News Releases
Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 27, 1997
Contact:  Carolyn Duncan (360) 902-4136

Gov. Locke's first community visit focuses on schools, jobs

OLYMPIA - In his first community visit since inauguration, Gov. Gary Locke will travel to the Vancouver area tomorrow to hold a town hall meeting. The Governor also will meet with elementary and middle-school students and view first-hand the $1.2 billion WaferTech plant, which will bring 800 new jobs to southwest Washington.


"It's important that I stay in touch with the people who sent me to Olympia," declared Locke. "I want to know what people care about. Representative government should be a dialogue with the people, not a monologue from the State House."


Locke's visit will begin at the WaferTech facility, which represents the largest first-time investment made by a company in the state's history. By the end of 1999, the company is expected to be up to full production of 30,000 wafers per month with 800 full-time employees.


Executives said their decision to base WaferTech in Washington state was based on the following reasons:


Tax incentives designed to encourage the development of manufacturing and high-technology industry;
The commitment by WSU-Vancouver to dedicate property and help develop a "Center for Excellence in Semiconductor Research" and help train a highly skilled workforce;
The willingness of state and local officials to place a high priority on the project and to be responsive to the needs of WaferTech.

Next, Locke will go to Discovery Middle School, which has been recognized worldwide for facility planning and architectural design. He will meet with high-school and middle-school student reporters later in the day in a news conference that will be broadcast on local cable television. He will go on to tour the media center at Eleanor Roosevelt Elementary School.


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