Chilhowie Fire Chief David Haynes and Mayor Gary Heninger hold a big check from USDA Rural Development.

By DAN KEGLEY/Staff

It’s a big check, maybe three feet long. But it’s the check’s size related to the six figures written on it that excited Chilhowie officials Monday -- $147,525.

The check is the result of a grant and loan application the town submitted to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development agency. The town will use the money to buy an ambulance and brush truck.

Chilhowie Fire Chief David Haynes and Mayor Gary Heninger brought the check back from Wytheville Monday afternoon.

“It was presented at Wytheville by the state director of Rural Development, Ellen Davis, and the regional director, Travis Jackson,” said Chilhowie Town Manager Bill Boswell.

Congressman Rick Boucher attended the award ceremony and said in a release that the check represented “a federal grant in the amount of $30,000 and a $117,525 low-interest federal loan to the Town of Chilhowie ” for a new ambulance and brush truck for the town’s fire department.

“Both of the vehicles will be more narrow than standard emergency response vehicles, which will enable them to enter many of the smaller gate openings common on Smyth County farms,” Boucher’s release said.  “The design of the new vehicles will reduce response times to emergency situations which occur on Smyth County farms, and increase safety in the Town of Chilhowie .” 

The Chilhowie Volunteer Fire Department has two full-time members and 23 volunteers.

"I am pleased that the Rural Development Agency is providing this significant allocation of federal funding to the Town of Chilhowie . It is important to ensure the safety of our first responders and the communities that they serve by providing the best equipment and training possible, and today’s announcement will help accomplish this goal," Boucher said.

dkegley@wythenews.com

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