NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Counties in Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana and West Virginia are joining a federal program designed to help persistently poor rural communities take advantage of government resources.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said in a conference call that the StrikeForce initiative has helped to support over 80,000 projects since it began in 2010. Those projects include home and business loans, natural resources conservation and food assistance.
Although the loans and assistance aren’t new, the initiative helps people take advantage of them in the communities where they are most needed. Vilsack said many Department of Agriculture programs are underutilized, so money that could be spent in rural communities ends up going back to Washington, D.C.
The StrikeForce initiative currently operates in 16 other states, where it has increased participation in USDA programs - dramatically in some cases.
According to the USDA, the use of food stamps at farmers markets more than doubled from $2 million to over $4 million in StrikeForce states between 2012 and 2013. The number of landowners applying for Natural Resources Conservation Service programs in StrikeForce areas increased by 82 percent over the same period.
Smaller increases were seen in direct farm loan applications, in building projects supported by the Housing and Community Facilities Program and in the number of children receiving free or reduced-price school breakfasts.
___
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky wide receiver Demarco Robinson has been charged with disorderly conduct, a noise disturbance and resisting arrest by Lexington police.
The arrest citation says police went to Robinson’s residence following a complaint about loud noise early Friday morning, that a physical confrontation ensued between an officer and Robinson’s roommate, Jerry Williams, and that Robinson tried to prevent police from arresting Williams.
The citation alleges that Robinson yelled at police and slammed a door in an officer’s face, then tried to flee after being arrested. The report also says he broke away and rushed other officers.
The junior missed the Wildcats’ final two games after coach Mark Stoops suspended him indefinitely late last season. The coach said then that Robinson could return if he met certain conditions.
___
CADIZ, Ky. (AP) - A 75-year-old woman has died in a house fire in western Kentucky.
Kentucky State Police say the fire was reported there around 2 a.m. CST Friday at the home on Rocky Ridge Road in Trigg County. Firefighters from Montgomery Volunteer Fire Department extinguished the blaze, and the body of Dorothy C. Mitchell of Cadiz was found inside.
State police said an autopsy determined Mitchell died of smoke inhalation.
The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined, but police say no foul play is suspected.
___
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - The lone Democrat in Kentucky’s congressional delegation has filed for re-election to the state’s 3rd District congressional seat in the Louisville area.
U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth said Friday he provides an “important contrast” to what Kentucky voters hear from the Republicans who make up the rest of the state’s federal delegation.
Yarmuth submitted his candidacy papers to the secretary of state’s office in Frankfort on Friday.
Republican Michael Macfarlane, a Louisville urologic surgeon, has filed to challenge Yarmuth.
Yarmuth cited his work to obtain federal economic incentives that led to job growth in his urban district. He says he also wants to help shepherd the new veterans’ hospital project through to completion in Louisville.
Yarmuth was first elected to Congress in 2006 and is running for his fifth term.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.