Today, whenever anyone refers to a local booming city, Huntington, W.

Friday, March 31, 2000

Today, whenever anyone refers to a local booming city, Huntington, W.Va., and Ashland, Ky., might come to mind.

But Glenn and Katie Adkins remember a different Ironton.

"Go back in history to the 1920s or 1930s," Adkins said. "Ironton was better than Ashland – what happened? That’s a very good question."

With the recent announcement that the Columbus-based company Liebert Corp. would be moving into the former Cabletron building and bringing 150 jobs to town, there might still be hope for Ironton, Mrs. Adkins said.

"It will be great," she said. "There are no jobs here. Some people will have jobs and I’d like to see it more."

Mrs. Adkins has a 16-year-old son, and she worries about his future prospects.

"I have a 16-year-old who will graduate next year," Mrs. Adkins said. "What’s he going to do for a job? There’s nothing left here for the kids, except for these little fast food places and you can’t live on that. All these little children – what are they going to do?"

Most will leave town, said Don Whitley, an Ironton resident who recently found work in Ashland.

"All the ones I know are heading out of town," Whitley said. "There’s a lack of well-paying jobs."

But Ironton seems to be turning around and getting back on the right track. Mrs. Adkins only hopes that it’s not too late.

"I’d like to see Ironton more built up and refurbished," she said. "Like the Marting Hotel. They’re doing a great job on that."

Changes need to be made, though, if Ironton expects to regain the more than 1,000 positions lost within just the last year with the closing of Cabletron and Intermet Ironton Iron, as well as with the announcement of Honeywell’s pending shutdown, Whitley said.

"I think it’s going to start with a lot of changes," he said. "There’s lots of businesses moving out of Ironton when they are thriving everywhere else. Something needs to be done. They’re getting some jobs, but it’s not enough."

At the moment, any job announcement is good news, though, especially with the recent city financial problems, which have caused the layoff of three police cruisers and a budget crunch, Ironton resident Paula Brooks said.

"I work for the city and I’m just thrilled we’re getting some jobs around here," Ms. Brooks said.

Born and raised within city limits, Ms. Brooks has a deep fondness for Ironton and wants only the best for the area.

"I see Ironton drying up and it saddens me, because Ironton was a great little town when I was growing up," she said. "We’ve got to get with it or we’ll end up being a bedroom community to Ashland, (Ky.), and Huntington, (W.Va.). I’m thrilled their getting more jobs."

Added employment opportunities in the city affect more than just Lawrence County. And people across the Tri-State were cheering after the Liebert announcement, Russell, Ky., resident Mike Chapman said.

"If you put in 150 jobs the first year and 200 by the next year, it sounds like a good thing to me," Chapman said. "The more jobs we get in the area, the better it will be."