Last Wednesday the weather was about as good as anyone has reason to expect for March in Michigan, which was a good thing as we had a lot of ground to cover and a lot of new projects to celebrate.

The first stop was Walkerville, a small town in Oceana County.   We were there to commemorate the grand opening of the elementary school’s new playground.   Thanks to a $35,000 child care grant and the energetic support of the local community, Walkerville’s children went from an unsafe, bleak play area to one that is safe and inviting. Our state director, James J. Turner, found the kids were already enjoying the new equipment and while they clapped at all the appropriate times during the ceremony, they sent up their biggest cheer when the grownups got out of the way and let them get back to the business of playing.

From Walkerville we went to the Hesperia Public Schools complex to see the result of a $50,000 grant for playground equipment. We were greeted by members of the local school board, representatives from both of Michigan’s United States Senators (Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow), the local Congressman (Peter Hoekstra) and state Sen. Gerald Van Woerkom.

It was then time for us to move on to Big Rapids, where The Mecosta County Medical Center has received two $50,000 grants for two digital mammography machines, one of which was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Finally, we viewed a new fire truck for the City of Big Rapids. USDA Rural Development provided a $562,000 loan and a $100,000 grant for the purchase of the new aerial ladder truck. Purchased through Front Line Services, Inc. in Freeland, the chassis was built by Spartan Motors in Charlotte and the generator was made by Smart Power in Reed City (Michigan). Next to the ladder truck, the city parked other emergency vehicles that Rural Development helped purchase as a fitting tribute to our partnership.

The new Big Rapids fire truck funded through USDA Rural Development grants and loans.

All told it was a great day to be out in Rural Michigan.

Written by Alec Lloyd, Public Information Coordinator, USDA Rural Development, Michigan

Tammye Treviño, USDA Rural Development Housing and Community Facilities Administrator sponsored Librarian Forum at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico, earlier this month.

Eighty nine librarians participated in the activity. Most of them work for the State & Municipal government, others for non-profit & faith based organizations. They all agreed that most of the libraries in Puerto Rico are in need of new equipments, books, and computers. In some cases the construction of a new library will be the best alternative.

Ms. Treviño explained the Library Initiative Program has a $100 million budget for the nation. She urged the librarians to submit their proposal before June 30, 2010. The reason is that if one state will not use the funds, other states could have access to them.

The meeting was attended by José Otero-García, USDA Rural Development State Director for Puerto Rico and Nereida Rodríguez, Community Program Director. The diversity of issues discussed was amazing and each librarian had a success story to tell. The activity was covered by El Nuevo Día Newspaper.

Written by Miguel A. Ramírez Public Affairs Coordinator USDA Rural Development, Puerto Rico

In Washington, DC today, Farm and Foreign Agricultural Deputy Under Secretary Darci Vetter accepted an American flag that flew above the U. S. Regional Embassy Office at Al Hillah, Iraq in recognition of USDA employees’ contributions on Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in Iraq. Read more »