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STEUBENVILLE -- As the Appalachian Community Grant planning process moves into the home stretch, Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District has added nine additional activities -- bringing their total to more than 30 distinct activities in 22 counties.
"The Appalachian Community Grant is a competitive grant and with over $450 million involved it has become highly competitive as only four or five grants are going to be funded," organizer Aaron Dodds said. "There has been a push for us to consolidate into a regional force, but we don't want to leave partners behind as some of the local development regions who are leading have a starting request of $450 million-$500 million that they need to pare down to $100 million. We are hovering around $100 million and are bringing transformational change to 21 of the 32 (Appalachian) counties."
Dodds said the last nine projects added to their project scope pushed them almost to that $100 million threshold.
"We're working with Ohio History Connection now, formerly the Historical Society, and picked up several projects with them," he said.
New to JSWCD's proposal:
• Mount Pleasant Quaker Site and Benjamin Lundy House, Jefferson County: The capitol of the Quaker movement, funds would be used to enhance the site, which played a pivotal role in the religious development of the area and the abolitionist movement and make it user friendly.
• Zoar Hotel, Tuscarawas County: restore the building and create a public-private partnership that will turn the building into a boutique hotel with workforce development components.
• Clary Gardens, Coshocton: The garden sits where the Lenape Native American capitol once stood. The enhancement will include trails and pollinator sites that highlight the history of the Lenape people.
• Buckeye Furnace: An old iron furnace highlighting the industrious past of Appalachian Ohio. The grant would see continued preservation of the site, trails and native pollinator areas.
• Big Bottom Massacre Site, located along the Muskingum River: The site of a large massacre during the settlement of Ohio, the grant would enhance the site and "provide a place to reflect and ponder the past," including the story of Native Americans.
• John Glenn sites, Guernsey County: Glenn, who fought during the Korean war and was a wingman to baseball great Ted Williams, was one of the first to volunteer to serve NASA and cemented his legacy by being the first to orbit the earth, then served as a U.S. senator. After his retirement he went back in space. Funds would be used to develop several sites in Cambridge, his hometown, and placement of a bronze statue outside the post office where he enlisted.
• Fletcher Hospital Park, Guernsey County: During World War II many wounded soldiers found their way to Fletcher Hospital, located outside Cambridge. It's a small park now and with grant funds it would be enhance to include trails connecting to downtown, pollinator areas and user amenities.
• Our House Tavern, Gallia: An 1820s tavern located in Gallipolis, in 1825 it welcomed Revolutionary War hero the Marquis Lafayette on his national tour. They want to preserve and enhance the site, including a workforce component and a bronze sculpture of Lafayette.
• Bohart Tavern, Caroll County: Dating back to 1809, the tavern was built by the Carrollton's founder and served as the first county courthouse for a time. It hosted Gen. William Henry Harrison who held a reunion for his solders there and spent the night in 1838. They're seeking grant funds to turn it into a museum, business incubator and lodging site.
"Those all qualify," Dodds said. "We are encouraged to work with state agencies. It's great to have these projects involved because they really help tie in our goals and our missions with the Heart of Appalachia project -- history, environment, arts, recreation and tourism because one of the main goals is to embrace our past and heritage, what made Appalachian Ohio a great region. It really will improve the quality of life and quality of place, which is going to attract jobs and business into this area as well as residents."
He said younger generations "put a lot of weight on sense of place and uniqueness of place." The goal is to give them what they're looking for here, in Ohio.
"(Our plan) also addresses some of the negatives of the region without shining a spotlight on them," he said. "We're promoting the positive while addressing the needs."
Dodds recently had a chance to meet with "many representatives, state legislators from the region as well as Ohio's lieutenant governor and attorney general."
"It went really well," he said. "I got a lot of positive reactions, a lot of appreciation for our out-of-the-box approach -- it highlights the positives while addressing the negatives. We're trying to come up with non-traditional ways of solving the problems -- through that, we were actually able to meet with several potential partners and also (discuss) enhancements that will make activities within the project more inclusive and more user friendly."
Excitement aside, he said that, "Whether this project is a success or not for grant funding, we're building a collaboration of partners throughout the region who are obligated to continue working together. We all want to see the betterment of our region and projects. People learning about our project can see that excitement and feel that excitement."
"One of the things with the inclusion of Ohio History connection, we now have a vast array of partners that includes state entities, non-profits, boards of county commissioners, including Jefferson County, cities, villages ... we have a large variety of partners that show this is a collaborative effort that is being stretched throughout the different sectors of the region," he said. "This is being driven by the needs of the people and their ambitions for their communities. A lot of these are longstanding projects that have been in the works -- this will be an opportunity for us to secure that funding. A lot of these projects have been locally driven, locally led and locally fundraised for years. Whether it's a WWII hospital in Cambridge that will include a trail or the tower parking lot in Jefferson County, we're working together to create aesthetic improvements in downtowns and drive visitors into the area and Appalachian Ohio. That will allow them to visit, spend money and improve the economy, as well as improve the quality of life for residents.
"There's a lot riding on it, a lot of weight, a lot of pressure and a lot of stress that goes with this. All of our partners in this have been so passionate for, what in some cases has been decades, trying to see project develop. With this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, if we aren't successful they may have to wait another generation before they get funding and realize their goals."