Evansville citizens hold development meeting

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[A group of Evansville residents met Wednesday, January 18 at the American Legion to explore ways they may be able to enhance their community. The meeting was facilitated by Chris Martin, coordinator of economic development for Randolph County. "It was a productive and positive evening," said Martin. "We discussed a number of ideas and out of that came three great task groups."

According to Martin, each group is working independently on their respective project. Martin will assist the groups by connecting them with resources and helping them to find grants, if needed. One group will be exploring the possibility of establishing a senior center in Evansville. The center could serve as a meeting place for seniors. Programs could be offered, along with senior activities and services.

Another group is working to attract a convenience store to the Evansville community which could create jobs and provide gasoline and related products locally. The third task group will be looking at establishing a camping area in the community. The goal would be to keep people in the community for a period of days and generate dollars for local businesses and sales tax revenue for Evansville. The facility could also be used for community activities.

"We look at this as a beginning," says Martin. "We may find, after research, that one or more of these ides may not be possible. But we plan to carry on developing ideas to enhance the Evansville community and we invite interested citizens who live in or around Evansville to join us. Many thanks to Mayor Kieker and Jim Hill of the Corps of Engineers for helping to arrange this meeting. Special appreciation goes to those folks who attended and gave their time and energy to generate this enthusiasm."

The individual task groups will be meeting in the next few days to discuss ideas and goals. The next general meeting will be held at the American Legion in Evansville on February 29 at 6:30. The public is invited.