| 112th Year, 48th Issue | Thursday, July 12, 2001 | Sparta, North Carolina |
With the state grant application deadline a few days away, Patrick Woodie unveiled details of the Blue Ridge Telecenter plan in a briefing Tuesday morning at the A. Anderson Huber Cyber Campus. Woodie is director of the New River Community Partners, the official grant applicant. He is also an Alleghany County commissioner. Those specifics included the "Blue Ridge Telecenter" name and the expected first-year cost, $2,141,000.
The N.C. Rural Internet Access Authority announced in May that it would award as many as four grants of up to $700,000 each to establish information technology centers in economically distressed counties. Almost immediately after the announcement, a group formed to seek a grant for Alleghany. That group includes Woodie; George Matuck, director of the cyber campus; Bob Bamberg, director of Alleghany Partnership for Children; County Manager Don Adams; County Planner Jack Conaway; and other local business, education and civic leaders.
The application deadline is July 16, with recipients to be announced Oct. 1 and telecenters required to be in operation by January 2002.
"I think we have a really good shot at it," said Woodie of the grant. "I
think our greatest asset is this cyber campus."
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