Learn more about the company’s support of economic development efforts in the County and across the state:

• CSX Economic Development Publication:  http://industrialdevelopment.csx.com/

The Port of Wilmington is just 2 hours from Marlboro County.  Information on the Port can be viewed at:   http://www.ncports.com/elements/media/files/port-wilmington-fact-sheet.pdf

The Port of Wilmington website can be found at:  http://www.ncports.com/port-of-wilmington/

The SC Ports Authority and the Port of Charleston provide several publications each year to citizens, business, and industry.  Click on the links below to view or download these publications:

• 2015 Annual Report:  http://www.scspa.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2015-annual-report.pdf
• SC Port Guide:  http://www.scspa.com/about/publications/port-guide/
• SC Port Statistics:  http://www.scspa.com/about/statistics/

To learn more view the AT&T Press Release:
Read more…

When the Panama Canal opens up a new lane for bigger ships this month, much of the cargo they carry will be headed for this quiet corner of the Southeast, some 200 miles inland.

In the past few years, the rolling hills and farmland surrounding Greenville and Spartanburg have given way to massive warehouses and industrial parks. Restaurants in Greenville, S.C.’s formerly neglected downtown cater to corporate managers and engineers from Germany and Japan. Trucks clog the two main interstates, carrying engine parts and finished goods to and from the region’s growing number of manufacturing plants.

More development is on the way: over six million square feet of warehouse space is under construction in the Greenville-Spartanburg region, a scale typically seen in major cities like Philadelphia and St. Louis, according to CBRE Inc., a real-estate brokerage.

Major improvements are coming to the Lake Paul Wallace walking trail, thanks to a $75,000 grant administered through the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

The Lake Wallace Authority applied for the Recreational Trails Grant in February and recently learned it has been recommended for full funding. The next steps are project reviews by the Federal Highway Administration, State Historic Preservation Office and US Fish and Wildlife Service. Pending successful completion, the grant will be awarded later this year.

The grant will be used for a first-phase improvement plan for the 3.2-mile walking trail that crosses the diversion dam and encircles Lake Paul Wallace. It requires a 20 percent local match, which will be met through in-kind labor and additional funding by the Lake Wallace Authority.

Sully Blair, vice-chairman of the authority, said the project will involve regrading the diversion dam, which runs across the middle of the lake from Country Club Drive to Beauty Spot Road, and resurfacing it with a sand/clay/gravel mix for walking and running.

It will also involve clearing the eastern bank of the trail (around the perimeter of the lake), removing dead trees and brush to increase visibility and make this portion of the trail safer, and adding permanent trash receptacles and new seating areas along the entire trail.

Blair estimated the total cost to be around $100,000.   The grant, which will cover the bulk of the funding, will be delivered in either August or October, depending upon whether it is included in the 2016 or 2017 grant cycle.

Regardless, he expects the work to begin this year. The diversion dam should be completed quickly, but the clearing will be more extensive and will likely take several months.

This is just the latest step in the Lake Wallace Authority’s quest to improve the lake. A safety plan, which replaced the fencing, removed the old canteen building, added protective barriers and resurfaced and expanded the parking areas, is almost complete.

Future plans include adding more communal spaces around the lake, including shelters, grills, picnic tables and trash receptacles.

Marlboro County farmer McNiel Hinson harvested 27 acres of commercially grown snap (string) beans on Wednesday off Hebron-Dunbar Road. He grew the beans for Hanover Foods of Hanover, PA., who arranged for a harvesting company to gather the beans. Hinson then transported the picked beans to Pennsylvania for processing. Hinson also has 45 acres of snap beans planted in Dillon County. Doug Newton and Cade Baughman are other Marlboro County farmers who commercially grow the beans. Snap beans grow rapidly, producing large yields in a little over six weeks, allowing a second crop, such as soybeans, to be planted after them in the same season.

Photos by Dan McNiel

BY JOE PERRY Morning News jperry@florencenews.com

FLORENCE, S.C. – Fixed base operator Precision Air is pondering an expansion at Florence Regional Airport.

Precision Air is in charge of ground handling, maintenance and fueling operations under a 15-year contract with the Pee Dee Regional Airport Authority that began in March. Company representatives told board members Wednesday evening of their plans.

A 2,000-square-foot building that is undergoing renovations to become the new FBO hub and main point of entry for general aviation customers has an Aug. 20 target date for completion, said Todd Gibson, FBO manager. He also said a new 40,000-gallon fuel farm should be operational by July 15. Maintenance hangar doors that are 55 feet 8 inches wide for the 12,000-square-foot hangar need repairs and need to be widened to accommodate larger aircraft, he said. He raised the possibility of the authority covering costs of the repairs and Precision Air paying for the widening, which he said could save both entities money. One quote was $25,000, he said, and another was $31,500. He also said Precision Air has added staffers, has a new website up and running, has new uniforms in use, has had new utility poles installed to power equipment needed to service heavier aircraft and has ordered new signs.

Tim Summerow, vice president of operations for Precision Air parent company TKC Aerospace, said he wanted to advocate for the hangar door issue as well as a possible ramp expansion and additional taxiway space to allow for a “proper turnout” for aircraft dropping off and picking up passengers at the new FBO building. Corporate jets could offload and more easily and efficiently turn back onto the tarmac, he said. He also said that four government aircraft on site will require weekly servicing and maintenance and the expected revenue will be mutually beneficial.

“We’re very optimistic” that current capacity will soon be exceeded, he said, in floating the idea of a new T hangar.

Paving the new taxiway and ramp would cost somewhere “in the neighborhood” of $120,000, he said, but those projects are usually funded by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Authority Chairman Glen Greene asked Norwood Bonnoitt, who heads the FBO committee, if those issues would be taken up by his committee, and Bonnoitt agreed.

Joe Powell reported on the authority’s finances, telling fellow board members that May’s net income was $4,850 before depreciation and year-to-date is $97,000. That’s operating money, he said, and if grants and other revenues are included, the number is $260,000.

May 19, 2016
By SEANNA ADCOX Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C.

South Carolina must ramp up efforts to educate and retrain adults or jobs will vanish, says the director of the state’s Education Oversight Committee.

Just 40 percent of South Carolina’s working-age adults — those 25 to 64 years old — have an industry certification or degree beyond high school, ranking the state 40th nationwide. Twelve percent lack even a high school diploma, according to a report released last month by the Lumina Foundation.

“That’s why it’s getting harder and harder for businesses and industry to attract people,” EOC Director Melanie Barton told a Senate panel Thursday. “Even if we graduated 100 percent of our kids ready for college tomorrow, it’s still not enough. You’ve got to address the adults.”

While the state’s unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in March, about 131,500 South Carolinians remained out of work, despite 63,000 job openings statewide, according to the Department of Employment and Workforce.

Legislation that aims to match training with businesses’ workforce needs is headed to the Senate Education Committee.

Passed 106-5 by the House in January, it creates a council to coordinate all workforce training offered by various state agencies. Its responsibilities include surveying businesses to determine their hiring needs and working with technical colleges to fill in any gaps.

The council would also dole out tuition scholarships for adults who need schooling to get a job, as well as grants to pay for books and other fees they can’t otherwise afford.

Its sponsor, House Ways and Means Chairman Brian White, said coordination between K-12 schools, colleges, other state agencies and businesses is essential.

“Right now, everybody wants their own kingdom, and that’s not working,” he said Friday.

The low percentages of degree attainment in poor, rural counties are particularly startling, said Barton, who leads an agency tasked with accessing K-12 schools and overseen by a board educators, legislators and business leaders.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, just 14 percent of adults in Marlboro County hold at least an associate’s degree. Five other counties are below 20 percent.

“That explains why economic development is not happening in those counties. The workforce is not there,” Barton said.

At the top end, half of adults in Charleston County and 46 percent in Richland County hold a post-high-school degree.

“Richland County may be better than others, but our better is still not good,” said Sen. Darrell Jackson, D-Columbia.

Barton applauds the legislation’s tiered tax incentives for businesses that employ students as apprentices. Proposed tax credits for businesses in approved trades or skills range from $750 to $4,000 per apprentice, depending on the county’s unemployment rates.

She hopes it creates opportunities for students in distressed counties and helps erase students’ and parents’ misconceptions about pursuing careers in trades or high-tech manufacturing — a high-need field.

According to the Lumina report, just 4 percent of South Carolina’s adults hold a high-quality industry certificate or credential.

“We need a big momentum shift. It’s going to cost money,” Barton said. If the percentages of degrees or certifications don’t improve, she added, “companies will move, that’s my greatest fear, or they won’t expand.”

How much the legislation would ultimately cost will become clearer after agencies start coordinating, White said.

Several counties are piloting the program this year with $7 million from the state: $5 million for adult scholarships and $2 million to expand high schoolers’ dual-enrollment opportunities at technical colleges. The proposed budget for 2016-17 continues those amounts.

Legislators’ proposed spending also adds $10 million specifically for high school career centers and guidance counselors, increasing the total to $16 million.

Rail News: CSX Transportation

The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) on Wednesday announced plans for a second inland port facility as a result of the success of its Inland Port Greer and the demand for more efficient international container movement between the Port of Charleston and growing markets in South Carolina and North Carolina.

Port officials are in discussions with CSX to determine the viability of Dillion, S.C., as a potential location for the next inland port, said SCPA President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Newsome in a press release. The parties hope to finalize plans by year’s end, he said.

The Dillion site offers access to an existing CSX mainline, which opens a different intermodal marketplace from Inland Port Greer and provides access to the Southeast and Midwest, port officials said. The location also would be close to Interstate 95, a key transportation artery in the Southeast.

“A second inland port in South Carolina would expand transportation options in the state, lowering shipping costs for South Carolina businesses and improving competitiveness,” said Dean Piacente, CSX vice president, intermodal. “This project would also generate substantial public benefits by creating jobs, spurring economic development and reducing traffic congestion on I-26 and I-95.”

Hamburg Port Consultants are studying facility design, cost and construction timeline. Port authorities are pursuing federal funding through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program to help pay for the project.

About 23 percent of containers imported or exported through Charleston last year moved by rail, with nearly 260,000 international intermodal rail lifts handled in 2015. Intermodal volume has increased 166 percent since 2011, driving increased demand for additional inland port facilities, port officials said.