MOUNT VERNON — The Knox County Career Center school board on Thursday gave special recognition to two local businesses which have been especially supportive of the building trades and metal fabrication programs. Instructors Colbi Clippinger and Brian Broseus presented plaques to Kokosing Construction representative Patrick Nyhart and Ohio Rental owner Jay Maners for their efforts on behalf of the students in those programs. Clippinger also talked about the increasing need for skilled tradesmen and predicted the need will increase as more hydrofracturing wells are built.
Superintendent Bernie Pachmayer and adult education director Jane Marlow gave a presentation about oil and gas exploration in the Utica shale and Marcellus shale deposits in Ohio. They said Ohio’s natural gas and crude oil industry will need thousands of workers in the next two years, and 204,500 by the year 2015. The career center can help meet that need by “tweaking” some existing programs and perhaps creating new ones. Pachmayer said the more immediate impact will be in adult education, but the high school is in position to provide some basic training in related areas.
