TONAWANDA, NY — Steve Cofta has watched the shifting sands of the Buffalo-area business community during his 35 years in the hvacr and mechanical trades. The retired business owner and current instructor-advisor at the Kenton Career Center has watched his trade lose many jobs as businesses have shuttered and left the area.
It is late March 2000, and Cofta spends his time heading up a class of 11 students, who range from 21 to 62 years old. Some of them have as much as 29 years of experience in mechanical trades and others have none at all.