While Sept. 11th will forever be marked in tragedy across America, that same day will most likely go down as one of the best in Carroll County’s long history.

The terrorist attacks on New York made the nation stand still as we mourned over the senseless loss of so many lives during that late summer day in 2001. It’s also been said that the destruction of the World Trade Center was the start of our nation’s economic downward spiral that has led to the current recession, the worst since the Great Depression.

But in 10 to 20 years when Carroll County citizens look back on September 11th, there’s a good chance they will remember it as the day that our local economy was reborn. Bringing water and sewer to Fancy Gap has long been called the key to Carroll County’s economic revival. While Interstate 77’s Exit 14 in Hillsville has pretty well been maxed out for business potential, Exit 8 in Fancy Gap has long been referred to as a potential goldmine for Carroll County. The area offers a massive amount of room for growth and potential economic development. Sitting adjacent to both Interstate 77 and the Blue Ridge Parkway, Fancy Gap has been said to have the potential of similar tourist destinations as Boone, N.C. All that was missing was the infrastructure to tap into the vast potential.

Because of the high price to bring public water and sewer, combined with Carroll County’s limited funds, that day looked more like a distant dream than a near reality, however. But Friday’s announcement at Fancy Gap Pottery helped realize the dream as Carroll will receive more than $8 million in stimulus funds toward the long-anticipated project. When all is said and done, it should bring much-needed jobs and more tax revenue to the county.

Granted, much work remains to be done. Water and sewer most first go in before businesses start to make their way to Fancy Gap. But never has the line from “Field of Dreams,” rang so true, “Build it and they will come.” For Carroll County, September 11th, 2009 is truly a day straight out of Hollywood.