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Growth Alliance lands $380K grant from HUD |
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Monday, 15 March 2010 |
By Brandon Walker
Daily Times Leader
The West Point Growth Alliance got some good news out of Washington on Friday afternoon.
The Department of Housing and Urban Department (HUD) awarded a $380,000 Economic Development Initiative (EDI) Special Project Grant to the West Point-Clay County Community Growth Alliance, according to District 1 Rep. Travis Childers.
“During these tough times, it is essential to provide our communities with the tools they need to jumpstart economic development projects and create competition in North Mississippi,” said Congressman Childers. “These significant funds will help provide development guidance and resources to Clay County, contributing to its revitalization and economic growth.”
The grant comes a week after West Point sent a delegation to D.C. that included Mayor Scott Ross and Growth Alliance Director Jeff Rowell.
According to Rowell, the grant could go a long way to helping West Point develop possible industrial sites for future industrial growth.
“This funding is extremely important to us as we progress to get West Point and Clay County back on its feet,” Rowell said. “The grant will be used toward our ongoing efforts to organize a clean modern industrial site for our area. A lot goes into a project like this and we certainly appreciate how hard the Congressman has worked on our behalf.”
The grant was announced Friday afternoon and could fund several projects for the Alliance that will help promote the growth of the industrial site. It could also be a much-needed shot in the arm for West Point.
“Unfortunately, it is very difficult to save and recruit jobs anywhere in the U.S. these days, “Rowell added. “ However, we had decided a while back that we need to be creative and try to use these slow times to our advantage by working to create an environment to handle immediate growth for when we do come out of this national crises.”
Through a focused planning process, the Growth Alliance and strategic partners have identified and initiated the creation of an industrial site to attract industry to West Point and Clay County. The grant will be used to acquire land and/or industrial buildings for the industrial site area, and will also go towards planning, the design and purchase of equipment, and management and administrative costs.
“In recent years, the City of West Point and Clay County have incurred tremendous setbacks due to several local plant closings, in addition to the more recent national economic crises,” said Rowell. “Our community now suffers from one of the highest unemployment rates in the entire State. However, we know in order for us to be competitive, we must initiate the kind of progressive economic development strategies that this funding will help implement. We are certainly thankful for the hard work Congressman Childers has dedicated on our behalf and we are confident he will continue to support our endeavors to position our community for positive growth in these economic down times.”
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Monday, 15 March 2010 |
By Davida Hill-Beckum
Daily Times Leader
Yours, Mine and Ours, a local childcare center located on Highway 50 West in West Point, recently received recognition as a “2 Star School,” from Mississippi Child Care Quality Step System, which is governed by the Mississippi State University Early Childhood Institute.
According to the standard policy set forth by the Mississippi Child Care Quality Step System, any childcare schools wishing to earn ratings have to meet certain guidelines in five different categories. The categories include administrative policy, professional development, learning environments, parental involvement and evaluation.
The schools decide if they would like to apply for 1 star through 5 star status.
If a school chooses to apply for a rating above 1, it must meet all of the criteria for a lower rating.
“We were a little nervous about applying, so we started with the 2 star rating,” said Linda Bluitt, owner of the center. “We were approved for that status with no problem.
I was told by the facilitators of the Quality Step Center that we can apply again next year for a higher rating. We definitely plan to do so.”
Nothing comes easy
Although successful, the staff of Yours, Mine and Ours say they definitely would not describe obtaining “star status” as easy.
“It was a lot of work,” said Veniece Logan, director of the facility. “A lot of things we were already doing such as the monthly calendars for parents.
“We just had to expound on it and create a quarterly newsletter as well.”
Benefits for childcare facilities include: quality bonuses for meeting criteria for higher “stars,” access to customized technical assistance as well as access to more professional development.
Obtaining star status also serves as a marketing advantage for Yours, Mine and Ours.
“There is only one other school in Clay County that has ever received star status,” said Charlene Smith, of the Early Childhood Institute. “Yours, Mine and Ours is the first to do so in a number of years.”
The hours of operation for Yours, Mine and Ours are from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m.
They have students from 6 weeks of age to after-schoolers until the age of 12.
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