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President Nixon has announced that the Job Corps centers will be shifted over to the Labor Department. And some 57 of these centers around the United States, such as the one here in pleasanton California Parks Job Corps will be shut down come july the first a furor

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has come up in the United States Senate and in the House of Representatives from both democrats and republicans. And the big complaint is that no one in the administration bothered to tell the legislators about the proposed closing to find out what will happen to these young

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men if the center is closed. I asked the san Francisco community relations director, George mix Jr Well, I feel that by the mere fact that these 17 youngsters will go back into their so called poverty areas, um, with the so called distorted idea that, you know,

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we've been let down again. And it could be big problems throughout the country. These young men come from areas of the country where there's real real poverty, uh, and they're mad, they're vicious and uh if you think that there are problems now, there could be real

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problems this summer. And uh I'm just hopeful that Job Corps such as Parks could stay open and keep some of these young men in the area frank Winston, the chairman of the Job Corps Advisory Council in san Francisco said that one alternative was to ask for

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community support. And I asked him what he meant by that. We intend to find a means by which the government will give back to the community. The physical facility, 1965, when the Job Corps began, they took over park space for Parks Air Force Base, which was

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in a rundown position not being occupied. He spent a great deal of money litton and the Job Corps in starting it, in improving those facilities for Job Corps. Now to close it down, at least salvage it by letting it go to the private industry to operate

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it, or the community to literally operate the same location to go out and recruit new staff as it must be and new personnel. But basically looking for community support financially and in uh training and getting recruitment, you see right now, the recruiting is a nationwide thing.

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You cut it out and I can't believe that the private sector is going to be able to go out and help people in so many other places. Parks most famous graduate is Olympic gold medal, heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman. Here's what he had to say. Well,

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after joining Job Corps in 65, I've learned a skill in electronics and I've received my high school diploma equivalency and I'm pretty much on the right road. I've learned to set goals and the job called the helpful program to me and most of the guys in

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the program never have a lot in common with me As I was in 65. So I suppose the program is one of the best. It shouldn't be, it shouldn't be here forever, but it's a great need for it now. There's a great need for right now.

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I'm drilling every day in the gym along with Dick Sadler. He's getting me ready for that conversion, which I'll be doing matter of days now, lying up something now you're a heavyweight. So who do you think is is the real heavyweight champion now? Well if I've

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heard in the paper, I saw in the paper that Clay decided he wouldn't come back, so that would leave it to joe Frazier. He was the number one contender and he's bye for the best. I was supposed along with sonny Liston. Do you think that you

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could handle fraser in due time? I'll see in due time. I can handle them all. I think you made a statement one time about becoming a pro and you said you'd be heavyweight champion in two years. Yeah, I hope to, there's no need standing there for

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three years. Go in and get what you want to come out. What do you want to do when you finish boxing? Well, I'm working now with the Job Corps program and I hope it will be in existence. I'd like to continue to work with people like

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myself and help get the world back on the right road. Mhm. Here at Parks Job Corps Center alone 14,292 young men have been trained. 8,729 have gone on to jobs on the outside. 1,329 have enlisted in the military service. 1,853 have gotten high school diplomas. And

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there are 1700 young men here now learning trades, There are several very strange things involved here. Number one is, nobody seems to be able to find out why they're closing the job course. And number two, the House Education and Labor Committee has come up with figures

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that show it's going to cost $100 million for the government to close these 57 centers. And that is more money than President Nixon said it would save if they were shut down. This is Carlton cordell, reporting from Pleasanton.