My father is always studying the sky. The weather makes or breaks his, and every rancher's, year and it's a constant worry. Agriculture is a tough industry. And, it's the lifeblood of rural Colorado. Given the caprice of Mother Nature and her vital impact on farmers and ranchers, rural communities constantly search for ways to diversify their economic base.

As small towns try to attract new businesses and maintain the health of their own Main Streets, their community and state colleges are essential to their efforts. Any rural economic development plan will succeed only if it strengthens the capabilities of these institutions. They are the cultural, social and educational centers of their communities and regions. They are the single most important factor in attracting new businesses.

Take Pueblo, for example. I remember vividly when Pueblo lost thousands of jobs in the early 1980's. It went into an economic freefall. But, Pueblo did what it has always done-pulled itself up by the bootstraps. Pueblans aggressively went after new businesses. They taxed themselves to promote their city. And Pueblo Community College, with its ability to train workers, became a key tool in selling the community to outside employers. Today, Pueblo has a far more diverse economy than it had 15 years ago. One critical reason is the training that Pueblo Community College provides. This includes all of Trane Company's employees, taught in a facility paid for by the company, and Boeing's Delta rocket employees. Now, when Pueblo leaders go on the road for business development, the leadership of PCC is always a part of the delegation.

For rural Colorado to keep up with its urban neighbors, its citizens must have access to technology, information and education on a par with city dwellers. Without that access, rural Coloradans will become the have-nots of our state. Community colleges across Colorado are the centers of efforts to link school districts, libraries and homes to the Internet and the huge world it opens to its users.

Otero Community College in La Junta is the hub of the Arkansas Valley Technology Project. This is a fiber network that will connect 24 school districts, 11 libraries and 4 hospitals to the information highway. Eventually, this system will allow students in small schools to have full access to coursework, degree programs and vast quantities of information. It will also provide telemedicine to rural residents who need specialized medical care not available in their communities.

Otero is doing much more. Through its network academy, the college is graduating the network technicians who will meet the technological needs of the Arkansas Valley Technology Project. These are the kinds of jobs that will enable many young people to stay and work in their home towns. The college's partners in this exciting endeavor include Cisco Systems, the primary producer of electronics that make the Internet work, and the Southeast Colorado Power Association, both of whom have contributed substantial resources to the project.

Partnerships like these make colleges across Colorado the centers of both educational and economic opportunity for citizens no matter where they live. Without them rural areas would not have access to the kinds of opportunities urban residents take for granted. Without them, rural communities would have minimal potential to develop their economies. These colleges deserve the investment that will enable them to continue be educational, technological and cultural leaders. They deserve to have the resources that will allow all Coloradans and Colorado communities to develop their full potential.