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Elizabeth City Air Park Misses Jobs Mark

Hopes and plans for a thriving Elizabeth City Air Park have not panned out over the past year.  Businesses have not been able to create the jobs they promised in this economy.

Leoneda Inge:  Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County pinned a lot of their hopes and plans on DRS Technologies the main company in the air park.  DRS services C-130 military airplanes and other aircraft.  There were three major grants awarded to the air park one was from the Department of Commerce. Elizabeth City Manager Ron Olson says most of the big funders required the creation of at least 100 jobs or face financial penalty.

Ron Olson:  Well, the city is protected because of what’s called a legally binding layer of commitment we have with DRS that makes them responsible for the creation of those jobs.

One media report says Elizabeth City could face more than two-million dollars in fines for not meeting job projections.

Leoneda Inge is the co-host of WUNC's "Due South." Leoneda has been a radio journalist for more than 30 years, spending most of her career at WUNC as the Race and Southern Culture reporter. Leoneda’s work includes stories of race, slavery, memory and monuments. She has won "Gracie" awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award and several awards from the Radio, Television, Digital News Association (RTDNA). In 2017, Leoneda was named "Journalist of Distinction" by the National Association of Black Journalists.
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