Blue Ridge Job Corps in Marion asks Smyth County for outreach after near-closure; program numbers low
Blue Ridge Job Corps staff told the board a rapid federal shutdown order left centers "in limbo," reduced student counts to roughly 34–35 at Marion, and asked the county to help publicize the free residential trade program to boost enrollment and protect programs such as the LPN pathway.
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Heather Goodpasture, outreach and admissions manager at Blue Ridge Job Corps in Marion (speaker 8), told the board the center received notice that Job Corps would have to shut down but that the National Job Corps Association obtained an injunction and the local center has remained in a state of temporary extension. Goodpasture said student counts fell sharply after the announced closures and she urged the county to help with outreach and publicity; she reported the center currently enrolls about 34'35 students.
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