rural development

A nice break in the recent rainy weather in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia offered perfect timing for a Self-Help Build day.  The event which was held September 29, 2010, has become an annual occurrence during which volunteers gather to help families build their homes.

Monmouth, Ill., residents Vicki and Ted Briscoe want to know when their access to the Internet will no longer be hampered by a slow dial up connection. The answer—12 to 18 months—came from Noah Campbell, vice president of community relations for Utopian Wireless Corp, at a talk show-style forum held at the Briscoes’ alma mater Monmouth College Wednesday, Sept. 22.

Cross posted from the FSA blog.

The senior citizen’s centers in seven Kentucky counties are benefitting from fresh produce grown as part of the West Liberty Service Center People’s Garden.

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from the USDA's rich science and research portfolio.

While driving, have you ever wondered why there are so many fences to interrupt your  soul-satisfying, wide-open-spaces experience?  Until recently, that was the only way to keep livestock in their place, so to speak.  But today’s wire fencing and posts soon will be augmented with virtual fencing that erases these visual barriers from the landscape.

USDA Rural Development along with The Walker River Paiute Tribe (WRPT) scheduled a Resource Fair to accompany the Completion Ceremony of their newly constructed Four Seasons Fireworks Building. The Completion Ceremony and Resource Fair took place on September 17, 2010 in Schurz, Nevada. The new 60x40 steel structure replaced an old 40 foot container. The WRPT Housing Force Account Crew did an amazing job constructing the new building. The new fireworks store was funded in part by a USDA Rural Development Rural Business Enterprise Grant, funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

After visiting a cutting-edge biofuels facility in rural Iowa recently, a group of USDA Rural Development state directors are thinking about the tremendous global implications of that plant.

The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack visited the town of Berlin, Maryland, Monday to check up on the upgrades that are taking place to improve the Berlin Wastewater Treatment Plant. Secretary Vilsack is the highest-ranking federal official to visit the town since Franklin D. Roosevelt was there in the 1930s.  The Secretary spoke to the people of Berlin in front of the Atlantic Hotel about the status of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The technology that the Town of Berlin is installing as a part of that act was made possible thanks to a grant and some low interest Water and Environmental Program loans from the USDA. These upgrades will help to remove the pathogens, nutrients and other pollutants from the influent.  The renovation and expansion that the USDA is funding will increase the capacity at the plant to 750,000 gallons each day and make the facility compliant with current Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) Standards.  The Secretary said that these upgrades will save or create over 65 jobs in our area.

Helene’s Hilltop Orchard, LLC, a family destination and small business in Merrill, Wis., was recently selected as a recipient of a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Renewable Energy for America Program Grant. A $19,750 grant will be used to help lower the energy costs of running their rural business.

Federal employees, education and private sector representatives celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month in Nebraska with Judy Canales, USDA Rural Development's Administrator for Rural Business and Cooperative Programs.  The Hispanic Employment Council of Nebraska hosted a seminar at the new headquarters of the National Park Service Midwest Regional Office along Omaha's Missouri Riverfront on Tuesday, September 14.

The Town of Newburg was awarded a total of $2,875,000 for the Fellowsville, York Run, and State Route 26 Water Extension Project.  USDA Rural Development Community Facilities is providing a $400,000 loan, $941,000 grant, and a $185,000 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) grant to the project.  Also, a Small Cities Block grant for $1,000,000 and a West Virginia Infrastructure Council grant for $349,000 are assisting in the total project cost.