$152,500 to boost law enforcement in Van Buren County

 

January 30, 2009 - SPENCER, Tenn.—USDA Rural Development Area Director Joe Woody and Van Buren County Mayor Kelly Dishman today to announce a federal loan and grant totaling of $152,500 to purchase six new County Police vehicles. The announcement was made at the county administrative building.

 

"Police officers put themselves on the line to provide critical services for our families, homes and businesses," said Woody. "Thanks to the support of our congressional delegation, Rural Development has the financial resources to help officers in Van Buren County do their job as safely and effectively as possible."

 

A Rural Development loan of $102,500 and grant of $50,000 will fund the purchase. The new vehicles replace high-mileage police cars that have become less reliable and more expensive to maintain.

 

Rural Development’s community facilities program uses direct loans, loan guarantees and grants to provide rural areas with the financial resources to construct or improve essential services like healthcare, education, civic facilities, and first responder protection. The loan-guarantee program encourages private lenders to expand their investment of capital in rural communities. Community facilities programs target rural areas with a population less than 20,000.

 

Others participating in the event included Congressman Lincoln Davis' representative Justin Walling, Sheriff Barney Evans, Upper Cumberland Development District representatives Michelle Price and Dawn Kupferer, and Rural Development staff Jerry Jolley, Alice Wills, Terrence McGhee and Barbara Williams.

 

Committed to the future of rural communities in Tennessee, USDA Rural Development invests financial and technical assistance through housing, community and business development programs.  In Fiscal Year 2008 Rural Development assisted more than 678,000 Tennessee families and businesses with more than $435 million in financial assistance through loans, loan guarantees and grants.

 

For more information on Rural Development programs available in Van Buren County contact the Area Office in Cookeville at 931-528-6539 ext 2, toll free at (800) 342-3149 ext. 1493, or online at www.rurdev.usda.gov/tn.

 

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