Special section promotes bright 'Outlook'
Publisher's Comments Jim Cox

This issue of The South Alabamian is considerably larger than usual, I hope you have noticed. Included in this issue is our annual Outlook edition, a review of happenings in Jackson, Clarke and Washington counties and the region, including our bright and growing economy.

I don't want to be redundant, because you can read the 38- page issue for details, but some of the bigger news include the announcement of a new $118 million wood pellet plant for Jackson; New Era Cap's expansion of its Jackson plant; retail growth, including a new Walgreens, Sonic and others; the location of two trucking firms here, Evergreen Trucking and Ergon Trucking; Gulf Lumber's purchase and startup of the idled Boise sawmill; and much more, including the construction of our new office for The South Alabamian. We are proud to be a part of Jackson's progress!

We did not time Outlook to coincide with other good economic news but I'm glad it did. Last week as the last pages of the issue were being finished, it was announced that Hampton Inn will build a three-story, $8.5 million hotel in Jackson, at the intersection of Highway 43 and the Walker Springs Road.

Also last week, the new Louisiana Pacific oriented strand board mill south of Thomasville ran its first sheets of OSB. The $250 million plant has been three years in the making.

The economy in the rest of the country may not be the best and we have our problems here, too, but I am more confident and more optimistic about our future than I have ever been.

Other economic developments in southwest Alabama will surely impact Jackson and the surrounding area. The decision last year by ThyssenKrupp to build a $4 billion steel mill at Calvert will surely ripple 35 miles north to Jackson.

Ditto for the U.S. Air Force's awarding of a $35 billion contract to Northrop Grumman and European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. (EADS) to build huge tanker planes at a new facility in Mobile. Boeing is contesting the loss of the contract but I feel sure Northrop Grumman and EADS will win out in the end. Our area can benefit from this mega contract also.

Also in Outlook you will find information on sports and recreation opportunities in the area. We ran out of space and time to adequately relate everything on the topic but we give you a sampling.

Another section focuses on some of the volunteers in the area. Volunteers- from economic development to rescue squads to a number of social services- help to keep our communities going and we appreciate all of them.

A history section details our rich heritage. Again, there was no way we could relate over 200 years of history but we give you a sampling. We should all be proud of our history.

I'd like to thank the advertisers who made Outlook possible this year. Without them, we could not put out such a massive edition. Please note who they are and thank them when you see them.

I'd like to thank the staff of The South Alabamian for their hard work too. An undertaking like this is difficult with a small staff and doing it while trying to put out regular weekly editions of the paper is doubly hard. I appreciate their work.

Finally, a thank you to our readers is in order too. Without an audience, we would just be talking to ourselves every week!

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