Region 7 Planning & Development Council receives $70,000 from feds

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration will award $310,000 to the Region 7 Planning and Development Council, the planning and development councils in the Eastern Panhandle and the Mid-Ohio Valley and the Marshall University Research Corporation.

The investment aims to bring together the public and private sectors in the creation of an economic development roadmap to diversify and strengthen the regional economy.

The $100,000 in funding for Marshall University Research Corporation and partners will provide technical assistance and research tools.

The Region 7 Planning and Development Council (Barbour, Braxton, Gilmer, Lewis, Randolph, Tucker and Upshur counties) received $70,000, as did the Eastern Panhandle Regional Planning and Development Council (Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, plus nine municipalities) and the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Planning and Development Council (Calhoun, Jackson, Pleasants, Richie, Roane, Tyler, Wirt and Wood.)

News of the funding came from the offices of U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito.