County mayor to host community forum on broadband Internet access

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, left, and Steve Heatherly, co-chairman of the Rural 6 organization’s Community/Government Relations Council, look over a map of Anderson County. (Photo courtesy Anderson County Government)

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank will host a community meeting to organize efforts to bring broadband Internet access to unserved areas in Anderson County.

The community meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 23, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Community Room at the Norris Community Building, located at 20 Chestnut Drive.

“As mayor, I want to continue to work on efforts to see people in our communities have access to the Internet,” Frank said in a press release. “Expanding access will expand educational opportunities and resources, will help attract more families to choose Anderson County as a place to live, and will increase our economic opportunities.

“I can work on these efforts as mayor, and so can organizations like our Anderson County Chamber of Commerce, but I am hopeful that citizens will partner in the effort. As we push for greater access, we really need the broadband decision-makers to see and understand the lives of people in our community. It is one thing for me to tell the decision-makers how important broadband is to the people of Anderson County, but it is impactful for them to see, hear, or read the testimony of those citizens that broadband will serve.

“It is my belief that the more of us working together on this goal, the further along Anderson County will get in its efforts to bring Internet access to more citizens.”

All adults and young people alike are invited to attend the September 23 community meeting, the press release said.

Last year, the organization Rural 6 focused on expanded access to broadband as one of its legislative priorities. Rural 6 is a six-county organization comprised of the county mayor, chamber director, and economic development director of Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Morgan, Scott, and Union counties.

This year, Rural 6 is again working on its legislative priorities and once again, expanded broadband is being discussed as potentially one of the priorities. Steve Heatherly, co-chairman of the Community/Government Relations Council that facilitates the six-county meetings, is directing these efforts, the press release said.