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Rocky Adkins, 99th district representative (foreground), spoke to the
large crowd on hand to mark the official grand opening of the Rocky J.
Adkins Elliott County Public Library and Elliott County JobSight. Looking
on were EKCEP Executive Director Mable Duke and Jim Nelson, state librarian
for the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.
Interior of the Rocky J. Adkins Elliott County Public Library in Sandy
Hook.
EKCEP Executive Director Mable Duke shared a laugh with Elliott County
Schools Superintendent Gene Binion at the grand opening of the Rocky J.
Adkins Elliott County Public Library and Elliott County JobSight. The
Elliott County JobSight will be the fifth comprehensive workforce center
in the JobSight network of one-stop workforce centers that EKCEP operates.
Officials taking part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony included (from right)
EKCEP Executive Director Mable Duke; 27th District Sen. Walter Blevins;
Elliott County Schools Superintendent Gene Binion; Adkins; Elliott Judge-Executive
Charles Pennington; Morehead State University President Ron Eaglin; and
71st District Rep. John Will Stacy.
EKCEP Executive Director Mable Duke (left) spoke with 27th District Sen.
Walter Blevins at the grand opening. Blevins, who is a member of the EKCEP
Workforce Investment Board, supported Adkins' efforts in the Kentucky
legislature to fund the facility.
Bronze sculptures of children reading books overlook the front desk and
entry area of the Rocky J. Adkins Elliott County Public Library. The library
has a large area designed for children that features handpainted story
murals, clouds and blue sky painted on the concave ceiling, and a mock
castle spire which forms a round room for story-readings and other events.
Elliott County Schools Superintendent Gene Binion (center, in the dark
suit) checked out one of the library's computers with a local resident
after the grand opening.
Rep.
Adkins posed for computer photos with several local residents during the
grand opening events. The photos were put into a slide show that was shown
in another area of the library later that day.
[May 2003]
A large contingent of state and local officials and townspeople gathered in Sandy Hook recently to celebrate the official grand opening of the new 8,100-square-foot Rocky J. Adkins Elliott County Public Library.
The $1.4 million library—one of the most state-of-the-art and architecturally-striking public facilities in the region—is a dramatic upgrade from the old 1,700-square-foot library it replaces. In addition to its role as a library, the building soon will also serve as the home of the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program’s (EKCEP) latest JobSight comprehensive one-stop workforce center.
The marriage of a public library and a JobSight one-stop workforce center will offer local residents and business owners access to more than a dozen state and federal job training and retraining services and unique employer services together at a facility which already promises to be a focal point of the county, said Adkins, who serves as chairman of the EKCEP Workforce Investment Board.
“All the services this library is going to offer the people of this county are ... going to make this library different from any other,” Adkins told the audience at the May 28 event. “The Kentucky Department for Employment Services, Kentucky Cabinet for Workforce Development, (EKCEP Executive Director) Mable Duke—all of those who have worked so closely with us to put the one-stop center in here with our library—we want to thank them for their commitment to that.”
The role of the JobSight within the library facility was also recognized by Elliott County Schools Superintendent Gene Binion and 27th District Sen. Walter Blevins, both of whom expressed gratitude to all the agencies involved in helping secure the establishment of the one-stop center there. Blevins is a member of the EKCEP Workforce Investment Board.
Duke thanked Adkins, Binion and Elliott County Judge-Executive Charles Pennington, among others, for offering the opportunity to bring a comprehensive JobSight into the new library building and later working to make sure plans were solidified.
“We were both honored and thrilled when they invited us to bring a JobSight facility into this beautiful new building,” said Duke, who was one of the featured speakers at the event. “We’re honored to be here to bring these services to the people of Elliott County and we look forward to serving you.”
The Elliott County JobSight will be the fifth comprehensive one-stop workforce center in EKCEP’s 23-county Workforce Investment Area, Duke said. Final arrangements and lease agreements with the state government should be complete soon, allowing the JobSight partner agencies to begin moving into the building, she added.
Services planned for the JobSight will feature those offered by partner programs including the Kentucky Department for Employment Services, Kentucky Department for Vocational Rehabilitation, Kentucky Department of Adult Education and Literacy, Workforce Investment Act (WIA) programs provided by the Northeast Kentucky Area Development Council (NEKADC), and Experience Works. Some elements of the NEKADC’s WIA Year-Round Youth Program already have moved into the building.
The large bank of computers in the library’s main area will also serve as the JobSight’s Career Resource Center, where job seekers will be able to use them to help conduct their job search.
Others taking part in the grand opening ceremony included: Jim Nelson, state librarian for the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives; Ron Eaglin, president of Morehead State University, Elliott County Judge-Executive Charles Pennington, and 71st District Rep. John Will Stacy.