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$2.25 million earmarked for Franklin projects
Franklin Medical Center has been awarded some $1 million in state funding, but hospital officials don't know what the money can be used for.
That news surfaced at a Dec. 20 meeting of the hospital's board of commissioners.
It was unclear as well as of press time Wednesday on what Franklin Medical Center will do with the $1 million, which was secured by Sen. Noble Ellington from the state's Capital Outlay budget.
Ellington also garnered some $1 million from Capital Outlay for the Franklin Parish Activity Center.. He directed another $215,000 to the Winnsboro Community Center.
Ellington, who was elected in November to the District 20 seat in the House of Representatives, said he had been working "very hard" to ensure voters in his district were well represented as legislators from across Lou-isiana jockey for a piece of the state's projected $2-billion budget surplus.
"Since there was a surplus in the state budget, I wanted to try and get as much back home as we possibly could and bring those dollars back to the district," Ellington said.
Funding for the proposed Franklin Parish Activity Center should allow work to begin on the project, which will be built in the Winnsboro Indus-trial Park.
Ellington described the activity center as a miniature version of the Ike Hamilton Expo Center in West Monroe.
"I don't suspect we'll have anything like the Ike in West Monroe, but if you keep up with what goes on over there, they have just recently had one of the largest horse shows," Ellington said. "This center will be something on a much smaller scale but that will allow us to do things that don't have to be as big as they are at the Ike."
Planning for the construction of the activity center has been in the works for several years.
The $1 million in state funding will be used to match a federal grant for the project.
Winnsboro Mayor Jack Hammons said the $215,000 for the Winnsboro Community Center will help complete a $463,000 project at the Adams Street facility, which is housed in the old Jitney Jungle building.
"We have to thank Noble for his hard work," said Hammons. "We had to have this money for the community center, and he got it."
A $25,000 grant from the State Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism rounded off state funding of local interest.
The tourism grant will be used to purchase displays and museum equipment at the Post Office Museum on Prairie Street. |
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