New Logan offices to help community: Small business,; employment; among offices

The rest of the nation's economy is depressed, but things may belooking up for downtown Logan.

The Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College hasadded several new offices to the old manufacturing building at 300 W.Main St. The four-story building will house a one-stop shop for thecommunity's business needs, spokeswoman Kim Holstein said.

The merge of employee and employer services, previously offered onfour different campuses, should also help revitalize downtown Logan,college President Joanne Tomblin said in a statement.

The new offices include: the Region 2 rapid response program, thecommunity work force development center, the small businessdevelopment center, the Southern office of On the Job/CustomizedTraining, a new regional contracting assistance center and theCorridor G Regional Development Authority Office.

Region 2 rapid response helps people who have been laid off getconnected to community jobs, Holstein said. The office providesindividualized plans for employees and helps them learn any newskills necessary for a different job.

"We are the link between where they need to go and getting thememployed again," Holstein said.

The small business development center is an educational resourcefor present and future small business owners. Officials will helpemployers apply for loans, train workers for new equipment and helpwith funding to pay for training.

Local contractors and business owners also can get help withcontracting bids for federal and state work with the regionalcontracting assistance center, Holstein said.

The center will serve the Boone, Cabell, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo,Putnam and Wayne counties.

Shelley Dan, executive director for the regional developmentauthority office, said she's excited about the move.

"I'm excited about the concept of regionalization and developingthese counties," Dan said. "We're looking at ways to diversify theeconomy and we feel very strongly by working together that we can getmore accomplished."

The center is an exciting development for Logan's depressedeconomy, Dan said.

"Right now, we need to really work to keep our existingbusinesses," Dan said. "Until the economy swings back up, we need tospend a lot of time working with what we have."

For more information, contact Holstein at (304) 792-7160.

Writer Melanie Jarvis can be reached at 348-4850 or by e-mail atmelanie@dailymail.com.