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Rural communities need to seize opportunities

SC Promise Zone

Commentary by Andy Brack from Statehouse Report

People in rural counties across South Carolina know the challenges they face.

Barnwell County residents talk during a July 9 town hall meeting.

Barnwell County residents talk during a July 9 town hall meeting.

They know about their high poverty, higher than normal unemployment, challenged schools and need for better health care facilities. They understand how their tax rates are higher than urban areas because of the lack of a broad industrial tax base to help fund local services.

But they also know these problems can be solved. They just need more resources, better infrastructure and more collaboration to get things done. Read more →

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SCA to host six county Promise Zone town hall meetings

SC Promise Zone

Local residents, leaders urged to attend to give community input on new program

15.0624.map_1000JUNE 24, 2015 — Residents and leaders in Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper Counties are invited to attend special “town hall” meetings in their communities in July to learn about the new federal Promise Zone designation for these counties and to provide vital input on how to make the program become successful.  A schedule of meetings is listed below.

“The six counties of the Southern Carolina area have a huge opportunity to vastly improve people’s lives by working together with local governments, non-profits and businesses to tap into federal grants made possible by the Promise Zone designation,” said Danny Black, President and CEO of SouthernCarolina Alliance. Read more →

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Promise Zone is shot in the arm

SC Promise Zone

Commentary from Statehouse Report:

MAY 1, 2015  |  Talk about a shot in the arm for the southern rural counties of South Carolina. Witness the just-announced federal Promise Zone designation for a six-county area centering on Allendale County that should pump in millions of dollars of aid over the next 10 years.

But let’s be clear: It’s a hand-up, not a handout for people in the zone area of Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties. There’s a lot of hard work ahead for these counties, nonprofits, government agencies and businesses that are part of the effort to generate more jobs, improve education, reduce crime and get more affordable housing in a region where 28.1 percent of 90,000 residents live in poverty.

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Kentucky’s Promise Zone generated $174 million

SC Promise Zone

Excerpted from the Walterboro Press and Standard:

APRIL 30, 2015  | [CEO Jerry] Rickett said since receiving the designation Kentucky Highland Promise Zone, approximately $174 million has been committed to be invested by Kentucky, the federal government and private sector. “We have written 91 letters of support for projects applying for federal funds.”

Since the designation, Rickett said, the United States Department of Agriculture provided a loan to the Knox County Hospital that saved 200 jobs. “Those types of investments have been so critical to helping us maintain the employment we have,” Rickett said. USDA has committed $43 million to projects within the Kentucky Promise Zone.

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