A new Greene County animal facility and dog park got a bit closer to becoming a reality and the Jefferson fire department will be able to keep up with state-mandated changes in radio equipment with grants awarded by Grow Greene County Gaming Corporation at its fourth annual Awards Night, held April 1 in the Greene Room at Wild Rose Casino in Jefferson.
Grow Greene County Gaming Corporation, the local nonprofit corporation that holds the state gaming license in Greene County, distributed more than $1.1 million in grants.
Attendees at the Awards Night included Grow Greene County board members, representatives from the contiguous counties, communities, schools and organizations who were receiving awards or received them in past years.
The awards given out represented gaming revenues at Wild Rose Jefferson during calendar year 2018.
A total of $329,000 was awarded in competitive grants. The city of Jefferson received $67,000 toward the new animal facility and dog park. Once the facility is built, it will be owned by the city but operated for the entire county.
The Jefferson fire department received $67,000 for new radio equipment.
Other competitive grants awarded were:
• City of Scranton for exterior improvements on the community center/city hall, $60,000
• City of Churdan for park improvements, $45,000
• Genesis Development for a new vehicle for client transportation, $40,000
• History Boy Theatre, $30,000 for new light/sound equipment, $30,000
• Greene County Historical Society for ceiling repair, $20,000
The Greene County Community Foundation received $150,000 to disburse in grants of less than $35,000. Those awards were made March 25. Greene County Development Corporation received $98,107 for new and ongoing projects, and the Greene County Medical Center Foundation received $20,000 as the fourth payment of a $100,000 pledge for the expansion/renovation project completed in 2016.
Paton-Churdan school districts each received $24,000. P-C will use the funds for a drainage project on the school property.
Municipalities received funds on a per capita basis as follows, with a $40,000 cap: Churdan, $16,204; Dana, $3,984; Grand Junction, $34,599; Jefferson, $40,000; Paton, $9,913; Rippey, $12,258; and Scranton, $23,386.
Under agreement with Wild Rose Entertainment Inc, Grow Greene County receives 5 percent of the local casino’s adjusted gross gaming revenues to distribute to nonprofit, governmental and charitable organizations. Of that total, 4.1 percent goes to projects in Greene County and 0.9 percent is shared equally by the community foundations in the six counties contiguous to Greene County.
The community foundations in Boone, Calhoun, Carroll, Dallas, Guthrie and Webster counties each received $43,047.
The Grow Greene County board of directors includes president Norm Fandel, vice president Craig Marquardt, secretary Peg Raney, treasurer Bob Allen, and Lori Mannel, Brenda Muir, Kate Neese and Rick Morain. Board attorney is Mike Mumma and Cindy Durhkopf is the part-time administrative assistant.
