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Hi-Tech Kiowa County
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| Kiowa
County, Colorado is becoming well known as Colorado’s "water wonderland"
with the presence of over 23 square miles of water available for boaters and water sports
enthusiasts, and the likely development of the Great Plains Reservoirs State Park. This
vast rural county located on Colorado’s eastern plains, may also come to be known in
the future as a "high-tech" haven, thanks to the efforts of Southeast Colorado
Power Association, and the State of Colorado. |
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| Work was
recently completed by Southeast Colorado Power Association which has brought high tech
capabilities and high speed Internet access to this rural, agriculturally based county.
Working closely with various state agencies, educational institutions and libraries, which
in 1996 had come together as an informal consortium called "Connect Colorado",
Southeast Colorado Power Association has made a major investment into the future of rural
Colorado. |
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Southeast
Colorado Power Association has installed over 450 miles of fiber optic cable throughout
Southeastern Colorado, including Kiowa County. This state of the art
technology has allowed rural schools, such as Eads High School and Plainview
High School, located in Kiowa County, to connect to the Internet using
T-1 speeds, and opened the door for video conferencing, |
| multimedia
learning laboratories, college degree programs, and many other capabilities
previously not available to rural schools. |
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| The
establishment of this state of the art technology has also provided expanded capabilities
to Weisbrod Hospital and Nursing Home, located in Eads, which is the only hospital and
nursing home located in Kiowa County. Enhancing the technological capabilities of Weisbrod
Hospital allows the health facility the opportunity to expand and enhance services to
patients and nursing home residents by tapping into technologies heretofore not available. |
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Likewise,
the Kiowa County Public Library, located in Eads, now has the capability of connecting to
other libraries and expanding learning opportunities for children and adults. By the year
2000, Kiowa County residents will benefit from access to employment opportunities through
a new program which relies on state of the art technology to bring employment databases,
training, and information to residents of Kiowa County. |
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| What this
project means for the future of rural counties, such as Kiowa County, Colorado, is that
these agriculturally centered counties will have a technologically enriched future.
The installation of fiber optic cable, by Southeast Colorado Power Association, provides
businesses and institutions who desire to locate in a less congested area with
boundless recreational opportunities, the technological ability to conduct business world
wide, while enjoying the rural lifestyle. |
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