In SC, simple diversions blunt downturn's impact

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20100501/D9FE6SC00.html

May 1, 2:08 PM (ET)

By BRUCE SMITH

MARION, S.C. (AP) - In Marion, a tobacco town bypassed by the four-lane highway but not the Great Recession, more worshipers are kneeling at church, youth baseball rosters are thicker and the public library seems as busy as the local employment office.

About 100 miles to the northwest in Chester, folks are turning out for free arts shows while fishermen try their luck at one of South Carolina's state parks where attendance is up sharply.

Free and inexpensive diversions are helping people forget their worries in two South Carolina counties hard hit by the recession.

"About all you can do is go fishing," said Cecil Finklea, 50, of Marion, who is looking for work after losing his job with a produce company several months back. "I do go to church and I go a little more now. It keeps me out of trouble."

Marion and Chester counties are among the 65 most economically stressed in the nation with populations greater than 25,000 residents, according to the Associated Press's Economic Stress Index, a monthly analysis of the economic state of more than 3,100 U.S. counties.

The index calculates a score from 1 to 100 based on a county's unemployment, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates. A higher score indicates more stress. Under a rough rule of thumb, a county is considered stressed when its score exceeds 11.

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