With a focus on economic development, Jane Scales Fulk will square off against incumbent Roger Hayden in November for the Dan River District seat on the Patrick County Board of Supervisors.
Fulk, a Patrick native, said “economic development pushes the train” that drives everything else, from building a tax base to creating jobs for residents, paying for projects and helping to maintain the population.
To create economic development “we need to actively, and I mean very actively, see if we can solicit businesses to (move to) Patrick County, and I’d really love to see businesses that hire more than one or two people” locate in the county, Fulk said.
“You’ve got to try” to attract new businesses, Fulk said, and added she is certain there are businesses that do not want to be located in more urban areas.
In addition to the rural setting, Fulk said Patrick County has many other things to offer, including a dedicated workforce.
“We have a good workforce. We just have to find them something to do,” she said. Education also is among the county’s pluses.
“It may need a few tweaks right now,” but “we have a good school system,” she said, and added additional programs could be added if there is funding to do so.
Fulk said she understands the county has been in transition in terms of economic development for the past 12 to 18 months, as the county administrator tried to oversee economic development with the help of a part-time assistant.
Fulk said “we’ve lost a bit of focus” during the transition. “Maybe we’ll get back on track” when a full-time economic developer takes over July 1, she said.
Economic development “makes it where we have the wherewithal to do everything else,” Fulk said.
The current lack of job opportunities also means “our people can’t stay here. They can’t make a living wage” and must leave the area to find jobs, Fulk said.
That increases the tax burden on those who remain.
Currently, the only way for the county to generate additional revenue is to raise taxes, Fulk said.
“We can’t keep taxing the people to bring in funds to fund the county,” Fulk said, and noted that while she can’t speak for everyone, “I can’t afford much more.”
Other projects — such as improvements to infrastructure like roads and public safety — also are on Fulk’s radar.
For instance, many are interested in road improvement projects. Completing those projects “would be great. It would be wonderful, but economic development is the backbone” of having funds to pay for those and other projects, Fulk said.
In her nearly 25 years service as a volunteer with the Ararat Volunteer Rescue Squad, Fulk has held every position, and currently serves as secretary.
Of the two programs to help volunteer squads, Fulk said she favors a stipend program in which volunteers who respond to calls would be paid “if it would encourage more volunteers. We would have to put a checks and balances system in place” to determine how stipend funds would be spent, she said.
“A completely paid service would be wonderful if we could afford it, but I haven’t seen anywhere that we could afford it,” Fulk said.
She added if the county is ever in a position to fund a paid service, it would be nice if we had stationed between areas” rather than in a central location. For now, Fulk said that is a moot point because “I don’t see that money” needed to fund it.
She said current volunteers are working diligently to provide the service the county needs. “Everybody’s getting better, and that’s wonderful. I like that,” she said.
Fulk and husband, Mike Fulk, were married in 1984.
She has lived in Patrick County for 62 years, and is a member of the Ararat Ruritan Club, and Hunters Chapel Church, where she serves as secretary, treasurer and trustee. She retired from her post as judicial assistant in Patrick County Circuit Court in 2014.
Although she has not sought of held public office before, Fulk she was approached and encouraged to run by several residents in her district.
Before reaching a decision, “I prayed over it. I am aware of what it is, and I thought well, ‘I can do this,’” she said.
