Soon Allen County’s economic development committee members will make recommendations to commissioners of whether to fund proposals made by several businesses and the technology center southeast of LaHarpe.
All proposals have merit, and each will be given careful consideration.
The tech center’s proposal has far-reaching possibilities and evinces strong vision; it should curry favor — not to say others shouldn’t.
Wind energy is here to stay, with Kansas already having its fair share of turbines. Wind is renewable energy, and may one day join with water and sun to make fossil fuels next to obsolete. None of the three sources cost a cent.
Wind farms do require maintenance, of course, demanding a platoon of workers with technical expertise. The jobs pay well and come swathed in solid futures.
Today, the only training opportunity in Kansas for wind turbine technicians is at Cloud County Community College, many miles away in Concordia. That will change if the Regional Rural Technology Center in LaHarpe is able to offer classes. The hope is to do so as early as fall.
Purchase of equipment required and upgrading the center will cost upward of $400,000. A grant of $100,000 from the county’s economic development fund would be of great assistance and perhaps the difference in how quickly instruction may start.
County commissioners have set aside $150,000 a year to bankroll economic development through grants or loans. The fund currently has $300,000 available, after the program was etched into the county budget late in 2017 and none was distributed prior to Jan. 1.
The tech center fits the concept, by having a new program that will give area students — adults, as well — opportunities to learn a specialized trade and meet the needs of industries that have chosen to locate in Allen County.
Construction of a wind farm in northeast Allen County is underway and another spanning Bourbon and southeast Allen counties is in earlier stages of development.
Economic growth shouldn’t be limited to specifics, rather engage an aggregate that has a multitude of asides, with training of workers an important feature.
— Bob Johnson
