Rural communities need to seize opportunities

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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Promise Zone is shot in the arm

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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