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Editorial: Cow Creek Tribe of Umpqua Indians donates $150,000 to help Umpqua Community College to set up a training program for employees at the new Roseburg Dell Computer Call Center.
Dell Computer Corp.'s Roseburg Call Center has been up and running for weeks, but an official ribbon-cutting Tuesday brought home to many its size and potential.
It was also a graphic reminder of what can be accomplished when a variety of public and private organizations and individuals partner up for a common goal.
There are few areas more competitive than industrial and job development. States and communities, armed with tax breaks and incentives, lobby tirelessly to get good companies to choose them.
Roseburg scored quite a coup this year when it convinced Dell to open its first West Coast call center here. Then, the rush was on to get the call center up and running in three-and-a-half months.
It was an incredible challenge, but when the dust settled, the first calls from customers came in on schedule to trained Dell employees.
Tuesday's event celebrated this partnership that made it all happen. So many entities were involved, it is difficult to list them all. Key were the efforts by local and state economic development organizations and Douglas County for clearing the way for tax incentives. The City of Roseburg stepped up to help with telecommunications and parking space.
Vital to the effort was a training program, set up at Umpqua Community College. This was made possible by a $250,000 grant from the Ford Family Foundation and $150,000 from the Cow Creek Tribe.
The result is the Dell Call Center in what was once a grocery store. Some 250 people now report there for work and take home regular paychecks.
It's hoped that this is just a start, that the empty cubicles in the building will fill up with hundreds more workers, taking calls from customers across the country. It's also hoped that the wages will grow to the target of 150 percent of average pay locally. The incentive is a large tax break for the company.
Dell Computer's presence in Roseburg is a powerful testament to the power of partnership. It also bodes well for the county's future, as it struggles to replace jobs lost in the timber industry.
Many accolades were given out in the Tuesday ceremony. They were all deserving. Those responsible for bringing Dell to Roseburg and getting it up and running in such short time provided a great service to their community.
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