Dateline: February 6, 2003

Network promotes area

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

After months of planning, the Donley County Community Network (DCCN) became active last week, increasing the presence of local entities on the World Wide Web.

The network’s new community Web site at www.donleytx.com brings together a diverse group of local governments and organizations to help promote Donley County to a wide audience as well as helping bring services to local citizens.

“I think [the network] will bring us all together to work for all of Donley County,” said DCCN President Dee Dee Autry. “It will allow all citizens to access the Internet for business and personal gain, and it will help businesses promote their products.”

Partners in the network are Clarendon College, the City of Clarendon, Donley County, the Donley County Hospital District, the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation, the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce, the Burton Memorial Library, the Saints’ Roost Museum, and the Clarendon Family Medical Center. Clarendon ISD has also been involved in an advisory role.

The new Web site offers views of the local area as well as links to local governments and organizations. A community calendar will be kept up to date with local events, and the city and county are planning to post their agendas on the new site. Local citizens can also find out how to get in touch with their elected officials at the county and city levels.

Want to know what the fees are at the city recycling center or when the doctor’s office is open? The DCCN has those answers and more.

Tourism information is available as are links to The Clarendon Enterprise, local schools, Clarendon College, and local history subjects.

The network Web site also includes a “Farm 2 Farm” feature which is intended to put agricultural producers in touch with each other in order to buy or sell their commodities. To start with, Farm 2 Farm is just a local feature, but network officials hope to link it to other agriculture sites in the future.

The DCCN is being funded by a $250,000 TIF grant approved last summer. Approximately $115,000 of that money was used to purchase new computer equipment for the principal entities involved. The remainder is dedicated to providing services and funding educational classes for local citizens.

Future additions to the DCCN will be Internet portal terminals – or kiosks – at the Clarendon Outpost and Greenbelt Marina in the next six weeks. For now, the kiosks will be locked into the local Web site to promote the local area, but eventually credit card technology will be added to allow travelers a place to check their e-mail and surf the Internet for a nominal fee. Visitors can also check their e-mail for free at any of the public terminals of the local entities.

“It’s a work in progress, but we’ve now staked our claim on the Internet,” said DCCN Project Manager Will Thompson. “The biggest accomplishments are yet to come with training and educating our citizens.”

Putting information before the public is a main focus of the DCCN, but providing new local opportunities is also a goal of the network.

“We hope to expand our employment opportunities by bringing broadband Internet service not just in Clarendon but the rural areas also,” Thompson said, who works for Clarendon College and wrote the grant for the DCCN.

That goal was largely met last week when AMA•TechTel Communications announced that its high-speed wireless Internet service is now available to people living within 13 miles of Hedley and Howardwick. The new transmitters being used by AMA were purchased by the DCCN and are owned by the network.

AMA has also played a critical role in the development of the network by providing cash, training, and professional services to the DCCN.

Local citizens can also show their community pride with a new “@donleytx.com” e-mail address for a small fee, which hasn’t been set. Addresses already chosen includes the Saints’ Roost Museum at museum@donleytx.com and the Tourism Council at turkeystrut@donleytx.com.

“It identifies you with the community, and it may be easier to get the e-mail address you’ve always wanted,” Thompson said.

To get one of the new addresses, contact Thompson at Clarendon College at 874-3571 or Autry at the Clarendon EDC office at 874-9787.