USDA Rural Development Fiscal Year 2000 Annual Report www.rurdev.usda.gov/ma
Dear Friends and Colleagues,

On behalf of the Clinton-Gore Administration, Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman and

Under Secretary Jill Long Thompson, I am pleased and proud to present the 2000 Annual

Report for the Southern New England jurisdiction. This report details our mission area s

activities in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

When I was appointed by President Clinton to be State Director for the Farmers Home

Administration in 1993 the agency was primarily a lending agency. Over the past eight years

the agency has seen dynamic changes with the shift to Rural Development where we now form

partnerships with town governments, state agencies and non-profit organizations. These

unique collaborations help build more vibrant rural communities that give citizens a greater sense of pride, better

public safety services and a chance to access the prosperity our nation has witnessed under President Clinton s

leadership.

Fiscal Year 2000 funding in the three state jurisdiction

reached $103 million, bringing the total investment during

this administration to $872.6 million. Although FY 2000

represents a decrease in funding from previous fiscal years

our offices have done a commendable job effectively

utilizing limited resources to provide safe housing to rural

families, to support dynamic businesses in an ever-changing economy and to construct water and sewer systems in rural towns that faced a threat of

contamination.

We have faced some tough challenges over these last eight years and I am very proud to say

that we have overcome them to make a difference in the lives of thousands of rural Americans.

I am proud to have been a part of this agency and it is with great pride that I reflect on the

work we have done and the partnerships we have created and I hope they will last long after

this administration has past. 

Is Rural Development making a difference? I invite you to peruse the following pages. You

will see images of young families making a fresh start with the help of our rural housing funds.

You will see local, state and federal leaders-of both political parties-at groundbreaking ceremonies for libraries, town halls and police stations funded through the Community Facilities

program. You will see a commitment to outreach that is growing our service area and providing a more diverse rural population with essential services and programs. Is Rural Development making a difference? I think you ll see that between the dedicated and committed

efforts of our terrific staff, our partners in the non-profit and private sectors, and leaders in

state and federal government-the answer is a resounding yes-we are! Thank you for this great

opportunity.
USDA Rural Development is committed

to helping improve the quality of life in all

of rural America. Our programs offer a

diverse rural population access to safe

drinking water, affordable housing, hi-tech

jobs and modern community facilities that

provide solid foundations for rural families

to build on.

Community Facilities-Focuses on

strengthening the basic infrastructures of

rural towns by funding projects like

libraries, senior centers and town halls.

Funds may also be used to upgrade

public safety equipment.

Business Programs-Enhances the business

climate in our jurisdiction's rural towns through

direct loans and grants and partnerships with

private lending institutions with an emphasis on

helping the rural workforce compete in today s

high-technology market.

Water and Waste-Provides loans, grants and loan

guarantees for drinking water, sanitary sewer, solid

waste and storm drainage facilities in rural areas

and cities and towns of 10,000 or less. Public

bodies, non-profit organizations and recognized

Indian tribes may qualify for assistance. Grant

funds are also available to nonprofit organizations

which pledge to provide technical assistance and

training to rural communities to solve water,

wastewater and solid waste problems.

Housing-Provides loans and grants to assist rural

citizens in achieving the dream of homeownership.

Programs are also available to assist developers

with a focus on multi-family housing units to house

low-income citizens and the elderly.

More than $103 million was provided to rural

communities, non-profit organizations, Indian tribes,

families and individuals in the Southern New England

jurisdiction in the Fiscal Year 2000.

Because of this federal funding small

businesses have a fighting chance to compete in todayís

volatile markets, senior citizens have a place to gather

and reflect, single mothers have access to

affordable housing and rural families can turn on their

faucets without having to tap into their deepest anxieties.

Total 8 year investment in the

Southern New England jurisdiction is

$872.6 million.

0

20

40

60

80

1 00

1 20

1 40

$ in 

millions 

1 994 1 995 1 996 1 997 1 998 1 999 2000

Fiscal Year 

Massachusetts Activity 

0

5

1 0

1 5

20

25

$ in millions

1 994 1 995 1 996 1 997 1 998 1 999 2000

Fiscal Year 

Rhode Island Activity 

0

5

1 0

1 5

20

25

30

35

40

45

$ in millions 

1 994 1 995 1 996 1 997 1 998 1 999 2000

Fiscal Year

Connecticut Activity 
On March 5, 1974 Beatrice

Baynes, an aging widow with

16 children, applied for the

American dream. With a little

help from the federal

government she turned that

dream into a reality on August

13, 1974.

Mrs. Baynes applied

for a $19,000 loan from

the USDA Farmers

Home Administration, now USDA Rural

Development. Her dream was to build a modest

26x36 ranch on 4 acres of rural property in

Canterbury, Connecticut. At the time of her

application, her son Ronald had just graduated

from West Point, her daughter Roberta was on

her way there. Her son Donald had served one

year in Vietnam. Her son Ernest was killed there.

Her remarkable story, of loss and triumph, did

not go unnoticed by Rural Development.

Mrs. Baynes application was accepted under the

Rural Development Section 502 Direct Loan

Program. Administered by the Rural Housing

Division, this program provides direct financial

assistance, in the form of a direct home loan, to

hard-working individuals or families, like Mrs.

Baynes.

Mrs. Baynes, now 86, submitted her final

payment on the loan to Rural Development on February

7, 2000. State Director William H. Bradley joined

officials in Canterbury at the Town Hall for a mortgage

burning ceremony. Rural Development is honored to

have had the opportunity to help such a strong woman

achieve her dream of homeownership.

State wide in the FY 2000 we helped 207 rural

residents secure safe, sanitary and decent housing with

more than $18.2 million in funding.

Total housing funding

in the Southern New

England jurisdiction

reached more than

$46 million in FY

2000 helping 602

rural

citizens build new

foundations for their

dreams.
State Director

William H. Bradley

joined Paul Douglas,

executive

director of

Rural Development Inc. (RDI) of Turners Falls,

MA, at the home of Nicole

Stebbins on June 16 to celebrate the partnership between the non-profit

group and Rural Development. With the help of

Rural Development funds, RDI

has helped 37 families move into

new homes.

Assistant State

Director Bill

Gouzounis

presents Lynn Blackwell, senior

vice chairperson of the Connecticut Housing Investment Fund

Board of Directors, with a Rural Development

appreciation plaque for

the non-profit groups

help in servicing lowincome residents in

Connecticuts rural communities June 8, 2000 at

the home of Domnikiya

and Aleksandr Glybin in

Somers.

As a result of successful

partnering efforts with state

agencies, private lenders

and non-profit

corporations, 51% of

the homes in the

Fiscal Year 2000 were

jointly financed. This

brought in an

additional$4.2 million of

other funds and an

additional $9.5 million of

agency funds to the

jurisdiction.

National

Homeownership

Week

June 3-10, 2000
Rural

Business

Enterprise Grants

Grant funds, offered from the

Rural Business Enterprise

Grant Program, turned a

former DOT garage into a

boat building facility in

Haddam, CT. Since 1999

USDA Rural Development has awarded more than

$50,000 in grant funds to the project.

It has helped: Relive the history of the community by

recreating the art of hand crafted boats. Promote

tourism on the beautiful Connecticut shoreline

A $78,000 RBEG helped

support the Franklin County

Community Development

Corporation and its plan to

start a commercial kitchen in

Greenfield, MA. Executive

Director John Waite (l)

stands with State Director

William H. Bradley (center)

and State Senator Stan

Rosenburg at the dedication

ceremony. The commercial

kitchen will allow businesses

to rent the facility on a time-share basis instead of investing

in expensive equipment and has the potential to generate

new revenues for agriculture and specialty food producers in the

area. The kitchen will help small businesses in western Massachusetts be more competitive by saving them money and will help local

farmers by expanding their local market for their produce. Consumers will also benefit by having more choices. RD funding for

this project complements $464,000 in state funds from the Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture.

More than $25 million was

provided in the

Southern New England

jurisdiction to help the rural

workforce compete in the

diversified economy of the

21st Century. Recipients of

these programs may include

individuals, corporations,

partnerships, cooperatives,

public bodies, nonprofit

corporations, Indian tribes

and private companies.
A $3.9 million loan guarantee, obligated in September

to CoopPlus,

of Holyoke,

MA, was

offered

under the

aegis of

Rural

Developmentís

Business and Industry (B&I) Loan Guarantee

Program. The focus of the program is to

improve the business climate in rural

areas of less than 50,000 in population.

The loan was made by First International

Bank of Hartford, Connecticut, which

has been USDA Rural Developments

partner in helping rural businesses since

1995.

This is the first USDA Rural

Development loan guarantee made to a

cooperative in the Southern New

England jurisdiction. The funds were

used to purchase three existing fuel oil

companies, Halon Oil of Granby,

Express Oil of Southampton, and

Lacasse Heating and Cooling of

Holyoke. It is anticipated that 43 jobs

were maintained and 11 jobs were

created. By leveraging Rural

Development funds with money from commercial

sources, like First International Bank, we are able to

provide improved and more extensive service to the

rural citizens of Southern New England. Rural

Development is proud to be a part of such an effective

partnership that combines the efforts of several

community-focused organizations to help consumers

in western Massachusetts.

The Southern New England

jurisdiction made its first

Business and Industry Loan

Guarantee to a cooperative

in the FY 2000. The $3.9

million loan guarantee, with

funds provided by First

 International Bank of

Hartford, CT, will help

support local consumers.
 State Director

William H. Bradley

(left) joined local and

state officials

representing the

Town of

Rochester,

MA to

celebrate the Towns receipt of a $1.05 million

Community Facilities loan. The 10-member

police force is currently housed in a 14 x 50

trailer and the communications center is located

in a 200 sq. ft. area of the fire station. The

funds will be used to construct a 3500 sq. ft.

facility. The new building will be handicapped

accessible.

Two Community Facilities loans- $260,000 and

$100,000 in

FY 1999

and 2000

respectivelyassisted in

the

renovation

of the

historic

Ivoryton

Playhouse in

Essex, Connecticut. The playhouse has been a

treasure of Southern Connecticut since 1908.

Our community facilities

programs accounted for

$9.5 million of our total

funding in the Southern New

England Jurisdiction

bringing essential public

safety equipment, town halls

and libraries, like this one

in West Boylston, MA to

rural communities across

the three-state jurisdiction.
In July, we

celebrated

Water 2000

with programs

with this big check signing in Warren,

MA. Congressman Richard Neal

(MA-2nd) (2nd from left) joined the

Rural Development team at our event to

celebrate the Towns receipt of $760,000 in

loan and grant funding. The funds will be

used to extend the existing public water

system to the Heritage Village Mobile Home

Park, which is privately owned. The park has

private water and sanitary waste disposal and

has faced severe problems. In 1997, the septic

system failed and effluent contaminated the

wells. With the generous support of USDA

Rural Development, the Town of Warren has

agreed to extend its water system to the

mobile home park. Citing the high risk of

drinking water contamination from the failing

septic system, Warren was targeted as a rural

community needing assistance under the aegis

of President Clintonís Water 2000 program.

William H. Bradley and

Congressman John Olver (MA1st) present the Pine Valley

Plantation, a low-income village

for senior citizens, with funds to

connect to the Town of

Belchertownís sewer system.

Our Water and Waste

programs

accounted for more

than $21 million in

loans and grants

bringing safe water to

rural

communities across

Southern

New England.
The National Congress of

American Indians

identifies four federally

recognized tribes in the

Southern New England

jurisdiction.

Rural Utilities Service Deputy

Administrator John Romano (center)

attended the Native American Indian

Housing Council Convention and

Trade Show at Foxwoods Resort and

Casino in Ledyard, CT on June 12,

2000.

Rural Development Manager

Johan Strandson (left), of the

Norwich area office, and Native

American Coordinator Richard

Burke, of the Amherst state office,

also attended the conference which

brought together representatives

from federally recognized Indian

Tribes from across the country. It was a

pleasure to have Mr. Romano with us to

support our outreach efforts with our

Native American partners.

In FY 2000 the West Wareham, MA

USDA Rural Development area office

approved a $28,050 Community

Facilities grant to the Wampanoag

Tribe for a water storage tank to assist

with fire fighting functions.

Also in FY 2000 the Warwick, RI

USDA Rural Development Area

Office approved two Community

Facility grants totaling $97,500 to the

Narragansett Tribe for safety repairs

and other renovations to the "Four

Winds" Tribal Community Center.
Rural Development officials joined the National Weather

Service to present Connecticut Governor John Rowland with

an important device to

help curb disaster in

the State. With the

winter storm season at

New Englands

doorstep, RD and the

NWS presented the

State of Connecticut

with an

emergency

weather radio.

The delivery of

emergency

weather radios is

part of a

partnership created between the USDA, the

Department of Commerce and the NWS to provide

greater access to emergency radio service to the rural

areas of Southern New England.

Warnings about severe weather conditions can be

obtained 24 hours a day, providing increased

preparation time for rural citizens in the event of an

approaching storm. The radios provide for instant

access to the same weather reports and emergency

information that meteorologists and emergency

personnel use information that might save property and,

more importantly, lives.

Weather radios were

also sent to

Massachusetts and

Rhode Island. Rural

Development Manager

in the Warwick, RI

area office Dave

Delisle participated in

an event with the Lt.

Governor of Rhode Island to help increase awareness

about weather radios and how they can help protect the

rural peoples in Rhode Island.

These two events should prove to us that effective

partnerships with state agencies can stretch limited federal

resources and bring increased visibility to programs that have

the potential to save lives.

Secretaryís 54th Annual Honor Awards

June 5, 2000-Washington, D.C.

Deputy Administrators Art Campbell (far left)

and Inga Smulkstys joined Rural Development

Manager Tom McGarr (2nd from right) and

Native American Coordinator Richard Burke

when they were presented with a Superior

Service Award at the 54th Annual USDA

Awards Ceremony. Secretary of Agriculture

Dan Glickman made the presentations. The

citation reads "For sustained outreach to the

Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)

resulting in increased business and program

delivery to our Native American Partners."

(l-r) CT Deputy Com. of Agriculture Bruce Greczyk,

Chief Meteorologist at the NWS Bob Thompson, CT

Governor John Rowland, Norwich RDM Johan

Strandson, and PIC Margot Susca at the governorís

office Nov. 28.
Fiscal Year 2000 Southern New England Annual Report

 Editor: Margot A. Susca, Public Information Coordinator

margot.susca@ma.usda.gov

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national

origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all

programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape,

etc.) should contact USDAís TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence

Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice and TDD).

Amherst State Office

State Director: David Tuttle

451 West Street/Suite 2

Amherst, MA 01002

(413) 253-4302

(413) 253-4347 (fax)

Email: david.tuttle@ma.usda.gov

On the web: www.rurdev.usda.gov/ma

The state office administers activity in the three state

jurisdiction.

Holden Area Office

Rural Development Manager-Lyndon Nichols

52 Boyden Road

Holden, MA 01520

(508) 829-4477 x. 4

(508) 829-3721 (fax)

lnichols@rurdev.usda.gov

Servicing: Worcester, Middlesex, Suffolk, and Essex

Counties

Northampton Area Office

RDM-Paul Geoffroy

243 King Street

Northampton, MA 01060

(413) 585-1000 x. 4

(413) 586-8648 (fax)

pgeoffro@rurdev.usda.gov

Servicing: Berkshire, Franklin,

Hampshire, and Hampden

Counties

West Wareham Area Office

RDM-Tom McGarr

15 Cranberry Highway

West Wareham, MA 02576

(508) 295-5151 x. 203

(508) 291-2368 (fax)

tmcgarr@rurdev.usda.gov

Servicing: Bristol, Norfolk,

Plymouth, Nantucket, Dukes,

and Barnstable Counties

Windsor Area Office

RDM Chris Higgins

627 River Street

Windsor, CT 06790

(860) 688-7725 x. 4

(869) 688-7979 (fax)

chiggins@rurdev.usda.gov

Servicing: Tolland, Middlesex,

Hartford, Litchfield, New

Haven, and Fairfield Counties

Norwich Area Office

RDM-Johan Strandson

238 West Town Street

Norwich, CT 06360

(860) 859-5218 x. 3004

(860) 859-5223 (fax)

jstrands@rurdev.usda.gov

Servicing: Windham and New

London Counties

Warwick Area Office

RDM-David Delisle

60 Quaker Lane/Suite 44

Warwick, RI 02886

(401) 826-0842

(401) 826-6042 (fax)

ddelisle@rurdev.usda.gov

Servicing: All of Rhode Island