On Tuesday afternoon, Northampton County Manager Wayne Jenkins was notified by Golden LEAF Vice President of Programs and Community Assistance and Outreach Pat Cabe that the Golden LEAF Board approved five projects totaling $1,554,100 through the Community Assistance Initiative Program at their June 3 meeting.
“It’s like Santa Claus has come to Northampton County,” said Jenkins on Wednesday.
Those projects awarded Golden LEAF funds include:
$540,000 to Northampton County Schools for a Rich Square Career Training Center;
$242,700 to the Lake Gaston Community Center for up fit of the community center and expanded services;
$43,000 to the Tri-County Airport Authority for runway lighting;
$294,498 to the North Carolina Center for Automotive Research (NCCAR) for advanced IT (information technology) and electrical systems; and
$433,902 to Northampton County for the Northampton County Library Renovation/Addition.
Jenkins noted the current struggles in the county with unemployment listed at 12 percent, citizens struggling to pay their taxes and county itself wrestling to balance their budget without affecting services.
“For Golden LEAF to infuse $1.5 million in the county...I’m just ecstatic,” he said. “This certainly will impact the majority of our citizens in the county.”
The Golden LEAF Foundation is a Rocky Mount-based non-profit created by the North Carolina General Assembly to administer one-half of North Carolina's share of the Master Settlement Agreement with cigarette manufacturers to help bolster the state’s long term economy.
Reprinted with permission from the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald
There is to be no profanity and there is to be no character assassination even if the person being written about is a suspect in a crime.
Comments that presume knowledge of a person’s home life, financial situation or other personal details will be not be posted as will comments which presume legal knowledge.
All comments must be on the topic of the story and offer the reader’s insight on a particular issue. rrspin.com will cease posting comments if the editor determines readers are infighting with one another and not staying on the topic of a story.
rrspin.com prefers readers use their real names because anonymous posters are accountable for their comments just as readers who post their names are.