Cambria County is at the top of another state list, but not for the right reasons.  More than 7,000 people have left the county over the past five years, but officials say this is nothing new and they’re working to reverse the trend.

“This has been a 30-40 year trend, so this doesn’t happen overnight,” says commissioner president Tom Chernisky.  “We’ve been doing a lot of collaboration and working together.  I know you hear that a lot, but we’ve actually been doing that.”

Listening to the business community is one thing Chernisky thinks will help to remove Cambria County off of the top of the list.  According to the Pennsylvania State Data Center, from April 2010 to July 2015, the county lost more than five percent of its residents.

“There’s a lot of competition where people want to live.”  Chernisky believes the county needs to do a better job at marketing the area and telling its story.

“There’s a lot of things in place.  We have entrepreneurs.  We’re working with the city of Johnstown,  the northern part of the county, and the central part of the county.  We need to say we’re open for business, we’ve got a lot of natural resources here, and great quality of life here.”

Chernisky couldn’t say what part of the county he believes folks are leaving the most, but does think a major reason is because of the loss of the defense industry, “Absolutely, that is part of the trend.  Also part of the trend is the positive side like the Conemaugh and Duke LifePoint job announcement.”

The only county in our region to see an increase in population over those five years was Centre County.  Chernisky says the region does have a lot to offer.  He points out that there isn’t much traffic, it’s great place to raise a family, the cost of living is less, and you aren’t too far from major cities.  Convincing people of the benefits isn’t easy, but he thinks the area is on the right track.

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