May 2, 2002
Contact: Brittany Faulkner (509-963-1504/e-mail at faulkneb@cwu.edu)
ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Ellensburg-area students, seniors and the public will have greatly increased access to computers beginning May 7, the day a new computer lab will open at the Ellensburg Youth and Community Center at 406 E. Capitol.
The lab was developed through a partnership between the City of Ellensburg, Open Spaces Technology Center and Central Washington University. Opening ceremonies for the lab, set for Tuesday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., are free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.
At 5 p.m., Ellensburg Mayor Stan Bassett and City Manager Ted Barkley; Scott Archer, director of City of Ellensburg Parks and Recreation Department; CWU President Jerilyn S. McIntyre; and Kevin Nemeth, CWU continuing education director, will talk about the partnership, along with short- and long-term plans for the facility.
The lab is equipped with six computers, two laser printers and two scanners. The computers have Microsoft Office 2000; the Adobe Web Collection, which includes Photoshop, Illustrator and Go Live; CD burners; and Internet access, according to Brittany Faulkner, OSTC project coordinator
“The lab will be available for open access, which means that the general public is welcome to come in and use the computers to send e-mail, search the Internet, shop, play games, produce documents, once they have completed a brief orientation,” Faulkner says.
The computer lab is designed to enhance the after-school homework help program that is currently serving students at the Youth and Community Center.
In addition, a shuttle service is planned to transport computer users from the Senior Center to use the new computers.
“The computer lab at the Senior Center has been a great success and they frequently cannot accommodate everyone who is interested, and they don’t have scanners,” Faulkner adds.
“We’ll eventually be offering a wide range of classes at very reasonable rates in everything from how to set up an e-mail account and use the Internet to introduction to Photoshop and other multimedia programs.”
Prior to the official opening ceremony, WorkSource will open the lab, from 4 to 5 p.m., for anyone who wants to drop by and see what’s available there.
Funding for the lab was provided through support from U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and grants totaling more than $385,000 from the U.S. Department of Education and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
For more information about the lab, to learn about classes that will be provided or for persons of disability to arrange for reasonable accommodation, call (509) 963-1504, or (for the hearing impaired) TDD (509) 963-3323, or visit the OSTC Web site at www.cwuonline.org/OSTC.
