Region would benefit greatly by joining Appalachian group

Twenty-five years ago, then Youngstown Mayor Jack C. Hunter pushed to have Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana and Ashtabula counties become part of the Appalachian Regional Commission. Had Hunter been successful, this area would today be sharing in the millions of dollars appropriated by Congress for highway projects and community and human development programs.
But just because it didn't happen then does not mean that the idea lacks merit or should not be pursued -- albeit, a quarter century later. Indeed, in 1990, Columbiana County joined the commission, making it just one of 29 Ohio counties eligible to share in the special funding from Washington. By contrast, all of West Virginia and most of Pennsylvania are part of Appalachia.
U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette of Madison, R-14th, whose district includes seven northern townships in Trumbull County and all of Ashtabula County, has resurrected the idea of this part of Northeast Ohio joining the commission.
"It would mean a lot of good stuff for those areas," the congressman says. "Being in the commission makes those counties eligible for a lot of money. It wouldn't be bad to be a part of it."
It certainly wouldn't, given the fact that the Appalachian Regional Commission is a creation of Congress and that 410 counties in 13 states are now a part of the region. There certainly is political strength in those numbers.
Distressed counties
There are 118 counties classified as distressed and thus, by law, must receive half of all the money allocated to the commission each year. The rest goes to the other 292 counties. In 2001 and 2002, the commission distributed $62 million annually for more than 400 projects. The money, in the form of grants, can be used to meet state matching dollars for projects that reduce school dropout rates, provide job training, build water and sewer systems, develop telecommunication networks, help start and expand businesses, and make health and dental care more accessible.
But the benefits of being a part of the commission, whose 14 members determine the amount of money each county receives, go beyond the financial.
In 2001, Ohio University's Voinovich Center for Leadership and Public Affairs launched a Web site to assist business entrepreneurs in Ohio's 29 Appalachian counties. The site enables entrepreneurs access business management diagnostic tools, county-specific information and online client-consultant interaction.
In other words, businessmen and women who would otherwise have attended small business seminars now have all the information and help they need at their fingertips.
For Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties, such a service would be invaluable. For instance, by typing in "www.bizfirststop.com," entrepreneurs are able to access Business First Stop Ohio, a technical assistance one-stop shop that teaches rural business owners how to prepare a cash flow statement, provides a listing of local accountants and conducts online review of business plans.
Congressman LaTourette is to be commended for thinking regionally. His proposal deserves the support of all political and community leaders in this part of the state.