INA, Ill. – Mine Rescue teams from across Southern Illinois will compete next week at the Rend Lake College Mine Rescue Contest – both for training requirements and bragging rights. The contest will be held on Wednesday, July 22 at the Rec.

The five teams – Foresight Energy Blue Team, Foresight Energy White Team, Foresight Energy South Team, Illinois State Mine Inspector Rescue Team, and White Oak Resources Mine Rescue Team – will go into lock-up at 8 a.m. with the competition starting at 9 a.m. for the first two teams.

Don McBride, RLC Mining Technology Instructor, said each team will be kept in isolation until their turn to compete to give each team an equal playing field.

“There will be two fields set up so two teams can go at the same time. Both teams will come out of lock-up and see the field for the first time. Because we only have five teams competing, I would say the problem is going to be a little bit tougher, so a reasonable time to complete it would be an hour and a half,” said McBride.

White County Coal’s team Pattiki placed first at last year’s mine rescue contest held at RLC. White County Coal, located in Carmi, won the same contest in 2008. Click on the image for a larger view.
(ReAnne Palmer / RLC Public Information)

Because the teams are made up of local, working miners, McBride said they’ll have to use learned skills from two fields to be successful.

“They are all underground miners, so they’ll have to bring their underground safe work practice skills with them to this competition, plus they’re all mine rescue teams, so they have another set of specific skills to use and draw from for this problem,” added McBride.

During the mock disaster, the teams will also be utilizing a new mapping system – one that many have not yet seen or used in an underground mine. Chris Nielsen, RLC Dean of Applied Science and Technology, said the new computerized system will be a part of the challenge for the teams.

“Unlike in traditional mine rescue competitions, our contest will use the new computerized mapping system instead of pencil and paper,” said Nielsen. “This will likely be the first contest for these teams to use it. During the disaster scenario, they will use the computer to map the mine for the rescue team to follow. They’ll have to map the ventilation and equipment as they explore to solve the problem we give them. There will probably be something that needs to be changed as part of that problem to make the mine safe, evacuate victims, or a number of other things.”

RLC is hosting the Mine Rescue Contest as part of the compliance requirements for the Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grant received last year. The grant was the third of its kind RLC’s Coal Mine Training Center has received in recent years, including a $92,247 grant in 2014; a $73,000 grant in 2012; and a $50,000 grant in 2009. The Brookwood-Sago grant is being supported by the U.S. Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration.

The 2014 grant project, titled “Mine Emergency, Prevention, and Preparedness Project,” helped to restructure and expand on current mine training curriculum to challenge miners and rescue teams with necessary skills, such as patient extraction, advanced firefighting skills, rope rescue, smoke exploration, and confined space training.

Mine rescue teams are required to compete in contests every year to be considered an active team. The event will be held rain or shine. For more information, RLC’s Applied Science and Technology Division at 618-437-5321, Ext. 1261.

There’s nothing mysterious or complicated about the Illinois Constitution’s directive on state expenditures. They all must be defined by the General Assembly. Without an appropriation, there is no authority to spend.

Here’s the link to the story at Reboot Illinois.

The board approved a program articulation agreement with the Chamberlain College of Nursing, located in Downers Grove, Ill. The agreement allows students to complete an Associate of Applied Science in Nursing Degree at Rend Lake College and transfer seamlessly to Chamberlain in good standing, where students can pursue a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing.

State Electric receives LED lighting bid

Accepted the low bid of $48,315.90 from State Electric Supply of Marion  for exterior LED lighting fixtures, brackets and delivery. This project will be funded with excess Protection, Health and Safety funds.

Several transfers, appointments receive approval

Several personnel moves were approved Tuesday.

• Margo Wagner was transferred from Director of Land of Lincoln AmeriCorps to Director of Community and Corporate Education effective July 1. The move was made to replace Lori Ragland, who last month was transferred from that post to Vice President of Career Technical Education.
• The board granted permission to create the position, approve the job description and transfer Kent McKown from Network Specialist to Network Security Specialist effective July 14. The move was made due to the workload resulting from cyber security concerns and mobile / wireless network use. McKown has been with the college full-time since February 2005.
• Garrett Collier was transferred from Web / Sharepoint Developer to Network Specialist effective July 14, and a revised job description also was approved. He has been with RLC full-time since July 2011. The move was necessary due to McKown’s transfer.
• The board authorized creation of the position, approved the job description and transferred Jeff DeMattei from Administrative Computer Technician to Coordinator of Computing and Audiovisual Services effective July 14. Changes in the network security positions prompted the move. DeMattei has been with the college full-time since February 2009.
• Beth Stevens was transferred from Records Specialist to Testing and Placement Specialist effective July 14. The testing center is in the process of adding Pearson Vue and Illinois State Police testing, creating the need for additional help in that department. Stevens is a 20-year veteran of RLC.
• The board granted permission to create the position, approve the job description and appoint Kathy Evans as Grants Specialist effective Aug. 1. The position will be funded half by the Title III grant and half by the institution. Evans originally was hired as Title III Curriculum Specialist in January 2014, and will now split her time between that and the Grants Specialist duties.

Truck Driving’s Clendenin moving on

The board accepted with regret the resignation of Russ Clendenin as Truck Driver Training Professor effective June 25. He had been with the college full-time since July 1999.

In other business, the board …

• Approved revisions to board policy concerning community use of facilities (second reading).
• Approved revisions to board procedure concerning stipends.
• Approved the handbooks for the Pharmacy Technician and Certified Medical Assistant programs.
• Authorized the destruction of closed session tapes after having been held for 18 months in accordance with the Open Meetings Act and opted not to release closed session minutes from the May 2013 to December 2013 board meetings.
• Approved changes in lecture and lab hours for several Radiologic Technology courses and a change in the total credit hours for the Radiologic Technology Associate in Applied Science Degree and authorized their submission to the Illinois Community College Board for action. A change to the Health Information Technology course sequence also was approved by the board, but ICCB approval is not necessary for this item.
• Approved interdistrict cooperative agreements for educational cooperation with Illinois Eastern Community Colleges, John A. Logan College, Shawnee Community College and Southeastern Illinois College. These agreements allow students to take programs at another college if their sending college does not have that program. They do not have to pay charge back and the sending college is able to receive state equalization.
• Granted permission to revise the job descriptions for the Director of Community and Corporate Education, Director of the RLC MarketPlace, Coordinator of Special Projects and Coordinator of Perkins. These revisions were based on last month’s transfer of Ragland.

Mark your calendars …

• Volleyball Camp – 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 18, Waugh Gymansium.
• Warrior Days New Student Orientation – Fridays, July 31 and Aug. 7, RLC Theatre.
• Mental Health Workshop for Professional or Personal Development: Shifting Dementia Care from Crisis to Comfort – 8:15 a.m.-4:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, RLC Theatre.
• Cruise Nights at the RLC MarketPlace, Mt. Vernon – 6-9 p.m. Fridays: Aug. 7, Sept. 4, and Oct. 2.
• Fun Fest – Noon-3 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, on campus.
• 35th Annual RLC Foundation Golf Outing – Thursday, Sept. 17, Rend Lake Golf Course, noon shotgun start.
• Warrior Fest – 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, on campus.
• ACCT Annual Leadership Congress, Oct. 14-17, San Diego, Calif.
• Paramedic Accreditation Site Visit – Nov. 3-5.