The ups & downs of 2007-County didn’t do much to better its economic health

By JAMES CLARK

Let’s give Jerry Cooper a shot as Warren County’s industrial recruiter. With 23 years in the state Senate, few people can match Cooper’s experience or his connections.

Looking back at the year in business news, I’d say 2007 had more negatives than positives for Warren County. It was a year in which the county struggled to tread water and took few steps to help the overall employment picture.

Sports editor Rob Nunley walked into my office yesterday as I was finalizing this list and wondered out loud what were the highlights of 2007. That’s a good question and you have to dig deep.

It relates back to one of the most common questions I get about this column. Folks want to know why I write about so many hair stylists and don’t write more about jobs coming to Warren County. It’s an easy answer. There are many hair stylists and not many jobs.

Evaluating 2007 from a business perspective, the biggest bright spot, in my view, is the upcoming $3.7 million project to pump water atop Harrison Ferry Mountain. County Executive John Pelham, through hard work and determination, managed to get the project fully funded in just over a year in office.

When water is readily available atop the mountain in two to three years, it will open the door to even more development, probably an avalanche of retirement homes. Yes folks, that’s what we have to look forward to down the road, more retirement homes.

Motlow College expansion will also bring with it eventual rewards by better educating our community and drawing in more students from surrounding areas. A college with vitality is a great centerpiece to promote economic activity.

Outside of Pelham, who has been nothing but impressive as county executive, the rest of the county’s economic development team has been comatose. Only a handful ‘ and I literally mean a handful ‘ of jobs were created by the people in charge of bringing jobs to Warren County.

Here’s a thought I’m going to toss out there heading into 2008. Let’s give former state Sen. Jerry Cooper the job as our industrial recruiter. Yes, Cooper has endured his share of troubles, and no I don’t think I would have voted for him again if he sought re-election. But Cooper would be great as an industrial recruiter.

With 23 years in the Senate, Cooper has as many connections as anyone in the state. And I think he’s proved his worth about what he can do for this community over those 23 years.

I say let’s give Cooper a shot. In a worst-case scenario, he won’t bring any jobs to Warren County. In other words, not much would change.

Before we get to this year’s ups and downs, here are some business snapshots from 2007.

‘ The county didn’t have a major manufacturing plant shut down this year. After A.O. Smith, Carrier, Findlay, etc., this was welcome news.

‘ Despite 400 Dollar General stores being shut down by the company, none of the four stores in Warren County were placed on the chopping block.

‘??There were loud groans when Cici’s Pizza and Jack in the Box shut down, but those two businesses only offered about 30 low-paying jobs combined. That’s not much to moan about.

With that said, here’s how Business Pulse ranks some of the business happenings in 2007.