National Heritage area plans outlined

The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area recently received a $2.2 million allocation from the government, according to Penn Dameron, who serves as the organization’s executive director. Alleghany is among 25 counties included in the plan.

The announcement came during a Sept. 15 meeting of about 50 local officials, business people and members of the Alleghany community at Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation’s office on U.S. 21.

“We can spend that money easily; it’s not a problem spending it,” Dameron told the audience. “The problem is spending it on things that are going to last and are going to remain a part of our culture and investing in such a way that we also leverage money and get more return from private money and other sources.”

Running through the Power Point presentation, Dameron noted, “There are literally hundreds of ideas that have come out of this planning process and I can’t describe them all. But I want to bring your attention this number,” as he pointed on the screen at a figure of $782,782,972.

According to the slide, the amount is the estimated cost plan values for the entire Blue Ridge National Heritage Area. A sample of what is being planned, according to the presentation, includes museums, a radio program, Blueways, Greenways, historic trails, a fly fishing guide, a poet or writer in residence, promotion of local agricultural products and others.

“It is simply an example of how ambitious the planning process is,” Dameron explained. “Although this is far beyond the ability of the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area...there is no reason they (the plans) can’t all be accomplished because there are other sources of funding. By next week, we will have the county plans online at www.blueridgeheritage.com and you could go and see what other counties have been planning.”

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