Growing the quality of our lives
Dear Belmont County,
Summer is nearly here and school is almost over for this year. It is a time of possibility in Belmont County for all of our graduating seniors and the economy. As a county we will send hundreds of kids away this year to earn college degrees in hopes of obtaining a profession that will enable them to live as productive adults. We love the kids of this valley we work hard to ensure that those kids have a place to come home to work. We recognize the need to have a strong economy that can create employment opportunities. Above and beyond the question of how to grow the economy there is a sincere concern about how to grow the quality of our lives and that is something that we are focusing on.
In regards to our ongoing effort to grow our county we are gearing up to attend the REcon Conference in Las Vegas this coming weekend. It will be our 5th visit. It has proven to be one of the most beneficial conferences we attend annually. REcon is the global convention for the shopping center industry and provides networking, deal making and educational opportunities for retail real estate professionals from around the world. It hosts over 34,000 attendees and 1,000 exhibitors and provides the opportunity to do a year’s worth of business in just three days. We clearly recognized years ago that to attract new businesses into our county we would need to actively recruit them. The commissioners feel it is important to sell the county and not wait for retailers to come to them. We believe it has made a significant difference and is reflected in the reinvention of retail in Belmont County. In 2009 our mall was struggling and today it is a vibrant busy retail center that is busting at the seams with development and construction taking place around its complete perimeter.
We hosted our fourth annual Oil and Gas Expo at the end of April. The oil and gas industry continues to grow in our area and was evident in the many business both exhibiting as well as attending the expo. When Port Authority Director Larry Merry and I started the expo four years ago our intent was to establish Belmont County as the epi-center of the oil and gas industry. This was before many of the land leasing deals were in place but we saw the potential and capitalized on it early so that our local businesses could directly benefit.
The biggest announcement to come to our county by way of the oil and gas industry came recently with the announcement that Belmont County has been selected as the top choice for the potential building of a new multi-billion dollar ethane “cracker”. If built the project would lead to significant job creation and investment. If constructed, the ethane cracker would utilize ethane extracted from the region’s Marcellus and Utica Shale formations. The facility would then “crack” the ethane into ethylene, which is used as a basis for plastics and resins contained in everyday items such as food and product packaging, textiles and pharmaceuticals. An ethane cracker in Belmont County would facilitate additional investments in the growing shale and petrochemical industries, and with greater investments come more job opportunities.
Friday the Belmont County Courthouse Plaza hosted the “We are the MAJORITY Rally.” The rally brought high school teens from Bellaire, Shadyside, Bridgeport, Martins Ferry, St. Clairsville, Belmont County Gender Specific Program and the Belmont County JVS together to celebrate their decision to make healthy and positive choices. The event was sponsored by Crossroads Counseling Services with Belmont County Student Services. The event reflects the mindset that the teens who choose to not use drugs or alcohol are the majority of students in Ohio. As a participant in the event I shared that the original War on Drugs began under the Nixon Administration forty four years and 1 trillion US Dollars ago. That is a stark reality, so witnessing these young kids coming together in unison against drugs may ultimately be the only way to ever champion this epidemic. Their refusal to participate and their pledge to make healthy choices will be the difference. True change, effective change has always come not necessarily from government or from organizations but from the people. In this case, by the young people of our county and nation.
The Board of Commissioners recently met with the Belmont County Farm Bureau for our annual breakfast meeting at Schlepp’s. Among many items of discussion was the need to review an antiquated county land use plan and to explore options to ensure we protect the long term viability of our farm lands while allowing the oil and gas industry to grow. The bottom line, we want to make sure when the days of oil and gas exploration in our county are over that we are still able to farm our lands. As always, it is about smart planning and certainly something that needs to be addressed. We will be working to host an informational session with the county, Farm Bureau and Ohio State University Extension.
In Belmont County we continue to work and plan for growth. It is about a healthy economy that provides jobs but it is also about healthy kids and strong families. All worthy of our time and commitment. It is exciting to know our county is growing and families will have the opportunity to have their kids return for work here rather than relocating to larger cities which for a long while has been the sad reality. You, your families and your kids are always at the forefront of what we do and why we work to ensure a strong quality of life for all our residents.
Growing the quality of our lives
Dear Belmont County,
Summer is nearly here and school is almost over for this year. It is a time of possibility in Belmont County for all of our graduating seniors and the economy. As a county we will send hundreds of kids away this year to earn college degrees in hopes of obtaining a profession that will enable them to live as productive adults. We love the kids of this valley we work hard to ensure that those kids have a place to come home to work. We recognize the need to have a strong economy that can create employment opportunities. Above and beyond the question of how to grow the economy there is a sincere concern about how to grow the quality of our lives and that is something that we are focusing on.
In regards to our ongoing effort to grow our county we are gearing up to attend the REcon Conference in Las Vegas this coming weekend. It will be our 5th visit. It has proven to be one of the most beneficial conferences we attend annually. REcon is the global convention for the shopping center industry and provides networking, deal making and educational opportunities for retail real estate professionals from around the world. It hosts over 34,000 attendees and 1,000 exhibitors and provides the opportunity to do a year’s worth of business in just three days. We clearly recognized years ago that to attract new businesses into our county we would need to actively recruit them. The commissioners feel it is important to sell the county and not wait for retailers to come to them. We believe it has made a significant difference and is reflected in the reinvention of retail in Belmont County. In 2009 our mall was struggling and today it is a vibrant busy retail center that is busting at the seams with development and construction taking place around its complete perimeter.
We hosted our fourth annual Oil and Gas Expo at the end of April. The oil and gas industry continues to grow in our area and was evident in the many business both exhibiting as well as attending the expo. When Port Authority Director Larry Merry and I started the expo four years ago our intent was to establish Belmont County as the epi-center of the oil and gas industry. This was before many of the land leasing deals were in place but we saw the potential and capitalized on it early so that our local businesses could directly benefit.
The biggest announcement to come to our county by way of the oil and gas industry came recently with the announcement that Belmont County has been selected as the top choice for the potential building of a new multi-billion dollar ethane “cracker”. If built the project would lead to significant job creation and investment. If constructed, the ethane cracker would utilize ethane extracted from the region’s Marcellus and Utica Shale formations. The facility would then “crack” the ethane into ethylene, which is used as a basis for plastics and resins contained in everyday items such as food and product packaging, textiles and pharmaceuticals. An ethane cracker in Belmont County would facilitate additional investments in the growing shale and petrochemical industries, and with greater investments come more job opportunities.
Friday the Belmont County Courthouse Plaza hosted the “We are the MAJORITY Rally.” The rally brought high school teens from Bellaire, Shadyside, Bridgeport, Martins Ferry, St. Clairsville, Belmont County Gender Specific Program and the Belmont County JVS together to celebrate their decision to make healthy and positive choices. The event was sponsored by Crossroads Counseling Services with Belmont County Student Services. The event reflects the mindset that the teens who choose to not use drugs or alcohol are the majority of students in Ohio. As a participant in the event I shared that the original War on Drugs began under the Nixon Administration forty four years and 1 trillion US Dollars ago. That is a stark reality, so witnessing these young kids coming together in unison against drugs may ultimately be the only way to ever champion this epidemic. Their refusal to participate and their pledge to make healthy choices will be the difference. True change, effective change has always come not necessarily from government or from organizations but from the people. In this case, by the young people of our county and nation.
The Board of Commissioners recently met with the Belmont County Farm Bureau for our annual breakfast meeting at Schlepp’s. Among many items of discussion was the need to review an antiquated county land use plan and to explore options to ensure we protect the long term viability of our farm lands while allowing the oil and gas industry to grow. The bottom line, we want to make sure when the days of oil and gas exploration in our county are over that we are still able to farm our lands. As always, it is about smart planning and certainly something that needs to be addressed. We will be working to host an informational session with the county, Farm Bureau and Ohio State University Extension.
In Belmont County we continue to work and plan for growth. It is about a healthy economy that provides jobs but it is also about healthy kids and strong families. All worthy of our time and commitment. It is exciting to know our county is growing and families will have the opportunity to have their kids return for work here rather than relocating to larger cities which for a long while has been the sad reality. You, your families and your kids are always at the forefront of what we do and why we work to ensure a strong quality of life for all our residents.