11600 Columbia College Drive · Sonora, California 95370

Public Information Office: 209.588.5361 · Fax 209.588.5367

NEWS RELEASE

-- For Immediate Release --

Date: August 7, 2007

Contact: Doug Lau, Director of Marketing & Public Relations

College prepares for new Child Development Center

For the past 16 years, Columbia College has been using two triple wide portable buildings for providing child care for toddler and preschool-age children, as well as for training future teachers, aides and caregivers of young children. The buildings house the children’s classrooms and act as facilities for hands-on work experience in child development, or “practicum” for the adult students. Over time, the need for more space became apparent as the program grew in scope and enrollment.

The Ponderosa Building houses preschoolers (3 to 5 year olds) and the Pinyon Building is the Toddler Center (18 to 36 months). In addition, an off-campus site for infants (birth to 18 months) is located at the former Shaws Flat Elementary School on Shaws Flat Road in Sonora.

Funded by a Measure E bond, plans call for the construction of a new college Child Development Center on a two acre parcel at the Pinyon Building location. Designed as an integrated arrangement of five single-level buildings, the new Child Development Center will consist of an Infant Center, Toddler Center, Preschool Center, Family Care Services and Administration Center, and an adult classroom building for child development instruction. The Foster and Kinship Care Program, faculty offices and a library resources room will also be housed within the future structures.

The five new buildings will total 13,341 sq. ft. of space for use by students, staff, families and children. Cost of construction is estimated at $6.2 million and the anticipated completion date will be summer of 2009.

Included in the design will be several environmentally-friendly features, which will help qualify the center for a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building certification. The rating is the nationally recognized and accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance and sustainability in buildings. The project architectural firm is Paul Roberts & Partners, Inc. of Vallejo, and the project managing firm is Kitchell CEM of Modesto.

In preparation for construction, the Pinyon Building was dismantled and recently moved into a lot next to the Ponderosa Building. Boyer Construction of Twain Harte served as the project’s general contractor.  Beth’s Construction of Applegate and a representative from Gary Doupnik Manufacturing of Loomis handled the move. Doupnik is the manufacturing firm that produced both 36’ x 40’ Ponderosa and Pinyon portables.

“The new buildings will have a large courtyard at the center and the entire area will be surrounded by shade trees,” said Tiffeny Flies, Columbia College Child Care Center manager, and Foster & Kinship Care and Education coordinator. “It’s a very exciting opportunity for us to have the much-needed classroom space and a group of brand-new buildings to consolidate all our learning activities into one site.”

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News Release No. 052-07

August 7, 2007

For Immediate Release

Attachments:

Photo 1: Dave Foust (standing, left) and Joe Nies of Beth’s Construction help direct forklift operator Dave Bower of Gary Doupnik Manufacturing during the transportation of the Pinyon portable building at Columbia College.

Photo 2: Dave Foust of Beth’s Construction guides forklift operator Dave Bower of Gary Doupnik Manufacturing through the turns during the transportation of the Columbia College Pinyon portable

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