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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 2010)
The INDEPENDENT, March 4, 2010 Page 5 Stimulus act providing Oregon jobs Many still need help because of economic distress One year into the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Pacific Northwest environ- mental projects are moving ahead, creating jobs and boosting the economy. Projects funded by the U.S. Environ- mental Protection Agency (EPA) totaling $318 million in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington are yielding clean- er air, water and land, and new green jobs. An example of this success can be found in the City of Wood- burn Safe Water Expansion. This project, using $2.8 million in Recovery Act funds, will pro- vide safe drinking water to res- idents of three modular home communities which currently receive water that exceeds EPA established safe threshold for arsenic. The safe drinking water will be provided by ex- tending City of Woodburn water supply to these communities. “It’s been a year since Pres- ident Obama signed the Ameri- can Recovery and Reinvest- ment Act. Clearly, we are see- ing positive results in green jobs,” said Acting EPA Region- al Administrator Michelle Pirza- deh. “Many projects are al- ready changing the employ- ment figures, and as construc- tion season begins, we expect to see even more people back on job sites.” On Feb. 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, providing more than $7 bil- lion nationwide for environmen- tal projects. Oregon allocations of Re- covery Act Funds: • Clean Water Projects: $44.7 million • Drinking Water Projects: $28.5 million • Clean Diesel Projects: $4.3 million • Leaking Underground Stor- age Tank Projects: $2.7 million • Brownfields Projects: $657,000 • TOTAL: $80.9 MILLION When the president signed the act, he directed that it be implemented with transparency and accountability. Now, any- one can visit www.recovery.gov to see how every dollar is being invested. Grant is vital to rural fire district From Page 1 It is difficult for Rural Fire Protection Districts to find mon- ey to replace apparatus. When the only available way is to in- crease the tax load of an al- ready struggling community, capital replacement of equip- ment takes a back seat to local economics. Occasionally, grant opportunities like the Assis- tance to Firefighters Grant be- come available, making it pos- sible to replace old, unreliable, unsafe equipment. It is almost the only way most rural districts are able to obtain a new engine or water tender. The 33 year-old apparatus that is being replaced was orig- inally owned by Don Soder- back as a dump truck. It had more than 210,000 miles on it in 1990, when it was purchased by the fire district for conver- sion to a water tender. The Mal- lory Company did the conver- sion work and, in 1991, it was placed in service. For more than 19 years it served the community, keeping fire en- gines supplied with water. Over the years, the cost of mainte- nance increased dramatically. More importantly, it became un- safe to drive. The opportunity to replace it is a real blessing. Our firefighters will operate more safely, the district will be better served, and surrounding emergency service providers who depend on our help will get it faster and more efficiently. Public invited to join in potluck banquet for Chamber of Commerce, community awards The Vernonia Area Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet and Community Collaborations will be held March 10, starting at 6:00 p.m. at the middle school cafeteria. This is a potluck event where the public, business owners and civic organizations are in- vited to attend. Many civic or- ganizations recognize their vol- unteers at this event and the Chamber will present their Business of the Year Award. Come learn more about what is happening in your com- munity at this community event. January figures released to- day by the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) show demand for food and cash assistance continued to rise in the first month of the new year. In January, enroll- ment in the Supplemental Nu- trition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) rose by more than 7,800 peo- ple. Enrollment in the Tempo- rary Assistance for Needy Fam- ilies (TANF) program, which provides cash assistance for low-income families with chil- dren, rose by 484 families. Overall, Oregonians receiv- ing SNAP benefits rose to 683,661, a 27.8 percent in- crease over a year ago. Simi- larly, families enrolled in TANF totaled 26,153, a 15.7 increase from January 2009. In the past two years SNAP households have increased by more than 53 percent and TANF by more than 37 percent, reflecting the impact of the recession. “This economic downturn has made it more difficult than ever for Oregonians and their families to be self-sufficient,” said Erinn Kelley-Siel, director of the DHS Children, Adults and Families Division. “SNAP and TANF help provide a safe- ty net for people – helping fam- M-BRFPD will buy new ambulance Mist-Birkenfeld Rural Fire Protection District Board of Di- rectors have awarded a con- tract to Pacific Emergency Ap- paratus for a new ambulance. The new unit will replace the 15 year-old ambulance cur- rently in service. Transport times from our district are 45 minutes to one hour, under the best of conditions. The second ambulance is held in reserve and ensures quick and reliable service in case of a second call. Funding for the new ambu- lance is provided by payments for emergency transports. Rec- ognizing that the ambulance would need to be replaced every 15 years or so, the dis- trict created a reserve fund for that purpose. One hundred percent of receipts from ambu- lance transports go into the re- serve fund. As a result, ambu- lance replacement is fully fund- ed by its usage, without resort- ing to additional taxes. ilies maintain stability while they find and keep jobs, pro- tecting the health and well-be- ing of low-income children, and supporting local economies.” To be eligible for SNAP ben- efits, households must earn less than 185 percent of the federal poverty level and meet other criteria. Benefits are de- termined on a sliding scale. For a family of four, the income lim- it is less than $3,400 per month, with a maximum benefit for the same household of $684 per month. The overall average SNAP household benefit is ap- proximately $243 per month. As its name implies, Supple- mental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits are intended to supplement a family’s overall food budget, not to cover it en- tirely. TANF cash assistance is available only to families with children age 18 or younger. Most participants are unem- ployed or underemployed, or the primary wage earner is in- capacitated; therefore the pro- gram provides opportunities for job preparation and on-the-job training to build personal re- sponsibility and self-reliance. Benefits are determined on a sliding scale. A two-parent fam- ily with two children and no oth- er income and who meet spe- cific criteria would receive a maximum monthly TANF bene- fit of $647. To learn if you might be eligi- ble for SNAP benefits, TANF, the Oregon Health Plan or oth- See Help on Page 6