Nestle could be a good replacement

Living in Pleasant Gap, most days we drive past the Titan facility in Bellefonte. Ten years ago, Bolton Metals finally ended production there, and according to a Voices online article, the community lost 280 jobs, more than $100,000 in property taxes paid by Bolton and more than $100,000 in property taxes paid by employees. These are close to the numbers the community stands to gain if the proposed Nestle facility comes to fruition.

Spring Township is named as such because of the many natural springs in the township, including Big Spring, from which 15 million gallons of water flow each day. The watershed that supports these springs is bountiful, we are not going to run out of it.

Over the years, Bellefonte has been gracious about allowing neighboring communities to benefit from this natural resource. To its north is the Coca Cola bottling plant. For those concerned about the bottling of water, it is happening 5 miles up the road with Bellefonte water. To the south, for years the Corning plant utilized Bellefonte water, and even today some ventures benefit from the water piped into that area.

In this day and age, with towns across the country ravaged by the loss of core employers, there very rarely is an opportunity for a community to get a viable replacement like this. If the authorizing local governments and Nestle work it out, we will welcome them with open arms.

This story was originally published January 27, 2018 at 12:01 AM with the headline "Nestle could be a good replacement."