Monterey
opens Community Data Center
• Center is located in annex of Monterey
Baptist Church
Monterey
now has high-speed Internet access.
A grand-opening ceremony was held Thursday in the Monterey Baptist
Church annex building for the Community Data Center.
The Community Data Center was made possible by a number of people.
A grant was applied for through USDA. SouthEast Telephone provided
phone and DSL service.
Ellen St. John, who works for SouthEast Telephone, said the company
is very supportive of small communities, and believes the center
will prosper in Monterey. She said SouthEast will continue to
support the center, offering educational and ongoing information.
“It’s a win-win situation for everybody,” she
said.
Joe Mefford from Connect Kentucky has worked with SouthEast Telephone
on the grant. Connect Kentucky helped do the research to find
the most successful areas for the grant.
Mefford said of the $9 million grant applied for on the federal
level, Kentucky got $1.5 million of it.
“We did our research,” he said. “We knew where
the opportunities were.”
He said that SouthEast would be able to pinpoint the right areas,
and Connect Kentucky would provide the research.
“We knew they could deliver,” he said.
With SouthEast coming in to help serve Monterey and the southern
fourth of the county, Mefford said everyone in the county should
have access before the end of the year.
With SouthEast, the service is “fixed wire-line,”
Mefford said, That means everywhere in the area served can get
the Internet access, as long as they have a telephone line.
James Wilson works for USDA. He said to receive the grant it took
a strict application submitting process. Each application was
scored against specified requirements and guidelines.
The grant Monterey received was one of four given in Kentucky.
Other counties who received the grant were Harrison, Lewis and
Fulton.
Wilson said USDA’s role was also to oversee construction
and make sure the funds were spent on the right items. The grant
is a three-year grant, with two-year requirements, and it funds
equipment and operational expenses.
He said after the two years, the center should be self-sustaining.
But for now, the grant also covers some of the cost to keep the
center open.
“They have to provide services free of charge,” he
said.
He said that residential and business subscribers in the area
can subscribe for a fee.
“Rural Development is happy and pleased to be a part of
this,” he said.
Monterey Mayor Dennis Atha could not attend the ceremony, but
his wife Angela spoke on his behalf.
“This will open a lot of doors to children and adults in
this community,” she said.
She said working on the center had been a “labor of love”
for everyone.
Judge/Executive Billy O’Banion attended the ceremony and
said that it was a huge day for the city of Monterey and the region.
“It’s amazing that nine months ago I pitched the idea
to the fiscal court to spend money for a wireless program,”
O’Banion said. “Now there are two wireless companies
in the county and SouthEast Telephone.”
He said high-speed Internet has become a part of the quality of
life that everyone needs.
“I hope it will grow and get bigger and better,” O’Banion
said.
Owenton Mayor “Milkweed” Wotier said this was a milestone
for Monterey and said he was happy for them.
Bruce Horstman, the youth pastor at Monterey Baptist Church, was
named as the Director of the Data Center.
He spoke to the group at the ceremony, beginning with thanking
another company who has taken part in bringing the center to Monterey.
SouthEast Telephone’s authorized agent, Liberty Telephone,
has helped with the infrastructure and installation of DSL in
the area.
Horstman said the DSL was hooked up over a week ago, and every
night since, local kids have been visiting the center.
“That day (it was hooked up) there were ten kids in here
that night,” he said.
Horstman has been involved with the center for about a month,
though he said the church’s pastor, Tony Watkins, was the
one who really “steamrolled” the project.
He said Watkins got in touch with Connect Kentucky and Mefford
and let them know that Monterey wanted the technology. That was
two years ago.
A survey was done of the community, to determine the interest
and whether or not they would want to pay for the service.
Horstman said everyone was on board, and Watkins handed the project
over to him.
When a possible location for the center was first discussed, Monterey
Baptist Church offered the use of their annex building.
Horstman was then hired as director of the center and will be
able to hire two additional staff members to help him run it throughout
the week.
“I’m excited to be a part of it,” he said. “It’s
a wonderful opportunity for the community.”
He said he hopes to take people from having little if any computer
knowledge to the next level. He hopes to help them learn it and
learn how to use it on their own.
In addition to having students visiting every night, Horstman
said he’s had numerous calls from people wanting DSL in
their homes.
Monterey City Council Member Janet Cummins is one of those people.
Cummins said both she and her teenage daughter, Taylor, are excited
about the center.
“I’m ready for some access,” Cummins said.
Sage Cutler of Connect Kentucky said he is excited to see this
opportunity come to a rural community.
“It’s great (to hear) that kids were using it,”
he said. “Helping students and families, that’s what
it’s about.”
Wes Maynard of SouthEast Telephone agrees.
“For us, it’s about serving rural Kentuckians,”
he said. “We get pretty passionate about it.”
Maynard said having the access available will get young people
on a level playing field and he hopes to offer classes at the
center at some point, sponsored by SouthEast Telephone.
He also hopes to bring training groups and get larger firms to
do computer training.
“I love Monterey,” Maynard said. “If they embrace
(the center) it will do great things for the community.”
The Monterey Community Data Center will be open Mondays, Tuesdays,
Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. and on Wednesdays
and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
For more information, call (502) 484-3087.
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