Former Rockwood School eyed as site for TCTC wilderness course

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    DEXTER — It’s been quite a few years since students roamed the halls of the Rockwood Community School.
    But if all goes as planned, a new course proposed by the Tri-County Technical Center could be taught in the unorganized territory’s school building halfway between Greenville and Jackman.

    TCTC Director Patrick O’Neill updated the regional board at its monthly meeting on Oct. 30 about the proposed wilderness pathways course.
    The program was first discussed in January as one way to serve Greenville area students interested in conservation law enforcement, wildlife and fisheries management, forestry, outdoor recreation and tourism. O’Neill said at the time that every student going through this course would leave with at least a Maine guide’s certificate.
    “Key factors in the instruction will include outdoor safety, survival, ecosystems and land development; wildlife recognition and habitats, preparation and planning,” according to the mission statement.
    School Administrative District 12 in Jackman has also shown interest in partnering with TCTC to get the program off the ground. “My sense after talking to Shelley Lane (the state director of the UT schools) is that she’s very receptive to the idea and the folks in Jackman say that they’re very excited about it,” O’Neill said.
    There is a meeting scheduled for Friday, Nov. 14 at the Rockwood School with Lane and representatives from TCTC, Greenville Consolidated School and SAD 12, O’Neill said. “After that, we’ll have a sense of what it’s going and we’ll be able to tell the kids about it,” he said.
    Lane told the Observer that the Rockwood School closed in 2009 and the meeting “will help the folks assess the viability of the program. This would be great for the students in the vicinity if it can get started.”
    AOS 94 Superintendent Kevin Jordan emphasized that the program would not be limited to just Greenville and Jackman area students. “Satellite programs are open to any student in the districts we serve. It’s just a question of logistics — how do we pull it off?” Jordan said.
    O’Neill said that ideally, wilderness pathways would be taught at the TCTC campus in Dexter, but there isn’t enough room. “We’re already maxed out on space,” he said.
    Other items discussed at the board meeting included an initiative with the Piscataquis Valley Adult Education Cooperative that would allow their students to take courses at TCTC. O’Neill cited the shortage of commercial truck drivers in the area including some used for primarily seasonal work like vegetable harvesting.
    Jordan said that the partnership between TCTC and PVAEC “is a win-win situation all the way around.”
    O’Neill also announced that Dead River Company is donating two tanker trucks to TCTC for their commercial truck driving course. “We’ll have more details very soon,” he said.
    The board also approved an updated drug and alcohol policy for the center on its second reading. The director explained that drug testing has always been mandatory for students entering the commercial truck driving and criminal justice courses, but it’s been expanded to the certified nurses’ assistant and automotive courses. “It brings all our programs into level of scrutiny that they’ll face when they get out in the real world,” O’Neill said.
    The next board meeting is Nov. 20 at 6 p.m.