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Tech site plan gets big boost Land grant, building design hint at future By VICKI GUARINO WHITE CITY -- Plans for a regional technology education center -- only the second one of its kind in Oregon -- took clearer shape Monday with a donation of land and the design of a building. The Southern Oregon Regional Technology Center gained 18 acres from Mike Burrill of Burrill Properties. Burrill handed over the land deed to Rogue Community College President Harvey Bennett during a public presentation of the project at the Veterans Affairs Domiciliary. RCC is leading the effort to build the center with numerous education and agency partners. The domiciliary would be one of the partners, director George Andries said during the presentation, to assist both veterans and the general community. The center would be built at the domiciliary and the adjacent land donated by Burrill. "We are extraordinarily excited about this," Andries said. The center would provide a range of advanced technical training opportunities to boost workers' job and career skills. It could offer regular college credit classes, plus specialized education and business training and support. Sessions could range from seminars to term-long courses. Center programs would be closely linked to local business and industry. The project is being patterned after the state's first advanced technology center, established by the state Legislature in Wilsonville in 1989. "What this will provide is the ability to upgrade skills and get employees into family-wage jobs," Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development director Gordon Safley said in support of the center. Other backers signing on to support the center include Southern Oregon University President Steve Reno, Oregon Institute of Technology President Martha Anne Dow, and county Commissioner Sue Kupillas. Other institutions supporting the effort include Klamath, Umpqua and Southwestern Oregon community colleges. "It's bigger in scope than we may have thought," said Bennett. Preliminary plans call for construction of a $4 million, 55,00-square-foot building. RCC also would require funding for staffing and operations. Backers intend to seek money from the Legislature in this session. They are turning to the Legislature's original technology training plan in seeking funds. When the Legislature created the advanced technology center in Wilsonville, lawmakers envisioned that it would be just a first step, said RCC spokesman Tom Bradbeer. A network of two or three such centers was anticipated across the state. The White City center would reach beyond RCC's service area of Jackson and Josephine counties to serve residents of Coos, Curry, Douglas and Klamath counties. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA