PepsiCo Inc. recently announced that it will shut down the company's Gatorade plant in Pryor, Okla., after working for more than a year to keep it open. According to an article by The Oklahoman, the move will cause 108 people to lose their jobs.

The affected employees will receive three months and one week of full pay and benefits, as well as outplacement assistance from an unknown company (Visit http://outplacing.com to learn more) and counseling, which will be extended to employees' family members.

"As for most businesses, this has been a tough couple of years," PepsiCo Regional Spokesman Pat Burke said. "We worked very hard over the past year to keep the plant going. Unfortunately, in the end, based on the economic conditions, we determined we could not keep the plant open."

PepsiCo is closing the plant in an effort to keep Gatorade's overall manufacturing capacity in line with current market demands as the economy continues to challenge business. The company will continue managing the grounds and equipment at the facility to make it more inviting to potential new employers.

The $180 Gatorade manufacturing facility employed more than 200 employees when it opened at the beginning of 2008 and employed 225 employees by February of that year. However, the plant closed for a week during October due to a lag in production and more than 100 workers were laid off by December.

The facility to be closed is PepsiCo's ninth factory and the largest Gatorade plant in the world.

The lack of a universal, national background check for substitute teachers has caused some debate as of late. While teachers certified with the Oklahoma State Department of Education are required to undergo background checks, there is no such requirement for non-certified substitutes or other school personnel.

According to an article by The Oklahoman, individual school districts have the power to determine whether or not substitute teachers must pass a national criminal background check. The number of school districts requesting background checks has decreased from 281 during the 2008 school year to 265 during the 2009 school year. There are 532 school districts throughout Oklahoma.

The state Department of Education only conducts background checks for districts that go through them, and it works with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to complete the checks. Oklahoma City Public Schools and Tulsa Public Schools can go directly to the OSBI or contract with a private vendor, while other districts can choose to use private vendors or complete the checks themselves.

OSBI has the capability to complete fingerprint-based background checks or name-based background checks for the state Department of Education. The fingerprint-based checks take longer, are more expensive, and require that the agency requesting the check have the statutory authority to do so.

The name-based checks are less intrusive for job applicants, but are less thorough than fingerprint-based checks. Name-based searches are only accurate if the applicant was charged with a crime under that name and statewide searches only reveal convictions within Oklahoma.

Fingerprint-based checks, however, look outside the state using an FBI database. OSBI currently charges $15 for name-based checks and $41 for fingerprint-based checks. Law requires the results of both tests to be returned to the school district within two weeks.

In order to obtain an EMT certification, you must first complete a certification program, such as those offered through the Division of Health Professions' Emergency Medical Sciences at Oklahoma City Community College.

Through that program, you can earn a Certificate of Mastery or Associate of Applied Science. The latter option includes general education classes in addition to the regular EMT courses. You also must gain practical experience in the field and in hospitals throughout the state.

After completing the EMT program, you will be responsible for taking the EMT exams through the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, which is required in order to earn you EMT certification.

The three programs available at OCCC include:

• EMT-Basic Certification Program - This is an eight credit program meant to prepare students to provide pre-hospital emergency healthcare. Students learn skills such as moving and lifting techniques, patient assessment and traumatic body injury management.Once you receive a certification from this program, you will be able to work as emergency vehicle and ambulance personnel or serve as a volunteer for community emergency services throughout the state. This is a prerequisite to the paramedic certification program.
• EMT-Paramedic Certification Program - This is a 48 credit program taught by local paramedics nurses and physicians in classroom and clinical settings. In order to receive certification, you must demonstrate your ability to make critical decisions and work well under pressure. The program is accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions.
• EMT Refresher Certification Program - This program is comprised of courses for EMT professionals who need to update their skills, meet state EMT certification requirements or renew their EMT certification. Classes are available for those at EMT-Basic, EMT-Intermediate and EMT-Paramedic levels.