By By ANDY HAMILTON / Niles Daily Star
NILES - The Four Flags Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a special guest Tuesday night.
Representative Fred Upton addressed the crowd of close to 200 at the Niles Elks Lodge 1322 for the Chamber's annual meeting and awards ceremony.
Upton's excitement over the growing Niles area was evident in his speech.
The House of Representatives Chairman of the Telecommunications Committee mentioned the plan to introduce ethanol as the main fuel for American drivers and how the corn fields of Southwest Michigan will be a large part of the plan. The goal for Upton and other members of Congress is to make ethanol a permanent fuel option for all vehicles by the year 2012.
Upton also discredited the rumors of closing the Amtrak train station Niles.
A piece of Upton's speech was also reserved for praising CEO and President of the Chamber, Ron Sather.
Sather said 2005 was an extremely prosperous year for Niles. The Chamber welcomed 94 new members, held 32 grand openings and hosted 51 events in the area including the Fourth of July fireworks, Sather said.
Niles Township also saw the opening of its new Fire Station and south 11th street will soon have water lines running along both sides of the highway.
The coming year should prove to be exciting as well, Sather added. The Chamber expects to see more than 100 new members and plans to hold 35 grand openings, including a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new downtown bakery in May and a brand new YMCA in the fall.
The city is also anticipating a new bank in the township. Chemical Bank is constructing a new building on the corner of Fifth and Main streets, and, Sather said Niles could expect to see a new restaurant in the coming months. The signs for the new Hummer dealership were recently completed and the showroom should open very soon, Sather said.