County may have a good chance at telecenter, officials say By ROBBY LUCKE Staff Alleghany County is in the finals in its quest for a telecenter. Four N.C. Rural Internet Access Authority staff members came to Alleghany Aug. 22 and met with the group of government, educational and business leaders who are seeking to make the proposed Blue Ridge Telecenter a reality. The RIAA is about a month away from announcing as many as four recipients of grants to establish information technology centers in economically distressed counties. The grants are for up to $700,000 each for first-year operation and $500,000 for a second year. Angie Bailey, one of the authority staff members who made the trip here last week, said Alleghany is one of nine prospective telecenter sites they are visiting.

Grand TOUR — Local and regional leaders take the rural Internet access group on a tour of the former Bassett Walker facility, the site of the proposed Blue Ridge Telecenter. Shown are (from left) George Matuck; Jack Conaway; Joe Holbrook of the N.C. commerce department; RIAA staff members Sandy Babb and Angie Bailey; Brian Crutchfield; Patrick Woodie; Bob Bamberg; and Chris Robinson.

The RIAA received 16 proposals by the July 16 deadline. Of those, two were immediately eliminated as not meeting the criteria. Patrick Woodie, one of the leaders of the Blue Ridge Telecenter effort, said the visit by RIAA representatives means that Alleghany can be considered a finalist for the grant awards.

After meeting at the county office building, the RIAA employees and the BRT group toured the former Bassett Walker building, the site of the proposed telecenter.

"It was a good, positive meeting," said Woodie. "They asked a lot of questions which I felt we were able to answer fully and to their satisfaction."

He said the RIAA employees asked about the status of the property — the telecenter has an option on it until the end of the year — and the status of the Appalachian Regional Commission grant — Region D Council of Governments is writing a pre-application.

Bob Bamberg, another leader of the BRT effort, said the staff members suggested more detail be provided on the kind of equipment the BRT plans to use.

In addition, Woodie said, "They wanted to know about the temporary office arrangement and plans, in light of the fact that it'll take us several months to renovate the Bassett Walker building." He said BRT plans to rent temporary office space, probably on Main Street, during the renovation period. Grant recipients will be required to have telecenters in operation by January 2002.

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