DOBSON — Following a student appeal hearing which lasted more than four hours, the Surry Community College Board of Trustees held an abbreviated meeting Monday night.

Greg Smith, director of occupational programs and special projects and the center for construction technologies, updated the board on the groundbreaking ceremony for the first phase of the North Carolina Center for Viticulture and Enology scheduled for May 1. The ground breaking will be held at the site for the center and will feature a number of speakers and recognitions, including an overview and history of the project itself and a presentation from a representative of the North Carolina Wine Makers Association.

A description of the viticulture and enology program at the college will be provided to attendees and wine made by the SCC program will be served. Around 400 formal invitations have been sent out at this point.

According to Susan Pendergraft, vice president for administrative services, the contractor for the project and the state construction office have met and the plans are now in the Office of State Budget and Management where they will ensure that the funding is available for the project.

With the bid for the project coming in so far under budget, the contingency fund now contains 20 percent of the whole budget. The state recommends that the contingency fund hold six percent. In order to make this more balanced, the board voted to move the additional 14 percent in bond monies to phase two of the project.

In other business, Shelia Shelton, division chair for computer science, asked the board to approve a change in the simulation and game development program at the college. The program has an instructional service agreement with Wake Technical Community College which it wished to terminate and replace with an agreement with Guilford Technical Community College.

Under the new agreement, students in the program will complete four semesters at Surry Community College and the remaining two semesters of the program at Guilford Tech.

“This is an amazing industry and an industry that will fit into a rural community like ours,” said Bob Comer, trustee.

Melissa Atkinson, college liaison for Surry and Yadkin early college high schools, presented the board with copies of a memorandum of agreement between the two early colleges and the respective school systems they serve. She has been working for more than a year to document all of the procedures necessary for the programs. The board has been asked to look over the agreements for approval at the May meeting.

“We just want to be clear who’s responsible for what,” said Atkinson.

Pendergraft also spoke to the board about the new red flag rules concerning identity theft. The rules are required under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. They require financial institutions and creditors which hold consumer accounts to implement a written identity theft prevention program. The template adopted by the board is the one provided by the system office.

With the issues the board faces in the coming fiscal year, the current year seems to be shaping up well. According to financial reports made by Pendergraft, SCC has spent 70.3 percent of its budget to date. The Yadkin Center has spent 58.9 percent of its budget to date and looks to fund a couple of capital projects soon which should balance out the budget by the end of the fiscal year.

Representatives from the board will present a 2009-10 budget request to the Surry County Board of Commissioners at a budget workshop tonight.

Anne Marie Hardy, director of career services, was recognized for her work with the college and area school systems on programs such as the SYSTEM Tech Prep, the E2 grants and the technology camp and camp med held over the summer as well as a number of other projects.

Danielle Cave, student government association president and student representative to the board, was honored for her accomplishments both in and out of school. She graduated the Student Leadership Institute on March 20. She has been named to the president’s list, the dean’s list and the national dean’s list.

“We appreciate the work she’s done,” said Dr. Deborah Friedman, president of SCC.

Contact Morgan Wall at mwall@mtairynews.com or 719-1929.