Rural prosperity center jumps hurdle

A plan to create an academic center focusing on the needs of rural Georgia cleared a milestone, but conversations about funding still await lawmakers. House lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the measure, sending it to the Senate. The proposal comes from the House Rural Development Council, which has offered several bills aimed at addressing the woes of rural Georgia.  Shaw’s measure creates the Center for Rural Prosperity and Innovation, which would be housed within a university that offers a bachelor’s in rural community development – a requirement that appears to favor Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton.