Clyburn vows to make logistics triangle cloverleaf a priority

Monday, 01 October 2007

Page 2 of 2 "And while it may not be politically correct, I give a lot of credit to former Orangeburg County Council Chairman John Rickenbacker," Clyburn said. Last year, Rickenbacker was indicted on charges that he solicited and accepted $50,000 in bribes from a health care company consultant for inside information relating to contracts at the Regional Medical Center of Orangeburg and Calhoun counties. Clyburn said the first mention he ever heard of creating a logistics center in Orangeburg was on a golf course back in 1999. "I'd talk to these people—even David Summers, who's chairman of the Calhoun County Council and a Republican, but still a good friend of mine—I would listen to their vision and then I come up to Washington and watch what was happening in the various committees I serve on, hoping to turn something into legislation or appropriations that would move the process forward back home," Clyburn said. Clyburn became well schooled in logistics and the vision that was taking hold in the community as a result of these efforts and conversations. What he couldn't understand is why the creation of a logistics triangle was taking so long, he said. "In Orangeburg I'd sit in on these PowerPoint presentation and then reflect on everything the community had going for it in regard to this type of operation, the two interstates, the numerous highways, the presence of two railroads, CSX and Norfolk Southern, the Orangeburg County Technical College, Claflin University and South Carolina State University," he said. "Now, there have been some hits and misses, and every time we went after a distribution center, you could feel things were getting close," he said. "This time, I think we've done it." Clyburn said the last he heard Jafza International was close to closing on 800 acres of the 1,300 acres it wants to develop and hoped to secure the rest by Thanksgiving. "My roll now is to convince my colleagues in Washington to allow me to reorganize some of the priorities we've had. I've never gotten a whole bunch of money for this, but an investment of this size, $600 million, that's transformational," he said. "It's not going to be an easy thing to pull off, but all things in business are a matter of timing. Certainly, I think I'm well positioned to get it done. People in leadership positions in the Congress tend to get a lot of favorable attention from their colleagues." << Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>