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Discover Alexander, Burke, Caldwell and Catawba Counties

In recent years, growth, and more specifically how to control it, has become a focal point for government leaders and elected officials in Hickory.

As the city and its surrounding metropolitan area continue to grow, issues regarding future transportation and land-use development naturally arise. To help deal with these and other growth-related issues, Hickory has created Hickory By Choice, a 23-member committee made up of citizens from the city and its surrounding metropolitan area.

"The committee's charge has been to develop a long-range plan for future land-use and transportation development in and around Hickory," explains Tom Carr, executive assistant for development for the city. "In developing this plan, we should have a blueprint for future growth in suburban areas as well as conservation and improvement of the city's older neighborhoods."

So far, says Carr, the process has been a success. The Hickory City Council adopted the plan in November 1999 after an 18-month period in which neighborhood- and business-development consultants from throughout the United States came to Hickory to offer their suggestions and insights to the plan.

"With the plan being adopted by our council, Hickory By Choice has now begun work on creating new zoning and subdivision regulations and is also working on changing our regional transportation plan," says Carr.

"The guiding principle of the entire plan is to develop a more walkable community without so much reliance on the automobile. The committee is looking toward the development of a community of connected neighborhoods, each with its own retail-shopping and employment centers," Carr adds.

The return on the committee's work, says Carr, will be a community with sustained and planned growth, which should prove attractive to those businesses considering locating or expanding in the Hickory metro area.

FACTOIDS

* Caldwell County offers the nation's largest selection of retail furniture outlets concentrated in a 20-mile radius.

* Sixty percent of the nation's furniture is produced within a 200-mile radius of Hickory.

* North Carolina, especially in the Brindletown area of Burke County, was the nation's largest gold producer until the California Gold Rush in 1849.

* The Old Burke County Courthouse, built in 1833, was the oldest public structure in western North Carolina being used for its original purpose until it was replaced by the current courthouse in 1976.

* The Bunker Hill Bridge in Claremont, built in 1895, is one of only two remaining covered bridges in North Carolina.

* Catawba County's work force is recognized for having one of the highest percentages of women in the nation. Women make up 47.4% of it.

* After the Civil War, the Old Soldiers Reunion began in Catawba County. It has become the oldest recurring patriotic celebration in the nation.

* The Bridge to Bridge Incredible Century Cycling Challenge takes...