NEWS
RELEASE
United States Department
of Agriculture • Rural Development
3001 Coolidge Rd. • 2nd Floor North • Suite 200 • East Lansing, MI 48823
Phone: (517) 324-5204 • Fax: (517) 324-5225 •
alec.lloyd@mi.usda.gov
Contact: Alec Lloyd (517) 324-5204
USDA CELEBRATES MUNISING TRIBAL HEALTH CENTER RIBBON CUTTING
EAST LANSING, Aug. 14, 2007 – USDA Rural Development Director for Michigan Gene DeRossett today joined tribal leaders, local officials and community residents to celebrate the grand opening of the new Tribal Community Center for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.
“It is a true pleasure for USDA to help restore this historic building while enhancing the quality of health care for area residents,” DeRossett said. “We have a great partnership with the Sault. Ste. Marie Tribe and this facility is a great demonstration of what we can accomplish by working together.”
Originally built in 1915 as Lincoln School, the newly renovated facility hosts heath clinic, a community center with meeting rooms and a kitchen. USDA Rural Development provided a $2,480,000 loan in 2006 which was combined with $668,755 in Tribal funds to complete the needed improvements to the three-story, 21,000 square foot building.
The event is part of a series of ceremonies commemorating more than $2 million in grants and loans this month for communities across the Upper Peninsula. So far this year, Upper Peninsula communities have received more than $16 million in grants and loans from USDA Rural Development.
USDA Rural Development’s mission is to deliver programs in a way that will support increasing economic opportunity and improve the quality of life of rural residents. Rural Development has invested more than $76.8 billion since the beginning of the Bush Administration to provide equity and technical assistance to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technology infrastructure. As a result, more than 1.5 million jobs have been created or saved through these investments. Further information on rural programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting USDA’s web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.
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