Congresswoman Miller Announces $5.7 Million in Grants for Coal Communities in Southern West Virginia

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV) announced today five grants from the Appalachian Regional Commission, worth $5,744,534, for coal communities in Southern West Virginia. The full details of each grant are listed below.

“The previous Administration started the ‘War on Coal’ that severely hurt our region,” said Congresswoman Miller. “I’m committed to revitalizing and rebuilding our economy, and fighting for our coal communities. I am happy to see the Trump Administration share these goals and we thank them for making the hard-working coal miners of West Virginia and their families a priority.”

Full Details:

1. $2,353,788 will go to Thundercloud, Inc., in Huntington for the Thundercloud Gigabit City Deployment project that will to support a 25-mile fiber loop connecting Barboursville and Huntington.
2. $1,499,894 will go to the Region 4 Planning and Development Council in Summersville for the Creating Communities of Healings by Cultivating Businesses to Address the Opioid Crisis. In partnership with Seed Sower, Inc., Fruits of Labor, Wright Venture Services, the WV Hive, and Workforce WV Region 1, this project will create a recovery-to-work program focused on social entrepreneurship in the food sector.
3. $1,360,852 will go to the Region II Development Council in Huntington to fund the Tri-State Aviation Maintenance Technician Start-Up project. In partnership with Marshall University and Mountwest Community and Technical College, this program will work to fill the growing need for aviation maintenance technicians in our region’s growing aerospace industry.
4. $480,000 will go to Southern Highlands Community Mental Health Center in Princeton for the Strengthening Substance Abuse Recovery Ecosystems to Provide a Healthy and Ready Workforce project. This project will implement a peer navigator/recovery coach model to provide care to individuals combating substance use disorder.
5. $50,000 will go to the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority for the Aero-Ready in Southern WV project which will build a strategic plan to support the growing aerospace industry.