The 'Shaping Our Appalachian Region' initiative is moving into its second year. Expectations about economic growth are tempered with the realization that new jobs aren't created overnight.
The first 'Shaping Our Appalachian Region' summit more than a year ago attracted hundreds to Pikeville. Since then, much work has taken place to generate social and economic change. Still, retiring Pike County Judge Executive Wayne Rutherford says it's not realistic to expect a lot of new jobs next year. "Not in 2015, impossible," said Rutherford. "Things don't happen overnight. We've just now got a project to be funded that we've been working on nine years."
Rutherford says county officials currently have seven projects in the works, including one that is energy related and has high paying job prospects. He says Pike County is progressive and will survive the loss of coal jobs in the area. "We've lost about 1,600 or 1,700 coal miners in this one county and we will survive," he said. "How these other counties are gonna survive with no severance tax and no jobs, I don't know."
Long time Wittensville State Representative Hubie Collins says state dollars are not the entire solution. "Money is not the answer for everything in getting success done," Collins said. "I think you got to have cooperation and good ideas."
The eastern Kentucky lawmaker says a research consultant has indicated county officials could better collaborate on economic development initiatives.?
