Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce Weekly Update for March 27, 2009

The widening of Ohio 104 easily could accelerate development in the corridor from the Gateway Interchange Industrial Park all the way to the intersection of Ohio 207 with U.S. 23. To drive home this point, Gov. Ted Strickland will talk about the possibilities in a press conference Saturday at 3:30 at the shell building in the park.

Strickland and other lawmakers will tout the use of funds from the federal economic stimulus package to widen Ohio 104, a project going on the back burner until the stimulus came along. The conference, open to the public, will spotlight how the shell building of the Community Improvement Corp. becomes much more attractive and accessible next to a four-lane highway that leads to other four-lane highways.

The $6.5 million to the Ohio Department of Transportation for the widening means the nearly 2,500 workers at the prisons and VA Medical Center will have better and safer access to their work sites while a few other situations will be improved. Pleasant Valley Road will be re-routed to the entrance to the industrial park and the entrance to the Chillicothe Correctional Institution will be moved south to align with Mound Road.

The widening has been in the works for years, a dream of former County Engineer Don Carnes and continued by present Engineer Charlie Ortman and supported totally by the commissioners. Actual construction probably won’t begin until late summer or early fall and will take about two years to complete.

The city of Chillicothe will be using its $1.5 million from the stimulus package to improve its transit department. Included are funds to upgrade the dispatching software, to purchase five smaller vehicles and three 40-foot busses plus build a biodiesel fueling station that will utilize ethanol.

To view all of the stimulus projects to be funded in Ohio through ODOT: Stimulus list

USEC announced Friday it has commitments from customers in the U.S., Europe and Asia for more than half of its planned, initial sales from the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon. “This strong support from our customers speaks volumes about our progress …,” said John K. Welch, USEC’s president and CEO.

The commitments represent both accepted offers and signed contracts for a substantial portion of the plant’s output and are of varying lengths extending as far as 2026. The customers include Exelon, the largest operator of nuclear reactors in the U.S. and USEC’s largest customer, and Tokyo Electric Power Company, Japan’s largest nuclear reactor operator.

USEC continues to await word from the federal government on its request for a $2 billion loan guarantee which has slowed construction progress.

The Board of Directors of the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation approved some major changes at its meeting last week that will affect nearly all businesses in Ohio. For those enrolled in third-party (group) programs, premiums will increase an average of 9.6 percent, starting July 1. For non-group businesses, the base rate is being reduced 25.3 percent as the bureau works to provide more equity between the two. Group-rated businesses, though, will see a 31 percent assessment factor. In addition to the rate changes, group-rated businesses will not be eligible for the discounts through membership in the Ross County Safety Council. Other members will continue to enjoy the possibility of an additional 4 percent premium discount.

Fifty attended the SHRM and the Chamber Workforce Development sponsored “Crucial Confrontations” training hosted at the PACCAR Education Center Wednesday. It was more than just how to confront people; it was how to break down human-interaction and really get to the true root of issues in the workplace. Horizon CEO Bill McKell offered how his company has adopted these philosophies into its infrastructure and how it has truly been a great tool. Attendees were left with the tools to maintain quality relationships with their co-workers and superiors to sustain productive and positive work environments. Visit www.southamconsulting.com for complete information on the topic and speaker.

Even though the rain came down, close to 400 attendees and 50 booths of education providers and employers filled OU-C’s Shoemaker Center Thursday for the 2009 Job Expo. Employers such as the Ohio State Highway Patrol, RCI and Adena Regional Medical Center were greeted by job seekers from the Chillicothe area and as far away as Kentucky and Scioto County through the day. Thanks to the event sponsors: Chillicothe Ross Chamber Workforce Development, Ross & Pickaway County JOBS One-Stop’s, Ross County Veterans Council, OU-C, and Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

And speaking of jobs, Ross County’s rate of 12.0 percent unemployed was down from January’s 13.8 percent, but still way ahead of last year’s rate of 7.7 percent. Our rate, which estimates 4,100 without jobs looking for work, ranked us about in the middle in the state at No. 42 while Pike had the fifth highest at 16.0. Here are the rates for February:

	2009	2008
Ross	12.0%	7.7%
Pike	16.0%	10.6%
Pickaway	10.3%	6.9%
Jackson	11.9%	9.0%
Fayette	10.0%	5.2%
Highland	13.8%	7.4%
Vinton	14.7%	9.0%

Horizon is hosting the return of Tech Tuesdays by the Information Technology Alliance of Appalachian Ohio. Shoemaker Center at OU-C is the site for the session that starts at 5 p.m. and includes light refreshments and appetizers. It will be an opportunity to network and to check out displays and projects from other companies. No registration necessary.

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