rural development

It’s dark and damp November, Vermont’s least welcoming month. The brilliance of autumn is gone and the dazzle of snow is still around the corner. Brattleboro is no different than most other communities in Vermont, or just across the river in New Hampshire, where people are worried about jobs, paying for heat and groceries, or worse, finding a place to live. Just in time for winter, with help from USDA in Vermont, Morningside Shelter has completed an expansion project that will allow a 30 percent increase in residents. The homeless shelter’s Executive Director Paul Capcara noted, “We’ve been operating at full capacity year round for the last several years. We’ve been getting more calls than ever from people with children.”

Earlier this month, José Otero-García, USDA Rural Development State Director for Puerto Rico held a kick-off campaign activity in the Puerto Rico State Office. The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is the only authorized solicitation of Federal employees in their workplaces on behalf of approved charitable organizations.

La lista de ingredientes fue suficiente para hacer mi boca agua: “Champlain Orchards,” syrup de cidra de manzana, mantequilla local, crema batida y la estrella del evento – puree de calabaza de Vermont. Chaplain Orchards localizada en el precioso Valle de Lake Champlain en Vermont está horneando su primer pastel de calabaza del año, a tiempo para el Día de Acción de Gracias.

This list of ingredients was enough to get my mouth watering: Champlain Orchards’ apple cider syrup, local butter and heavy cream, and the star of the show - Vermont pumpkin puree. Champlain Orchards in the beautiful Lake Champlain Valley of Vermont is making its first pumpkin pies this year, just in time for Thanksgiving.

La familia Yorgey ya estaba cansada de mudarse de una vivienda para otra y de gastar su dinero en los pagos de la renta. Ellos tenian el sueño de tener un hogar permanente de su propiedad para vivir con su familia, la cual se ha expandido. Pero esa idea estaba muy lejos de convertirse en realidad. Gracias a un nuevo programa de la agencia de Desarollo Rural del USDA y de un programa en sociedad con el Southeast Wisconsin Housing Corporation (SEWHC), su sueño se ha convertido en realidad.

The Yorgey family was tired of moving from place to place and watching their money constantly going towards rent payments. They wanted to be able to have a permanent place of their own for their growing family to live. But, the idea of that actually coming true seemed like a distant dream. Thanks to a new USDA Rural Development and Southeast Wisconsin Housing Corporation (SEWHC) partnership program, their dream has now become a reality.

A principios de este mes, el Vice Presidente Joe Biden anunció la iniciativa “Recovery Through Retrofit” la cual busca lograr una mayor eficiencia energética en los hogares a través de la nación. Como parte de los esfuerzos, el Departamento de Energía de los Estados Unidos (DOE, por sus siglas en inglés) Department of Energy ha desarollado una aplicación electrónica Home Energy Score que logrará estandarizar las auditorías de energía en los hogares, proveerá a los propetarios de viviendas con un puntuación, una lista de posibles mejoras y un estimado de los costos y beneficios para las mejoras recomendadas.

Earlier this month, Vice President Joe Biden announced a “Recovery Through Retrofit” initiative aimed at boosting energy efficiency in homes across the country. As part of the effort, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has developed Home Energy Score software that will standardize home energy audits, providing homeowners with a score, a list of possible upgrades, and a breakdown of the costs and benefits of recommended upgrades.

Local fire departments and emergency service personnel play a critical role in ensuring community safety.  Every community, no matter how small, should have access to top-quality emergency services.

This is the latest in a series of blogs from West Virginia Student Reporter Abbey Hart on behalf of Bobby Lewis, State Director

On November 16, 2010, a Construction Progress Meeting was held at the Newburg Town Hall. Although progress has been slower this past month, 76 percent of the project is finished. With the exception of 3200 feet of waterline, all of Route 26 is complete. Also, approximately 50 percent of the new waterline has been pressure tested.