DECATUR — Governor Mike Beebe and Department of Rural Services Director Butch Calhoun presented Decatur city officials with a $75,000 Arkansas Rural Services Block Grant for the Decatur Fire Department during a March 9 ceremony at the Arkansas State Capitol.
Thirteen Decatur community members and city officials traveled to Little Rock to receive the award.
Decatur was one of 11 rural communities selected to receive more than $700,000 in funding through the Rural Services Block Grant Program in 2011.
The grant money covers about 90 percent of the costs of building an addition to the fire station, including a truck bay, office space and bathroom. The city will have to pay for10 percent of the costs, or about $7,500, but the expense could be exchanged for in-kind services, suchas construction labor provided by firemen.
“We were excited and happy to receive the grantbecause of the work of so many people in town that cooperated on it,” said mayor Charles Linam.
News, Pages 10 on 04/06/2011