Published in the
Coalfield Progress, May 22, 2007
IDA HOLYFIELD / Editor
DUFFIELD — A regional effort to lure area
natives back home, the Crooked Road heritage music trail, Pro-Art
Association and the Duffield technology park are among the initiatives
that will benefit from nearly $4 million in Virginia Tobacco Commission
funds.
State Del. Terry Kilgore and state Sen. William C. Wampler Jr. announced
10 tobacco commission grant awards during a Monday press conference.
Commission funding will promote positive change on a variety of fronts
ranging from the arts to broadband communications, Kilgore said.
The announcement, at the Lenowisco Planning District Commission
headquarters, is one of a series of grant award events that will be
taking place in Southside and Southwest Virginia in the near future,
Kilgore said. And due to steps taken recently in cooperation with Gov.
Tim Kaine, the flow of commission money won’t stop, Kilgore said.
“We’re really at the start of something new . . . We went to the market
and invested and we now have $1 billion in the trust fund. Virginia will
help to protect this fund so that future legislatures cannot go in and
use the funds for other purposes,” he said.
Money goes to indemnify farmers for their losses due to reductions in
tobacco quotas and for development projects in communities, he noted.
“We are the only state to make sure funds are used the way they were
intended to be used,” Kilgore said.
“We were able to securitize our dollars. Our dollars are safe. Now we
are guaranteed that payments will go to the growers to be compensation
for their losses,” Wampler noted. In addition, the commission makes
strategic grants in ways that will benefit future generations of
Virginians, he noted.
Lenowisco Executive Director Ron Flanary has been a partner with the
commission in disbursing grant funds for the region, Kilgore noted.
Flanary makes sure applications are complete and on time. “Ron knows
every dollar we have to spend,” Kilgore said.
Grants announced Monday include:
Technology grants of $1.25 million to the
Lenowisco Inc. fiber optic backbone construction project and $1.5
million to the Virginia Coalfield Coalition’s Southwest Virginia fiber
optic backbone project (see related story, this page).
The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music
Trail, for “Off the Beaten Path, Crooked Road’s Hidden Gems” marketing
plan, $228,697. “This is a project very near and dear to William’s (Wampler)
and my heart,” Kilgore said. “USA Today recently had a story about the
Crooked Road . . . (officials) are doing such a great job.”
“If you can say that a rising tide lifts all boats, the tobacco
commission has truly been that tide,” Executive Director Bill Smith
said.
Lenowisco Planning District Commission, Return to
Roots, $226,550. “This is a project for recruiting folks who have
completed their educations and gone off to other areas to work. With all
the technology we are recruiting, we need that work force back,” Kilgore
noted.
Pro-Art Association, Performing Arts Center sound
and lighting equipment, $50,000. For equipment installation at J.W.
Adams Elementary in Pound, where many performances are held, so
organization will not have to rent equipment. Total project cost,
$125,000.
Scott County Economic Development Authority,
design and engineering for Duffield Regional Technology Center, first
tenant in the eCorridor Regional Technology Park, $200,000. Total
project cost, $6.7 million.
Fairview Citizens Corporation, $25,000, for a
roof on the Fairview School Community Center. Total project cost,
$81,150.
Planning District 1 Behavioral Health Services,
for the Big Stone Gap Interagency Facility feasibility study, $25,000.
Total project, $27,500; town of Big Stone Gap providing $2,500. This
project will study the feasibility of constructing a wellness center for
Gap citizens, to include a pool, boys’ and girls’ clubs and other
athletic facilities.
Town of Jonesville, Cumberland Bowl RV park and
campground, $50,000 for site design. Total project cost, $689,250.
Lee County Industrial Development Authority, for
40,000-square-foot Constitutional Oaks speculative building, $425,000.
Total project cost, $800,000.
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