KNIGHTLINEOLNEY CENTRAL COLLEGE

August 2015

InsidePurple Briefcaseconnects studentsand employers

Automotive ServiceTechnology partnerswith RWCI

Music Departmenttuition waivers still available

Upcoming Events

OCC!Theatre marks 40th anniversary

College VisitsAug. 20 — FranklinUniversity, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Sept. 23 — SouthernIllinois University atCarbondale, 9 a.m. to noonTables will be located out-side the Student ServicesOffice.

The OCC!Theatrepresents “Li’lAbner,” the firstproduction stagedin the Dr. John D.Stull PerformingArts Center in 1977.The OCC!Theatre iscelebrating its 40thanniversary thisyear.

The Olney Central College Theatre iscelebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

Director Ruth Henry was serving as apart-time instructor teaching choir, voiceand piano, when Music Instructor SteveMarrs approached her about staging a mu-sical at OCC. Henry, who had theater ex-perience in high school and college, agreedand in the spring of 1976 an all-studentcast presented OCC’s first theatrical pro-duction, “The Fantasticks.”

“The theatre wasn’t even built yet so weused a portable stage in the StudentUnion,” Henry said. “We had no sound andno lighting, just a little combo that includeda piano, a bass and percussion. That wasit.”

The OCC Theatre found a permanenthome with the completion of the Dr. JohnD. Stull Performing Arts Center. The facil-ity hosted its first production, “Li’l Abner,”in 1977.

In the ensuing years, Henry has di-rected 69 shows and seen the OCC Theatreemerge as a hallmark of the college.

“For many people, the theatre is the faceof OCC,” she said. “We have patrons comefrom many miles away. They have beenhere and know the quality of our shows.”

The OCC Theatre expanded auditions toinclude area high school students andadults in 1982. Today it continues to drawtalent from Olney and surrounding areas.Beginning with its production of “Josephand the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”in 2008, the OCC Theatre has attempted tobring more modern and elaborate shows toits audience including “Peter Pan,” “Beautyand the Beast,” “Seussical,” and “Shrek theMusical.”

“We’ve been doing more difficult andtechnically involved productions,” Henrysaid. “We’ve flown people, had more com-plicated dance numbers and our special ef-fects have increased. We also haveimproved our lighting and sound capabili-ties with up-to-date equipment.”

In keeping with its anniversary, theOCC Theatre will present two standardsfor the 2015-2016 season, “M*A*S*H,” the1973 play based on the popular, book,movie and television show, and “South Pa-cific,” the 1949 Rodgers and Hammersteinmusical. Performances will be in Octoberand March, respectively.

Henry also hopes to commemorate theanniversary with a special event later inthe year.

Photo Courtesy of the Anderson Library Archives

August19 New Student Orienta-tion, 9 a.m., Theatre

20 Fall Classes Begin

20 Welcome Back Cookout,11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Patio

25 Community Choir Rehearsals Begin, 6 p.m.,Room 216

28 Red Cross Blood Drive,8 a.m. to 1 p.m., StudentUnion

30-31 M*A*S*H Auditions, 2 p.m. Sunday; 7 p.m.Monday, Theatre

A crane was used to lift Wattle-worth Hall’s new HVAC units intoplace on Aug. 12. The projectbegan in late July when a cranewas used to assist with theremoval of the penthouse roofsand venting systems for the oldunits.

HVAC REPLACEMENT

Olney Central College will un-veil its new Collision RepairTechnology Center with an openhouse from 1 to 3 p.m. on Mon-day, Aug. 17.

A ribbon cutting ceremony willbe held at 1:10 p.m. inside thebuilding. Refreshments and toursof the $1.1 million facility willfollow. The public is invited.

Construction began last sum-mer on the 8,000-square footstructure, which features 4,000square feet of classroom and lab-oratory space. The new facilityincludes an indoor wash bay, aseparate equipment room and anew downdraft paint booth withan attached mixing room.

The project was funded by theIllinois Jobs Now constructionprogram and overseen by the Illi-nois Capital Development Board,the state’s construction manage-ment agency.

Collision RepairOpen Houseset for Aug. 17

OCC is hosting a WelcomeBack Cookout for students onThursday, Aug. 20. Serving willbe from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. onthe patio outside the StudentUnion. The menu includeshamburgers, chips and a drink.The meal is free.

Welcome Back Cookout Aug. 20

RWCI in Flora is partnering with OlneyCentral College’s Automotive Service Tech-nology Program to help students developskills while assisting area companies and thelocal economy.

Instructor Tyler Boyles said the opportu-nity to work together arose when automotivestudent, Arren Hinkle, was hired by the firm,which rents, services and sells constructionequipment. Through the association, Boylesconnected with RWCI General ManagerKevin Lewton, who later spoke to the automo-tive class on how to be successful in anyindustry.

“During the discussion, he asked if wewould be interested in repairing equipmentthat needed more extensive work and return-ing it in operating condition,” Boyles said.

Under Boyles’ direction, the students re-cently repaired a Terex telehandler for RWCI.

“It was a good experience for the students,”Boyles said. “Live projects always provide anexcellent opportunity for students to applyand expand their skills.”

RWCI recently sold the equipment and pre-sented the Automotive Program with a $2,500check from the proceeds.

RWCI has been in business for more than21 years. Since purchasing the company in2013, owner Jim Bindon has been raising thestandard and quality of delivered and rentedequipment with the goal of providing not only

“a piece of equipment, but peace of mind.” With that goal in mind, RWCI became one

of the first companies in the industry to offera money back guarantee on specific modelsafter being fully serviced by its team. RWCIalso has tripled its rental fleet to improvelocal service and reliability.

“The only way to drive improvement inquality and reliability is to improve the skillsof our employees so the partnership withOlney Central College is very important,”Lewton said. “OCC has been helpful in pro-viding resources in training the existing staffas well as allowing us to participate in thistype of program. All skills development notonly helps the individual, but improves thecommunity where we live.”

Lewton noted the partnership with OCCenabled students to experience a “real busi-ness” situation.

“In this case, the Terex telehandler was notfunctioning properly for several reasons andit was going to require several different skillssets to make it operational,” he said. “Notonly was there an opportunity to increase thestudents’ understanding of using their spe-cific skills, but also the chance to discuss howto plan, budget and meet end-user expecta-tions. We are pleased with the results andlook forward to partnering with Olney Cen-tral College on these types of programs in thefuture.”

OCC Dean ofInstruction Dr.Jeffery Cutchinand AutomotiveService TechnologyInstructor TylerBoyles accept a$2,500 check fromRWCI GeneralManager KevinLewton.

Automotive Service Technologypartnering with RWCI in Flora

The OCC Music Depart-ment is pleased to announcethat tuition waivers are stillavailable for students for thecurrent 2015-16 school year.

Students who auditionand qualify could earn aneight- or 16-hour tuitionwaiver for participating inone or more of the OCC Per-formance Ensembles. Theseensembles include the OCCConcert Choir, Concert Bandand Jazz Ensemble.

“The administration atOlney Central College isvery generous in their sup-port for the Fine Arts pro-grams,” said SuzanneDownes, Director ofBands/Music Instructor atOlney Central College.“There are still waiversavailable for this season –and we’d love to have morestudent musicians able totake advantage of thisopportunity.”

For more informationabout the OCC ConcertChoir, please contactAndrew Pittman at 395-7777, ext. 2252, or atpittmana@iecc.edu.

For more informationabout the OCC ConcertBand or Jazz Ensemble,please contact SuzanneDownes at 395-7777,ext. 2251, or atdowness@iecc.edu.

Music Departmenttuition waiversstill available

Student IDsAll students are required

to obtain a Student ID Cardin the Anderson Library.Students should bring theirstudent course schedulesand be prepared to havetheir photos taken.

The OCC Community Choir’s sixth seasonwill feature Vivaldi’s “Gloria” in a joint Holi-day Concert with the Lincoln Trail Commu-nity Choir on Dec. 13 and Dec. 17, includingstrings, trumpet, organ/harpsichord and pro-fessional soloists.

The Choir will begin rehearsals at 6 p.m.on Tuesday, Aug. 25 at OCC in the

Choir/Band Room 216 on the second floor.Anyone high school age or older is welcometo join, regardless of experience.

For more information, contact AndrewPittman, Director of Choral Activities, atpittmana@iecc.edu, by phone at 395-7777,ext. 2252, or simply attend the firstrehearsal.

Community Choir rehearsals begin Aug. 25

Energy cost-saving opportunitiesElevate Energy is helping homeowners

and businesses understand how basicchanges in building, design, maintenanceand monitoring can decrease energy use andcreate savings.

OCC Director of Evening Studies AdenaRivas is serving as a local advisor for thenon-profit organization which is fundedthrough an educational outreach grant pro-vided by the Illinois Science & Energy Inno-vation Foundation.

Rivas and other local advisors are makingpresensations and talking to people aboutnew advanced technologies and the availabil-ity of energy- and cost-saving programs.

These savings will be created by the ad-vanced “Smart Grid” system that utility com-panies are currently installing across thenation and state.

The new “Smart Grid” will come with anadvanced metering system (Smart Meter)that will allow homeowners, renters andbusinesses to view their energy use in real-time in order to make practical adjustmentsto save energy and money.

Along withmonitoring, thenew “SmartMeter” willallow individu-als and busi-nesses tochoose pricingprograms that better suit their energy usepractices, if available from a utility provideror within the local area.

For example, many residents are unawareof America’s Power Smart Pricing program,which allows participants to pay the real-time price of electricity as it fluctuatesthroughout the day.

Customers with “Smart Meters,” who havesigned up for this program, will be able tocheck current prices and adjust their usageaccordingly to save money by shifting theirelectricity usage to lower priced hours suchas evenings, early mornings and weekends.

For more information, contact Rivas atadena.rivas@elevateenergy.org, or call toll-free 1-844-922-1222,

Students soon will have access to a new ca-reer services software.

Through Purple Briefcase, students will beable to postresumes forprospectiveemployers andperuse jobopenings listed by participating businesses.

“This can be a one-stop shop for all stu-dents’ career services needs,” said OCC Ca-reer Services Coordinator Allan Alldredge.“We already have eight to 10 area employerswho have signed up.”

Students can control which employers seetheir profile and can send information to spe-

cific companies. Alldredge will be able to stay connected to

students and employers through the soft-ware’s messaging capabilities.

“If the students want me to, I can givethem feedback and suggestions on their re-sumes,” he said. “The software even includesinstructional videos, which address every-thing you need to know to get a job, frompreparing for an interview to how to dressappropriately.”

Alldredge said Purple Briefcase will beavailable to students at all IECC schools.

“We are still working on a few minor is-sues, but hope to have it fully operational byearly September,” he said.

M*A*S*HauditionsAug. 30-31

The Olney Central CollegeTheatre will host auditionsfor its fall production of“M*A*S*H” at 2 p.m. on Sun-day, Aug. 30 and 7 p.m. onMonday, Aug. 31 in the Dr.John D. Stull PerformingArts Center.

Auditions will consist of acold reading from the script.Parts are available for 15males and 14 females. Theplay includes all of thebeloved characters from theoriginal movie and televisionshow.

College and high school stu-dents as well as adult com-munity members are invitedto audition.

Rehearsals begin Sept. 14and will continue each Mon-day, Tuesday and Thursdayevening until the perform-ances. Shows are scheduledfor 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct.23 and Saturday, Oct. 24. Anafternoon show will begin at2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25.

Student Senate

Lost & Found Items

New career services software available

Oathkeepers ClubThe Oathkeepers Veterans

Club will meet at noon onSept. 4. The location will beannounced. All veterans areencouraged to attend.

The OCC Student Senatewill meet at noon on Aug. 27in the Art Room. The meetingwill last about 45 minutes.

If you have lost an item,please check with theswitchboard desk in theStudent Services Office.