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SENIOR TOUR
By Cathy Patton
Seniors from the Welch Commission on Aging toured the Indian Ridge Industrial Park Wednesday afternoon. County Commissioner Carl Urps led the tour.
Omar McIntosh, Clark Construction. also spoke to the seniors. McIntosh noted that the federal prison is 30 percent done and that construction is running ahead of schedule. The medium security prison will house between 1100 and 1300 inmates, he said.
On another area of the property, Urps showed the seniors where the Coalfields Expressway/King Coal Highway interchange will be located on the McDowell/Wyoming County line. When the roadwork is complete, Urps said a trip from Welch to Beckley will take approximately 25 minutes.
“In time, we envision all of this property becoming even more valuable to the county,” Urps said.
Urps said the county sold the timber on the land to pay for the 6300 acres where the Industrial Park is located. The coal on the property has helped to pay for much of the other work.
Urps said that coal would always be an important part of the county’s economy. However, he estimates that a $100 million annual cash flow is needed to turn the economy around and make it consistent.
Pictured are some of the seniors on the tour: driver Larry Hairston, Fred Muckenfuss, Elena Muckenfuss, Nita Dennison, Claude Banner, Reba Bolt; (top row) Bill Bolt, Commission on Aging Director Emily Yeager, Birdie Beavers, Helen Kiser and Jackalyn Hendrick. (Photo by Cathy Patton)
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