News

Jan. 23 is deadline for small towns to submit applications for NC STEP demonstration program
Small towns across North Carolina are in the process of completing applications for a demonstration program that will help them develop and accelerate economic revitalization projects in their communities. The N.C. Small Towns Economic Prosperity Demonstration Program (NC STEP) is a major component of the center’s $10.5 million Small Towns Initiative, a broad-based plan to boost resources, investments, information and local leadership in towns of fewer than 10,000 residents. Through NC STEP, 20 economically distressed small towns in North Carolina representing a broad range of characteristics will be chosen as demonstration communities, affording them access to grant funding, leadership training and technical assistance. Towns will be chosen based on geographical distribution, population size and diversity, and management structure, among other criteria. A cluster of small towns may also be eligible to apply as a demonstration site. Selected demonstration communities will receive $20,000 in planning funds to develop their initiatives and will be eligible to receive up to $200,000 to implement their projects. Applications are due to the Rural Center on Jan. 23, 2006. For information on the N.C. Small Towns Economic Prosperity Demonstration Program or to download an application, visit the website. For questions on NC STEP or the center’s Small Towns Initiative, contact Robin Pulver (919) 250-4314.

Easley announces new small business grants program for research and technology development projects
Applications for a new $1 million small business grants program offered through Gov. Mike Easley’s One North Carolina Fund will be accepted beginning Jan. 1. The One North Carolina Small Business Fund will allow more of North Carolina’s small businesses to conduct innovative research and technology development projects that help spark statewide economic growth, Easley said. The program will support small businesses engaging in research projects through the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. The program allows a portion of the One North Carolina Fund economic development incentive money to be used for state matching funds for businesses that receive federal SBIR or STTR Phase I awards. Under this year’s program solicitation, an eligible company may receive an unrestricted grant award from the state of up to 50 percent of the company’s federal grant award up to $50,000. Applications for state matching funds must be received within 45 days of notification of a Phase I award by the federal SBIR/STTR agency. For more information or to download an application, visit the N.C. Board of Science and Technology’s website.

One year after launch, community-owned fiber-optic network is linking residents and local government in Polk County
A fiber-optic ring that will be a key link in the regional fiber network being developed by Congressman Charles Taylor has grown substantially and may quadruple in length by next spring, according to the Polk County nonprofit group that owns the network. The organization, e-Polk Inc., was created in 2001 after receiving a $375,000 grant from the Rural Internet Access Authority to build a seven-mile fiber optic network they called PANGAEA. Polk County sought funding to begin building the high-speed network to increase technology capabilities for local schools and county government. Today the network has grown to include 18 business and residential customers along Highway 108 and will soon outfit the county’s new regional library with plentiful and affordable bandwidth. Congressman Charles Taylor’s technology development project, the Education Research Consortium (ERC), says it plans to use the PANGAEA network to fill in gaps in its regional network in the areas between Spartanburg, Rutherfordton, Black Mountain, Asheville and Hendersonville. Today ERC operates a high performance computing center and its fiber optic network, ERC Broadband, is working to build connectivity among colleges, institutions and small fiber optic networks throughout Western North Carolina and northern South Carolina. To find out more about the PANGAEA network, read the full article in the Tryon Daily Bulletin by clicking here.

Reports and Research

UNC study finds more people than ever living without health insurance, especially in eastern North Carolina
The percentage of non-elderly North Carolinians who lacked health insurance increased from 15.3 percent in 2000 to 17.5 percent in 2004, according to a just-released study by the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Of the 10 counties in North Carolina reporting the highest number of uninsured people, eastern North Carolina is home to eight of them and eastern Tyrrell County is ranked as the worst off in terms of its uninsured population. About 32 percent of Tyrrell County residents aged 18-64 lack health coverage, compared to Wake County, where just 13.9 percent of residents lack insurance. Not surprisingly, the state’s 15 urban counties were better off, on average, than the 85 rural counties. The center's report, "County Estimates of the Number of Uninsured in North Carolina: A 2004 Update," is available on the website.

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Meetings and Events

National company comes to Raleigh Jan. 25 to show small- and mid-size companies how to grow effectively
Grow Fast Grow Right is bringing its popular business seminar to the McKimmon Center in Raleigh on Jan. 26. The company offers information on 12 tools to grow a business, including: educating company executives on business growth strategies; raising capital in turbulent markets; determining whether a company is on the right path for sustained and durable growth; building the right team of effective outside advisors and board of directors; and identifying, harvesting and leveraging a company's intellectual capital. The fee to register is $695 and includes workshop materials and lunch. To find out more or to register, click here.

Annual aquaculture conference comes to Greenville Jan. 13-14
The 2006 N.C. Aquaculture Development Conference and Trade Show will be held Jan. 13 and 14 at the Hilton Greenville in Greenville. The annual event will feature workshops and presentations on the latest local and national issues affecting aquaculture. The conference is open to anyone interested in fish or shellfish farming, including prospective growers, researchers, teachers, students or government officials with jobs related to aquaculture. The conference will kick off on Friday with a trade show and presentations on state and national industry and research updates, federal health programs, catfish production practices, new stress detection tools, product quality measurement methods and more. Later that evening, the annual AquaFood Festival will feature a seafood buffet of North Carolina farm-raised aquaculture products. The next day’s concurrent workshops will feature discussions on multiple species culture, aquaculture education, shellfish/soft shell crab production and new developments in warm water aquaculture. The cost for the conference is $95 per person and includes the seafood festival buffet. Cost to attend the festival only is $35. For conference information or to register, visit the website.

Center-led team to host another round of community-based entrepreneurship workshops in February and March
A series of community-based entrepreneurship workshops held this fall and led by the Rural Center and the Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship were such a success that stakeholders are gearing up for another round of the workshops in February and March. The workshops, “Opening the Door to Rural Entrepreneurship,” will be held in mid-to-late February at the Anson County Telecenter and on March 31 at the Blue Ridge Business and Technology Center in Sparta. Detailed information on dates, times and locations will be announced in January. The workshops are being offered by a Rural Center-led team working to create a comprehensive entrepreneurship development system to serve rural and minority entrepreneurs in low-wealth areas of the state. The team conducted three of these workshops, which are an integral part of the project’s outreach efforts, in eastern and western North Carolina in October and November. The purpose of the workshops is to engage rural community and policy leaders in understanding and supporting their local entrepreneurs and to work with rural business service providers in building support networks capable of growing, nurturing and sustaining entrepreneurs. The EDS team will work directly with rural entrepreneurs around the state starting in 2006. To find out more, contact Michelle Hall at (919) 250-4314.

From the N.C. Press

North Carolina Associated Press: Industries to create much-need jobs in Randolph and Burke Counties
Two industries will create nearly 200 new jobs through expansions at plants in Randolph and Burke counties, Gov. Mike Easley has announced. Hubbell Industrial Controls will expand its Archdale plant in Randolph County and create 150 new jobs and investing $4.5 million, Easley said. The company received a $150,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund. In Burke County, Cherokee Manufacturing said it will create 31 new jobs and invest $4.1 million. Cherokee makes landscape and horticultural products. The Burke County expansion will be for production of wire baskets and wreath rings. The company received a $24,000 One North Carolina grant for the expansion, which will occur at the company's distribution facility in Morganton.

North Carolina Associated Press: Soil study to look at effects of acid rain on high elevations
Scientists plan to study soil in high elevations of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park this spring in an effort to learn more about the effects of acid rain and other environmental problems, officials say. The Smokies suffer from some of the worst acid rain problems in the U.S., especially after major rains or snow melts when streams and rainwater in the higher elevations become more acidic than normal. The study will target sites examined by the Environmental Protection Agency in the 1980s, enabling scientists to see how the soils have changed.

Asheville Citizen-Times: Philanthropist pledges nearly $7 million to Western Carolina University
Philanthropist Joe Kimmel pledged $6.92 million this month to a new construction management program at Western Carolina University. The gift comes from Kimmel’s concern of a future shortage for managers in the construction industry. Kimmel & Associates of Asheville generates about $20 million in annual revenue, recruiting and placing top executives nationwide for large construction projects. Officials at Western announced the naming of the Joe W. Kimmel School of Construction Management, Engineering and Technology. "The incredible gift from Joe Kimmel, his family and his associates will provide much-needed support to an academic program that is near and dear to Joe's heart," Western Chancellor John W. Bardo said. "We view this gift as among the most important events in this university's long and storied history. We expect this pledge, combined with additional private and public support, will result in a school that will place Western on par with the nation's finest institutions of higher education in preparing students for careers in construction management and related fields that are critical to the emerging economy of the state and the nation." "Everyone at Kimmel & Associates is fortunate to have the opportunity to give back to the industry that has treated us so well for decades and to do it through Western Carolina University," Kimmel said. "What better blessing could there be?"

Raleigh News and Observer: Rural eastern North Carolina hamlet intends to become the East Coast's first large-scale producer of ethanol
Agri-Ethanol Products last week said it is moving forward with a $150 million plant in Aurora, a Beaufort County town about 50 miles southeast of Greenville. The plant, which received $3 million in state support, is expected to open in early 2007 and employ about 74 workers. Entrepreneurs have worked for two decades to build ethanol plants in Eastern North Carolina to cash in on a penchant for cleaner fuels, and provide an economic catalyst. Officials in Beaufort County have worked on the project for four years to resuscitate an area devastated by manufacturing and farming declines. “We need anything," said Tommy Thompson, executive director of the Beaufort County Economic Development Commission. "This is like an economic tsunami, in a positive sense." Beyond the jobs at the plant, backers envision hundreds of indirect jobs in shipping, distribution and related industries. Farmers also could get a boost as demand for corn rises. Ethanol is made from corn or starchy grains through a fermenting process, and mixed with gasoline to reduce emissions. It is gaining attention amid efforts to reduce the nation's reliance on the Middle East. About 80 million gallons are used in North Carolina annually. Much of the ethanol made in Aurora will stay in the state, the company said. "In this day and age, anything that takes away from crude-oil imports is good for America," said Terry Ruse, general manager of Agri-Ethanol Products. Most ethanol producers are in the Midwest, because those states are the biggest producers of corn. Ruse, however, said that a plant makes sense for Aurora. Beaufort County produces 9 million bushels of corn a year. The plant will need about 20 million bushels every year to make 114 million gallons of ethanol.

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The mission of the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center is to develop, promote, and implement sound economic strategies that improve the quality of life of rural North Carolinians, with a special focus on individuals with low to moderate incomes and communities with limited resources.

N.C. Rural Economic Development Center
Michelle Taylor, UPDATE editor
Courtney Kilpatrick, UPDATE production manager
Elaine Matthews, vice president for communications and development
4021 Carya Drive, Raleigh, NC 27610
(919) 250-4314 Fax: (919) 250-4325
www.ncruralcenter.org