ASHLAND, Ky. (Sept. 11, 2023) – Today, while attending the annual Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) conference hosted in Ashland, Gov. Andy Beshear presented more than $15 million to benefit Boyd, Carter, Lincoln, Rockcastle and Rowan counties.
The awards will bring high-speed internet to 3,915 homes and businesses. They will also support a mobile health clinic and portable X-ray machine, water and wastewater infrastructure, road resurfacing, tourism, law enforcement, parks and nonprofits.
“Today, we are building a better Kentucky by making critical investments in five counties,” Gov. Beshear said. “Through these awards, we are making sure more families have access to health care and safe drinking water, and we’re also providing nearly 4,000 homes and businesses access to high-speed internet, which all our people need for school, work and more.”
Boyd and Carter County Awards
Gov. Beshear presented more than $11 million for Foothills Connect to bring high-speed internet access to 2,798 homes and businesses in Boyd and Carter counties. Foothills Connect will contribute more than $7.5 million in private funds. The award is the result of a bipartisan agreement signed into law by Gov. Beshear in April 2021 that allocated $300 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to the Kentucky Broadband Deployment Fund.
The Governor recommended more than $717,000 in ARC funds for three projects in Boyd County. If approved, the first grant would provide $200,000 for the Kentucky Rural Water Association to assist with water and wastewater management. The second would include $400,000 for Appalachian Regional Healthcare to fund a mobile health clinic. The third project would provide $117,020 to purchase a portable X-ray machine to enhance services at Mercy Health.
“Projects like this improve our quality of life by bringing the world to our community through a couple of strokes of the keyboard,” said Rep. Patrick Flannery of Olive Hill. “Today’s announcement alone means almost 5,000 homes and businesses will have access to information, health care and entertainment like never before. This is just part of the $28.45 million awarded across our district and is exactly why the legislature has made investing in broadband a priority.”
Lincoln County Awards
Gov. Beshear presented more than $2 million in funding for Lincoln County, including:
- More than $971,000 to bring high-speed internet to 1,117 homes and businesses in Lincoln County. The grant recipient, Charter Communications, will also contribute more than $5.1 million to this project;
- $1 million to Lincoln County to support the McKinney Water District Improvements Project;
- More than $91,000 to Lincoln County for resurfacing on Carter School Road;
- Nearly $17,500 to Lincoln County to support tourism marketing; and
- Nearly $900 in Law Enforcement Protection Program funds for the Crab Orchard Police Department.
Rockcastle County Awards
The Governor presented more than $4 million for Rockcastle County, including:
- More than $974,000 for Cleaner Water Program projects, awarded to the city of Brodhead ($100,000), the city of Livingston ($153,014), the city of Mt. Vernon ($239,411), the Rockcastle County Fiscal Court ($60,000) and the Western Rockcastle Water Association ($421,737);
- Nearly $122,000 to Rockcastle County for resurfacing on Rich Farm Road;
- More than $77,500 for Rockcastle County to support recycling efforts;
- $45,306 for the Mt. Vernon/Rockcastle County Tourist Commission to support tourism marketing;
- $135,000 for the Kentucky Music Trail regional tourism project, impacting Christian, Daviess, Fayette, Floyd, Jefferson, Johnson, Muhlenberg, Ohio and Rockcastle counties;
- $25,000 for the city of Mt. Vernon to purchase new park amenities and construct a new trail at Lake Linville Park;
- Nearly $18,000 for two local nonprofits, Appalachia Science in the Public Interest and the Kentucky Foster Care Association; and
- $11,000 for Rockcastle County to help residents safely dispose of household hazardous waste.
Rowan County Awards
The Governor presented $378,000 to Rowan County for resurfacing on McBrayer Road ($94,500), Morgan Fork Road ($73,500) and Sugarloaf Mountain Road ($210,000).
Earlier today in Ashland at the ARC annual conference, Gov. Beshear and ARC federal co-chair Gayle Manchin announced grant awards totaling more than $1.5 million to support recovery programs to help boost the workforce in Eastern Kentucky. During an intermission of the conference, the Governor will travel to the city of Greenup to announce nearly $4 million in funding to benefit Greenup County and its citizens.
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