By ROBYN L. MINORThe Daily Newsrminor@bgdailynews.com/783-3249

“Size really does matter” – atleast when it comes to the size ofthe buildings needed to lureindustrial prospects to a commu-nity.

Warren County Judge-Execu-tive Mike Buchanon made theremark Tuesday while standinginside a 108,000-square-footbuilding constructed in hopes ofselling it to an industry. It is thethird building constructed onspeculation in the KentuckyTranspark by the Bowling GreenArea Economic DevelopmentAuthority.

Buchanon said companieslooking for existing buildingsoften need something nearly thissize, and potential buyers should

find the structure’s tall ceilingsand building eaves that will allowfor tall equipment particularlyattractive.

The building currently has onlya gravel floor, but that’s becausethe fixtures and fittings will be

installed to suit the industry thatcomes in.

The first spec building at thetranspark was sold to CannonAutomotive Solutions before itwas constructed and the secondwas sold to Shiloh Industries

within six months after it wascomplete.

Officials are hopeful this build-ing will move just as quickly.Economic development officialsare already heavily marketing thebuilding, according to GainesPenn, the new chairman of theBowling Green Area Chamber ofCommerce.

The completion of the project“signifies the forward thinkingand vision of our leaders,” Pennsaid.

Bowling Green Mayor BruceWilkerson used a football analogyin his remarks.

Instead of an industry, “wemight put in a bid for next year’sSuper Bowl because the buildingis so large,” Wilkerson said.

At 300 feet by 360 feet, anNFL playing field could fit inside.

Having such a building, whichis expandable by another 108,000square feet, is another tool in theeconomic development playbook.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012 Daily News

Section

BUnemployedBias against hiringjobless spurs debate.

Page 4B BUSINESSBUSINESSMarket watch

Remember Murphy’s Lawwhen saving for emergencies

DEAR DAVE,In your plan, you talk about Baby Step 3 as saving enough to

have three to six months of expenses in your emergency fund. Myhusband and I were wondering how you candetermine whether you need to be on the lowend or high end of that range?

— AmandaDEAR AMANDA,Lots of times in a marriage you’ll have a

situation where one person wants to savemore, while the other is excited to move ontoward investing. Technically, neither iswrong. So, the emergency fund really dealswith someone’s own personal level of peace.Remember Murphy’s Law, and how it saysthat says if something can go wrong it will gowrong? Your emergency fund is MurphyRepellant. Some people just want to makesure he doesn’t knock on the door, while oth-ers make sure he stays in the next county.

There are always practical considerationsyou can use to determine the amount of your

emergency fund. If you both have very stable jobs, you’ll probablybe OK saving up three or four months of expenses. But if just one

DAVE

Dave Ramsey

Says

See DAVE, 2B

Transpark aims for buyers with building

See TRANSPARK, 2B

BROWNSVILLE — Picture this:An Edmonson County family sells thephotography business that has beentheir livelihood for 35 years to start anew business out of what had been ahobby.

Alan Davis, along with his wife,Saundra, their two grown daughters,sons-in-law and grandchildren, willhave a hand in thegrowth of SunnyPoint Gardens, afamily producefarm on SunnyPoint Road inn o r t h w e s tEdmonson Coun-ty, near theGrayson Countyline.

Work on thefarm at their 15-acre home hasbeen proceedingsince 2010, withthe constructionof a greenhouseand a high tunnelfor growing veg-etables.

“Since I was achild I helped mygrandfather andfather in theirvegetable gar-den,” Alan Davis said. “I’ve alwayshad an interest in it.”

Sunny Point Gardens is gettingestablished through the state’s Com-munity Supported Agriculture pro-gram.

In the CSA program, which is activein several other states, farmers reachout to community members whoessentially pay an up-front subscrip-

tion fee and act as shareholders in thebusiness, committing to buying what-ever the farm is able to successfullygrow during a particular season andreceiving shipments in weekly deliver-ies.

For the farmers, the program pro-vides a stream of capital early in thegrowing season that they can use to

buy supplies andimprove theirfarms, while theconsumers get tolearn more aboutwho grows theirfood and where itcomes from. Andthey receive afresh product that,in many cases –including Davis’ –is grown usingorganic methods.

At SunnyPoint, the familyhas found initials u b s c r i b e r sthrough their listof clients fromtheir old photog-raphy business.

“We’ve had areally goodresponse,” saidDavis, who has

grown produce for sale at local farmersmarkets for several years. “I hope toturn this into something my grandchil-dren can take over someday.”

The farm will feature a variety ofproduce grown year-round, dependingon what is in season.

Earlier this month, Davis, his sons-in-law and grandchildren, who all liveon Sunny Point Road, sowed tomato

seeds in the lean-to greenhouse, theirfirst crops planted this year.

Lettuce, carrots, blueberries andother produce will be grown at the farm.

Sunny Point Gardens will rotatecrops, use compost and avoid synthet-ic fertilizers or pesticides, part of acommitment to employing organicmethods to raise crops there.

Davis said he hopes the venture issuccessful enough to lead to expandingthe range of what the family will grow.“We hope in the future to have free-range chickens, eggs and grass-fedbeef,” Davis said.

The Kentucky Department of Agri-culture lists 52 farms, not includingSunny Point Gardens, that are part ofthe state’s CSA program.

Tehran Jewell, owner and farmmanager of A Taste of Jewell at JewellFarms on Porter Pike, has grown toma-toes, eggplant, watermelons, radishes,beans and several other fruits and veg-

etables at his CSA farm since joiningthe program about six years ago.

Jewell, coming from a long line offamily farmers, said he has about 50customers participating, and he sellspotential customers on the quality andnutrition of the produce grown on hisfarm as much as, if not more than, thelocally grown aspect, although thatquality is also emphasized.

“We want to give people a choice ofwhat and how much they can get,”Jewell said. “Most of our customersare from Tennessee, they’ve been a lotmore proactive to catching on to theidea, but I think Bowling Green andthe surrounding areas will comearound after they realize how muchsavings there is.”

— Sunny Point Gardens can be con-tacted at 991-2539 or www.sunnypointgardens.com. A Taste of Jewell can bereached at 392-1399 or sweepyswam@hotmail.com.

Alan Davis of Brownsville stands in his high tunnel this month at his farm, Sunny Point Gardens, in Brownsville. In the next few weeks, Davis will be planting inthe tunnel for early crops, he said.

CHANGING YOUR FOCUSfamily sells photography business to work on farm

Photos by Pete Rodman/Daily NewsAbove: Haleigh Tyndall, 8, of Brownsville, looks inside her grandparents’ hightunnel this month at Sunny Point Gardens in Brownsville. Left: Joey Tyndall(right) of Brownsville shows his daughter, Haleigh, how to load a seeder atSunny Point Gardens.

By JUSTIN STORY • THE DAILY NEWSjstory@bgdailynews.com/783-3256

Miranda Pederson/Daily NewsPeople gather Tuesday for the ribbon-cutting for a new building at theKentucky Transpark.

Officials hold event fornew 108,000-square-footproperty at industrial park