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"Progress
always involves risks.
Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation Board News
At their monthly meeting in January, 2005 - the Board of Directors of the Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation elected new officers. The new President of the corporation is Mike Rice, of Wamego. The new Vice-President is Marcia Walsh, from Onaga. They replaced the previous President, Clark Balderson, Wamego and Jerry Fournier, Vice-President, Blue Township. Board members are appointed by the Pottawatomie County Commission. Board Members include: Mike Rice, Bart Stewart and Clark Balderson - Wamego; Jerry Fournier and Bruce Ward - Blue Township; Larry Wilkerson, Westmoreland; Marcia Walsh, Onaga; Helen Pauly and Dave Brunin, St Marys. Hometown Competitiveness Academy
Aims to Revitalize Rural Communities 55 people gathered from 26 rural Kansas counties to participate in the Home Town Competitiveness (HTC) Academy, a comprehensive 3-day seminar teaching specific strategies for revitalizing rural economies and communities. The seminar was hosted by Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation and was presented Nov. 16-18, 2004 at the Columbian Theatre in Wamego. 25 of the participants were from Pottawatomie County. The three-day HTC seminar was an outgrowth of collaborative work between the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, the Heartland Center for Leadership Development and the Nebraska Community Foundation. HTC teaches a comprehensive approach to rural revitalization, focusing on four interdependent strategies: nurturing local enterprise and entrepreneurial talent, capturing intergenerational wealth transfer, attracting and retaining young people, and developing sustainable leadership. The original HTC pilot project began in 2002 in Valley County, Nebraska. With a population on 4,647, Valley County was the perfect picture of a declining Great Plains community, losing people, jobs and assets to urban areas. Two years later, many activities are underway in the community, which is exceeding its goal of retaining five percent of the area's 10-year wealth transfer. The current community foundation endowment has grown to $6.7 million. "The whole tone of the seminar was positive, the setting was superb. It was just terrific and I wish more people had chosen this opportunity," said Marci Penner, of the Kansas Sampler Foundation. Renee' Harbin, a teacher from Garden City, said "I thought that we received an enormous amount of information that will be useful". Throughout the highly structured training seminar, participants were also able to share ideas, concerns, and hurdles that face their communities, receive one-on-one help from the trainers, hear examples of successful HTC communities and network with other rural community leaders. After completing the training, all participants are now licensed to use copyrighted HTC materials and implement the strategies in their local communities. For more information about this
HTC Academy, please contact Pottawatomie County Economic Development
Corporation, (785) 456-9776. For more information about the Hometown
Competitiveness Program, contact: Dr. Vicki Luther, Ph.D., Co-Director,
Heartland Center for Leadership Development, 1-800-927-1115. Northern Flint Hills and Thrills Bicycle Ride Successful Wonderful scenery, great food and gorgeous weather prompted a high turnout in the first Northern Flint Hills and Thrills Bicycle Ride. The Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation hosted the event Saturday, November 6, 2004. The 39-mile ride began at the Oregon Trail RV park in Westmoreland, proceeded to Carnahan Road, near Olsburg, and ended back at the Westmoreland RV park. 61 riders from all over the Kansas and Missouri participated in the ride. Each rider received an event t-shirt, a hearty breakfast and food and drinks at the three rest stops along the route. "We
were fortunate that it was a beautiful day. Everyone seemed to love
the scenic route, especially the hills, and we heard nothing but compliments
about the area and the bike ride itself," said Kelly Pearl, organizer
of the event. "Our next ride, the 2005 Cabin Fever Challenge, will be March 25 and will originate in Wamego. We are also planning the for the next Northern Flint Hills and Thrills ride, which will be in the fall of 2005."
Benedetto's
A grand opening celebration for Benedetto's, St. Mary's newest restaurant, will be held February 3, 2005. Benedetto's will feature fresh, traditional Italian entrees and authentic Italian desserts, coffee and wine. Many hours of work have gone into the interior and exterior appearance of Benedetto's, which provides a warm Italian ambiance. Jewell Serrano is the owner of Benedetto's, which is located
at 518 Bertrand. The hours of operation will be Monday through
Thursday 11am - 9pm and Friday and Saturday 12pm - 11pm. For more
information on Benedettos' contact 785-437-6789. Log'n
Logs
In
the rural north part of Pottawatomie County, between Westmoreland
and Fostoria - you'll find "Log'n Logs", owned by Jerry and
Teri Cruz. Log'n Logs boasts a portable band sawmill, which
Jerry moves to various sites, to cut many kinds of specialty
woods for construction, finish and decorative work. The business
started in spring of 2004 and has already cut cedar siding,
cedar flooring, walnut for furniture, oak, and cottonwood for
a variety of applications. Log'n Logs also has an environmental
grant to remove large trees from landfills. The trees are removed,
cut and milled for usable products, making use of the trees
- while freeing space in the landfills. By-products of this
business include an abundance of firewood. Give Log'n Logs a
call at (785) 457-3301 for your specialty native wood product needs.
Due to the financial
partnership between the Pottawatomie County Economic Development
Corporation and Washburn University Small Business Development
Center, interested people in Pottawatomie County can use the
small business consulting services of Chad A. Jackson at no
cost. Chad Jackson has a business degree from K-State. His previous
experience is as a commercial loan officer for a regional bank,
and as a financial analyst for a large credit union. Chad is
available every Wednesday throughout the year. To contact Chad
A. Jackson, call (785) 587-9817 or contact our office at (785)
456-9776.
Washburn Small Business Seminars The Washburn University Small Business Development Center also makes business training available to people in Pottawatomie County at minimal cost. Wamego will be the site of three small business seminars offered by the Washburn Small Business Development Center. The seminars offered include:
For more information and registration for the small business seminars, please contact Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation, 785-456-9776.
EcoDevo
Corporation Offers 25 Light Industrial/Commercial Lots
for Sale. Green Valley Business Park - 7 light industrial/commercial lots - great location, build-ready, all utilities installed, no specials. E 24 Highway and Green Valley Rd. Wamego Industrial Park , 18 light industrial/commercial lots - great location, build-ready, all utilities installed, no specials. 24 Highway just east of Wamego. Contact Bob Cole at 785-456-9776 or see our web site for more information www.ecodevo.com 175 years ago "On April 10, 1830 - William L. Sublette's company of 81 mule-mounted men and a 'caravan of ten wagons, drawn by five mules each, and two dearborns, drawn by one mule each' (also a dozen cattle for food, and a milk cow) set out from St. Louis for the fur trappers summer rendevouz in the Wind River valley (of present Wyoming). The route was 'nearly due west to the western limits of the State (of Missouri); and thence along the Santa Fe trail about 40 miles; from which the course was some degrees north of west, across the waters of the Kanzas, and up the Great Platte river" Sublette's notable expedition - the first to take wagons as far as the Rocky Mountains - proceeded at a rate of 15 - 25 miles per day, and with no particular difficulty reached the rendezvous on July 16. Partners David E. Jackson and Jedediah S. Smith were there awaiting him, with a sizable collection of furs. (From the Kanzas crossing, up to the Platte, the expedition traversed "Sublette's Trace", the future Oregon Trail pathway.) On August 4, 1830 - "Partners Jedediah Smith, David Jackson and William Sublette, with a company of 50 to 70 men, left Wind River valley (Wyoming) for St. Louis. Their outfit included the 10 pioneer wagons (now loaded with furs), the same mule teams which Sublette had taken to the Rockies in the spring and summer, also a large number of horses and mules, four of the cattle, and the milk cow which had made the journey from Missouri. The homeward route was 'over the same ground nearly as going out.'" (The foregoing descriptions taken from The Beginning of the West, Annals of the Kansas Gateway to the American West, 1540-1854, by Louise Barry, Kansas State Historical Society, 1972) |
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