The mood of staffers at the Pine Ridge Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center in the Pine Ridge south of Chadron is the most upbeat it’s been since late January, when its enrollment was frozen as part of the federal sequestration cuts.

The arrival of a new program year the first of the month ended the freeze and center director Clyde Franklin says new students have come on campus for the first time since January.

“We’re like kids at Christmas. We received 12 students this week, our first input since January, and we hope to get more in the coming weeks. We’re excited about getting back in the normal routine.

New students would normally arrive every few weeks, but with the freeze and no new admissions for more than 5 months, Franklin says enrollment is 124…100 below capacity of 224, which is roughly where the center was before the freeze began.

Franklin doesn’t know if budget issues will allow the maximum enrollment at the Pine Ridge Center to go back to 224 or if 190 will become the new maximum.

“There has been some  talk about a possibility of going back to 224. but I can almost bet on the fact that we’re going to probably remain at about 190 until we get some things straightened out in the program.”

The Pine Ridge center offers a no-cost career training for youth from 16-24 years of age in more than 100 career fields such as construction, business and finance, health care and information technology…often with work-based learning opportunities and on-the-job training.

In recent years, the vast majority of the students have come from all parts of Nebraska and Franklin is cautiously optimistic that word of the freeze being lifted is spreading across the state.

I’m hoping that the information about us being open and accepting students again gets throughout the state so that students will begin to apply for the program.”

In addition to the training programs, Job Corps students receive room and board, counseling and mentoring services, living allowances and basic medical care while also earning a high school diploma or equivalent credential.