Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces $17.5 Million in Recovery Act Funds for Community Facilities Projects in Rural Areas

27 New Projects Funded Include Libraries, Hospital Expansion, Abused Children’s Center


WASHINGTON, Sept.- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the selection of $17.5 million in community facilities projects that are being funded immediately with federal funds provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that President Obama signed into law in February. Altogether, USDA has announced nearly $252.5 million in Recovery Act funding for community facility projects to date.

“Facilities such as libraries, public buildings and community centers bring vitality to small towns and cities and these Recovery Act investments will benefit people throughout the country,” Vilsack said. “The Obama Administration is committed to strengthening communities in rural areas and these investments will help further that goal.”

In Pocahontas, Iowa, for example, the Pocahontas Community Hospital will receive a $75,900 loan to purchase a digital mammography machine and additional equipment. The current analog mammography machine produces films which must be hand delivered to a hospital 50 miles away and read by a licensed radiologist. The purchase of the new machine will allow for images to be sent to a licensed radiologist within seconds. The patients will receive the results faster and it will eliminate the need to travel to other facilities to obtain the digital mammogram and potentially save lives.

Meanwhile, in Jacksboro, Tenn., the Campbell County Children’s Center will receive a $215,000 loan and a $100,000 grant to construct a new 5,000 sq. ft. facility to serve the needs of young abused victims in Campbell, Claiborne and Union counties. The new facility will provide adequate space for their programs, personnel, parking and privacy for the victims. Campbell and Claiborne counties are both Persistent Poverty counties, Claiborne and Union are both Enterprise Communities and all three counties have unemployment rates above 10%. The children’s center would not be able to finance this much needed facility without Rural Development’s loan and grant program.

In addition to the $17.5 million that USDA Rural Development is providing to fund the 27 projects announced today, recipients will invest $8.2 million from other sources.

Funding of each loan and grant recipient is contingent upon meeting the conditions of the agreement. Below is a complete list of the selected recipients:

Alaska:

* Wrangell Medical Center; $500,000 grant

* City and Borough of Yakutat; $100,000 loan; $200,000 grant

Georgia:

* Valley Healthcare Systems, Inc.; $451,200 loan

Idaho:

* City of Plummer; $550,000 loan

Illinois:

* Pulaski County; $50,900 grant

* Village of Karnak; $1,819 grant

Iowa:

* Decatur County Hospital; $89,870 grant

* Decatur County; $95,000 grant

* City of Edgewood; $100,000 grant

* Pocahontas Community Hospital; $75,900 grant

Maryland:

* Kent County Commissioners; $50,000 grant

* Project Echo, Inc.; $35,692 grant

Minnesota:

* City of Darfur; $200,000 loan; $44,000 grant

* City of Lewisville; $260,000 loan; $75,000 grant

* City of Pipestone; $3,000,000 loan

* Krain Township; $260,000 loan

* City of Floodwood; $209,000 loan; $134,000 grant

New York:

* Village of Waverly, Ithica Street Village Hall; $2,795,000 loan; $100,000 grant

North Carolina:

* Town of Lillington; $1,150,000 loan

* Outer Banks Community Development Corporation; $1,034,000 loan

* Penland School of Crafts, Inc.; $2,100,000 loan

Tennessee:

* Campbell County Children’s Center; $215,000 loan; $100,000 grant

* City of Collinwood; $60,000 grant

Virginia:

* Craig County Rural Health Care Corporation; $50,000 grant

* Eastern Shore Rural Health System, Inc.; $2,500,000 loan; $50,000 grant

* Free Will Baptist Family Ministries, Inc.; $12,100 grant

Wisconsin:

* Wild Rose Fire District; $710,000 loan; $100,000 grant

More information about USDA’s Recovery Act efforts is available at www.usda.gov/recovery. More information about the Federal government’s efforts on the Recovery Act is available at www.recovery.gov.

USDA Rural Development’s mission is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for rural residents. Rural Development fosters growth in homeownership, finances business development, and supports the creation of critical community and technology infrastructure. Further information on rural programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting USDA Rural Development’s web site at www.rurdev.usda.gov.