Officials: Added bandwidth offers hope
The second of a series of economic development meetings organized by the Friends of Scotchman Peaks and a consortium of other organizations was held March 20 in Troy High School’s library.
The discussion, titled “Anchor Industries in Rural Communities,” was headed by Professor Chad Shilling of Flathead Valley Community College and specifically designed for south Lincoln County. Revett Mining Chairman Tim Lindsey and Johnette Watkins, Kootenai Job Service Center manager, attended as discussion panel members.
Shilling began by outlining statistics provided by Montana’s head economist. In 2013, Montana ranked third in the nation in total employment growth, fifth in personal-income growth, third in wage growth and second in private average wage growth.
“Have we felt that here?” Shilling rhetorically asked.
Much of the problem has been the lack of an area anchor industry, such as mining or logging. For example, the number of timber processing facilities in the Kootenai National Forest Impact Zone dropped from 63 in 2005 to 39 in 2011.
Watkins mentioned the potential for the area to invest in information technology, citing a recent article in The Western News about plans by MontanaSky Networks to substantially increase bandwidth in the Libby area with a fiber-optic cable.
Shilling said Lincoln County faces a 40 percent poverty rate with 16.3 percent of households receiving food stamps in the last 12 months. Looking at the positives, he mentioned the area’s remarkable beauty, the recently opened Cabinet Peaks Medical Center, Flathead Valley Community College and a readily available workforce.
“We need to continue doing what we are doing with better direction and organization,” Shilling said. “We need to get everyone involved. It’s always the same people at these events. We need better collaboration in the community.”
Shilling also suggested the county hire a grant writer.
Lincoln County Commissioner candidate Mark Peck was also in attendance.
“I got back from 20 years in the military and I thought, ‘What the heck happened here,’” Peck said. “We have to get things going together and work together.”
The next meeting is planned for April 17.