Medicine Valley EDC unveils new Web site

CURTIS -- Looking for a new house in Curtis? What time does school start in Maywood? What's there to do in Wellfleet on the weekend? Everything Frontier County residents need to know about their county is included in a new Web site hosted by Medicine Valley Economic Development Corp.

Although the Web site is certainly helpful for area residents, it's designed also to help recruit new families and businesses to the county and the valley, and to enhance tourism. "We're trying to encourage people to get off the Interstate," said MVEDC Director Lynne Wilson. "We're selling the Medicine Valley to the outside world."

The Web site -- www.medicinevalley.org -- includes information and photo albums for Curtis, Eustis, Maywood, Moorefield and Stockville in Frontier County, and also Farnam in Dawson County and Wellfleet in Lincoln County because of those communities' proximity to Frontier County and connections with Frontier County schools. Wilson said every community's homepage tells of the community's history, calendars and annual events, and has links to school Web sites. Included there are lists of graduates and information for alumni. Photographs highlight many, many pages. Wilson said they've included aerial pictures of the whole valley. "There are some awesome pictures of Wallace Lake," she said. "It's a hidden paradise."

Dancing Leaf Earth Lodge at Wellfleet is "another treasure," Wilson said. "There is so much history in the area," she said, pointing out the Hansen Museum in Curtis and "Perks Prairie Paradise" at Stockville, a smaller version of Minden's "Pioneer Village." Genealogists can look up school pictures and information from churches. Job-hunters will find links to area newspapers and near-by health care facilities.

Hunters and anglers can search for Nebraska Game and Parks information; archers can find information on Maywood's archery range. Golfers can learn about Arrowhead Meadows Golf Course at Curtis. The business directory lists 275 businesses in the seven communities. Health facilities pages include ambulance and EMT services and pharmacies, links to hospitals in McCook, North Platte and Kearney, and contact people at Hospice and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

The Web site is also linked to Southwest Nebraska Resource Conservation and Development, the South Platte United Chambers of Commerce and the state's Department of Economic Development and Small Business Administration.

Michelle Johnson, of Art Cottage in North Platte, designed the Web site. It was funded with lodging tax money, with assistance from Curtis Telephone, Curtis State Bank and Farmers State Bank of Maywood. The Web site is registered with Google. The Medicine Valley Web site will help residents keep informed of their own locality, as well as enticing travelers and tourists to get off the Interstate, slow down a little ... breath ... relax ... enjoy. Wilson said, "Once people get here, they can see all we have to offer."