charge of all of it, under the boat captain. " We go over maritime security," Moll said. " Basically, you have your Homeland Security— it ' s a five-tier system, blue, green, yellow, orange, red— which 9 / 11 would have been red— and after 9 / 11, they came up with MarSec. We have ship channels, very open waterways that come into our country through Houston, bringing in oil, cars, cruise lines, and we needed to up our security against terrorist threats. We go over MarSec in its basic form."
Personal protection equipment( PPE) is a large part of the training, as the students will be dealing with various hazardous chemicals on the barge.
" We also go over HazCom, which is hazardous communications. We go over OS- HA ' s 1993 ' Right to Know Standard,' which gives these guys the right to know about any and all hazardous and dangerous chemicals they ' re working with," Moll said.
" We learn how to store chemicals, how to use the chemical properly, what not use on it to clean up spills, and what PPE you might need to use for the chemicals," Moll said. " The main thing is safety. Watching your feet, watching your hands, learning about the ropes and winches."
Before being released for work on the boat, Moll said the new hires must pass eight written tests. The tests include basic first aid, " man overboard," back safety, MarSec, HazCom, fire safety and PPE.
" The eighth test is a 50-question test on the language we talk out there," Moll said. " The test gives the definition, and the word is missing; there ' s no word bank. If I say, ' go up to the head port side of the tow, the timberhead, and catch me a two-part towing and dog it off,' they know it means ' go to the forward most part of the tow on the left side and get me a lead that will keep me from going forward."
" When they leave here on Friday, they ' ll be ready to work," Moll said. " It ' s a whole world that most people don ' t even know exists." The three high schools in VWSD are focused on preparing students for life after graduation. Vicksburg High School and Warren Central High School are part of the Vicksburg Warren College and Career Academies which help students find their interests and prepare for future careers.
River City Early College( RCEC) offers students the opportunity to complete two years of college and earn an associate ' s de-
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