[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 115 (Thursday, September 4, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        MINGO JOBS CORPS CENTER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JO ANN EMERSON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 4, 1997

  Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to proudly recognize the 
Mingo Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center in Puxico, MO.
  The Mingo Job Corps Center was established in 1965 as a vocational/
educational training center for disadvantaged youth. Since that time it 
has served hundreds of at-risk youth and its surrounding communities. 
The students complete their secondary educations and learn employable 
skills while working on needed community projects. At the Mingo Center, 
student volunteer services proved to be key components to such 
important projects as excavation work at the Three Rivers Community 
College in Poplar Bluff, MO, the elevation of flood-prone Highway D in 
Wayne County, MO, and the restoration of several untended cemeteries 
throughout the region.
  While the students are obtaining an education and helping local 
communities, they are also learning vocational trades that earn them 
jobs. Those factors are very significant and the Mingo Job Corps Center 
has an excellent and an improving record of graduating students with 
GED's and placement in jobs. It is as rewarding for me as it was for my 
late husband, Bill Emerson, to observe the progress of the corpsmen as 
they enter and eventually complete the program and become hard-working 
contributors to their communities. The ultimate prize, however, belongs 
to the dedicated young corpsmen who endeavor to build their own future 
through the personal commitment they each make toward completing the 
Job Corps experience.
  In closing, I also would like to express my appreciation to the staff 
at the Mingo Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center for their dedicated 
work and to the past and present corpsmen for their decision to work 
for a better life for themselves, their families, and their community.

                          ____________________