Macon
Campus Groundbreaking held August 10, 2005
As
the shovels pierced the dirt Wednesday morning, Aug.
10, ground was broken on a new “center of activity
for Macon County.”
That was the way Rep. Roger West, House District 120,
described the Siler Road property soon to become home
of Southwestern Community College’s Macon Campus.
|
| Breaking
ground Wednesday, August 10, for Southwestern Community
College’s Macon Campus are, from left, Connie
Haire, vice president Macon Campus and Institutional
Development; Cecil Groves, SCC president; Mary Jane
Letts, SCC board of trustees member; Pete Penland,
SCC board vice chairman; Jay Dee Shepherd, Macon
County commissioner; Bob Carpenter, former state
senator and former SCC trustee; Joe Collins, Franklin
mayor; Conrad Burrell, SCC board chairman; Harold
Corbin, former chairman, Macon County commissioners
; Terry Bell, Bob Simpson and Jerry Sutton, SCC
trustees; Charlie Leatherman, vice chairman, Macon
County commissioners; Ed Madden and Earl Hooper,
SCC trustees. |
At
the 11:30 a.m. ceremony attended by more than 100 people,
SCC Board of Trustees Vice Chairman Pete Penland read
congratulatory remarks from West and other legislators,
including Rep. Phil Haire, House District 119, who said,
“As Western North Carolina continues to grow in
population and economic demands, the community colleges
– and in particular Southwestern – have
been in the forefront of meeting the employment and
educational needs of Jackson, Macon and Swain counties.”
Haire went on to call the event “a special day
in the history of Macon County.”
Sen. John Snow, Senate District 50, said in his written
remarks that he was “proud of Southwestern Community
College and the educational and work force training
opportunities you provide for the people of Senate District
50. The coordination of this new campus and the shared
use of the Macon County Public Library is a wonderful
example of economical planning and great teamwork for
the county, state and community college.” (The
Macon County Public Library will break ground on its
new facility on Tuesday, August 16.)
Bob Simpson, Macon County Commissioner and SCC trustee,
addressed the crowd, calling the event “a momentous
occasion for the county that’s been a long time
in coming.” He thanked those who “saw an
opportunity and didn’t let it slide by.”
Macon County Commissioners deeded the site to SCC for
a campus that will use the latest technology to adapt
to future needs. In addition, BalsamWest Fiber NET’s
$10 million high-speed fiber optic network will surround
the campus linking it to Jackson and Swain counties,
the Qualla Boundary and beyond.
“When something ceases to grow, it starts to die,”
said Macon County Commissioners’ Vice Chairman
Charles Leatherman, adding, “This development
here indicates our good economic health.”
Macon County is one of the fastest growing counties
in the state, the third fastest west of Charlotte, according
to SCC President Cecil Groves.
“Southwestern has been planning a new Macon Campus
since the late 1990s – the need is there,”
said Groves, who called the groundbreaking “a
culmination of a community-based effort to provide the
citizens of Macon County with 21st century educational
opportunities.”
Last month Perry Bartsch Jr. Construction Co. of Asheville
was awarded the $5.8 contract on the first building
which will be a two-story facility with 27,600 square
feet.
Architects Bowers, Ellis & Watson of Asheville have
designed the building to “blend in and nestle
in that site on the hillside,” according to Mike
Watson of that firm, who said the campus is “being
developed with sensitivity to the culture and environment.”
“We have lots of room for expansion,” said
Groves. “In addition to the campus and library,
the county recreation park and the Macon County Greenway
are nearby. With little effort, they can be linked to
compliment each other. Also, there is potential for
commercial ventures nearby that would enhance greatly
both the economic and educational potential for the
site.”
See
photos from the event - click on photo to enlarge
See
other news about the new SCC Macon Campus
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