CVIT expands student opportunity thanks to legislation passed in 2021

By David Abbott

Students looking for a leg up in the job market after high school have a new opportunity for training now that the Cobre Valley Institute of Technology (CVIT) has extended funding to recent graduates for technical training.

Thanks to the passage of Senate Bill 1179 and House Bill 2123 in 2021, CVIT can now offer a full year of funding for graduated students to complete an extra year of certificate training for high-paying jobs in targeted industries.

The additional funding — known as 4th-Year Funding for Regional In-Demand Programs — not only benefits students, but helps guide qualified workers toward professions in fields that are experiencing labor shortages throughout the state, based on labor market data provided by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity.

“Fourth-year funding allows us to capture education dollars for one year immediately after high school is finished,” says CVIT Superintendent Mike O’Neal. “It broadens opportunities for the students, because it gives them an additional chance as they mature and figure out they want to do something different with their lives.”

Prior to the legislative adjustment, CVIT was only able to provide three years of funding for high school students beginning in sophomore year, and seniors had to have their twoyear certifications completed by graduation. Graduates now have an extra year to finish or can complete a one-year certification as well.

Now the window of opportunity has opened further for those who start late, decide to change direction or are motivated to get more than one certificate over the course of their schooling.

For instance, if a student enrolled in a construction program as a sophomore completes certification in their junior year and decides to enroll in a different program in their senior year, there is now funding available to allow that student to complete the program after graduation.

Likewise, for a student involved in sports or other extracurricular activities who did not have time to complete a program within the high school window. Those “13th-year” students now have an extra year of time to start or finish up a Regional In-Demand CTE Program.

There are many opportunities in the allied health fields available for 4th-Year Funding, from medical assisting services to nursing assistant or dental assisting, that offer quick entry into a well-paying job or career.

Megan Martinez is an associate professor in the nursing program and Director of the Allied Health departments at EAC-Gila Pueblo Campus and teaches the medical assistant and phlebotomy portion of Allied Health for CVIT students.

She says that much of the basic curriculum of Allied Health translates well into each individual field of study and she expects increased participation as word gets out that 4th-Year funding is available.

One of the most important things Martinez imparts to her students is that once high school is over, they have to figure out what they intend to do with their lives. She believes the opportunity will give them a chance to rethink their options through programs available at no cost, and as they learn how expensive post-high school education can be.

“It’s getting the kids to understand that high school is going to be over and they have a life after that,” Martinez says. “I always tell them high school is only four years of your life, and you have to be planning: Yes, you want to enjoy your high school years, but you want to be set for when you graduate.”

Citing the cost of continuing education — her own daughter received significant financial aid to attend ASU, but Martinez says she still had a lot of out of pocket expenses to pay — Martinez sees Allied Health fields as a means to help pay for schooling or as an entryway to a fulfilling career in and of itself.

The curriculum can also offer students a baseline education to work in many different facets of the field. The additional funding can allow students to get multiple certifications that can open the door for even more opportunity.

“We have such a need in health care for all of these positions, so someone that has both their nursing assistant and their medical assistant licenses are able to utilize them in multiple areas,” says EAC-Gila Pueblo Campus Nursing Assistant Program Coordinator and Associate Professor and CVIT instructor Jennifer Carlson. “That’s even more potential for students that have the two programs under their belt. I think that’s awesome and can open the door for future advancement.”

Carlson says that the programs can even build on each other as the basic skills overlap in the healthcare industry. Even those who are not interested in a career in the field can take advantage of the programs to help them achieve whatever their future dreams might be.

She points to one of her students who knows she does not want to work in the medical field, but is not interested in lowwage employment as she works toward a college degree.

“Her point to me was, when she’s in college, her part-time job is going to be as a nursing assistant,” Carlson says. “That is a significant part-time job compared to a fast food worker, or whatever. She has a good point: Even if you choose not to work in this field you’ve been gifted this opportunity.”

For the undecided student, “This gives them a taste of healthcare to see if it is what they want to do,” she concludes.

Ultimately, CVIT’s programs help students prepare for the world outside of high school where many will have to learn how to navigate a complex system in a professional atmosphere.

“We go back to the basics of having accountability, being responsive, safety and teamwork,” says Nursing Instructor Anjanette Bolinger for EAC-Gila Pueblo Campus and CVIT students. “I really enjoy teaching them at that stage, because when they complete our nursing program they have a solid foundation when it comes to our expectations.”

Bolinger adds that her students are “hirable as soon as they finish our programs,” and have an increased likelihood to find a job as soon as they get certified.

CVIT is part of a system of 14 Career and Technical Education Districts (CTED) in Arizona created in 1990 by legislative statute 15-393, and in 2021 the language of 15-393 was updated to increase funding an additional year for students who want to earn certificates in fields that need workers.

CVIT serves six rural school districts including Globe, Miami, Ray, Superior, San Carlos and Hayden-Winkelman.

For more information, go to www.cvit81.org

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RAFTING Continued from page 1

“For all the years I have been up here, nearly every guest from Phoenix says ‘wow, I didn’t know this place was here,’” Wilkes says. “You don’t want to turn it into Disneyland, but clearly that’s not going to happen since it hasn’t in the 20-plus years I’ve been there.”

Wilkes says he has been working the Salt River since 1997, and became a business owner when a group of fellow river guides bought the company, formerly Blue Sky Rafting in Globe, after working for the former owner for a decade.

“We thought that’s probably the dumbest thing you could do, to buy a raft company in the desert, so we decided, sure, let’s do it,” he says.

Salt River Rafting is one of four companies operating on the Salt, with three located in Colorado and one out of Flagstaff. While it is not a steady source of income for operators, since there is only enough water to support the activities every few years, established adventure outfitters relish the possibility to ply the river whenever possible, in part because they enjoy it as much as their customers.

A rare and unique place

The Salt River Wilderness Area was established in 1984 and covers approximately 32,100 very rugged acres in the Tonto National Forest. The river begins in the White Mountains and flows west, where it has cut a deep canyon in the desert that drops from 4,200 feet on White Ledge Mountain to 2,200 feet where the river meets Roosevelt Reservoir.

While it lacks the size of the Grand Canyon, it rivals the scope, given its rugged geology and scenic beauty. It is one of a small handful of rivers that flow through saguaro cactus forests in the Sonoran Desert.

The landscape is as varied as the flora and fauna of the Sonoran Desert, as the river winds through myriad rock formations created over millions of years of volcanic activity, wind and water.

There are no maintained trails within the entire wilderness, so travel is basically limited to raft or kayak during the short and temperamental river-running season between March 1 and May 15. Permits are required between these dates and group size is limited to 15 people.

There are 27 sets of rapids and numerous side creeks to explore. The whitewater gets more treacherous as water levels drop, so for the average individual a packaged tour is a must.

As to weather, it is not uncommon to start out the day wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and later wearing winter weather gear or vice versa. There is also no cell phone service in the canyon.

Although rapids named “Devil’s Pendejo,” “Little Boat Eater,” “Kiss & Tell,” and “Bump & Grind,” might put the less adventurous off, one of the best parts of rafting the Salt is the quality of tour guides leading these unique river runs.

“The Salt attracts really good river guides for a couple of reasons: It is beautiful and it is fun,” says Benjamin Dove of Canyon Rio Rafting Company, based in Flagstaff. “All these guides who are really good at what they do on their home rivers get to come for the early season and enjoy being on the beautiful Salt.”

Dove says that due to the weather throughout central Arizona, the Salt River season runs earlier than other rivers further north, where the rafting season does not start until May. The river is fed by snow melt, so when it is running tour companies run as much as they can, because a “warm rain” in the mountains can end a season abruptly by melting the snow pack.

Canyon Rio was established in 1995 by Donnie and Caroline Dove, who moved to Flagstaff in 1991 and fell in love with the rivers and canyons of Arizona. While the main focus of the company most years is on the Grand Canyon, Benjamin Dove says the opportunity to work the Salt is one of the high points of being in the business.

“The Salt is a fantastic river in a beautiful canyon,” he says. “Arizona gets a lot of credit for the Grand Canyon, but a lot of people come to see that and the Salt gets overlooked.”

The rafting experience

Rafting tours range from day trips to five-day epic adventures. Most tours begin at the junction of State Highway 60 and the Salt River, about a 40-minute drive north of Globe.

For those choosing a Canyon Rio tour, a typical one-day trip starts at 9:30 a.m. and lasts about seven hours. At the outset, experienced guides talk participants through

Contacts for the Salt River rafting experience

• Canyon Rio: www.canyonrio.com, info@canyonrio.com, 1-800-2PADDLE (272-3353)

• Salt River Rafting: raftingsaltriver.com, info@raftthesalt.com, 800-425-5253

• Mild to Wild: mild2wildrafting.com, 970-247-4789

• Wilderness Aware Rafting: www.inaraft.com, 1-800-462-7238, 719-395-2112 the day, give an extensive safety orientation and gear everyone up for whatever might be encountered along the way.

The day trip goes through seven Class III rapids — intermediate rapids requiring complex maneuvers — and 13 overall. There is a lunch stop to “dry out,” before the final seven miles of rafting.

A shuttle ride back to the starting point ends the day between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m.

Dove says the rapids are already impressive and he hopes the “stomachdroppin’ action” of the “wave trains of haystack waves” continues for the foreseeable future.

In river guide vernacular, a wave train is a spot in the river with continuous waves, and a haystack is a wave caused by fast water hitting a slower current due to a drop in gradient.

A “swimmer” is someone who falls out of the raft.

Salt River Rafting also offers day trips, The Classic, as well as an abbreviated short trip for people who “need to get back to Phoenix for dinner or are heading to the Grand Canyon” afterward.

There are also multi-day options for a trip of about 50 miles. The three-day tour is wall-to-wall rafting, while the five-day tour gives participants more time to camp, hike and enjoy being outdoors with no cell phone service.

“The Salt River Canyon is stunning,” Wilkes says. “It turns into a granite white polished stone micro canyon, and then you cross a fault that takes you into the Black Rock zone and that’s where the big Class IV rapids are.”

Rafting tours are open to adventurers of all levels, although given the nature of the activity kids under the age of seven are not permitted.

“We’re real family oriented but we have an age cut off and it can change with the water level, just to keep things safe,” says Wilkes. “We’ve also made accommodations for people who can’t see and can’t swim. It can be done safely and it’s quite a spectrum.”

No matter which company one chooses, all offer great adventures in one of the most beautiful and unique places in the U.S. World-class tour guides will take even the greenest novice safely through the adventure, providing good food, historical background, and camaraderie along the way.

“What I love about the Salt and why I think it is so unique is you’re in this high desert environment where you’re coming through these incredible granite rock formations that create incredible towers and structures,” says Canyon Rio’s Dove. “At the same time, you get to boat right alongside saguaro cactuses growing right up to the edge of the river. In addition to being stunning, you get to experience this amount of water flowing through the desert. It’s a truly surreal experience.” u

HILDRED “POLLY” DARKOVICH, May 23, 1924 – January 30, 2023, age 98, passed away. (BM)

OSMUND FAIRFIELD JR., January 10, 1932 – January 29, 2023, age 91, of Miami, passed away. Osmund graduated from Miami High in 1950. He served more than 45 years in the US Army Reserves, including serving in Desert Storm, and also served as a volunteer patrolman with the Arizona Highway Patrol. (LM)

MICHAEL DUANE KENTON, October 24, 1974 – January 29, 2023, age 48, of Peridot, passed away at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tucson. Michael worked as a slot technician at Apache Gold Casino. (LM)

DARRELL HOPKINS SR., October 5, 1954

– January 28, 2023, age 68, of San Carlos, passed away at his home. Darrell was a mechanic. (LM)

JOHN DAVIS, March 10, 1932 – January 27, 2023, age 90, passed away. (LM)

ANGELITA SMITH, January 30, 1943 –January 25, 2023, age 79, of Phoenix, passed away at her home. (LM)

CHARLES FRANKLIN BERRY, November 19, 1951 – January 23, 2023, age 71, of Roosevelt, passed away in Payson. (LM)

NICOLE VON HATTEN, October 4, 1975 –January 23, 2023, age 47, passed away at CVRMC. (LM)

JOHNNY C. MADRID, June 24, 1938 –January 19, 2023, age 84, passed away. He worked in the mines, first as a laborer and then a journeyman instrumentation electrician. He also served 8 years in the Armed Reserves. (BM)

CRAIG RODGER LEWIS, September 20, 1939

– January 17, 2023, age 83, passed away. Craig served in the Navy for 8 years. He was a Boy Scout Camp leader in northern Minnesota in the summer and a wildlife area host for the AZGFD in the winter. He was originally from Minneapolis. (LM)