI COMMUNITY COLLEGE: OUTSTANDING EVENTS SCHEDULED AT THE PRESCOTT CAMPUS’S JIM AND LINDA LEE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

By R. Oliphant
Saturday, November 18th, 2023

Prescott Residents Invited to Enjoy Nine Major Events at the Center, Including Jake Shimabukuro’s Christmas in Hawai’I, Handel’s Messiah, the Nutcracker Ballet, and More

Yavapai Community College is presenting an impressive lineup of diverse holiday programs this December at the Jim and Linda Lee Performing Arts Center on the Prescott Campus. Residents of Prescott can look forward to an array of nine outstanding scheduled events including Jake Shimabukuro’s festive “Christmas in Hawai’i,” the timeless “Handel’s Messiah,” the enchanting “Nutcracker” ballet, and many more captivating performances.

Categories : Performing Arts Center

CHINO VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS CENTER GREENHOUSE INFRASTRUCTURE REPLACEMENT AND UPGRADES – IN PROCESS

By R. Oliphant
Friday, November 17th, 2023

Building 55 torn down; unclear what, if anything, will replace it; cost of possible replacement and overall purpose of project not found in Master Plan or most current approved budget

Building 55 at the Chino Valley Center was recently demolished. From all appearances, it seemed old and in need of repair or replacement.  However, attempts to find details regarding the cost, purpose, or even the existence of a planned replacement building in Community College records have been unsuccessful. No mention of the project appears in the latest Master Plan or the $100 million budget. The Blog has reached out to the College for more information about the project and will update readers with any new developments.

SOURCE: Yavapai Community College Pagebook posting by unknown author.

 

Categories : Chino Valley campus

NEW APARTMENT ON PRESCOTT CAMPUS OF YAVAPAI COMMUNITY COLLEGE APPEARS READY FOR TEMPORARY OCCUPANCY

By R. Oliphant
Thursday, November 16th, 2023

College says it completely “gutted” Building 30 to transform it from a storage facility to a furnished apartment with modern appliances and laundry

Yavapai Community College has completed the construction of a new apartment on the Prescott Campus. According to Community College authorities, the remodeling effort began with a complete gut of Building 30 to transform it from storage to a furnished apartment. The apartment comes complete with all modern kitchen appliances and laundry facilities.

The campus apartment is intended to provide temporary housing for new faculty and staff transitioning to Yavapai Community College. The College has found housing in the Prescott area for its new faculty and staff challenging, so it is attempting to help out with a temporary solution.

According to Community College officials, ‘The new apartment is comparable to the Verde Valley Campus RV park and will help new employees with this temporary solution.’

The total cost of the apartment renovation is not yet known.

Categories : Construction, Prescott Campus, Yavapai Community College

COMMUNITY STAR GAZING NIGHT NOVEMBER 17 5-7 P.M.

By R. Oliphant
Wednesday, November 15th, 2023

A night to gave at the stars will be held November 17 from 5 to 7 p.m. on the Verde Valley Campus.  The event will be held on the Southwest Wine Center patio.  For more information, contact Bobbi Evans at 928-634-6511.

Categories : Verde campus events

ESTIMATED COST FOR CONSTRUCTING COMMUNITY COLLEGE PRESCOTT VALLEY HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER LEAPS IN LESS THAN 12 MONTHS FROM ESTIMATED $14.52 MILLION TO $39 MILLION; TOTAL SQUARE FOOTAGE JUMPED FROM SEPT ESTIMATE OF 30,000 TO OCTOBER ESTIMATE OF 56,000

By R. Oliphant
Thursday, November 9th, 2023

New plans also include an 18,000 square foot Conference Center as part of project that will compete with private resorts and public centers for business: College  already has spent $5.8 million improving Prescott Valley Center in 2017; plus unknown amounts in 2019 and 2023 to purchase land and complete phase 2 of its expansion

In November 2022, Yavapai Community College executives presented a list of possible projects to the residents of Yavapai County and the District Governing Board, one of which involved expanding the Health Sciences Center now located at the Prescott Valley Campus. The experts estimated the project construction to cost about $14.52 million. The District Governing Board approved the request in concept, except for the Third District’s representative at the time, Mr. Paul Chevalier. 

Since 2017 the Community College has been spending millions to upgrade the existing Prescott Valley Center.  It completed a $5.8 million dollar phase one construction project at the Center in 2017.  Between then and 2023, additional hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on phase two of renovation and improvements along with land acquisition.

The new Health Sciences project was scheduled to begin in  2026 but has been move ahead two years.

It is noteworthy to observe that less than 12 months after the November 2022 concept approval, the College has unveiled its actual plans for the Health Sciences Center. These include an 18,000 square foot conference center on the third floor. The total cost of the project has increased to $39 million, with $9 million allocated for the conference center. The College suggests that it may obtain funding assistance from the state and federal governments for the project.

When the Community College announced its $39 million project in October 2023 some County residents pondered whether they may have been intentionally misled by the November 2022 presentation and the $14.52 price tag, only to discover eleven months later that the College was now intending a $39 million dollar project. Other community members are also questioning the wisdom of adding a conference center as a part of the Health Sciences building for an estimated $9 million that may directly compete with private resorts and small cities for conference business. That idea for a conference center does not appear in the Master Plan and was not discussed in November 2022 when the concept was approved.

However, residents’ concerns will have little or no impact. Residents have learned that incredible differences in estimates and actual construction mean little to a sleepy District Governing Board dominated by west county politicos. They will essentially rubber-stamp whatever the College brings forth when it asks for final approval of a project on the west side of Mingus Mountain.

In one sense, the District Governing Board’s approval process for College projects is like a train that has already left the station. Residents’ concerns are akin to a small pebble on the tracks that the train will simply pass over. The train’s destination is predetermined, and the Board’s approval is a mere formality.  Moreover, there is never any serious follow-up by the Board on such projects.

Categories : Career and Technical Education, Nursing

ARE PRESCOTT HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS COURTS TAKING OVER AFTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE FIRED LONG-TIME TENNIS PROFESSIONAL ICON CHRIS HOWARD IN MARCH?

By R. Oliphant
Wednesday, November 8th, 2023

Major physical improvements, five certified professionals ready to teach, and a reservation system that guarantees a court will be available to residents at a nominal price now make the high school courts a first choice for many in the tennis community.  In addition, there appears to have been a migration of tennis professionals away from the College’s tennis complex to the high school facility following Mr. Howard’s firing

The firing of Dennis Howard in March deeply disturbed the local tennis community. Howard, a revered coach at Yavapai Community College, was dismissed for reportedly breaching a College policy. He had gone to the College’s tennis complex on snow days to check its condition while the Campus was officially closed. As a result of this infraction, the dedicated coach was fired and also prohibited from accessing the College’s tennis courts for several months

Despite pleas in April by most, if not all, of the local tennis community asking the College and District Governing Board to reconsider the firing, the College remained as unyielding as a block wall in its decision. Now, the College and the Governing Board might be reaping the consequences and paying a price for stubbornness and in the minds of many a lack of judgment.

One significant outcome appears to be the professional tennis community’s migration away from the College’s tennis complex. Their attention has turned to the freshly upgraded six-court complex at Prescott High School. This shift in focus serves as a stark indicator of the firing’s stain on the College’s reputation and its ripple effect through the local tennis scene.

Moreover, the Phoenix High School facility has been recently renovated, updated, and modernized.  The old asphalt six-court tennis facility was rebuilt with post-tensioned concrete, new LED lights, side fencing between courts, benches and chairs, wheelchair access, clean restrooms, a daily junior tennis academy, weekly lessons, and five open clinics. The facility has five certified tennis professionals available to work with local residents seven days a week.

The transformation process was driven by Prescott High School coach and USPTA Tennis Professional, Sterling Fetty, and Athletic Director Missy Townsend. They created a program that allows everyday use for students and the general public. They also created a unique reservation system that guarantees a court will be available for residents at a nominal price. Additionally, tennis professionals in the community volunteer at the High School tennis center to maintain it, lock and unlock gates as needed, keep the courts cleaned off and ready, and help with any needs that take place there.

Kudos to Fetty, Townsend, and the many local volunteers for their efforts in rebuilding and renovating the Prescott High School tennis courts. The facility is now open for public use day and night, and offers an opportunity for first-class instruction to tennis enthusiasts. Prescott’s tennis fans can now look forward to a bright future with this new and improved facility.  Meanwhile, those same fans may well have turned their backs on Yavapai Community College because of its treatment of Mr. Howard and the refusal to simply consider the tennis community’s request for a careful review of the circumstances involving the decision.

Categories : Athletics, Sports in General, Tennis Court

DR. RHINE TELLS FACULTY THAT YAVAPAI COMMUNITY COLLEGE HAS NOW FORMALLY PARTNERED WITH THE COBOD CORPORATION TO TRAIN 3D HOUSE ROBOTIC PRINTER OPERATORS

By R. Oliphant
Tuesday, November 7th, 2023

The College has most likely agreed to train COBOD 3D home printer purchasers nationwide

Dr. Lisa Rhine, in an internal televised address to the Yavapai Community College faculty during the first week of November, announced that the College has “has now become a partner” with the COBOD Corporation. COBOD is an acronym for “Construction of Buildings on Demand.” 

The November announcement came on the heels of  September’s enthusiastic pitch to the District Governing Board about  partnering with COBOD given by the Dean of Career and Technical Education, John Mogan, and others.  It was suggested that the College might agree to a five-year training contract of some sort.   However,  at the time Morgan spoke to the Governing Board, he cautioned that “we’re not quite there yet with financials on how this whole deal will come together.”  The parties apparently reached a mutually satisfactory arrangement.  The terms of the agreement have not been made public.

COBOD  was formed in 2017. It has its International Headquarters in Copenhagen, and corporate offices in Florida, Kuwait, and Thailand. The company has targeted annual U.S. sales of 40 3D house robotic printer machines. It claims to have already printed 41 homes in the United States, 5 in Latin America, 17 in Africa, 17 in the Middle East, 22 in Europe, and 28 in Asia in 2022.

The College presenters indicated at the September Board meeting  that Yavapai Community College would train new buyers of the expensive machines nationally. Currently, according to the College, the training occurs in Copenhagen, Denmark and it takes six weeks. It was claimed that by locating training in the U.S.,  the cost will be significantly reduced.

Categories : Career and Technical Education

YAVAPAI COMMUNITY COLLEGE OFFERS EXPLANATION FOR MOVING CONSTRUCTION OF PRESCOTT VALLEY HEALTH CENTER AHEAD BY YEARS – CRITICS PONDER WHETHER SCRAPPING/DELAYING TWO LARGE PROJECTS IN THE VERDE VALLEY MADE FUNDS SUDDENLY AVAILABLE FOR WEST SIDE DEVELOPMENT

By R. Oliphant
Saturday, November 4th, 2023

Total cost of potential new Prescott/Prescott Valley/CTEC projects  range from $55 to $65 million. Meanwhile most projects delayed or more likely abandoned on the Sedona/Verde Valley side of Mingus Mountain

Sedona, Cottonwood, Clarkdale, Camp Verde ask:

As we approach 2024, the Community College has decided to invest potentially in total between $55 million and $65 million in capital projects at the Prescott Campus, CTEC and the Prescott Valley Center. The proposed expenditures include:

  • $15 million to renovate the Prescott Campus library. (Approved.)

  • $10 million to expand CTEC at the Prescott airport. (Approved.)

  • $3 million for workforce housing, with some portion of the funds allegedly going to the Verde Valley Campus. (Approved.)

  • $30 million to $40 million to construct the Health Science building, which may also include a conference center as a part of it, at the Prescott Valley Center. (Pending final approval; concept approved.)

Meanwhile, projects at the Sedona Center and Verde Valley Campus on the east side of Mingus Mountain have been delayed and in some cases possibly abandoned.  The only major approved development project is $3 million to renovate Building “M” on the Verde Valley Campus. 

How did the enormous disparity occur?

Read More→

Categories : Career and Technical Education, Nursing, Sedona Campus, Verde Campus
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