Telecenter holds opening ceremony

Jan. 10 saw a full afternoon of meetings, presentations and speeches, as dignitaries from the local and state level gathered at two locations to celebrate the official opening of the Blue Ridge Telecenter (BRT).

BRT's permanent home, the former Bassett-Walker building, is expected to open late this year. In the meantime, BRT's temporary headquarters is the former Sheets Jewelry location on Main Street. Officials held two ribbon-cuttings, one at that location, the other at the computer lab at the A. Anderson Huber Cyber Campus at Alleghany High School.

The computer lab, which is part of the Community Technology Learning Center, opened last November. Considered part of the overall BRT effort, it will eventually be housed at the BRT's permanent site. Officials last week began referring publicly to the Main Street office as "Blue Ridge Telecenter South" and the computer lab as "Blue Ridge Telecenter North."

The crowd of about 40 at the Main Street ribbon cutting included 10 of the N.C. Rural Internet Access Authority's 12 regional staff members from various locations across the state. It was the RIAA which initiated the telecenter program. Last September it announced five telecenter grants, including $650,000, the largest of the awards, to Alleghany County for BRT. BRT Director Phred Huber told the gathering that the establishment of BRT is largely due to cooperation between organizations and agencies such as Wilkes Community College (WCC), Alleghany JobLink, Alleghany Schools, New River Community Partners and local government. "It's these partnerships that have made the telecenter possible," she said.

Huber pointed out the library and conference areas in the Main Street facility near the entrance. She said BRT obtained use of the conference table as a result of a cocaine arrest by the Alleghany County Sheriff's Department.

(Sheriff's department spokesperson Nyla Duncan said officers confiscated a table as part of that arrest. That table is being used by the department, which loaned another table to BRT.)

Huber said while three personal computers will be at the back of the office, they were not placed near the entrance because they might be intimidating; part of BRT's goal is to help residents become comfortable with technology.