Connecting Appalachia consultants to visit county

Two representatives from Reid Consulting, based in Athens, will be in Jefferson County on April 29 to provide details on Connecting Appalachia, a project designed to bring robust broadband access to all of Ohio’s Appalachian counties.

The informational workshop is being co-sponsored by Progress Alliance and the Jefferson County Regional Planning Commission. The April 29 event will begin at 2 p.m. in Rooms 111 and 113 of Jefferson Community College’s Pugliese Training Center.

Tom Reid, president of the consulting firm, and Kim Gaffney Corriher, field liaison, will address local residents and elected officials on this important new initiative. Connecting Appalachia is the brainchild of U.S. Rep. Zach Space, the Democratic representative for Ohio’s 18^th District.

Connecting Appalachia actually is a combination of four projects:  expanding the Southern Ohio Healthcare Network, constructing wireless broadband towers to provide consumer access in rural Ohio, linking industrial parks directly to the SOHCN and getting fund to purchase telemedicine equipment.

Space describes the plan as a “comprehensive approach” using broadband to boost the economy, Internet literacy and other goals for people in Appalachia.

“Just as railroads in the 19^th century and our interstate system in the 1950s represented revolutionary breakthroughs in transportation infrastructure, broadband represents the breakthrough for our generation. We absolutely need wider access to broadband in order to attract new industries and jobs,” he said. “The unfortunate reality is that much of southeastern Ohio lags behind the rest of the nation in the deployment of this technology. Our mission must be top Connect Appalachia.”

OMEGA grant seminar is Thursday

Lana Watkins, the grants specialist for the Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association, will conduct an informational workshop Thursday at 2:30 p.m. in Lecture Hall 2012 at the Jefferson Community College, 4000 Sunset Blvd., on navigating the grants process.

The workshop is being co-sponsored by the Jefferson County Regional Planning Commission and Progress Alliance.

Watkins will explain the history of OMEGA in addition to discussing the grant planning process, grant application procedures and even provide one-on-one grant assistance in meeting crucial deadlines.

The workshop is open to governmental entities and nonprofit organizations.

‘Green Machine’ fundraiser is moving forward

Tickets remain available for the “Green Machine” promotion, a fundraiser designed to help both Progress Alliance and the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce.

The “Green Machine” is a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle up for grabs courtesy of Wildfire Motors, located in the Jefferson County Industrial Park. The two-seat vehicle can travel up to 80 miles between charges and is valued between $12,000 and $15,000. The car features a 120 Volt System and an 8.5 KW AC motor. It has a keyless entry and alarm, power windows, an AM/FM stereo and a CD player.

Area residents can purchase chances to win the electric vehicle between now and Sept. 29. Tickets are priced at $5 each or five for $20 and are available at the Jefferson County Center for Economic Development, 630 Market St.

The “Green Machine” will be on display throughout the summer at various locations. A complete schedule is being compiled and will be released shortly.

Corridor committee schedules Friday meeting

The Columbus-Pittsburgh Corridor Steering Committee will meet Friday at 10 a.m. in the Steubenville Country Club.

Tony Guida, a local realtor, and Ed Looman, executive director of Progress Alliance, represent Jefferson County on the committee.

Last week, committee co-chairmen T.J. Justice and David A. Brenner went public with a letter they drafted to Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland regarding the project. The corridor is a 160-mile highway from Columbus to Pittsburgh. When the projects currently under construction are completed, four key projects, just 25 percent of the corridor, will remain to be completed to bring Ohio’s first, true four-lane, limited access highway link between the economic markets of Columbus and Pittsburgh.

In the letter, Justice and Brenner called on Strickland to do everything possible to help move the project along. As they noted, “we believe the Columbus-Pittsburgh Corridor can be the catalyst for economic growth in the region.”

Strickland’s office plans information sessions

The office of Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland is planning a series of information sessions on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

These sessions will provide information for:

·        Small, minority owned and economically disadvantaged business enterprises that want to learn about procurement opportunities through the stimulus package and state government.

·        County, municipal and township government officials.

·        Non-profit and community organizations that may apply for funding or serve individuals eligible for assistance.

Two sessions are planned for the Youngstown area on Friday, April 24 from 10 a.m. to noon and noon to 2 p.m. These sessions will be held in the Operation Engineers Local 66 Union Hall, 291 McClurg Road. For more information, visit http://development.ohio.gov/recovery/RegionalStimulusWorkshops/.

Small business finance seminar coming soon

The Stark Development Board Finance Corporation and the Ohio Small Business Development Center at Kent State University Tuscarawas Campus are once again conducting a series of small business finance seminars.

The 2009 seminar is being called Business Growth Summit:  Financial Programs. It will focus on available programs to assist small businesses in the current economic times. Instead of one annual meeting, the organizations will offer this program in six different locations on six different dates. The purpose of the revised format is to provide additional convenience to their partners.

Jefferson County will host one of the programs on Friday, May 22. It will run from 8-10 a.m. in the Jefferson Community College. For more information, or to make a reservation, contact Deanna Spencer at Kent State Tuscarawas, (330) 308.7522 or via e-mail at dmspence@kent.edu.