Columbiana Co. commissioners work on economic development

By D.A. WILKINSON

VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU

LISBON — Columbiana County Commissioner Penny Traina thinks the county is moving forward.

“I believe we are going to put ourselves on the map,” Traina said Wednesday.

The commissioners are acting more like economic development officials than politicians these days.

Commissioner Jim Hoppel has been processing the paperwork to get $1.2 million in grants to help build a new facility for the county Department of Job & Family Services.

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Jim Hoppel, Columbiana County Commissioner

Commissioner Dan Bing has been talking to tourism boards about working together.

Traina said the county is on the edge of change.

She was recently interviewed and videotaped at her house in Wellsville by Benedict de la Cruz, a senior video producer for www.washingtonpost.com. De La Cruz did not return requests for information.

The interview in part covered her politics. Traina is on a leadership council for Hillary Clinton.

“I believe in her platform,” Traina said. “I think she is a person who is extremely passionate. If you aren’t passionate about what you do, don’t do it.”

In the interview, Traina also discussed ongoing development efforts in the county.

Tonight, some 400 people will have dinner at the Wellsville High School and hear Steve Dopuch, the vice president for business development for Baard Energy, discuss its proposed $5.5 billion coal-to-fuel plant.

Traina said the event sold out at 200 people, moved to a larger location — the school — and sold out again.

The commissioners aren’t forgetting the county’s agricultural roots, however.

They voted Wednesday to seek help through U.S. Rep. Charles Wilson of St. Clairsville, D-6th, for $125,000 in federal funds to make improvements to the county fairgrounds.

Fair officials want the money to replace the old waterlines on the midway that often leak. The money would also help pay to renovate or replace restrooms on the fairgrounds that do not meet Americans with Disabilities Act and local health department regulations.

If the funds are approved, they would not be available until 2009.

The fair board recently demolished its old sheep and steer barns at the fairgrounds. The board has been investing funds to build a steel building while trying to raise more money for the project, said Tresa Hall, the fair’s office manager.

The animals may spend the 2008 fair housed in a tent.

The fair board has long sought funds to help renovate its grandstand. Hall said she will be taking a seminar to learn how to write and submit grant applications.

wilkinson@vindy.com