SHERWOOD, Oregon — The Knox Pages team has touched down in Sherwood, Oregon, along with a couple of Knox County officials.
They’re on the scene as part of a fact-finding tour of what Knox County residents can expect by reviewing the impact of Intel on a similar-sized community.
The Intel plant planned for the Johnstown/New Albany area is just 12 miles south of Centerburg, and will employ thousands in the region. So, we wanted to learn from those who have gone through something like this before.
Sherwood is a similar distance from the Intel plant near Hillsboro, Oregon.
On Monday night, our team met with the Washington County Farm Bureau near Sherwood. The newly-elected president of the association introduced our group and offered an explanation of our mission.
It was then suggested that anyone who could share their experiences with our team should do so after their meeting.
Three people stayed to chat up Cheryl Splain and Grant Ritchey, including two farmers and a former county commissioner, who owns a machining company that supplies Intel.
We are already learning a lot about land use and city ordinances and how they work together to protect buffers between industry and residential interests.
We’re meeting with the Sherwood High School principal, a career tech teacher, the Sherwood Community Development director as well as the city manager.
Grace McCormick, Splain and Carol Grubaugh, executive director of the Knox County Chamber of Commerce, met with Farrah Burke Monday to discuss her position as the executive director of the Sherwood Chamber of Commerce. She told us about their member organizations, the majority of which are small businesses, and how the chamber has supported tech companies in the past few years.
Knox Pages will produce a series of stories on the Intel trip as the year winds down titled “Beyond the Chip.”
