Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 18, 1994 TAG: 9406200115
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: |By LON WAGNER| |STAFF WRITER|
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Allen brought with him $100,000 from the Governor's Opportunity Fund for CFW Communications Corp., which plans to build directory-assistance centers in Clifton Forge and Waynesboro. CFW will receive another $100,000 from the fund for the Waynesboro center, which also is expected to hire 120 people.
Allen has vowed to create 125,000 jobs in Virginia during his four-year term, but not all of the 240 positions he notched into his belt Friday could be considered "new" jobs. CFW outbid Bell Atlantic Corp. to handle AT&T Corp.'s directory-assistance calls from across the country, and Bell Atlantic said losing the AT&T contract will mean the loss of 280 jobs in the mid-Atlantic region.
Bell Atlantic's directory-assistance centers employ 89 operators in Roanoke, 91 in Norton and 140 in Pulaski. The company's directory-assistance centers in Virginia - including operations in Hampton, Richmond, Norfolk and Leesburg - employ a total of 883 people. The 280 jobs will come from 2,300 directory-assistance positions in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
Jim Quarforth, president of the Shenandoah Valley-based CFW, said the state's $200,000 grant and other incentives doled out by the city and the Alleghany Highlands Economic Development Authority enabled CFW to make a more competitive bid for AT&T's business.
"Yes, absolutely, they made it easier for us," Quarforth said of the grants. "The fact that we're operating in a rural community is also a major advantage to us, because of the lower cost of living."
Bell Atlantic spokesman Paul Miller said the company had not decided where jobs would be eliminated. The company hopes to reduce through attrition and by reducing its temporary work force.
The 240 jobs Allen said were created during Friday's announcements will be at least somewhat offset by Bell Atlantic's reductions, Miller said.
"They're adding; we're losing; there's going to be a net effect," Miller said. "It would seem to me there's going to be some job creation for Virginia, because some jobs that may have been in West Virginia or Maryland may be picked up in Clifton Forge."
Secretary of Commerce and Trade Robert Skunda denied that the Allen administration, in a push to add to the state's work force, was paying to transfer jobs from one part of the state to another.
"Any time you use incentives, of course, there's always a delicate balance that has to be maintained to not provide a competitive edge to one company against its competition," Skunda said. "But in this case we felt this would create jobs that otherwise were not going to be created in Virginia."
CFW received more enticements than those from the governor's office. The Clifton Forge City Council gave the company land worth $120,000 and a $20,000 grant; the private Clifton Forge Development Corp. issued a $30,000 grant; and the economic development authority contributed $100,000.
Allen said CFW had bid for the AT&T contract against communications companies in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Delaware.
"It's good to see so many people here," Allen said before a crowd of 300 cheering Clifton Forge residents. "It's an indication of how important this project is to the people of Alleghany County and Clifton Forge."
by CNB