Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Seven years after closing a former military installation, southeastern Kansas officials are preparing to start a new era of regional economic development.
A ribbon cutting is planned Oct. 11 at the Great Plains Industrial Park on the site of the former Kansas Army Ammunition Plant.
Dan Goddard, executive director of the Great Plains Development Authority in Parsons, said Wednesday the ceremony is the start of creating new activity at the site. The park is in Labette County, which has a jobless rate of 8.3 percent.
Pentagon officials designated the plant for closure in 2005 as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process. Bomb production was transferred to ammunition plants in Indiana, Iowa, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
