At a time when the nation and Washington state are teetering on a recession, something amazing is happening in the community of Hamilton. An entire new economy filled with local jobs is being created through expansion of Janicki Industries.

For years, Hamilton’s Crown Pacific mill has stood silent, closed after the timber industry decline. Like other rural areas dependent upon timber and mining industries, this community has struggled economically. Young people moved away. Those who stayed found themselves commuting through heavy traffic over long distances to jobs in more densely populated areas.

Where some saw an old, run-down sawmill site, the Janicki family saw opportunity. Already bursting from the success of its Sedro-Woolley facilities, Janicki purchased the Hamilton site and is constructing a multi-thousand square foot building that will eventually bring hundreds of new manufacturing family-wage jobs to the area.

I recently toured the new facility. It was impressive. Janicki’s long-standing commitment to Skagit County is one reason for its expansion in Hamilton. Another is the cooperative effort of local governments to help facilitate the process.

More impressive, however, is how this expansion could transform a community with a much-needed new economic base. As new jobs come to Hamilton, so will the need for additional services along the Highway 20 corridor — restaurants, mini-marts, gas stations, or who knows what other supporting businesses Janicki’s expansion will spur. This also means new, additional jobs for the community. This hopeful re-awakening of Hamilton is the quintessential example of trickle-down economics that will build a better quality of life for our local communities. And it’s happening at a time when other areas of our state are bracing for a possible recession.

How do we take this example of Janicki bucking the recessionary trend and help to build new economies in other economically-challenged areas of the state?

Realistically, we won’t be able to replicate the Janicki story in all of these communities. However, we can take steps to facilitate and attract new employers to our rural areas by giving them the same incentives and advantages that urban communities now enjoy. Legislation I have sponsored would provide those benefits to attract and expand employers in rural areas. When employers succeed, three things happen: they expand, jobs are created and more tax dollars come in to local and state governments. It’s a cycle of success.

We need to pursue these incentives, continue to increase government cooperation with new and expanding businesses and find ways to further diversify our local economies so that we can keep more local jobs at home. When people are working in the communities where they live, there’s less commute time, less traffic congestion, less money spent on gas and more time for people to enjoy with their families.

I’m very excited to see the creation of a new economy in Hamilton. Let’s work at the state and local level to build upon this success in our rural areas so that more Washington families can enjoy a better quality of life in our state.