What does Intel’s decision to build in Licking County mean for our region?
Lawrence W. “Larry” Dawson II:
Intel to make a huge impact in our region
From the stage of the historic Midland Theatre, Gov. Mike DeWine and other state officials celebrated the news that Intel, a California-based semiconductor chip manufacturing company, would be building two plants in Licking County in the coming years.
The company said it would invest $20 billion in the project – with the potential for up to eight factories and $100 billion over the next decade.
This would create around 20,000 jobs in the process. Construction is expected to start this year, with the first chips being produced by 2025. Intel chose Ohio over 39 other states after eight months of negotiations.
They’re planning to build this “mini-city” in western Licking County, on land that will eventually be annexed into New Albany. It won’t be far from Knox County – just 12 miles south of Centerburg and 21 miles south of Mount Vernon.
And when the project became official late last week, naturally, local residents had questions. What does this mean for Knox County, a historically rural community? How might daily life change? We spoke with county, city, village and township officials to find answers.
First, according to Jeff Gottke, president of the Area Development Foundation, population growth is inevitable, particularly in southern and central Knox County. Intel has said it’ll employ 3,000 people at its Licking County site, and the project itself will create 7,000 construction jobs.
The number of “indirect” jobs this project will create, however, is less certain. Estimates range between 10,000 and 20,000, according to officials. For example, suppliers will be looking to relocate nearby, and Knox County could serve as a prime location.
Knox County could also house businesses that benefit from Intel’s services. These are companies that don’t make supplies for semiconductor chips, but do make things that rely on them – which is quite the list. Nearly every piece of modern technology, from cars to cell phones, relies on the product Intel will be making in western Licking County.
And this ripple effect may extend beyond suppliers and partners – Intel’s decision could boost all areas of Knox County’s economy. So more retail, more restaurants, that kind of thing. Intel’s decision to build in Licking County also presents an opportunity for the local educational system.
Knox County’s K-12 school districts, career center, and higher-education institutions may look to add programs that would prepare students for a future in the semiconductor industry. Intel has already announced that it will invest $100 million in an industry-specific education program over the next decade, helping create a pipeline between Ohio’s educational institutions and the Licking County facility.
In fact, Kathy Greenich, superintendent of the Knox County Career Center, said Monday her administration was already working to learn more about how it could prepare students for Ohio’s technological future.
Still, much about Intel’s decision to build in western Licking County remains uncertain. What specific kinds of jobs will be offered, and how many, and when? What will need to happen, from an infrastructural standpoint, to make this possible in central Ohio?
How might federal legislation impact Intel’s project – the speed at which the company builds and hires, and the scope of the company’s total investment when all is said and done? Local officials – everyone from school superintendents to mayors – are asking these questions.
The answers, whenever they might come and whatever they might be, will impact Knox County’s future.
In the meantime, however, people like Gottke are focused on certainties. One of those certainties, he said, is that Intel’s decision won’t just impact Knox County and central Ohio. It will impact the world.
In the days ahead, we’ll examine how Knox County is preparing for Intel’s arrival – what officials at the county, city, village and township levels are thinking, and doing, to brace for impact.
Groundhog Day
Now, some history. It’s Feb. 2, which means the nation turns its eyes to the world’s most famous weatherman, Punxsutawney Phil.
On this day in 1887, Groundhog Day was celebrated for the first time at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. According to tradition, if a groundhog comes out of its hole on this day and sees its shadow, it will get scared and run back into its burrow, predicting six more weeks of winter weather.
If he doesn’t see his shadow, that means we’ll have an early spring. But Groundhog Day isn’t just an American tradition. It actually has its roots in the ancient Christian tradition of Candlemas, when clergy would bless and distribute candles needed for winter.
The candles represented how long and cold the winter would be. Germans embellished this concept to include badgers as a means of predicting weather. Once they came to America, German settlers in Pennsylvania continued the tradition, although they needed to switch from badgers to groundhogs, which were plentiful in the Keystone State.
Larry Dawson II
Finally, we’d like to take a moment to remember “Larry” Dawson II of Ontario who passed away at The University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital after complications from Leukemia. Born in Augusta, Georgia in 1954, he graduated from Galion High School in 1972 and received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Bowling Green State University.
He taught for the Galion City School District for 37 years, retiring in 2013. Larry loved his parents, siblings, children and grandchildren and considered them the center of his life. He is survived by his two sons, five grandchildren, sister, brothers, and three nieces.
Thank you for taking a moment with us today to remember and celebrate Larry’s life.
