The Barton Community Foundation Clay Shoot will be held at Camp Aldrich this year, after six successful years at LaSada Sporting Clays and Hunting Service in Russell.
Darnell Holopirek, Barton’s executive director of institutional advancement, announced the change Thursday at the BCC Board of Trustees monthly study session. She was joined by Sylvan Bleeker, who is on the administrative board of the college’s Foundation Board of Directors. Bleeker will also chair the event.
“This is our seventh shoot,” Holopirek said. It was created to raise money for mini-grants so Barton faculty members could purchase items for their classrooms that will enhance the student learning experience. Another purpose for the event, which raised more than $15,000 last year, was to expose a new audience to Barton Community College, Holopirek said. More than 160 shotgun-toting philanthropists turned out, making it the largest sporting clay shoot in the state.
Sponsors said  LaSada Sporting Clays did a great job, but they felt this was an opportunity to showcase the college’s Camp Aldrich facility, and the fact that it now offers accommodations for deer bow hunters. They expect the clay shoot, scheduled for May 4, will have another record-breaking year.
As in years past, the clay shoot will have 10 stations with 10 shots fired at each station. There will also be side games, known as flurries, to provide more opportunities for target shooting.
A McPherson company will bring portable shooting stations, and Western Dining, the college’s food service provider, will cater a lunch.
In other business Thursday, college trustees reviewed tuition rates. Barton President Dr. Carl Heilman said he hopes the college won’t need to raise its tuition in 2015. Circumstances that could affect tuition include enrollment and funding from the Legislature. Heilman and four Barton trustees will travel to Topeka next week at the start of the Legislative session to meet with elected officials.
Dean of Administration Mark Dean also presented bids the college received for three cars and two vans, to replace high mileage vehicles in the college fleet. Heilman said he had no recommendation. Although the low bids were state contract bids submitted by venders in eastern Kansas, trustees noted they usually prefer local venders, within reason. Bids for cars ranged from $17,639 to $18,922 for Impalas, and bids for vans ranged from $23,499 to $24,499 for the E350, or $27,612 for an Express model.
Dean of Information Services Charles Perkins and others presented information on pass rates for certain state or national certifications. It was noted that most students who fail to pass the test the first time are successful the second time. Second-time pass rates at Barton are: Nursing RN 92 percent, LPN 96.87 percent, EMT Basic 61 percent and Paramedic 94 percent. First-time pass rates for licensure exam overall were at 74 percent in 2011-2012. This was down from a high of 91 percent in 2007-08, which administrators attributed, in part, to new curriculum and higher standards on some tests.