Last modified: Monday, January 5, 2009 10:54 AM PST College Connection: A plethora of offerings By Dr. Jim Sorensen With the start of the winter term at Treasure Valley Community College today, we’re seeing more of the same — full classes and lots of students. This is an exciting time for TVCC!  While the academic classes start today, there is still time to enroll in many of community and continuing-education classes offered this term. Linda Simmons, our director of Community and Continuing Education, and her staff do a wonderful job of bringing new and interesting courses and instructors to the college. Often referred to as “the other part of the college” because the classes are not offered for academic credit, these courses are just as important to our mission of being a community college. If you’re like me and are starting another year with another resolution to lose weight, we have a number of health and fitness classes to choose from. From yoga to tai-Chi, and Nordic walking to judo, we have a class to meet your fitness needs. Linda tells me one of the recent additions that has been pretty popular is “Belly Dancing for Fun and Fitness” (it’s amazing what they come up with). The class meets from 5:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Tuesdays  in the gym, and there’s still time to sign up for tomorrow’s class. Now that the holidays are over, have you found those family pictures didn’t turn out as well as you’d like? Or were you one of the lucky ones who got a new camera this Christmas? If so, “Creating a Quality Photograph” may be just what you need. Come learn how to use your digital camera and how to compose photos to get the best shots possible. This short class meets from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Jan. 13 and Jan. 20 (2 days only). Bring your digital camera and its instruction manual to get the help you need! Another interesting course that’s starting next week is “Home Repair for Amateurs.” Isn’t it amazing how many small repair jobs need to be done at home? From scratched floors to broken furniture and to leaky sinks and roofs, this class will features simple “Do It Yourself” skills and also helps you know when to call a professional. The class features a lot of local guest experts too. Offered Wednesdays, beginning Jan. 14 and running until March 8, the class is still open for enrollment. We also have a number of traditional dance classes taught by local dance instructor Peanut DuBoise on Sunday evenings. From swing to ballroom dancing, these classes are offered just in time to get started on refreshing those dance moves for the upcoming Four Rivers Cultural Center Ball next month. Because they are not tied to academic credit, we have the flexibility of offering what the community needs right when they want it. For example, Linda has worked tirelessly to build community relationships with local instructors, and we offer a number of certification courses for local businesses and industry. One of the upcoming offerings is for our local emergency medical technicians. We have a refresher course that meets the guidelines for EMT National Registry for continuing educational requirements. The classes are offered Jan. 31, Feb 1, Feb. 7 and Feb. 8.  Stop by the college and pick up a complete schedule of the classes offered — or check our Web site to see an online list. Computer classes, fishing and fly tying, food handler’s certificates, real estate training and so much are offered this term. Linda Simmons also reminds me we’re always looking for new ideas and for creative classes. If you have something you’d like offered, or if you have a class you’d like to teach, contact TVCC Community Education, (541) 881-8822, ext. 407.   Dr. Jim Sorensen is the president of Treasure Valley Community College. For information about TVCC, visit its Web site at www.tvcc.cc.or.us, or call (541) 881-8822