EDITORIAL: Progress being made

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, January 25, 2023

It is typical of a county for there to be many long-term issues, which go on for years, seemingly with little resolution. The constant need to build a new Lawrence County Jail comes to mind, with its endless ups and downs.

Another that has hung over the area for some time is the need for residents of the Macedonia Hill area to get water service.

Thankfully, we have seen some real movement toward a fix for that in recent years.

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The Lawrence County Rural Water District was formed in 2018 with a goal of aiding areas of the county that do not have running water.

And, since its formation, funding has been secured toward that project, which will cost about $5.8 million.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced in 2021 that Hecla Water Association was awarded $250,000 in H2Ohio grant funding for the engineering design of the project.

While, last month U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, notified Hecla Water that $2 million was set aside in the omnibus spending bill, signed into law by President Joe Biden, for the project.

There is still a way to go to the final goal, but residents can know that the fundraising is nearing the halfway mark.

We commend the water district, Hecla Water and county officials for making real headway here and hope that we will soon hear that the remainder of funds have been secured.