Henderson Co. economic group has help for future

Jul 19, 2010 — The Hawk Eye

William Smith

Jul. 19, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- STRONGHURST, Ill. -- For the last several years, members of the Henderson County Economic Development Corp. have worked toward the common goal of creating an economic infrastructure in their tiny rural county. And now they have a new ally.

Lomax, Ill., resident Miranda Cole-Webster began a year of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) volunteer with the HCEDC in June, and she already has big plans for Henderson County. Her first job is to plan an art trail for annual Heritage Days festival in September, which has put her into contact with artists across Henderson County. She's also organizing the Hendco Hill fundraiser for Sept. 11, which will include a silent auction for items donated by local businesses.

"I've traveled a lot, and I've had the opportunity to learn a lot and bring those ideas to Henderson County," she said.

A graduate of Southern Illinois University with a bachelor's degree in recreation, Cole-Webster has lived just about everywhere you can think of -- Arizona, New York, Hawaii. After her recent marriage, however, Cole-Webster wanted to settle back home in Henderson County.

"It's good to be home. I miss the cornfields and the Midwest attitudes and personalities," she said.

Americorps VISTA is a federal program that works in conjunction with economic development programs in Illinois to help kick-start small town development with improvements such as new parks and downtown beautification.

"I think once people see what a gem Henderson County is, it will make the opportunity for entrepreneurship more beneficial," she said. "Perhaps some day we can get more hotels here."

That's what Henderson Country Tourism coordinator Jan Monville hopes for as well. She has been hard at work spreading word of the HCEDC since joining in 2008 and recently completed a new brochure that advertises all the county's assets.

"It's in publication now, and the first run is almost entirely gone," she said.

One of the biggest obstacles Henderson County faces when it comes to building infrastructure isn't the people, but the layout of the county itself. Eleven Henderson County townships are without a rural water connection, forcing residents and businesses to draw their water from local wells.

Jack Kinslow, coordinator for the Henderson County Rural Water District Project, has been gathering signatures in Terra Haute for a petition that would join them with Dallas Rural Water District. By the time his first term is up at the end of the year, Kinslow hopes to have signatures from two-thirds of the registered voters in the Illinois towns of Raritan, Stronghurst, Carman, Gladstone, Biggsville, Bald Bluff, Oquawka and Rozetta. Enough signatures have already been collected from Media, Ill., and Lomax, Ill., is currently annexed into the Dallas Rural Water District.

"It's an ongoing thing. We're probably not much closer than we were in January, but it's taken a new twist with me actually doing the petitions," Kinslow said.

Kinslow hinted there may be even bigger things in Henderson County's future, saying that very preliminary talks about developing a wind turbine have been happening within the HCEDC.

"It would definitely help the county, since we're short of power right now," Kinslow said. "We're working with Warren and McDonough county, because McDonough County has one in the process of being set up near the Henderson County line, southeast of Raritan."

Newstex ID: KRTB-1064-47079031