MEDA Quarterly News APR - JUN 2002 / Vol. 6
McDowell Economic Development Association, Inc.
25 South Garden Street
P.O. Box 1289
MEDA NEWS & UPDATES
A number of projects are underway that will have a local community impact. These include the following:
1) The
2) Design and Permits have been submitted for a 4 million expansion of sewer service to the Eastfield Community. This project is funded and will be complete within twenty-four months.
3) The City of Marion and the Department of Transportation have agreed to a process that will extend water and sewer on Sugar Hill Road to the Shady Lane intersection and then proceed with the extension of water service on Shady Lane Road to the Rest Area on Interstate 40. This project will be coordinated with the widening of Sugar Hill Road that is slated to begin this fall. McDowell County is contributing $50,000 to this project to enlarge the line size to 12”. This line size will enable water service to eventually serve properties at the Ashworth Road interchange.
4) The Corpening YMCA facility is fully under construction and is expected to be completed by December of this year. The YMCA facility will be approximately 54,000 SF. It will include a gymnasium, an indoor walking trail, an eight lane indoor pool, a child care center, an indoor climbing wall, a fitness center, a teen activity room, an aerobics studio, an outdoor terrace, multi-purpose rooms, soccer fields and other amenities. Mr. Ian Luck has been named the YMCA Director. Mr. Luck stated that a membership drive should begin in the fall of this year, based on a February 01, 2003 opening date. If you have any questions about the YMCA call Mr. Luck at 659-YMCA. Mr. Luck will write an article for the third quarter newsletter detailing business and industry membership and group rate opportunities.
5) A Senior Center Facility is also under construction and will be located adjacent to the new YMCA. The new Senior Center will be 11,500 SF and will triple the level of service currently capable of being provided. The completion date for the facility is January 2003.
6) The North Carolina Department of Transportation released its draft “Transportation Improvement Program” documents for the State of North Carolina. The TIP includes the widening of Sugar Hill road beginning this fall and the continued widening of Hwy. 221. We will detail the complete document for McDowell County in the next newsletter.
HIGH
SCHOOL CLASS REVAMPS
MEDA
WEBPAGE
The High School Computer Technology class taught by Barry Pace recently took on the project of reworking the Web Site for the McDowell Economic Development Association. The web page is designed to provide an overview of McDowell County as well as to highlight the available buildings and properties that are available. As one would expect, more contact with prospective companies is taking place because of Internet searches by companies instead of traditional advertising or searches. The project directors for the High School Class were Victor Donnelly and Jamie Lane. We express our appreciation to Mr. Pace and all of the students involved in this project and feel like the contribution made is very substantial. If you wish to review the web site, you may log on at www.main.nc.us/meda or www.mcdowellnc.org/meda.
ANNUAL
MEMBERSHIP DRIVE UNDERWAY
The McDowell Economic Development Association, Inc. (MEDA), is currently having their annual membership drive. MEDA is a non-profit local organization that is responsible for the development and retention of existing industry and for the recruitment of new industry in McDowell County.
MEDA’s goal is to continue building on the existing tax base and to diversify the local economy. Currently MEDA is working on seven projects that are dealing with new industry and working on two projects that are existing industry related. To help McDowell County grow and prosper MEDA needs support from not only industry, but small businesses and individuals as well. Becoming a member of MEDA is one way you can help with the recruitment of new industry and the efforts being put forth to strengthen McDowell’s economy.
Your membership and participation in this organization is vital in ensuring that the efforts of MEDA can continue. Your membership funds are used for a variety of services directly related to providing assistance to our existing industries and in the recruitment of new industry and investment in our community.
Please take this opportunity to join MEDA, for more information please contact the MEDA office at (828) 652-9391 or email us at meda@mcdowell.main.nc.us or visit our website at www.mcdowellnc.org/meda and click on the MEMBERSHIP button. We would like to thank all of you for your support.
LITERACY COUNCIL FORMED IN MCDOWELL COUNTY
The McDowell County Literacy Council is now in operation in
this community. The Council provides
confidential and highly skilled training to individuals that need to learn to
read or that need to improve their reading skills. The program is available to all citizens and
assistance from employers is strongly encouraged. The effort was initiated by a number of
Public School, Community College and local government officials. The contact persons for those interested in
receiving additional information are Lee Hughey and Cheryl Mitchell and they
can be reached at 652-0673 and 652-7121, ext. 354. The program has already trained ten tutors
and currently has seven students. Again,
the program is confidential, is without a charge or fee and you are encouraged
to call and get involved.
CENSUS STATISTICS FOR MCDOWELL COUNTY
AVAILABLE ON-LINE
The 2000 Census results are complete and a
variety of demographic information on McDowell County is available on-line at
www.uscensus.com. The following
represents an overview of several areas in the demographic profile:
Subject Number Percent
SCHOOL ENROLLMENT
Population 3 years and over
Enrolled in school 9,182 100.0
Nursery school, preschool 551 6.0
Kindergarten 496 5.4
Elementary school (grades 1-8) 4,536 49.4
High school (grades 9-12) 2,281 24.8
College or graduate school 1,318 14.4
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
Population 25 years and over 29,157 100.0
Less than 9th grade 3,199 11.0
9th to 12th grade, no diploma 5,502 18.9
High school graduate (includes equivalency) 1,505 36.0
Some college, no degree 5,308 18.2
Associate degree 2,029 7.0
Bachelor’s degree 1,843 6.3
Graduate or professional degree 771 2.6
Percent high school graduate or higher 70.2 (X)
Percent bachelor’s degree or higher 9.0 (X)
MARITAL STATUS
Population 15 years and over 34,094 100.0
Never married 6,206 18.2
Now married, except separated 20,915 61.3
Separated 1,070 3.1
Widowed 2,556 7.5
Female 2,157 6.3
Divorced 3,345 9.8
Female 1,767 5.2
INDUSTRY/OCCUPATION
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting,
and mining 234 1.2
Construction 1,752 8.9
Manufacturing 7,666 39.3
Wholesale trade 434 2.2
Retail trade 1,927 9.8
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 572 2.9
Information 203 1.0
Finance, insurance, real estate, and rental and
leasing 414 2.1
Professional, scientific, management, adminis-
trative, and waste management services 666 3.4
Educational, health and social services 3,098 15.8
Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation
and food services 1,150 5.9
Other services (except public administration) 691 3.5
Public Administration 754 3.9
INDUSTRY RECOGNITION
MEDA would like to congratulate the following industries for recognition that they have received within the past few months:
Collins & Aikman was presented “A Honda Quality Performance Award” in May of this year. The Old Fort plant was one of only three of Honda’s suppliers recognized with the quality award. The award is based on continuous dedication toward the achievement of quality for April 2001 to March 2002. Information about Collins & Aikman is available on the Internet at www.collinsaikman.com.
Baxter Healthcare Corporation was named one of the best places to work according to Computerworld, an information technology newspaper. Baxter International, Inc. was ranked among the top 22 companies on it’s “The 100 Best Places to Work in Information Technology” list. Baxter ranked seventh in the benefits category, and was one of the companies profiled by Computerworld in the area of work/life initiatives. Information about Baxter International, Inc. is available on the Internet at www.baxter.com
RONALD HARMON WORKS INTERNSHIP
Ronald H. Harmon began working an Internship in the McDowell Economic Development Office on June 05, 2002. Ronald has completed his BA with Shaw University in Public Administration, is currently working on a Masters in Public Administration from Western Carolina University with a concentration in Human Resources and is interested in the field of economic development.
Ronald will work on a number of projects including a Resource Directory Guide for McDowell County Industries that will be posted on our web site as well as assisting with the Membership Drive and also assessing the value of “Existing Industry” to the local economy. Ronald is the grandson of the late Jack Harmon who served as the Executive Director of Economic Development from 1985 to 1995.
ESC Report
Patin Howard
Employment Security Commission
McDowell’s April 2002 UI rate was 9.2%. This is the highest April UI Rate since 1985’s 11.3% rate. The UI rates for the first four months of 2002 were the highest for the same months since 1985, a 17-year high. Most years January’s rate is expected to be higher than most other months due to local cyclical factors. The most significant trend is that February through April the UI rate was between 9.2 and 9.6 indicating a consistently high number of persons out of work. A broad spectrum of employer sectors contributed to the sustained higher UI rate. While there has been some movement in hiring it has not been broad or great enough to indicate a fast recovery from the slow economy. While there are reports of an improving economy, this usually means companies are beginning to make a profit not necessarily hiring more workers. Replacement and certainly expansion hiring trails the first improvements in the economy.
Following are Unemployment Insurance payments to McDowell county residence for recent months:
2001, September $ 658,667.00
2001, October 722,802.00
2001, November 714,187.00
2001, December 799.039.00
2002, January 1,231,724.00
2002, February 667,888.00
2002, March 734,339.00
2002, April 801,425.00
Current ESC Workforce Information
from
MCDOWELL
COUNTY
as of
June 13,
2002
County Workforce: 19,246
Number Of Unemployed: 1,768
County Unemployment Rate:
April 2002
3 Months Ago 6 Months
Ago 12 Months Ago
9.2% 2.4% 8.1% 7.8%
Unemployment Insurance (UI) Benefits Paid in McDowell
County:
Last 30 Days: $610,826
Year-To-Date: $4,546,663
New Business/Industry Openings In
- Last 4 Weeks -
Business/Industry Closings In
- Last 4 Weeks -
Current State & National Information
Unemployment Workers Statewide (April 2002):
275,300
N.C. Unemployment Rate:
April 2002
3 Months Ago 6 Months
Ago 12 Months Ago
6.9% 6.4% 6.1% 5.1%
U.S. Unemployment Rate (May 2002): 5.8%
Unemployment Benefits Paid to N.C. workers:
Month To Date: $61,802,162
Last Month: $95,887,720
Year To Date: $610.098,919
Unemployment Benefits Paid to N.C. workers In May
2001: $71,808,639
N.C. Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund Balance:
(As Of Jun 13, 2002): $493,148,521
Current
MEDA Board Members
David Wooten, President
Kathy Rabb, Vice President
J.B. Bundy, Secretary/Treasurer
John R. Biddix
Joe Kaylor
Sarah Buchanan
Jim Kilbourne
Everette Clark
Ray Linder
William Dover
Dr. Virginia Mitchell
Larry “Butch” Hogan
Garland Norton
Adolph “Butch” Justice
Dennis Whitson
Ex-Officio
Members
Rod Birdsong
Bob Boyette
Rep. Mitch Gillespie
Paul Hughes
Dean Kanipe
MEDA
Office Staff
Charles R. Abernathy,
Executive Director
Harriet C. Smith
Office Manager