Published: April 24, 2006

Funds give boosts to Southwest Va. growth

By CHARLES OWENS
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
 

BLAND, Va. — Two unrelated federal funding announcements Monday for Southwest Virginia will provide for improved water infrastructure in Giles County and the expansion of a medical center in Bland County.

U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., was in Bland County Monday afternoon to announce the award of a $1,279,790 low-interest loan through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Agency to the Bland County Medical Clinic. Boucher said the federal funds will improve patient care by doubling the number of examination rooms and expanding the clinic’s waiting rooms.

“The Bland County Medical Clinic first opened its doors in 1979 to serve Bland and Wythe county residents, regardless of the patient’s ability to pay,” Boucher said. “Since that time, the clinic has seen a dramatic increase in patient visits each year, and the clinic now provides care to patients from not only Bland and Wythe counties, but also Giles and Tazewell counties in Virginia and Mercer County in West Virginia.”

Boucher said the federal funds will allow the clinic to expand its current size of 5,780 square feet to 13,633 square feet. It will also increase the number of patient examination rooms to 12, expand the waiting area, and add two quick care rooms for walk-in patients.

Boucher also was in Giles County Monday where, along with U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., the award of federal funds for the Route 100 Water Project were jointly announced.

Allen, who announced the award through a press release, said the Rural Development office has awarded a $521,700 grant and a $596,000 loan to Giles County.

“These important funds will allow the folks in Giles County to update, improve and extend water services for the individuals in their community,” Allen said in the press release. “I am pleased that the USDA is once again able to provide support to improve the lives of Virginians.”

Boucher, who made the announcement Monday in Pearisburg, said the combined $1.1 million grant and loan funding, along with a $1 million federal Community Development Block Grant provided by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, will provide water to more than 100 homes beginning near the intersection of Route 100 and Hill Street, extending through the Oney and Mutter subdivisions, ending in Wilburn Valley.

Boucher said the project will include the installation of more than 30,000 feet of water lines.

– Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com