Governor Beshear was in eastern Kentucky Thursday for another announcement about new higher-ground housing for the flood-stricken region. 115 homes will be built in Letcher County and another 12 in Floyd County – and they’ll be built on about 100 acres donated by Gregory Johnson and his brothers Garnie and George. Gregory Johnson:
“We've had the property for about 15 years. We acquired the property from Tico, which is Tampa Power and Electric. They were mining in this area, they bought a property from Bethlehem Steel, the 1000s of acres of both mineral land, and we acquired the property from them.”
Johnson said state officials expressed interest in the land and his family, which has done well in the coal and coal equipment industries, were happy to help.
“The real emphasis with this was to help people that had lost their housing, lost their homes, and this property would provide them a potential new home on higher ground.”
The land donation is a continuation of the Johnson’s help after the July ’22 flood. Gregory Johnson is a minister and said other congregations across the country raised 300-thousand dollars for flood survivors.
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