Published: April 10, 2007 09:37 am            

Google has town 'abuzz'

The possibility of Google, an Internet search engine, coming to MidAmerica Industrial Park (MAIP) bodes well for the county and the state.

“The possibility of Google coming to Pryor, the value that it will bring, not just to Mayes County, but the state ... I don’t believe we can even imagine (the impact) right now as far as the kind of jobs that it could bring,” said Pryor Area Chamber of Commerce Director Barbara Hawkins.

“We’re really excited about the possibility,” said Hawkins, adding it also validates the progress of the MAIP and the quality of life of Pryor and Mayes County. “That companies such as Gatorade and possibly, Google, are acknowledging and realizing that not only is our park extraordinary, but the people in our area as well.”

MAIP Administrator Sanders Mitchell said Friday afternoon that he still cannot release the identify of the company which purchased the 800 acres south of Gatorade.

Mitchell cannot confirm nor deny that Google is the company which will locate on the recently purchased property.

Hypothetically, Mitchell said any company like Google which is high tech is great for the area and would create higher paying jobs.

In addition to jobs, a company such as Google would draw attention to the fact that northeast Oklahoma is good for the high tech industry and might encourage other companies to locate in the industrial park.

“That’s the way things happen,” said Mitchell, who bragged the cost of living in the area is much lower than many places across the nation.

If Google does locate a date center in the industrial park, a number of technical job positions would come with it.

Mitchell said such a business would be a benefit to the communities in the area.

He explained the communities would be gaining residents with a payroll to spend in the community, without having to provide the infrastructure to support such a large company.

“That’s the beauty of a regional industrial park,” said Mitchell.

Pryor Mayor Jimmy Tramel said until somebody makes an official announcement, every piece of information is speculation.

“I know one thing for sure,” said Tramel. “It’s got this town abuzzin’ and the state abuzzin’.”

Tramel said he received more phone calls today asking what he knows about Google.

“If it’s true, it’s exciting,” said Tramel. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”

He said a lot of companies are interested in the area and Pryor must make sure to maintain the infrastructure and its integrity to support those businesses.

Google spokesman Ricardo Reyes said, “we’re evaluating this exciting opportunity, but have not announced our decision or made final plans.”

Google’s Web site states their mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.

Google recently announced a $600 million date center in South Carolina and one of the reasons for the choice was the low cost of utilities, according to Slashdot.com.

MAIP’s Web site states the industrial park can save a company between 20 to 70 percent on utilities, which may be one reason for Google’s interest in the area.

Google is the world’s largest search engine, which is user-friendly, fast, free and easy to use.

When visiting google.com, an Internet can find virtually any bit of information on the world wide web.

Whether a person is looking for vacation spots in Namibia or the price of goat hair, google.com will pull up dozens, if not hundreds of pages for Internet users to browse.

The Google name stems “googol,” a mathematical term for the numeral one followed by 100 zeros. Google uses the term to reflect the company’s mission to organize the immense amount of information available on the web.

        

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