Our Take: Despite growth, challenges still ahead for Dublin-Laurens
Our community has been fortunate to see some recent economic activity. Anchored by the construction of Korean auto part maker Hwashin’s local plant, a $176 million project, the investments are trickling into the area.
Our community has been fortunate to see some recent economic activity. Anchored by the construction of Korean auto part maker Hwashin’s local plant, a $176 million project, the investments are trickling into the area.
Other, though smaller but still significant, projects have sprung up around town. New restaurants and gas stations, some already open and others in the construction process, dot the landscape. The corridors through downtown Dublin are never stagnant, with existing businesses experiencing growth or new ventures testing the economic climate. Our medical sector is also changing with growth and expansion at both Fairview Park Hospital and the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in the heart of town.
All of these investments hopefully will provide long-term local employment as well as additional draws to make Dublin-Laurens County the best place to live, work and play in this part of the state. We have become and must remain the regional hub for health care, transporation and retail.
But this good news doesn’t mean we’ve found our pot of gold at the end of Georgia’s economic rainbow yet. Many rural communities have been suffering population decline for decades, losing young residents to urban areas that can offer better paying jobs and more amenities. Laurens County has been no different, seeing only miniscule growth with the last population count (just over 1,000 people in 10 years according to Census data).
About a quarter of our population live below the poverty line figures show, a rate that is double the national average. Much of Laurens County is classified as a food desert, meaning residents have limited access to healthy, affordable food options, helping contribute to our 40 percent obesity rate.
Our students are staggeringly behind their peers in literacy and math proficiency rates, leaving our teachers playing a never-ending game of catch up in the classroom with limited resources and limited funding.
We are pushing in the right direction and our local leaders have done much to preserve and grow our home, but the work is just beginning. There is no easy answer to the problems we face. It will take action from individuals here and our leaders on the state level to ensure we have the resources to make our current growth sustainable.
The future of Dublin-Laurens County will be decided in the coming years, and it is up to us to make it a success.
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