Butler Community College

By Dave Roberts (ANDOVER, Kan.) Whether they want to learn something new or give something new a try, Butler Community College gave everyone, who wanted one, that chance.  They opened their doors and offered classes for free. The classes ranged from belly dancing to web design. "Before I actually signed up for them I was like, 'oh it's free so why not go?'" said Isabella Scheibmeir. "It gives everyone an opportunity to actually try things before paying a lot of money because it could be very costly," she added.

Engineering students at Butler Community College help a Wichita teen move around her home. Hana Choi was paralyzed in a drunk driving crash last year. The crash killed her mother, twin sister, and younger brother. Hana spent months in the hospital and is now in physical therapy. In the last few months, Conco Construction company and Butler Community College have teamed up to help make the Choi's home more wheelchair friendly. On Wednesday night, the college students presented their proposals for the kitchen and bathroom to Conco.  Some students even made proposals for the Choi's garage.

Plans to build a multi-million football stadium for Butler Community College get a big boost. Donors have given or plan to give $2 million toward the project. The largest single donation comes from BG Products. It has donated $1.25 million and will receive naming rights. The stadium complex would be used by the college, El Dorado schools, and the city. The BG Products Veterans Sports Complex will be located at the old American Legion Golf Course, near the Butler campus.

“The Millennium Falcon.” “Pirates of the Caribbean.” “Indiana Jones!” About 15 kindergarten through 5 th grade students called out their favorite Lego kit on the first day of Lego Mania class. The program offered by Butler Community College is new and hopes to keep kids learning over the summer. Click here to see photos of Lego Mania. By the end of the class, students will build a Lego robot, alligator, soccer goalie and a plane. Each item will then be animated by a computer program.

Butler Community College and Wichita State University have signed an agreement to help students continue their education between the schools. The reverse articulation agreement permits eligible students to transfer select course work from WSU to Butler in order to complete requirements for an associate degree. "Agreements such as this helps graduation rates for everybody," Wichita State President John Bardo said in a statement. "And we know that students who earn an associate degree are more likely to pursue and complete a bachelor's degree.

(EL DORADO, Kan.) A group of local college students went looking through the trash Monday afternoon to see what shouldn't have been there. Some Butler Community College students went dumpster diving trying to find anything they could recycle.  A campus official believed students in the dormitories were likely throwing away far more trash than necessary. The students, part of a campus "Green Team," hoped to raise recycling awareness and were surprised by just how much they could save.

It's now easier for Butler Community College students to transfer to Newman University.  The two schools signed a dual admissions agreement Thursday which will make Newman more affordable for students. With the agreement, a graduate of Butler Community College can transfer seamlessly to Newman University.  Incoming freshman have the option to sign up for the dual program.  During their time at Butler, they'll also have an academic advisor at Newman.  The goal is for the two advisors to work together to ensure the student gets all the classes they need to transfer and start on their desired degree.

When football season begins Saturday, fans of Butler Grizzlies will have two things to cheer about. The new $12 million BG Products Veterans Sports Complex opens its gates September 1. The project is a three-way partnership between the city of El Dorado, the El Dorado School District and Butler Community College.  "You're going to see little kids playing little league football on here on Saturday mornings, you're going to...

(EL DORADO, Kan.) On Tuesday, Butler Community College hosted a belated Kansas day celebration... With a high tech look at the past. A snowstorm forced the school to postpone it's first Kansas heritage program on January 29th. So on Tuesday, February 23, fourth graders impatiently waited to see themselves, and their grandparents, make their big screen debut. That big screen was the projector screen in a Butler Community College room. Bridgett Winzer was one of the anxious fourth graders.

Technological advancements can make it easier for students to cheat on their work. But technology is also making it easier to catch cheaters. Many schools and universities across Kansas and the country use websites to catch plagiarism. Essentially, here's how it works: a student will write a paper, and email it to the professor through a website like turnitin.com . Then the website will pick out every passage that was lifted, highlight them, and tell the professor how much of the paper came from other sources.

A Butler Community College student is treated and released after being shot accidentally overnight by a security officer. Emergency crews and police were called to a report of a firearm discharge at the Villa Apartments in the 700 block of S. Haverhill Road just after 10:30 pm Monday. A private security officer told police he was handling his firearm while on duty and it accidentally discharged while he was in the office area. Police say there was damage to a computer, some furniture and the wall between the office and a computer/media room.

"I think people would be angry about it," student William Swan says. Smoking bans are nothing new, but they would be for the state's largest colleges and universities.  In Kansas, only about a dozen small colleges have extinguished smoking.  Butler Community College would be the biggest. "It's just a matter of time," Butler's Vice-President of Student Affiars Bill Rinkenbaugh says.  "I think in the next three to five years you'll probably see every higher education instutution be tobacco-free in Kansas.

A scary situation for staff and students at Butler Community College, early this afternoon, The school sent a mass text message, warning about a possible armed intruder on campus. It told everyone to lock up and stay out of sight. After a campus-wide search, all is clear in El Dorado. But students are feeling unsettled. A family waits after receiving word that a relative was possibly in danger. "Got on my hands and knees with my son and prayed that everything would be okay.

El Dorado police have questioned two men in connection with the shooting of an Butler Community College student.  An 18-year-old student from Arkansas was shot in the leg early Friday morning.  He was treated and released from the hospital. The shooting happened around one o'clock Friday morning at the Villas at Butler apartments.  Police say the shooting happened after a fight between two groups of students.  At least a dozen people were in the area when the shots were fired.  Police say several rounds struck the apartment buildings and parked cars at the apartment complex.  Police questioned a 23-year-old Wichita man for the shooting.  A 21-year-old from El Dorado was also brought in for questioning.   Police originally said the 23-year-old was booked into jail for the shooting, but then they released him. Police say the case is still under investigation as they collect more evidence and find more witnesses.

Butler Community College and Wichita State University have signed an agreement to help students continue their education between the schools. The reverse articulation agreement permits eligible students to transfer select course work from WSU to Butler in order to complete requirements for an associate degree. "Agreements such as this helps graduation rates for everybody," Wichita State President John Bardo said in a statement. "And we know that students who earn an associate degree are more likely to pursue and complete a bachelor's degree.

Butler Community College President Dr. Jackie Vietti plans to retire at the end of 2012. Vietti, BCC's first female president, has led the college for 17 years. President Vietti made the announcement to a gathering of nearly 500 faculty and staff during Butler's Fall Institutional Development Day on Tuesday afternoon. "It has been my most rewarding professional as well as personal experience to serve as the president of Butler for the past seventeen years,” said Vietti.

When football season begins Saturday, fans of Butler Grizzlies will have two things to cheer about. The new $12 million BG Products Veterans Sports Complex opens its gates September 1. The project is a three-way partnership between the city of El Dorado, the El Dorado School District and Butler Community College.  "You're going to see little kids playing little league football on here on Saturday mornings, you're going to...

“The Millennium Falcon.” “Pirates of the Caribbean.” “Indiana Jones!” About 15 kindergarten through 5 th grade students called out their favorite Lego kit on the first day of Lego Mania class. The program offered by Butler Community College is new and hopes to keep kids learning over the summer. Click here to see photos of Lego Mania. By the end of the class, students will build a Lego robot, alligator, soccer goalie and a plane. Each item will then be animated by a computer program.

It was an unusually hot and muggy April day across Kansas on Wednesday. Temperatures hit in the low 90's making it feel like August not April. The warm weather did not stop local folks from enjoying their favorite outdoor activities. A group of Augusta High students traded their books for swinging amongst the tree tops.  The students got the chance to visit "Grizzly Adventure" which specializes in team building and leadership exercises. The ropes course located on the campus of Butler Community College allows visitors to zip-line and rappel off some tall structures.

One of the nation's top community college football teams will be moving into a new stadium next year. Dozens attended the groundbreaking on the 6,500-seat stadium for Butler Community College in El Dorado Friday afternoon. The facility will also be used for high school and Little League games. Construction of the $11 million BG Products Veterans Sports Complex is a joint project of the college, El Dorado public schools and the city. Businessman Bob Lane has been leading the effort to raise $5 million for the project.