Sen. Capito visits Mercer, Announces Grants, Brings 'Rise Up'

PRINCETON — Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., made stops in Mercer County Wednesday to announce grants, attend a grand opening and to bring her “Rise Up” program to an elementary school. 

She stopped at the Mercer County Economic Development Authority office in Princeton (Mercer County War Museum Building) where she announced two grants, one to develop the Exit 1 area on I-77 in Bluefield and another to repurpose the Wood Resource Center at Exit 14 of I-77. 

Capito, who serves on the appropriations and commerce committees, has been instrumental in securing the grants. 

“We are really delighted to be with you to celebrate two major accomplishments as part of the economic development funding apparatus,” she said, adding that it has been “really difficult” economically after job losses in the coal and related industries and it’s a matter of coming up with “good ideas on how do we revitalize our communities.” 

Jim Spencer, economic and community development director for the City of Bluefield, spoke at the event and thanked Capito and her staff. 

“They are great to work with,” he said. “We appreciate them.” 

The city owns the land around Exit 1 and the $1 million grant from the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) will be matched by $1 million in local funding for a total of $2 million for the project, which will develop 12 to 15 acres to be “shovel-ready” for businesses. 

“I believe in being aggressive and doing things simultaneously… “ he said of the project and marketing the sites for businesses. 

Spencer also said the Exit 1 area and other areas in the county are now federal “opportunity zones,” which give private investors tax breaks on money spent to help spur economic development in areas that have been hit hard by job losses. 

The Wood Resources Center at Exit 14 will receive part of a $1.8 million ARC (Appalachian Regional Commission) grant to the West Virginia Forest Products Cooperative. 

Mercer County Economic Development Director John O’Neal said the center, which already has tools and equipment related to the wood industry, will be repurposed to help small-business creation and growth. 

“It’s designed to assist small business manufacturing of products related to wood, value-added wood products,” he said. “It’s a place where people can come in and use the equipment there” rather than have to make a major investment on their own. 

The center will assist start-up businesses, he said. 

O’Neal said the project at Exit 1 has “great potential to jump-start growth” around the exit. 

Private investors build the business, he said, but providing the infrastructure for those businesses to begin and operate is all part of what must be done in economic development. 

O’Neal said that includes water, sewer, power, broadband, job training and workforce development. 

Capito also said she has worked closely with Mercer County Commissioner Greg Puckett on initiatives related to the opioid crisis. 

“West Virginia is on the leading edge of finding solutions” to the opioid epidemic, she said. 

Bringing broadband service to everyone is also critical, she added. 

“We’ve got to make sure to support that initiative so every child has broadband access,” she said. 

Capito also stopped at Bluefield State College to celebrate the grand opening of the Center for Excellence in Manufacturing Engineering. 

The manufacturing program is specifically targeted to individuals displaced by the downturn in the coal industry. 

Students took Capito and others on a tour through the new program and lab space during the visit. 

Earlier in the day, Capito took her West Virginia Girls Rise Up program on the road to Oakvale Elementary School in Mercer County. The visit marked her 15th Girls Rise Up event since launching the program in 2015—the same year she was sworn in as the first female U.S. senator for West Virginia. During the visit, Senator Capito met with third, fourth, and fifth grade girls in an effort to help inspire and empower the next generation of female leaders in West Virginia. 

“Women in West Virginia and across the world should be inspired and encouraged every day to work toward their goals and achieve their dreams, and they should know that it’s never too early to start. That’s exactly why I started my Girls Rise Up program,” Capito said. “I was so excited to bring my program to Oakvale today where I met some amazing young women who have some very bright futures ahead of them. It’s my hope that Girls Rise Up will inspire them to pursue their goals and achieve them, and I can’t wait to see all of the wonderful things they accomplish in the years to come.” 

“We are honored to have Senator Capito visit Oakvale Elementary. She is an inspiration to our staff and students. Senator Capito’s Girls Rise Up program reinforces the leadership skills we instill in our female students each day,” Oakvale Elementary School Principal LaCosta Hodges said.