[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 2 (Thursday, January 9, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E83]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                LORING JOB CORPS CENTER OPENS ITS DOORS

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                        HON. JOHN ELIAS BALDACCI

                                of maine

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 9, 1997

  Mr. BALDACCI. Mr. Speaker, on January 2, State of Maine Governor 
Angus King proclaimed the week of January 5, 1997, as ``Job Corps 
Week'' in recognition of the outstanding education and training 
opportunities provided by the Penobscot Job Corps Center in Bangor, ME, 
and in anticipation of the opening of the Loring Job Corps Center of 
Innovation in Limestone, ME. The State of Maine has had a very positive 
experience with the Job Corps Program, and I am very proud of the fine 
work this program does with at-risk students from my State and 
throughout New England.
  I am pleased to announce that the first group of students to utilize 
the new Loring Job Corps Center will be arriving this week. Some of 
these students have been waiting since July to begin their work at this 
new facility, which has been designated by the Department of Labor as a 
``center of innovation.'' This is significant, in that it will offer 
students from disadvantaged backgrounds advanced programs that have not 
been available through the traditional Job Corps Program.
  The Loring Center will provide vocational training a grade above that 
which is normally provided. It will also have the benefit of being able 
to work in conjunction with its sister facility, the Penobscot Job 
Corps Center. Both the Penobscot and Loring Job Corps Centers, 
designated as alternative schools, are part of the State of Maine's 
School to Work transition plan.
  As a tool for economic development, the Loring Center will provide a 
highly skilled workforce for Maine and New England. It will also play a 
crucial role in the area's educational and economic development 
strategies in conjunction with the University of Maine at Presque Isle, 
the Northern Maine Development Corporation, the Northern Maine 
Technical College, the Maine School for Science and Mathematics, the 
Aroostook County Action Program and the Caribou Adult Education 
Program. Working together, these entities will position the region as a 
center for educational innovation and excellence.
  I'm pleased that students will now have the opportunity to get the 
technologically relevant skills they will need to move forward in 
today's job market. I am also proud to have the Loring Center as a 
pilot for new educational concepts and technologies that may later be 
used in Job Corps facilities throughout the country. Congratulations to 
Don Ettinger, the Loring Center's director, his staff, and TDC for 
their fine work with the students.

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