New jobs coming to McCreary!

July 24, 2008 02:50 pm

— SOMERSET — Gov. Steve Beshear yesterday announced plans to renovate the the former Milliken & Company facility in Stearns, in the process creating 35 new jobs in McCreary County.
In making the announcement in Somerset, Gov. Beshear explained that the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) recommended $288,000 in funding to Southeast Kentucky Economic Development Corporation (SKED) to renovate the 57,698 square-foot building.
Milliken & Company, head-quartered in Spartanburg, S.C., donated the building to SKED in November 2007. SKED has signed a 15-year lease for the build-ing with J.C. Egnew, president and CEO of Outdoor Venture Corporation (OVC), located in Stearns. The military tent manufacturer is McCreary County’s largest private sector employer with some 200 employees work-ing from three different locations. This will be the company’s fourth facility.
In order to be operational, the 18-year-old building is in need of a number of renovations totaling $360,000. SKED will provide $72,000 in matching funds toward the project’s completion.
Renovations will include:

• Upgrading the HVAC system;
• Installing a security system; and
• Complete renovation of the building’s interior.

SKED Executive Director Greg Jones says the Outdoor Venture Corporation expansion project will benefit the region economically by adding 35 new jobs to the it workforce and allowing the business to pursue more contracts to sustain its current employment levels.
“This ARC grant will enable SKED to assist OVC in its growth in the region and utilize a facility that would have otherwise remained vacant in a county with near double-digit unemployment rates,” Jones said. “SKED is very pleased to assist OVC in its most recent expansion project and further enhance its investment in Southeast Kentucky and its residents.”
SKED is a nonprofit economic development organization formed in 1986 by Fifth District Congressman Hal Rogers to create jobs in a 42-county service area in Southeast Kentucky. It accomplishes this mission by recruiting new businesses, making direct loans, offering small business technical assistance and providing community/economic development services to local communities.

Photos

McCreary Countians Darlene Fitzgerald Price and Ted Coffey, at left, and Austin Price, at right, are shown yesterday with Gov. Steve Beshear. They were asking for funding for McCreary County Park. During his visit to Southern Kentucky, Gov. Beshear announced new jobs would soon be coming to McCreary County thanks to a $288,000 ARC grant.