Hello!

We will be moving the Central Park blog to a new location.

You can now find the new blog at:

www.centralparknc.blogspot.com

There you will continue to find all of the useful information, upcoming events, and weekend adventures that you have come to enjoy.

Congressman Hayes and John Cooper, USDA Rural Development State Director delivered federal funds to Central Park NC and Montgomery Economic Development Corporation on September 30, 2008. The check signing and presentation took place at the STARworks Center for Creative Enterprise, a small business incubator located in the once vacant Russel Athletic Hosiery Mill in Star, NC.

"I am glad that Central Park NC and Montgomery Economic Development Corporation are receiving this important funding," Hayes said. "These projects were a top priority for Montgomery County, so it became a top priority for me as well. This new funding will allow these businesses to grow and add more jobs. Ultimately, this victory is the result of work from all levels of government and the private sector working together toward a common goal. I am proud to be a part of that team."

USDA Rural Development provided a $75,000 Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) to Central Park NC to assist with renovations to STARworks Center for Creative Enterprises. STARworks is a business incubator housed in a former textile mill. The project is expected to create up to 12 new jobs.

Front row: Kacy Cook (NC Wildlife Resources Commission), Congressman Robin Hayes, Dr. Nancy Gottovi (Executive Director, Central Park NC); Back row: John Cooper (USDA Rural Development State Director), Takuro Shibata (Director, STARworks Ceramics), Kenneth Cagle (ComfortSouth LLC), Keith Crisco (Asheboro Elastics & Board Member, Central Park NC), Angela Bernard (Wet Dog Glass, LLC), Casey Harris (S.T.A.R. Director, Central Park NC)

Montgomery Economic Development Corporation (EDC) received a $50,000 Rural Business Opportunity Grant (RBOG) from USDA Rural Development to provide contractual technical assistance for the expansion of Central Carolina Hosiery. The company is being forced to reject orders because of lack of capacity to fill them. The expansion includes the addition of 15 machines that will enable them to meet the current demand. The project is expected to create up to 18 new jobs.

Front row:Dr. Mary Kirk (President Montgomery Community College), Congressman Robin Hayes, Judy Stevens (Montgomery County Economic Developer), Marla Coulthard (Community Development Consultant), Mayor Kathy Harris (Town of Star), Frances Reave (Chamber of Commerce member); Back row: John Cooper (USDA Rural Development State Director), Lance Metzler (Montgomery County Manager), Kaye Bryant (EMBARQ), Serge Babayon (CEO, Central Carolina Hosiery), Ralph Bostic, (Candor businessman), Donna Strong (President, Montgomery Chamber of Commerce), and Senator Richard Burr Field Rep.

"Rural Development is very pleased to provide funding to Central Park NC and Montgomery EDC," said Cooper. "Congressman Robin Hayes continues to seek funding to support new and existing businesses in his District. These grants will result in the creation of new jobs for the Town of Star and Biscoe."

USDA Rural Development's mission is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for rural residents. Rural Development has invested more than $91 billion since 2001 for equity and technical assistance to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technology infrastructure. More than 1.7 million jobs have been created or saved through these investments. Further information on rural programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting USDA's web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov

Central Park NC will hold its Annual Meeting on October 30th at the STARworks Center for Creative Enterprise located in Star, NC. Festivities will begin at 5:30 pm including a glassblowing demonstration by Wet Dog glass! We invite you to come and hear more about Central Park NC and STARworks. Enjoy fine food, spirits, and live music!

DATE: Thursday, October 30, 2008
TIME: 5:30-9 pm
LOCATION: STARworks Center for Creative Enterprise 100 Russell Drive Star, NC 27356

RSVP at info@centralparknc.org or by calling (910) 428-9001

Just in case you missed it, the Richmond County Daily Journal published a nice story this weekend highlighting Central Park NC's approach to regional development. In short, it's about marketing the area as a region. Dr. David Jones, chairman of the board for Central Park NC, put it best in telling the paper:

"No single county can go it alone," Jones said. "It needs to be a regional approach to economic stimulation. The resources are out there. A lot depends on the leadership, how willing they are to take risks and be more imaginative in economic development."

The 8-county area that comprises Central Park NC has a lot to offer enthusiasts of all sorts. Check out the sites featured throughout our website and visit this blog to hear more about upcoming events and things to do.

To start the week, we are looking for people who live in the Central Park area and blog about it. We find lots of blog posts by people visiting the area but few blogs by people who live there. If you know of such a blog, or write one, please contact us (tim@centralparknc.org) as we would like to start a network of bloggers reporting about the area and all it has to offer.

The folks at Star, NC. The garden will benefit the local community by providing high quality, locally produced food, stress the cultural diversity of the community through connections to food, and help develop sustainable farming skills as well as new culinary skills using fresh, seasonal foods.

The community garden will eventually develop into a full-fledged community supported agriculture project. The CSA will also be a social enterprise benefiting the broader sustainable development of Central Park NC. Central Park NC supports small scale, sustainable and place-based solutions to economic development across our 8-county region.

For more info, contact Anne Pärtna at 910-948-1008 or anne@starworksnc.org.

America's transition from railways to highways is apparent throughout the state of North Carolina and even more so in the Central Park region where many small towns were established as either rail towns or mill towns. Approximately 3,200 miles of rail line are still in existence in North Carolina with the majority of that mileage being unused or having disappeared as a result of neglect.

In 1990 NC Rail-Trails came into existence and began actively working to preserve corridors and convert them to public use. The result you may ask? Walking and cycling trails and greenways throughout North Carolina often established along beautiful natural settings. Like many towns throughout the state, one of Central Park's very own small towns, Franklinville in Randolph County, is working with NC Rail-Trails to convert an abandoned rail-bed into the "Deep River Rail Trail."

Running along the Deep River, this riverside trail hopes to provide a place for locals and tourists alike to get out of their cars and experiences the outdoors. A perfect place to picnic along the river, kayak, canoe, let the kids play at the park along side the river (my son particularly enjoyed feeding the ducks), and even view an ancient fish weir (if water levels permit). The trail will use the former right-of-way of the abandoned rail corridor once used by the historic Atlantic & Yadkin railroad. Construction of the trail is phased with the first 1.3 miles running along the Deep River in Franklinville to Sandy Creek. In 2007, NC Legislatures designated the new Deep River State Trail along the river and the Deep River Rail Trail project is an important link in the development of the 15 mile, multi-county state trail system in North Carolina.

The trail plans to open with quite a bang to include live music, food, and fun for all on National Trails Day, June 7th 2008. I've included some photos to give you a sense about what you will see along Franklinville's DRRT. When you are in the Central Park I would definitely recommend a stop along this trail!

One of the distinct advantages of rural living is the ready access to fresh fruits, vegetables, cheese, and meats. The area at the southern end of the Central Park region, around Ellerbe, NC is known for its fresh peaches, berries, and other fruits. The area where our offices are located, in Star, NC, has a lot of beef cattle and chicken farms. To our north is fresh goat cheese produced by The Goat Lady Dairy.

I recently had a great experience with organic beef thanks to the Green Acres Ranch in Seagrove, NC. Green Acres sells purebred black angus that are raised without growth hormones or antibiotics and are advertised as "99.9% Grass Fed". They're also delicious and the lean beef is perfect for making kefta kabobs - if you haven't tried these before, take a shot at this recipe and see what you think. We enjoyed the kabobs with a cucumber & yogurt salad and (I had) a homemade beer.

There are resources on the web to help anyone interested in finding farm fresh agriculture near their home. Carolina Farm Stewards has a directory of farms that can be searched by ZIP code and distance (10, 20, or 50 miles away.) Another site that makes a great argument for buying local is Local Harvest which has a newsletter and a searchable database of farms and CSAs nationwide. I subscribe to their newsletter to receive information on upcoming events and to hear about farms that may be close to areas I might visit on weekends.

We're hoping very soon to have a CSA of our own started here at STARworks but we'll save that news until we hear more from the grantmaker.