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HARRISBURG, Ill. (AP) — Southeastern Illinois College has broken ground on the state's second simulated mine facility that will be used to train rescue teams.
"It will be great for new miners to get the skills and understanding of how an actual coal mine works and it will also be great for rescue teams to come in and practice their skills," Mike Thomas, dean of workforce education at Illinois Eastern Community Colleges, told the Southern Illinoisan (http://bit.ly/1rsAQrV ).
Southeastern Illinois College received $220,000 from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Development to build the 12,000-square-foot Simulated Mine Training Facility. Southern Illinois College and Illinois Eastern Community Colleges each contributed $15,000.
More than 1,000 miners go through the community college's training programs each year. Rescue teams will use the center to practice responding to emergency situations.
"The most important thing to come out of a coal mine is a miner," College President Jonah Rice said at Tuesday's ground-breaking ceremony. "That's all we are trying to do is to make sure they all go in and they all come out."
Construction is to be completed in the fall. The facility is to simulate an actual underground mine.
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Information from: Southern Illinoisan, http://www.southernillinoisan.com
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