ELLSWORTH ? An offer of free building lots and a variety of other incentives has brought nine new families to Ellsworth in the past year and a half. That pace could soon be picking up after Ellsworth County’s relocation efforts were featured recently in USA Today.

As of Friday, Ellsworth County Economic Development executive director Anita Hoffhines still had 142 unanswered e-mails seeking more information on the program.

Hoffhines put in a 65-hour week after the story ran in Tuesday’s edition of USA Today. She spent much of Friday showing a couple from Tampa, Fla., around the area as a result of that article.

And on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Hoffhines will be working with a television crew from Florida that will be shooting footage there for a 50-minute program for the Spanish network Telemundo.

“That’s huge,” Hoffhines said. “They reach 85 percent of the Hispanic population in the United States, plus France and Spain.”

Telemundo wants to see a variety of things on its visit, including the Ellsworth Correctional Facility, manufacturing locations, the hospital, schools, a Spanish class at the high school and buffalo, Hoffhines said.

While it would be great to attract several new people to the town through that program, Hoffhines admits that she’s not sure Ellsworth is equipped to handle an influx of immigrants who don’t speak English.

“Are we prepared? Maybe not,” she said. “Would we be able to adjust? Yes.”

She has received 1,500 inquiries since the county began its incentive program 18 months ago. Nine families have taken advantage of an offer that includes free building lots, free city services, such as a year’s worth of golf or swimming, and up to $3,000 toward building a home or down payment for one.