Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Rescue Unit For South Clark County May Be Reality

Gurdon's Fire Department has received a grant for $7,500 from the Arkansas Rural Development Commission (ARDC).

This grant was for Cycle III recipients of the Arkansas Rural Community Grant, the Arkansas Rural Community Fire Protection Grant and the Arkansas Rural Community Planning Grant programs.

State Rep. Percy Malone worked with the GFD in obtaining its grant so the department could develop a rescue unit for the southern portion of Clark County. Until this point, there has been basically one rescue unit and it was located in the norther part of the county.

Now, there will be greater access and faster response times to disasters in South Clark County.

An awards ceremony was held Friday, May 30, in Eureka Springs, where the grants were presented. Overall, 50 communities from across the state were presented with grants totalling $264,448. Malone and Clark County Judge Grady Runyan were in attendance for the ceremony.

Since the inception of the Arkansas Rural Community Grant Program in July 1993, funds have been allocated for 343 projects located in all of the state's 75 counties, totalling $1,951,525.

Incorporated cities and towns and unincorporated communities in rural areas of less than 3,000 population are eligible for assistance. Funds are distributed on a 50-50 matching basis, with some local in-kind donations eligible for the match.

Applicants of the grants can request up to $15,000 in support per project through the program. The programs are for efforts such as publicly owned community centers, parks and recreational areas, along with fire protection, equipment, facilities and vehicles.