THUMBS UP, THUMBS DOWN
THUMBS UP: The board of advisors of the Robeson County Community Foundation has awarded $16,090 in grants to 10 local organizations. Tim Little, president of the Robeson County Community Foundation board of advisors stated, “We are proud to support these fine organizations in our community. We hope these grants make a difference for these nonprofits and the communities they serve.”
THUMBS DOWN: The North Carolina General Assembly has failed to embrace Medicaid expansion for a near-future in part because of a lack of buy-in from a key health care interest group. Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore said last week that discussions have waned since its chief work period for the year has ended. North Carolina is one of 12 states that have yet to accept expansion since Congress first offered it over a decade ago.
THUMBS UP: The Rowland Rural Fire Department was able to maintain its current fire insurance rate after completing its routine inspection. The North Carolina Department of Insurance, Office of State Fire Marshal conducted its evaluation of the fire insurance classification for Rowland Rural Fire District. Following the inspection, the applied protection class stayed at a 5 for the Rowland District and 5/9E for the Rowland Rural district.
THUMBS DOWN: Data suggests the newest variants of COVID-19 have caused an increase in transmission locally, the Robeson County Health Department says. While the exact number of new cases is incomplete due to the increase in at-home testing, the number of new confi rmed cases in Robeson County increased for the fourth straight week and the 12th time in the last 14 weeks as the Robeson County Health Department reported 487 cases July 19-25, up 463 case from the previous week. We must continue to be vigilant with safety protocols such as social distancing, wearing masks and getting vaccinations.
THUMBS UP: The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced the approval of North Carolina’s application for up to $201.9 million in funding under the State Small Business Credit Initiative, SSBCI. We are anxious to see how much of that money benefits businesses here in Robeson County. “Since 2011, the North Carolina Rural Center has administered the State Small Business Credit Initiative on behalf of the state of North Carolina,” said North Carolina Rural Center President Patrick Woodie. “We are immensely proud that the program has been a national leader in working with private lenders across the state to help more small business owners get the critical commercial capital they need to start or expand their business. We are deeply honored by the trust placed in us by the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the General Assembly, and the Office of the Governor to once again lead in the deployment of this new allotment of funding for this proven and trusted initiative.”
THUMBS UP: The price of gasoline continues to fall as demand wanes. Driving habits have changed during the last year as drivers found ways around paying high prices for gas. Many are making fewer trips by combining tasks, summer vacations have been canceled or are closer to home and people have found that they can work or converse online rather than driving. Read more on this on page 1A of today’s Robesonian.
THUMBS UP: The task of planning the Maxton Collard Festival is back in the hands of the town thanks to a decision by town commissioners last week. We look forward to celebrating with the community again this year.
THUMBS DOWN: The Robeson County Board of Commissioners brought plans to establish a drug rehab center near Parkton to a halt during a meeting this week. The main factor is that residents around the proposed facility believe it will hurt property values. While we understand the concern, we agree with Commissioner David Edge, who said, “This group requested help from the state to start a rehab program and they gave them much more than they asked for because of the severe problem that we’ve got here in Robeson County. It’s a great opportunity for the county and they selected probably one of the best sites that could be had in not a very dense community. It’s ridiculous that it was not accepted.”
THUMBS DOWN: The state’s seasonally adjusted June 2022 unemployment rate was 3.4 percent, remaining unchanged from May’s revised rate, according to a report last week from the North Carolina Department of Commerce. Likewise, the national rate remained unchanged at 3.6 percent. When county numbers are released later today, we expect the same results — that the jobless rate remains unchanged. While we had hoped to see a continued drop in unemployment, we are hopeful that this may be an indicator that our local economy is returning to pre-pandemic levels. Tracking the trend over several months will be the ultimate indicator.
If you have a suggestion for the Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down column, contact Executive Editor David Kennard at [email protected]
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