Chairman Cain believes job-producing efforts paying off

Paul Cain believes Oconee County has weathered the mass exodus of textile manufacturing and has made good strides to keep other jobs and add new ones.  He spoke yesterday on a day that the numbers from Columbia showed a one-half of a percentage point increase in the Oconee County jobless rate—from 5.4% in December to 5.9% in January.  Good news, however, appears to be on the way.  As chairman of the Oconee County Council, Cain is scheduled to preside at an April 5 council meeting where the council will be asked to give final approval to an arrangement long in the making that will bring “Project Mackinaw” to the Oconee Information and Technology Park.  Latest word from Richard Blackwell, the county economic development director, is that the automotive supplier is to invest $19 million dollars and offer 89 jobs.  Cain advocates injecting new blood into what he sees as a graying Oconee County workforce, and he made this statement to the Walhalla Rotary Club:  “Young people move where they want to live and then find a job.”  He made that comment as he stressed the importance of the county growing its tourist sector and protecting its natural resources.