Public forum will address oil, gas leases

A public forum designed to provide landowners in Jefferson, Harrison and Carroll counties with resource information to address recent inquiries to obtain property leases for drilling for natural gas from the Marcellus Shale in Eastern Ohio will be held on Monday, June 7.

The forum is scheduled for the lecture hall, Room 2010, at Eastern Gateway Community College. The session will begin at 7 p.m. and no reservations are required.

In coordination with the Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District, the Ohio Farm Bureau and other speakers will present points to consider when negotiating oil and/or gas leases. Dale Arnold, Ohio Farm Bureau director of Energy Policy and Chad Endsley, director of agricultural law for the OFB, will be among the presenters. 

The information presented will help landowners become better informed and allow them to protect themselves before making a decision to sign a lease. For more information, call the Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District office at (740) 264-9790.

2010 concert series gets started tonight

The 2010 Fort Steuben Summer Concert Series officially begins this evening in downtown Steubenville.

The Legend Band and The Ditch will be featured during Oldies Night. Today’s concert begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Berkman Amphitheater.  Big Band Night will be observed on June 3.

In conjunction with today’s first concert, the Steubenville Revitalization Group’s will hold a Classic Car Cruise In from 5-9 p.m. The city has given the group permission to close off South Third Street and Market Street between Third and Fourth streets.  Street Dreams Rod and Custom is helping the group organize the event.

Pre-concert music will be provided by 106.3 The River.

Progress Alliance plans annual golf outing

Progress Alliance will hold its fourth annual Bridge Invitational Golf Classic on Friday, Aug. 6 at the Steubenville Country Club.

This year’s event has a new twist.  It will be billed as the Jefferson County Corporate Challenge.  The corporate team with the lowest score in the four-person scramble will win the opportunity to proudly display the brand new Bridge Invitational traveling trophy.  Members of the winning team will receive smaller replicas of the trophy along with other prizes.

The cost to enter a four-person team is $600. Several sponsorship opportunities also are available.  The event will begin with registration at 8:30 a.m. with a shotgun start to follow at 10 a.m.

For more information, contact Ed Looman at (740) 283-2476 or via e-mail at elooman@progressalliance.com.

Business plan boot camp coming to area

Progress Alliance, in partnership with the MCBI Regional Incubator for Entrepreneurs based in Zanesville, will host a Business Plan Boot Camp Series for residents of Jefferson, Harrison and Belmont counties.

The series will be held on Thursday, June 17 from 1-5 p.m., Friday, June 18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, June 19 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  The program will be held at the Progress Alliance offices, 630 Market St. in Steubenville.

John Voorhies will serve as instructor for the series, designed to help entrants in the recent Big Idea Contest, develop their idea into a winning business. The series is open to anyone looking for help with developing a business plan.

The cost for the series is $100. For more information, contact Progress Alliance at (740) 283-2476.

ARC seeking public input for strategic plan

The Appalachian Regional Commission will hold a series of interactive webinars on June 15, 16 and 17 to obtain citizen input for a six-year strategic plan that will guide future ARC economic and community development efforts in the Appalachian region.

These webinars are an important opportunity for residents of Appalachia to contribute to a plan that will address issues, opportunities and challenges the region will face over the next six years.

The Northern Appalachia webinar, designed for residents of Ohio, will be held on Thursday, June 17 at 1 p.m.  Each webinar will last for one hour and there is no cost to participate. To learn more, visit the webinars information page at www.arc.gov.

Progress Alliance will close for Memorial Day

The Progress Alliance offices will be closed on Monday in observance of Memorial Day.

Our regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., will resume on Tuesday.