Mar. 2--In these economic times, the prospect of new jobs is something that would be welcomed in any community. Haywood County is in the enviable position of having three separate occasions which will bring much-welcomed jobs to the area. FLS Energy will be building the largest solar field in the region in Canton. Work is expected to begin in April and though the construction jobs will be temporary, the completed site and contacts could lead to future work -- and more green development in the county. The April 17 opening of Best Buy in west Waynesville will provide about 60 retail jobs within the community as the high-tech electronics store establishes its presence in the community for the first time. A third home-grown success story is that of Haywood Vocational Opportunities. The nonprofit agency has found a niche market that seems to have no end to its growth potential. When an EPA Superfund cleanup site was released for sale about fours years ago, HVO decided it would be the perfect location for its growing operations which include producing disposable medical supplies such as surgical kits and the sanitary drapings used for both human and animal surgeries. George Marshall, HVO president and CEO, said he thought the 140,000-square-foot building would meet the agency's needs, but three years later, the operation had outgrown this site, as well. Now HVO has offered to purchase a 20-acre site in the county's Beaverdam Industrial Park to build another facility that will employ at least 50 people. Some might consider Haywood's fortune to be a matter of luck. Those who have worked hard to promote economic development would argue otherwise. Without a constant effort to self-promote and without industrial sites ready to build up, these developments might well have happened elsewhere. The bragging rights for jobs and added value in Haywood could could easily have been touted as feathers in the caps of other cities or counties had our leaders not been diligent. There is a cost to economic development and figures show efforts to lure industries often don't have immediate payoffs. Some argue that providing economic tax incentives or other perks to entice industries to an area fail to recognize long-standing businesses that didn't get such breaks. Haywood County has rejected that argument and has had an ongoing economic development effort for the past two decades. Recent developments suggest the effort is one that is paying off.

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