Background information
on the ITAC effort during a Community
Update Forum in the Spring
of 2001:
"Back in 1994,
with a little push from Eastern Oregon University and our local Chamber of
Commerce, a group of Harney County folks began meeting to talk about
telecommunications as economic development. A new fangled thing called the
internet was taking the world by storm and being described as the
information superhighway of the future. We didn’t want to get bypassed by
this freeway, so we got organized. In 1995 we formed a citizens group call
the Information Technology Advisory Council, or ITAC. (We do love
those acronyms, don’t we.)
"Our mission
statement says:
"The Harney
County Information Technology Advisory Council (ITAC) is an independent,
community-based organization open to all individuals, groups, agencies,
governments, businesses, etc., who are interested in promoting and
facilitating the effective use of computer technology and
telecommunications for commerce, communications, research, education,
entertainment, etc., for all citizens of Harney County.
"One of the
first things we did was apply for grant funds to hire someone to act like
an INFORMATION EXTENSION AGENT, to help educate and involve our community
in that mission. We didn’t get that grant, but we kept stirring the pot.
"ITAC
helped facilitate a community and legislative process which resulted in
fiber optic cable being routed through the County, and the placement of a
WARM SITE for the Oregon Lottery, as well as a state data backup center
right here in Burns. We thought we had died and gone to heaven. Suddenly
we had gone from not having even a copper landline connecting us to the
rest of the state (our phones went out over the infamous microwave), to
having a state of the art, high-speed, broadband fiber connection to the
whole world.
"So we sat
back and waited for the spin off...waited for all the benefits to flow,
like manna from heaven. After waiting awhile, we realized that
having fiber in a ditch through the county didn’t magically bring it to
our homes or businesses. We have begun to stir the pot again.
"OK, we’ve
got fiber now. How do we get connected? How do we make it work for us? We
know that technology-based economic development can bring high wages with
little population growth, and minimal environmental impact. But we don’t
know how to make it happen. We obviously need some help, and a plan.
"Well, you
know the rest, and you have the plan that was developed. You might
also include a section on the Information Extension Agent - first in
country, etc. Get narrative from Steve or Dave. In the months ahead ITAC
will be continuing to host a variety of informational meetings to address
local technology issues. The goal of this process is to enable us, as a
community and as individuals, to become more informed about the
possibilities so that we can promote economic development through
telecommunications and bring us fully into the information age."-Michael
Sirrine
