JOHNSTON - "The economy" was definitely the buzzword word at Thursday night's Edgefield County Intergovernmental Meeting at the Sertoma Club in Johnston.

This marks the 13th such meeting following a supper and fellowship time.

Catherine Wade, standing in for U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, had some strong words from the congressman.

"The Stimulus Bill is the big thing in the air these days," she said. "The congressman voted against it. All the Republicans voted against it. It's over in the Senate now. He has some real concerns about things contained in the Bill that are not related to stimulating the economy.

"Over and over we don't have money out here and we're spending more money," she continued. "The congressman wants to work with the new president. He just felt there are other ways such as tax cuts."

On the flip side, State Rep. Bill Clyburn, a Democrat, said he was very much in favor of the Stimulus Package.

"There's a billion dollar budget deficit," he said. "It's a sight to see when they talk about services that will be cut out. This is a poor state when matched with other states. We need the money because we are running behind. Under the Stimulus Bill, our state could be getting $900 million toward eliminating the deficit."

Legislators also talked about other concerns in these touch economic times such as the Rural Infrastructure Act and how it will affect Edgefield County and the debate over how to give the school boards more flexibility.

"There's legislation going on in the House on pay-day lending," said Rep. Don Smith. "It's not as strict as some would want. There will be some regulations. There's a long way to go."

Sen. Shane Massey said he thinks we're finally getting somewhere in dealing with education funding. This week, the Senate was supposed to look at a Constitutional Amendment to stabilize revenue. He also is working on some local issues such as funding for power plants and issues with the water in the county.

In spite of the touch economic times, mayors from each of the three towns reported mostly good news on the home front.

"There's so much positive out there," said Edgefield Mayor Ken Durham. "We read so much negative. I'd like for us to change that. You'll start seeing letters from me from time to time accentuating the positive."

Johnston Mayor Willie Campbell reported strides on the sidewalk project and Trenton Mayor Helen Summer said the most exciting news in Trenton is that they're getting a Dollar General.

Other mostly good reports came from the Edgefield County Hospital, Edgefield County School Board, the Senior Citizens Council, the Chamber of Commerce, the Edgefield County Planning Commission, Tri-County Development, the "C" Fund Transportation and the Edgefield County Government.

On the Economic Development scene, Director Fred Humes said, "We don't need to tell about the economy and how we're being impacted. Our recruiting efforts have continued. There's good news and bad news. There's no money to build new plants, but the good news is we are keeping our people employed better than 75 percent of the state."

And Ray Johnson, vice chairman of the Edgefield County Water and Sewer Authority, made his report short and to the point.

"If they (the legislators) come through, we'll come through," he said.