Georgia County Government - March 2009 - (Page 15)

Okefenokee Technical College and its satellite branches, the program strives to boost the competitiveness of Southeast Georgia employers by raising the quality of the local workforce. Under the auspices of the Southeast Georgia RDC’s Workforce Development Division (WDD), nine jurisdictions benefit from a workforce development budget of more than $1 million, and the effort continues to make measurable gains. A one-stop service delivery system for local employers and jobseekers is guided by the Southeast Georgia Workforce Investment Board and numerous partner agencies, supported by Workforce Investment Act funds. The WDD also provides employment and training services for adults and for displaced workers and a youth council advises the Workforce Investment Board and the WDD on year-round services for out-of-school youth. Agriculture – Strong and Diversifying “Our counties are all quite different,” Boatright claims. “However, one thing we all have in common is that agriculture is still very big business, with the entire roster of traditional Georgia crops such as peanuts, peaches, soybeans, cotton, watermelon and more now benefitting from a diversifying trend. “We’re a region of agricultural change,” Boatright continues. “Tobacco, a big money crop in the past, is history now and timberlands, which the region still relies on heavily, are increasingly being cleared and planted with other crops.” With regard to commercial forestry, in step with most of rural Georgia, there continues a trend to sell off timberlands here. But for now, commercial timber interests are also still prominent. “Pine forestry is still going quite strong, but being hindered by pricing,” Boatright adds. There are lucrative interests now booming here among new crops, with blueberries, blackberries, pomegranates and olives among the most successful. Bacon County has been referred to as the state’s “Blueberry Capital,” and at least one area golf resort, the Inn at Blueberry Plantation, is leveraging the ambienceladen image conjured up by blueberry fields. Futch notes that with land-use changes, new investment is prompted, citing an example in Clinch County where, in recent months, 500 acres of commercial timber was cleared to plant blueberries. There is also a $1.5 million investment being made in Coffee County in a blueberry processing plant, and three such plants are thriving in Bacon County, in Alma and in Homerville. Blackberries are also becoming an important crop locally, Futch adds. Solid County-City Relationships Ware County Chairman Brown and County Manager Gail Boyd speak for region officials when they espouse relying on “solid county-city relations” as integral to effective government and growth management. Counties here enjoy strong, collaborative ties to their cities, and consider these relationships key, as well, to economic growth. Futch, a director of the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority SOUTHEAST GEORGIA continued on page 16 The RDC offers a myriad of services to local governments in the areas of economic development, aging, workforce development, comprehensive planning, transportation, historic preservation planning, community development, grant writing and administration, and GIS. Southeast Georgia RDC 1725 South Georgia Parkway, West Waycross, GA 31503 912-285-6097 www.segardc.org MARCH 2009 www.accg.org 15 http://www.segardc.org http://www.lpagroup.com http://www.accg.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - March 2009

Georgia County Government - March 2009 Contents President’s Message County Matters Focus on Southeast Georgia The Georgia Public Service Commission Jerry R. Griffin MPA Scholarship Recipients Named Extension News Research Corner Staff News County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - March 2009

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