Economic Development Costs and Questions about Manufacturing

It was announced today that a company is locating a plant here that will build the nacelles for wind turbines. They will create 400 jobs. Of course, this is fabulous news. What town wouldn't like to have hundreds of new jobs? And these are going to be $16 an hour jobs.

Of course, we don't yet know what we've paid for these jobs because the incentive package details haven't been announced. Cities, counties and states bend over backwards to recruit plants to their locales. Businesses expect piles of incentives and tax abatements, and why wouldn't they - they are in the business of making as much money as they can. Let me be clear that I have no idea what, if anything, this company asked for. I'm just basing this on past deals.

Generally, the manufacturer arrives, and if they ever reach their stated number of jobs, which is rare, they begin to dwindle almost immediately due to automation. Is this the fault of the plant? No. They're in the business of making a profit and it makes no sense to pay 10 people to do a job that can be done with 1 person and a machine. Machines don't demand health insurance. Until we address that huge elephant in the room in this country we're never going to be competitive, but that's another rant.

So, what happens over time with automation is that those 400 jobs become 350 jobs to 200 jobs to 50 jobs. That is the nature of the manufacturing business. No one is doing anything wrong, it's just the way the business works. Google "manufacturing jobs lost to automation" and you'll find plenty of support for that statement.

People always talk about manufacturing jobs being lost to China. In reality, China is losing manufacturing jobs too - to automation. But, automation makes things more productive, and you can't argue with that if your goal is to make more widgets with less money. Or more nacelles.

I'm thrilled we've got 400 new jobs coming to town. That's wonderful. I'm glad we'll have another great corporate entity in town. More positive news there. I'm tickled we're getting involved in an alternative energy business. Yet more good news.

But I think we always need to be honest with ourselves and look at the facts. I can't yet do that in this case because the facts haven't been made public. Maybe it's worth every single cent in tax abatements and other incentives I'm assuming were involved. I've got no big problem with either of those. But I know that since the mid 90s, 60-80% of net new jobs created were by small businesses. I'm not sure we're offering many incentives to those folks.

I'm not in economic development, and I don't know squat about the intricacies involved in these things, but the facts tell me that manufacturing jobs go down in number while small business jobs go up in number. I'm no math genius, but long term  it would make more sense to invest in the thing that increases its number of employees instead of decreases its number of employees. Wouldn't it?

Maybe the sheer force of 400 new jobs in your town at one time is so incredible that it outweighs everything else. And, of course, if folks are employed there for 10 years or 20 years or even 5 years, that's a large amount of money in the economy, as opposed to growing it slowly with small businesses. Maybe it's the "lifetime value" of those jobs as long as they last. But we do need to be honest about the costs associated with them - upfront and in the future.

I don't have the answers, but I certainly have questions. I really do need someone to explain to me why it's beneficial to keep recruiting manufacturing jobs that we can only assume will dwindle in number. But for the moment, I'm just going to celebrate 400 new jobs coming to our community.
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Red Winged Blackbird

A few weeks ago, I was up really early one morning and went out for a drive. It was still dark when I left home. I needed some air, to be out, to breathe some freshness into my body.

At the time I was just starting to fully grasp how my life had changed with a surgeon's knife. I have expected this to be a more emotional journey than it has been so far, but I am so grateful for healing that it seems ridiculous to find anything but joy in daily life.

That morning I went down to Carey Park and near the lake were tons of Red-winged blackbirds. I taped one of them singing. Tonight I was reminded of this video and this poem, which seemed a perfect match.

Words do hold the fire of meaning for me, although lately I've not felt as though I'm expressing myself well. Maybe with more sleep and less stress I'll do better.

Red-Winged Blackbird
by Pasquale Verdicchio

Wind. Wind
and wings of birds.
A red-winged blackbird
sparks against the sky
and green shrubs;
comes to rest in the safety
of calls that break
against our words,
clear and intelligible words,
and light the evening
with the fire of meaning.



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Kansas Sampler Festival Photos

Saturday Mark and I spent the afternoon at the Kansas Sampler Festival in Concordia. I promised more photos.

First of all... there were men in kilts...



I don't know why there were men in kilts. I didn't get a chance to ask because they were busy with Monty's Smoked Jerky of Bird City, Kansas. I'm not sure if this is Monty or not. It is a man in a kilt, however. That I know.



The Kansas Scenic Byways program was there. This is a very cool program that points you toward particular drives in Kansas that are especially beautiful. I see from looking at their maps that I've missed some of them so I need to rectify that very soon. My favorite so far is the Gypsum Hills Scenic Byway near Medicine Lodge, Kansas. It's absolutely gorgeous - hilly, rocky and red.



There were ladies wearing watermelon hats...



And they had a giant Christmas tree decorated with watermelon slices to promote the Clyde Watermelon Festival on Labor Day Weekend. You knew I couldn't pass up anything involving a Christmas tree, right?

The Eisenhower Center in Abilene has some activities planned to commemorate the 65th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion.



One of the things I'm excited about is they're having a tea in September. It's part of a series of events to recreate Ike's Abilene. That celebration is going on for months so there's something for everyone.



Jo Schwartz was working on her art where you could watch. She does pyrography.



There were young men demonstrating roping. It was certainly entertaining, although they were so good they were a bit intimidating.

We wrapped up the day listening to the Diamond W Wranglers.



Wow. They're so good. Every time I see them I'm amazed at the sound four guys can create. They attracted a large crowd, even though it was the end of the day.



The Diamond W Wranglers play at Cowtown in Wichita, complete with a Chuckwagon Supper.



It was great to visit with Martha while I was listening. That's Jim, her husband, there with the guitar. I recorded them doing a classic tune, along with Stu's story about his family's connection to the song.



If you have a chance, go see the Diamond W Wranglers. They're really good. As I told Martha after being at a three hour concert they did at the Fox some time ago, "I didn't get bored at all!" Martha exclaimed, "Oh! Wonderful! That's high praise from you." She understood it was, indeed, very high praise. The highest from me, really. At many musical events I'm looking at the program and counting the number of songs until I can get up and walk around. But, not at their performances - I'm completely lost in the music. And I wouldn't say I'm a particular fan of western/cowboy music - they're just really good.

All in all, it was a fun afternoon. We ended with dinner at the Renaissance Cafe in Assaria, which I also heartily recommend.
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Sampler Festival in Concordia

This is Marci Penner, the brains behind The Sampler Festival, which showcases all kinds of tourist attractions in Kansas. If you're anywhere near Kansas, you can enjoy the Sampler Sunday, May 3. It's in the park at Concordia and the cost is only $5. It's worth every penny. Get thee to Concordia on Sunday if at all possible!

Marci is devoted to preserving rural culture in Kansas and works with eight different categories of things ranging from cuisine to architecture. You can read more on her website for the Kansas Sampler Foundation.

Ultimately, if you have any interest in rural life, you would do yourself a favor by sitting down and reading that entire website. You'll get a little glimpse into Marci's brain. And let me tell you, it's a brain worth delving into. You'll find a ton of wisdom there about how rural communities can make the most of what they have and preserve a way of life.

During the sampler festival, Marci does what she calls "Stumpin' for Kansas." It's one of my favorite parts. She has questions about various spots around the state and everyone who answers a question correctly gets a ticket. Then there's a drawing for a goodie basket at the end of the session and someone gets a nice prize.



Mark, here in the far left of the photo, is excellent at this game. Me, not so good. I'm pleading that I can't think about what Marci is asking and also take a photo every few seconds, which I did. The reality is that I just don't retain details very well, so I'm not good at any kind of trivia game. Remember - you don't ever want me on your team for trivia. A word game? Yes. Trivia? No.

It was a really fun day. Not only did I get to see lots of cool exhibits, but I also ran into some folks I knew. John Divine and I were having a wonderful conversation.



I ran into Andrea and Roger...



And lots of other folks. I also saw some booths of cool places I want to go to.

I'll have more photos to share. But, there were men in kilts, women in watermelon hats, people roping and other people playing music. You need to go if it's at all possible for you.
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Mark arrived this evening about 10. We sat down and started talking and when he went in to get a drink I heard him exclaim, "Patsy, it's almost two o'clock." I couldn't believe that was the case. I was thinking maybe midnight. But, no, it was 1:48.

So, he sprang into action getting prepared for bed. He's the ultimate house guest. Get this - he brings his own bed. Yes, it's true. He brings his own inflatable bed. Generally he headquarters in my downstairs su nporch but it has become the greenhouse, and most of the floor space is taken up with plants, so he's setting up in the dining room.

I, of course, had been talking and hadn't yet blogged, something I feel a need to do every day, even if blogger does not see fit to post it quickly. It's only those of you reading at www.patsyterrell.com who might be seeing delayed posts. Live Journal et al don't rely on ftp. There were people already complaining about it in the blogger forums. And I was one of them. Isn't it amazing what we expect for free these days? Certainly a paradigm shift.

Greg and Mia are off on a trip. Greg tells me he got a photo of the Lope tonight with Alice Cooper. They're also getting to visit with my friend, Jay, who's at the same convention. Mark is on a weekend trip here, of course. It all makes me want to be a trip too. But, I'm not. I'm at home. And, I love being at home, too. I just need a little something to look forward to. But, alas, this is not the season in my life for travel. But soon. Soon it will be my season to travel. Soon. It must be my season to travel soon.

It's my season for sleep right now. I got up pretty early this morning and we have a full Saturday. We're going to the Hutchinson Art Show in the morning and then headed to the Sampler Festival later in the day. I'll be tweeting - with pix - if possible!

Be sure and do something fun on your Saturday. Otherwise, Monday morning will arrive and you'll be wishing you'd made some fun memories to carry you through the work week. This past week was a difficult one for me so I need some fun to make up for that AND some fun to get through the coming one. I hope I can cram that much into one weekend. Obviously, I've decided to give up on sleep. As usual. At some point in my life I will sleep - like normal people do - many hours every night and all.
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Computers

I'm not sure if you'll ever see this blog post. It, like others, may languish forever in the never-never world between blogger and ftp and my server. It's not that I'm ignoring blogging. It's that blogging is ignoring me. Quite rude, really. But, eventually I will prevail. I think. I hope.

Kindness

I was in a situation today where someone spoke to me very gently, very kindly. I'm sure it was just a case of this person being very kind to begin with, but it made an impression on me. And it reminded me to be gentle with others.

Sometimes we all have the opportunity to be extra kind. In that moment when we're extending ourselves in kindness we become a little more, bigger and better than we were just a moment earlier. How many chances do we have to be more? To embrace the best of ourselves? These opportunities are gifts, delivered without brightly colored paper or ribbons and bows, but precious nonetheless.

I have squandered hundreds, probably thousands, of chances to be kind to people. In fact, I know I have even been unkind at times when a gracious word or gesture would have been meaningful. Why do we act this way? Or, more accurately, why do I act this way? Is it only me who doesn't take every chance to be kind? It often requires very little, or no, extra effort. Is part of me unwilling or afraid or what?



Sometimes in our work lives we have the chance to go the extra mile for someone, to go a step beyond the norm, and make their lives easier. In my work I often find myself unable to help people as much as I'd like because I run up against a system I can't penetrate. Unfortunately, I know they can't penetrate it either. Until they find someone who will go the extra mile for them.

Sometimes I'm the tiniest bit jealous that I'm not part of that system and therefore can't go the extra mile to help them with it. I have to have faith that someone else will seize the opportunity to go beyond the norm.

I've been the recipient of much grace. Much kindness. I hope I can remember to extend it to others.



________________

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Balance

This day had time for some work, some fun, some gardening, some friends, some preparation for the future. Seems like a well-rounded day - the trick is how much goes to each thing.
________________

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Blooming Buttons

You might ask on what woodland trail I was walking when I ran across this beauty. The answer would be there was no trail. Only the slate tile of my sun porch was underfoot.

All of my bachelor's buttons are blooming now. Inside. But it's been so wet and cold I've hesitated to put very many things out. (I have on flannel jammies at the moment!) It seems cruel to stick them out to be pummeled by the rain. The rain that is coming again tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. And they've not experienced anything outside of normal human comfort climate control.

Tonight I mowed the yard. It needed it desperately. Now I need some pain pills desperately. (Okay, that's an exaggeration, but I like the continuity.) Apparently lawn mowing is not a recommended post-surgical activity. Monday was three months. I thought that was sufficient time. The fact that my mid-section hurts tells me otherwise. Whine, whine, whine.
________________

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Messengers of the Divine

I know that life is a continual series of surprises - mostly good. But every once in awhile, I forget that. And life reminds me. Beautifully.

Much is happening in my life these days. There's an undercurrent of excitement about possibilities. I can't point to anything specific, other than to say that things are unfolding in ways that I could not have written any better myself.

It's curious how life happens when you step aside, let go of your ideas, and accept the magic that comes from those in your life who are messengers of the divine.



________________

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Kansas Underground Salt Museum in Hutchinson

Going 650 feet underground is not something most folks think about on an average day, but in Hutchinson it's entirely possible. The Kansas Underground Salt Museum (KUSM) is the only museum in the western hemisphere where you can go into a salt mine.

This past weekend when I was volunteering I intended to tweet the experience at twitter.com, so people would have a sense of what it was like, but without cell phone signal underground it wasn't really possible. Greg and I have been planning a story about the Kansas Underground Salt Museum for a year and a half. He took these photos in November of 2007.

I decided to use the story to give you a sense of what it's like to take a tour at KUSM. Of course, nothing compares to experiencing it yourself, but maybe this will whet your appetite.

Your visit starts with a safety orientation and you’ll be issued some safety gear - a hard hat and breathing apparatus. You'll be happy to know that the safety gear has never been used.





Then you line up to get in the German made, double decker elevator that holds about 30 people.



It was originally used in a silver mine and will transport you underground where you’ll emerge into a long, hollowed out salt corridor.


Immediately you’ll notice the salt has layers. These form because of dry and wet times when the salt formation was being laid down. The miners use those layers to keep the mine level.

You’re now surrounded by material that predates dinosaurs. There was a mass extinction at this time – about 270 million years ago – and where you’re standing was an ocean. To give you an idea of the depth, bear in mind that 80 feet of sea water makes about 1 foot of salt.

Two things to notice right away when you get off the elevator. Straight ahead are the restrooms. These are modern engineering marvels because everything has to flush 650 feet. Up. There are two holding tanks underground, one holds water and one holds sewage. The sewage is evacuated into the sewer system overnight when there are no visitors because it’s very noisy.

The other is a giant piece of salt. You'll have time to inspect it more closely after the tour.






You’ll board a tram for your “dark ride,” going underneath Airport Road, which you may have driven to arrive at the museum. You’ll travel down the corridor to an area that's more narrow. This is the only area that was blasted specifically for the museum. On the right wall you'll see where the miners who did that Dec. 20, 2004 left their mark, an old mining tradition.



As the ride continues, you can see some of the antique mining equipment. There are some cars that used to haul salt from the mine. Each of these cars held 3 ½ tons of salt and took 90 minutes to load by hand. The metal ones held four tons.



Explosives were always carried in a separate car, that had taller sides on it to protect from sparks. Now miners use a conveyer system to move the salt, but at one time they used these trains and would move the track as the mine face moved.





The Carey Salt Company opened in 1923 and had the shorted railroad in the country. You may have noticed the train engine topside, before you came into the building. That’s one of only three GE No. 2 engines ever built. It ran between 1928 and 1963, moving the six miles between the mine and the salt evaporation plant. The tracks were used for another 20 years.

Along the dark ride, your guide will point out various items of interest. One of the first things you'll see are a ribbed wall. Each rib is about eight feet deep and represents how deep into the wall they blasted.



Above you are ridges from a machine called the continuous miner. It is a huge piece of equipment bought by the museum and Underground Vaults and Storage. It is made for coal mining, as is most of the equipment used here. No equipment is made specifically for salt mining.



You’ll see places where the walls have a different texture and the salt is very crystal clear. This is recrystalized salt, where water got back into the salt deposit and basically washed out the impurities, which you can see below the white part.



You can occasionally find a piece of salt with a bubble of water in it. It’s this very phenomenon that allowed scientists to discover a 250 million year old bacteria in a New Mexico salt mine. Those same scientists have found DNA in some of the samples from Hutchinson, but it's too soon to know exactly what that means.

Miners had two big concerns - light and air. They used to work with the equivalent of a flashlight, which barely makes a dent in the darkness. In some mines, they used mules underground, including nearby Lyons and Kanopolis, and they would eventually go blind from the lack of light. Mules were never used in the Hutchinson mine.

Air flow in the mine was controlled by "gob walls." You'll see some constructed of dynamite boxes, filled with salt. The first wall you see is two boxes deep and has a purpose. Jute curtains were also used, and the modern version is the plastic you see here and there.



You'll pass under a large deposit of sylvite. It's quite possible there's a large piece of recrystallized salt above it.

You'll drive by three floor heaves. Salt is plastic and very heavy. Imagine a Lincoln log being pressed in to clay. The clay would rise up around it. The same thing is happening in a floor heave. The "overburden" is heavy enough it's causing the floor to rise up like clay would.



In the middle floor heave is a cut out of a miner demonstrating the floor heave is about two feet, but the ceiling is still nine feet tall. This man volunteers for the museum on occasion. At the third one is a 1950s photo of miners standing where a ceiling sag has fallen. You'll also see the scaling bars used to pull down salt that is loose.

When you turn a corner, you'll see what's left of a truck the miners used at one time. It ran on a 300 foot electrical cord. It's actually a conglomeration of parts from various vehicles.



The hoist that used by the miners is much smaller than the one you came down in. Anything that wouldn't fit in it had to be dangled underneath it, or taken apart and reassembled underground. That includes all the massive equipment you'll see in the walking part of the tour.

Miners did not remove things from the mine. It made no sense to use the energy or the time on the hoist to do so. They would reuse them as long as possible, and then abandon them where they were.

Salt mines have what is called a “closure rate,” meaning the rooms and corridors mined out are slowly closing in on themselves. "Slowly,” is an understatement. In the Hutchinson mine, the closure rate is 2/1000 to 3/1000 of an inch a year. That means it would take 500 years for it to close one inch. At one point, the federal government looked into storing nuclear waste in the salt mines, but the closure rate was way too small to make it feasible.



The Atomic Energy Commission came to Hutchinson in 1950, looking for a place to store toxic waste. They used this device to measure the closure rate for ten years. But it was too slow here, so the toxic waste was taken to the salt mines in New Mexico instead.

Carey was the first mine to go all non-emissions and use bio diesel for equipment. They also used electric power. Today they run on bio fuel made of soy or electric power. The tram you’ll ride is battery powered, too. You will get a chance to stop at a salt pile for a small souvenir of your trip underground.



Prior to 1964, visitors came underground regularly. There were special cars for visitors that took them on tours of the mine. Below is one that would have taken school children on tours.



The workers rode in a car called a "mantrip" that was a little less elaborate. The miners used to refer to the cars as “mules” on occasion, which added to the confusion about the animals never being used here like they were in other area mines.



In 1964 Carey sold the mine and visiting underground stopped, until the museum opened in 2007. This is still a working mine today. The museum is about 1-2 miles from the active mine face.

In the exhibit area you can see some of the massive equipment they use. Remember each one had to be brought underground through a shaft much smaller than the one you came down in.

One of them is the undercutter. This machine allows miners to cut a groove out along the floor of the salt wall they’re getting ready to mine. If they didn’t do this, the salt wouldn’t fall, even with dynamite. Salt is so hard they can’t nail or screw into it without a nail ram set.



They used to mine 40 foot pillars and 50 foot rooms. Today they mine 20 foot pillars and 40 foot rooms. Eight feet is blasted at a time. They use the red lines as markers.



There are 67 miles of tunnels here, and 970 acres that have been mined.

During your visit underground you're surrounded by salt in every direction. About 500,000 tons of salt are taken from the mine every year, about 1000 tons every day they mine. Each blast brings down 300-600 tons. Salt sells for about $16 a ton.

The museum is still finding things they will want to use as exhibits in the future. For example, The atomic energy commission had a tent and equipment underground. When they left, they left everything there, as is customary. When things are brought topside that have been underground for a long period of time, they tend to disintegrate because of the changes in humidity.

Salt is used not only in food, but also in products like plastics, chlorine bleach, pharmaceuticals and lots of manufacturing. More than 70% of the salt mined here is used on roads, with Chicago being the biggest customer. Those buildings you see around cities sometimes where they store salt, that are shaped like piles, are built that way because salt has an “inclination angle” and builds that sort of pile naturally.

The salt you eat on the table is “brine evaporated,” which is a different process than what is happening in this mine.



In the exhibit area you can explore the exhibit about Dr. Vreeland's research into the oldest living thing on Earth.

You’ll also see items from Underground Vaults and Storage. This unique business stores everything from dental records to movies and TV shows. The constant temperature underground makes it perfect for delicate items.












On display is a newspaper from the time of Lincoln's death...




James Dean's shirt from his last movie...



At the moment you can see some Hollywood items on display in a special exhibit, including Clooney's Batman suit and a prop from the Jack Frost movie.






You'll end up in the gift shop and when you're finished can either walk back to the hoist or catch a ride on a tram headed that way.

The Kansas Underground Salt Museum is a work in progress, so plan another visit soon.
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These photos were taken in November of 2007 by Greg Holmes when we went on a special tour, specifically to take photos and notes for a story. Subsequently, I was there during the blogger fam tour and have also volunteered at the museum.
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All text and photos on this website are copyright Patsy Terrell, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. None are to be used without permission. Thank you.