With his family watching, resident Brian Kendrick slogs toward his home in the 500 block of West Brady Street in Butler in February following several days of rain. Climate change could mean a lot more rain in the future for Butler County, according to one speaker at next weekend's Re-Imagine Butler County symposium.

Ever wonder what the future of Butler County will be like?

It could be a bright one where small farms and food processors, as well as tourists, drive the county economy.

Or it could be a gloomy, soggy one where increased rainfall caused by climate change leaves a polluted and infectious landscape in its wake.

That's the issue that will be tackled next weekend during a symposium of residents, local leaders and nonprofit organizations.

Re-Imagine Butler County will gather people and groups together to envision both an environmentally and economically sustainable future for the county.It will be staged from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sept. 29 in Founders Hall on Butler County Community College's main campus, 107 College Drive, Butler Township.Lou Hancherick of Marcellus Outreach Butler said his group, along with the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau and the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, are the organizers of the event.<i>Read the full story in Sunday's Butler Eagle.</i>

Above, Ryan Graham of Graham Haven, a grain farm in Connoquenessing Township, loads hay onto a truck. Agriculture, as well as tourism could play a big part of the county economy in the future. At right, members of anti-fracking protest group Marcellus Outreach Butler try out a projection system last fall at the county government center. MOB is one of the organizers of the Re-Imagine Butler County event.