ZANESVILLE, Ohio - Invoking the words of Gov. John Kasich, Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor assured a Zane State crowd today the Kasich administration is bringing together "coalitions of Ohioans" to "do what we can to make sure that we don't let fear scare us away" from shale development.

"I think the governor summed it up pretty simply in the State of the State when he said we cannot let our fears outweigh this potential, talking about our opportunity with shale," Taylor said today as the keynote speaker for Zane State College's e-3-d summit (energy, education, economic development).

Taylor's message was, ahem, tailored perhaps to a group of about 30 Zane State students in attendance who are enrolled in a two-year program for natural gas engineering technology, which school officials say is the only program of its kind in the state. Additionally, Zane State started a training program in September in drilling and well completion in which more than half of the 45 people who finished the course have already been placed in jobs.

Shale drilling is underway in southern Muskingum County, and Halliburton has signaled its intention to locate an operations center in Zanesville, with the promise of 300 jobs. Some experts forecast thousands of potential jobs for the state, depending in part on the amount of fuel sources found in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays. 

Speaking of the economic potential, Taylor said it "does extend beyond the jobs that are only specific to the shale industry."

"New restaurants will pop up," Taylor said. "More people will be buying new cars. More people will be buying new houses. All of these opportunities exist today because of what we see today with shale."

Taylor gave the Kasich administration's blanket statement of the need to protect Ohio's ecosystem during drilling through fair - but not over burdensome - regulations on businesses. After the speech, she told reporters the Common Sense Initiative - a program she heads to examine and streamline the state's business regulations - is a part of Kasich's "shale cabinet" and is responsible for "making sure they have regulations that make sense, that are easy to comply with, are transparent, are accountable, are actually doing what they’re supposed to do – protect the health and safety of Ohioans."