Senator Tester makes inaugural visit to Kicking Horse

By Kim Swaney

U.S. Senator Jon Tester waits outside the diesel mechanics shop for a tour of Kicking Horse Job Corps Center located southeast of Ronan on the Flathead Indian Reservation. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ recently renewed their contract with the Department of Labor and have been in operated the center for 46 years. (Kim Swaney photo)

RONAN — While not a stranger to the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration’s Job Corps program, U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont) made his initial visit and tour of Kicking Horse Job Corps Center on December 3. Tester previously visited Anaconda Job Corps earlier this summer.

DOL ETA’s Job Corps program has been in existence since 1964. Kicking Horse began as a manpower center in 1965 and is one of 125 centers nationwide and is operated by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes under a two-year contract with three additional option years for funding from the federal government.

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council leaders, Chairman E. T. “Bud” Moran and Vice Chairman Joe Durglo; along with KH center staff, student government representatives, community relation council members, Salish Kootenai College’s Media Center and Ronan Chamber of Commerce greeted the Senator and exchanged dialogue about the recently accepted renewed DOL contract with the CSKT.

Of concern to the Tribes, Tester and KH staff was the reduction of 46 training slots to Kicking Horse in predominately male-based training areas. CSKT Economic Development Director, Joseph Dupuis and KH Center Director Charles Camel said that CSKT leaders had resisted the reduction in training slots but were dictated to reduce the number of training slots in heavy equipment operations, and eliminate all training slots in the carpentry, culinary arts, and building trades and maintenance programs and adding pharmacy tech and medical records support training.

It is not the first time Kicking Horse has had to change their training programs. Forestry and auto mechanics were removed from their training mix several years ago. Training in health careers could prove to be valuable to Kicking Horse.

“I foresee Kicking Horse as becoming the premiere health careers training center,” says Shelly Fyant, Outreach and Admissions CTS Coordinator and Business Community Liaison. “We will raise the bar as far as recruiting students with higher reading levels and excellent math skills,” she says.

Fyant is emphatic about local recruitment and says they’ll market health occupations to area high schools. “We’re not trying to lure students away from finishing high school – we’re wanting their graduates,” says Fyant.

In order to meet the demand for more health oriented careers, Kicking Horse will need to create a mix in training that will attract male students predicted to be lower initially. The certified nursing assistant, medical assistant and dental assistant programs are fine-tuned, skilled and strong training programs for Kicking Horse, as are the office professions.

Recruiting enough males in all these areas in order to keep their 112 slots in two dorms will be tricky, let alone finding students with the necessary math aptitude needed for pharmacy tech training.

The impact of cutting back one heavy equipment crew and totally eliminating carpentry and building maintenance means there could possibly be fewer vocational skills training dollars available as well. Past VST projects such as the “Espinoza” Road between St. Mary’s Lake, through the Twin Lakes area to Jocko Road, the original Ronan Football/track field and the Ronan Community Center and Fairgrounds are all fine examples of Job Corps’ VST dollars hard at work over their 46 years in operation.

Kicking Horse has been in the past and is currently ranked in the top 10 centers nationwide for average wage rate for their graduates who leave the center and obtain and maintain steady employment boasted Charles Camel.

First up on Tester’s tour of the center included the recreation center, which has been remodeled and maintained by the staff and students. Tester and his entourage, along with community supporters and others next toured the diesel mechanics shop.

Leslie Fox of Estes Park, Colorado has been in diesel mechanics for the past seven months and plans to graduate in March 2012. Fox showed how she and other DM students receive training in diesel and gas engine designs, as well as repairing and maintaining heavy equipment owned and operated by the center. Fox also displayed how the different types of welding skills have allowed their instructor and advanced students to fabricate an impressive tandem-axle trailer complete with taillights.

“I work just as hard as the guys and I like the hard work,” says Fox about being one of the few females in the diesel mechanics program.

Although Senator Tester had about an hour to tour Kicking Horse, students and staff were eager to have him see their center. Laura Menard of Box Elder who is currently in the CNA program and secretary for KH student government, and student body president Kelsey Anne Tohdacheeney of Farmington, New Mexico, who conducted the center tour and is a medical assistant trainee both said they appreciate the excellent training and hands-on work they do, whether it’s testing new students during intake when they first arrive, taking vitals or providing health related services on and off-center.

Menard also credited exit counselors Jodi Hunter-Ivins and Juanita Swaney with helping them prepare to leave Job Corps by conducting interviewing skills with near-graduates, locating meaningful employment and connecting them with employers who need skilled workers. “They help us grow personally and professionally,” says Menard.

With this being Tester’s inaugural visit, he says it’s important to see where the federal dollars are being utilized.

“I think its money well spent,” says the Senator. “I’ve been impressed by the commitment of the staff and students here,” says Tester.

Earlier in the year, Job Corps and the Department of Labor looked like they would lose millions of dollars in appropriations, Tester remained firm on putting partisanship aside, having an honest debate about what the priorities should be and putting discretionary spending, entitlement programs, and revenue enhancement programs on the table and prioritizing in order to achieve a balanced federal budget.

While Jon doesn’t agree with everything in the proposal of Simpson-Bowles Deficit Commission for cutting the debt and deficit, he thinks it is a balanced, bipartisan approach. Jon supports reforming the tax code to lower income tax rates for the vast majority of Americans and making the tax code more fair for middle-class Americans while ensuring that millionaires pay their fair share in taxes, explained Tester’s Communication Director Aaron Murphy.

Alan Simpson is a former Republican Senator from Wyoming and Erskine Bowles is the former Chief of Staff to President Clinton who chaired the bipartisan commission to identify a balanced way to cut spending and reduce the national debt and deficit.

“We’ve seen history repeat itself. It’s a no-brainer — programs like these in education and infrastructure are critical and important for both rich and poor kids. There are a lot of bright kids out there and we’re giving them a skill set. It’s a win-win situation for employers and employees,” says Tester.

While many in the valley had the University of Montana’s Griz play-off game only a few hours away on their minds, the Senator remained focused on Job Corps and not on his campaign. One had to wonder how the Senator distinguishes himself from his opponent – Congressman Denny Rehberg for the upcoming senate seat in 2012.

“I have a history and voting record of getting things done – not just for Montanans but everyone and the Congressman has a history of doing things for his own self-interests,” explains Tester.

“Unlike his opponent, Jon championed and voted for permanent reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, which is expanding recruitment of Indian health professionals, improving medical service delivery, and improving coordination between IHS, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance. Tester pushed for the Tribal Law and Order Act, which increased funding for training tribal law enforcement officers, expanded programs for tribal youths, and is giving additional assistance to tribal jails. Jon also has become a nationally recognized leader on veterans’ issues, fighting particularly for veterans who live in rural areas,” says Murphy.

While Kicking Horse’s future remains solid in providing valuable training, Senator Tester encouraged tribal leaders and center staff to revisit the number of training slots and programs offered if that is something worth consideration. Only time and performance will tell.