GALESBURG — The Carl Sandburg College dental hygiene program’s X-ray machines are getting an upgrade.

 

The Sandburg Board of Trustees during its regular monthly meeting Thursday approved a bid to purchase six new dental X-ray stations for the College’s dental hygiene program. The new digital sensors, purchased through Patterson Dental Supply in Davenport, Iowa, will support the imaging component of the program and replace the machines in three suites that are already digital-compatible. They will also allow the program to upgrade three other suites from an analog to a digital format.

 

The new X-ray stations are more representative of current equipment standards within the industry. In addition to being included in classroom training, the machines will be used as part of the program’s dental hygiene clinic, which provides low-cost dental hygiene services to the public.

 

Trustees on Thursday also approved the acceptance of a $312,480 grant for the TRIO Upward Bound program for fiscal year 2023. Sandburg, which has hosted a TRIO Upward Bound program since 1999, was recently awarded a continuation grant for the federally funded program that assists high school students as they transition into post-secondary education. The new grant cycle for Sandburg’s TRIO Upward Bound program runs from 2022-27.

 

The Board also passed a resolution commemorating Juneteenth as an official holiday that recognizes the end of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth marks the date in 1865 that Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, informed slaves that the Civil War had ended and that they were free. In accordance with state and federal holidays, Sandburg will observe the celebration each June 19. All campuses will be closed on that date or on another workday if the holiday falls on a weekend. Sandburg’s observance of Juneteenth this year will take place June 17.

 

The Board extended an agreement to provide outdoor maintenance and routine indoor inspections of the former Illinois Animal Disease Control Laboratory that neighbors the Main Campus. Sandburg has performed such work on the site since its closure in April 2017. The new extension runs through May 31, 2024.

 

In other business, the Board approved the following:

• Employment of Meghan Angle as humanities/social sciences support specialist, effective June 1.
• Employment of Kellen Fernetti as recruitment experience specialist, effective June 1.
• Employment of Jake Monzo as grounds assistant, effective June 1.
• Extension of unpaid leave of absence with non-accrual of benefits for Dean Blust, effective June 18-Oct. 31.

 

The Board’s next scheduled meeting is 7 p.m. June 27 on the Main Campus in Galesburg.