June 15, 2015
Story and photo by Brandon Steinert
The phone has been ringing off the hook in the Admission office at Barton Community College regarding information about the new Commercial Driver’s License offerings.
After 10 hours in the classroom and 30-35 hours of driving time, completers will have training necessary to obtain a Class A license with an air brake endorsement.
The first class will be complete on June 26. The next class starts July 11 and is projected to reach the cap of 10 students. The course lasts eight weeks and will start about every 10 weeks.
This course was made possible after the acquisition of a semi-truck and a trailer, which was purchased with a large donation from the William C. Wells Trust and additional assistance from the Land O’Lakes Foundation and the Barton Community College Foundation.
“My father-in-law always liked to give,” William C. Wells Trustee Lou Button said. “We’ve had this trust for 15 years after he died in 2000 and he wanted it to go to the college. He was just a farmer and a stockman. He just was a good man. I think this CDL course is going to help a lot of people. It’s going to be a beautiful thing for the community. Willie would love it.”
Wells was a well-known civic-minded Barton County resident whose philanthropic activities have continued to benefit local entities such as Barton Community College, the Barton County Historical Society and more.
Executive Director of Workforce Training and Economic Development Mary Foley said the college is extremely grateful for the generosity and outpouring of support that has made the CDL offerings a reality. She said two of Barton’s programs are now more all-encompassing.
Beef cattle production and crop protection programs required a CDL before Barton could allow students to graduate. Many of the students had to go elsewhere and pay for the certification on their own since financial aid wouldn’t pay for it. This will help Barton produce more graduates and save students money.
“We are very thankful to their commitment to providing a quality education to our students,” Foley said.
In addition, CDL drivers are in high demand and earn a median salary of $37,370 per year or $18.77 an hour, according to the Kansas Occupational Outlook. Jobs are expected to increase by 12.9 percent by 2020.