A diverse gathering with representatives from city and county government, town boards, the general public and community minded groups was recently held in the RCHS cafeteria.

The group of invited guests had a single goal in mind, to focus on the future of Rush County.

The meeting was organized by local citizens concerned about the financial stability and growth of the county and was facilitated by representatives of Ball State University’s Building Better Communities group, Elaine Fisher and Sharon Kendall.

Superintendent of Rush County Schools Dr. John Williams greeted those in attendance.

“The purpose of this evening’s gathering is to talk about Rush County and how we can get better. We are not that bad off right now, but we need to ask ‘as good as we are, what can we do to get better?,’” Williams said.

Williams then turned the meeting over to Fisher, who gave a brief presentation on the importance of developing a community economic development plan. She explained the importance of such a plan and also touched on the process of developing a road map for growth and the benefits and challenges of such an undertaking.

“It is essential that we plan. There are a number of Rural Development Grants available for small communities. However, the community has to be ready to commit to the time and effort it will take to get to the next step,” Fisher said.

The presentation then turned to a statistical overview of where Rush County currently stands in regards to population, economic conditions, educational attainment and industry sector comparisons along with other vital comparable information.

Fisher explained that Rush County is much like other counties throughout the state: population is decreasing, jobs are going elsewhere and there is a disparity regarding family incomes, with the number of lower incomes outweighing those families with higher incomes.

Those in attendance then were asked to identify and prioritize the county’s strengths and weaknesses as they saw them.

The information will be compiled and brought back to the group in the near future and be used to form a working group to address strengths and areas of weakness.

Frank Denzler can be contacted at (765) 932-2222 ext. 106 or via e-mail at frank.denzler@rushvillerepublican.com. To add a comment to this story visit our Web site at www.rushvillerepublican.com.