Lawrence County was determined to be undistressed at the Appalachian Regional Commission Governor's Quorum meeting last night.
In a public meeting, officials from the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Governor's Office of Appalachia met last night in Washington, D.C., to discuss Appalachian-related issues.
They will still be eligible for funding through our program
said Jennifer Simon, interim director of the ARC. The reason why Lawrence County was taken off the list is because the unemployment rate has gone down significantly and it is now more on par with the national unemployment rate.
Three factors for classifying a distressed county are unemployment, poverty and income per capita compared to national averages.
Distressed counties can receive up to 80 percent of their funding for projects from ARC funds, Simon said. According to the Governor's Office of Appalachia Web site, there are 10 distressed counties in Ohio.
There has been a lot of job creation in Lawrence County through the development of other industries to replace the jobs lost when Ironton Iron shut down five years ago. We've had other industries replace the lost jobs
Simon said.
It's exciting to know that the country has worked really hard and is building momentum
she said.
In fiscal year 1999, 108 of Appalachia's 406 counties were classified as distressed. Lawrence County - located in southern Ohio - is undistressed for fiscal year 2005, which takes effect Oct. 1, 2004. The county will still remain a part of the ARC and be eligible for funding, but it will not be eligible for the additional 80 percent funding for projects.
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Megan Cotten
