Small businesses in eastern Kentucky affected by the devastating floods that killed at least 28 people in more than a dozen counties are available to small businesses in eastern Kentucky.
Many of the area’s local businesses are just beginning to recover from the pandemic, said Robert Allen, credit director at the mountain association, and now they need help to rebuild. He said residents and rescue workers beginning the clean-up process are counting on shops and stores to provide essentials.
“There are grocery stores there that are an important part of the community where the food source is,” he said. “There are businesses that are going to have a really tough time rebuilding and the economic impact is real.”
Allen said credit information may not be available online just yet, but wants residents to know to look further massociation.org for updates. President Joe Biden has declared the flooding a federal emergency, which opens the door for Federal Emergency Management Agency support and federal assistance to recovery efforts. The loans aim to help business owners with immediate needs and have a six-month payback period on interest only.
Allen said the goal is to get local businesses “back on their feet” as quickly as possible “to meet the expenses caused by critical equipment they may need — lost revenue, need for more capital, cleanup — whatever the case.”
Applications for FEMA assistance are online at katastrophenhilfe.gov. If specific county information is not yet available, residents can pre-apply and the application will be processed once the county is included in the federal declaration. Budgetary crisis resolution help is also available at crisis-cleaning.org.
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Cities and towns across America are conducting recruitment efforts to keep their populations stable. A grant program for community-led projects focuses on making places liveable for all, and the response is growing in North Dakota.
AARP has been awarding since 2017 Community Challenge Grants – Requiring rapid turnaround improvement projects conducted by citizen leaders, non-profit organizations and residents.
At state and federal level, the program awarded the largest amount of funding this year.
Janelle Moos — advocacy director for AARP North Dakota — said it’s important to take a closer look at certain aspects of quality of life as communities monitor population trends.
“Maybe it will make the streets more walkable, make their inner cities friendlier,” Moos said. “How do they create community gardens?”
In North Dakota this year, four groups with ideas to improve their communities received grants totaling $52,000.
These include a plan for a public fishing spot in Devils Lake and educational videos to promote public transit use in the Bismarck, Mandan and Lincoln areas.
Last year, Bismarck received grants to revitalize a little-used park in a diverse area, with a new mural serving as a key component of the modernization.
The city’s nutrition services program coordinator, Katie Johnke, said she hopes it can stimulate conversations for similar efforts, while allowing area residents to meet on a range of issues.
“I think there are many ways to use these spaces as a neutral environment for people to have these conversations,” Johnke said.
The program expands its scope in reviewing projects, including those addressing challenges such as affordable housing.
According to Moos, that collective effort is still centered around the idea of improving life for everyone who either lives in a particular community or wants to move there.
“We all want very similar things,” says Moos. “So these projects are really about what keeps people in communities, but what attracts them, and then how can we use those funds to make sure the community needs and wants that.”
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AARP is now accepting nominations for its 2022 Nebraska Andrus Award for Community Service, which honors Nebrascans ages 50 and older who share their experience, talent and skills to enrich the lives of their community members.
LaNeta Carlock and her husband Stan received the 2020 Andrus Award for a number of projects they have promoted in Haigler, southwest Nebraska — beginning with volunteering to help underprivileged children learn to read.
“So we had wonderful careers, we were able to retire early,” Carlock said. “We have decided to return to our small village to give back to the community where we started.”
After seeing that the small country school Stan’s mother attended had fallen into disrepair, they expanded their presence as volunteers. Six years and $50,000 later, the school was converted into the first of many museums and community centers established by the Carlocks in Haigler.
Nomination forms for the annual award are available online at ‘aarp.org/AndrusAward.’ Applications are possible until July 15th.
Carlock says there are many volunteers across Nebraska doing important work, and she encourages those who value their contributions to take the time to complete the application to give them the recognition they deserve.
“Even though they might not want it or don’t think they need it,” Carlock said. “But it’s designed to let others experience the joy and satisfaction of giving back, encouraging others to volunteer for their communities.” Because you will get so much more back.”
Past Andrus recipients have been recognized for their volunteer work advocating for the rights of carers in the workplace and at home; collecting and delivering clothing, household items and toys to the Omaha Indian Reservation in Macy; Growing fresh produce for food banks and senior centers near Gering; and transporting paramedics and medication from Red Cloud to the local hospital.
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Volunteers have set up camp and are hard at work at the historic Lemley Mill in Wyoming’s South Pass Historic Mining District, where the Red Desert meets the Wind River Mountains.
They are working to stabilize the building which still houses mining equipment.
Renee Bovee, program coordinator for the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fundsaid once it’s in better shape, visitors can peek through the windows and see what a gold mill looked like in the early 20th century.
“Eventually,” Bovee said, “people will be able to see this mill, understand the setting, understand what it was like to try to be a gold miner in this area with the terrible Wyoming winters. “
Built during the Great Depression, Lemley is one of the last remaining gold mills in the area.
The 30-square-mile mining area saw swarms of migrant workers after gold was discovered in 1842. By 1868 about 1,500 people lived in South Pass and Atlantic City.
The fund has contributed resources to the project through a grant to the Alliance for Historic Wyoming.
The US Bureau of Land Management was in partnership with the nonprofit Historicorps Assemble a team of volunteers to help with structural improvements at the mill and the only saloon in Miner’s Delight.
Liz Rice, director of employee engagement and communications at Historicorps, said the salon offered a glimpse into the boom-and-bust cities of the era.
They were wildly active for a number of years, often with multiple saloons, granaries to buy groceries, apartments and other buildings filled with a variety of businesses.
“And in this case,” Rice said, “not only is the saloon unique in that it’s the only one in that location, but it’s also one of the most dilapidated buildings that can be saved.”
The saloon is one of 17 buildings remaining at Miner’s Delight, and Rice said she expects to send more volunteers — college students and young adults learning traditional trades and crafts — back to the site in the years to come.
She said participants rarely shed a few pounds thanks to the delicious meals provided by Historcorp – one of many benefits volunteers report.
“One of the things I hear the most is how much camaraderie they’ve experienced,” Rice said, “how much they’ve learned about history, how much they’ve been able to hone their own technical skills on a heritage project site.”
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