Next week, Barton Community College officials will have a dedication and ribbon cutting for a new vocational education building at the Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility. It will take place at the Larned Chamber of Commerce Coffee Hour at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, at the West Unit.
The post and metal building was constructed using staff and offender labor, with BCC and LCMHF splitting the cost.
Warden Doug Waddington attended the July BCC Board of Trustees meeting and commented on the building, which was then under construction.
“We wanted a carpentry program,” Waddington said, but there was no space.
The college offers several education programs and job training opportunities for inmates. The carpentry program is for minimum security offenders who are near release in most cases.
BCC also has part-time vocational instructors teaching at the Ellsworth Correctional Facility. Instructors teach basic skills in safety, construction math, hand and power tools, blueprint reading, communication, and employability skills