NORTHEAST OHIO Ryan's bill creates heritage area

By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- More so than the money that comes along with the federal designation of being a heritage area, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan said such a label would increase the pride Mahoning Valley residents have in their community.
Ryan, of Niles, D-17th, is sponsoring legislation to have the U.S. Secretary of the Interior conduct a feasibility study on the former Connecticut Western Reserve territory, which takes in 14 Ohio counties, including Mahoning and Trumbull. Congress granted Connecticut this land in what is now northern Ohio in the late 1700s.
The bill is in a U.S. House Resources Committee's subcommittee, but picked up an important co-sponsor recently: U.S. Rep. Nick J. Rahall II of Beckley, W.Va., the ranking Democrat on the House committee. There are eight other co-sponsors in the U.S. House, including three Republicans.
The bill would require the interior secretary to conduct a feasibility study to establish the Western Reserve Heritage Area. After the federal study is completed, at a cost of about $250,000, Ryan would have to introduce legislation to make the 14-county region a heritage area if the interior secretary agrees it should be established.
The U.S. Department of the Interior would provide funding, about $10 million over 10 years, to provide planning and assistance, as well as seed money to cover expenses such as staffing, and leverage other money to the 14-county area, Ryan said.
Motive
While that's a decent chunk of change, Ryan said Tuesday his real motive is to restore pride in the area, particularly the Mahoning Valley.
By being designated as a heritage area, it would show young people that great things have happened here, and perhaps with that inspiration, other great things can happen here, he said.
"We've struggled over the past 20 years to reinvent ourselves and develop an image," he said. "By identifying this Western Reserve corridor, we'd be off to a good start. We want young children to realize that even though we've been down, this has always been a community where people were inventors and creators and took risks."
skolnick@vindy.com