Niagara County Community College announced this week it will be offering advanced technological education in geospatial technology with new funding from the National Science Foundation.
The funding will allow the NCCC to establish a GeoTech Center as a means to increase the number and quality of educated geospatial technicians for rapidly expanding fields among geospatial technology industries, which include Geographical information systems, global positioning systems, remote sensing and mobile- and location-based services. “Geospatial” is anything that can be referenced in space and time using the combination of spatial software and analytical methods with terrestrial or geographic datasets.
NCCC offers six different courses in geography and geospatial technology, varying from introductory geography courses to courses in remote sensing and even advanced geotechnology project-based courses. Students, in the fall 2008, will be able to earn a one-year certificate course in geospatial technology and be able to seek employment with 150-plus organizations using geotechnology in Niagara and Erie counties or almost 3,500 statewide organizations.
NCCC is partnered with seven other colleges and four universities across the United States, with the headquarters centered at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas. Del Mar was awarded a $5 million grant and NCCC and its partners will share $1.8 million during the four-year grant period that runs through 2012.
Director of the National GeoTech Center: Northeast and NCCC professor Robert Lord hopes to able to retrain many adults with these in-demand skills and boost economic activity in Western New York over the next four years. The NSF grant is renewable until 2020 for these purposes. In the future, NCCC hopes to offer an associate’s degree in geospatial technology for students who wish to study for two years and then go on to either employment or a four-year school that has established a transfer agreement with NCCC.
Local News
HIGHER EDUCATION NOTEBOOK: NCCC moves toward geo-technology
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Mild winter? S'no kidding!
Towns are stockpiling salt and saving on plowing, wear and tear on machinery and overtime costs thanks to the winter of 2012 that wasn’t — so far.
Somerset Supervisor Dan Engert joked that as soon as it becomes a story, the winter will arrive and blow the budgets down.
Highway workers, who could be called at anytime on any day to clear the roads, have been cleared to indoor maintenance jobs and have been able to get outside to get a jump on other projects.
The so-far mild winter has created a mixed bag for City of Lockport streets and parks workers. When there’s no snow to plow, crews have been out trimming trees, fixing storm receivers and maintaining heavy equipment. These are all chores that usually don’t get done in winter, according to Norman Allen, director of engineering and public works. -
Town to aid in Wegmans pursuit
Maybe they should call it We Really Want Wegmans.
The group of local supporters who are hoping to attract a Wegmans supermarket to the Lockport area have received some additional support from the Lockport Town Board. At a meeting Wednesday night, town officials were presented a petition from the We Want Wegmans campaign with 8,000 signatures.
Given to the board by We Want Wegmans chairperson Charlene Bower, Supervisor Marc R. Smith said the petition was twice the size of a phone book. -
Reform agenda touted
Empire State Development Corporation executive Sam Hoyt visited Lockport on Wednesday to tout Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s state budget and government reform plans.
Changing the way the state does business will bring fiscal relief to counties, cities and towns, eventually, Hoyt suggested.
It’s too bad the reforms won’t kick in before municipalities like the City of Lockport begin confronting fiscal crises, Mayor Michael Tucker said in response. -
Tucker: 'Best days lie ahead'
The City of Lockport government is smaller than it was 18 months ago but is in a stronger financial place, Mayor Michael W. Tucker said in his annual State of the City address.
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Trio of new classes proposed for Newfane
Newfane High School could have three new business courses in the fall, one of which would center on video game design.
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Municipalities take wait-and-see approach on SPCA funding
The City and Town of Lockport are each withholding payments to the Niagara SPCA, while other Eastern Niagara County towns are taking a wait-and-see approach.
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Rocky II
Friends of Deputy Craig Beiter of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department plan a benefit on Feb. 26 to raise money to buy and train a new dog for the K-9 Unit.
Beiter’s German shepherd, Deputy Rocky, was killed while on duty in December, and the sheriff’s department is close to getting a replacement. -
Basket Factory closes
The Basket Factory has gone out of business.
The owners, Julie Thompson Riegle and Dawn Thompson, made the difficult decision last Monday and put the sign on the door Tuesday. -
No snow is no problem
Unseasonably warm weather didn’t keep Roy-Hart Winterfest from being a fun day for the families who came out to Roy-Hart Elementary School on Saturday.
More than 500 people attended the third annual festivities, which Gasport Lions Club officials said was a big increase from last year. The halls of Roy-Hart Elementary were filled with vendors, programs and movement as excited children rushed from one activity to another. -
Shovel-ready park has perks
At first glance, the big, orange road sign announcing vacant property on Lockport Road as a “shovel ready certified” building site seems a bit gratuitous.
To companies looking for new places to launch a business, it’s not. The sign in their eyes is a welcome mat, for in three words a community pronounced itself ready, willing and able to make a deal quickly. - More Local News Headlines
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