An update from Rep. Ingraham

For young and old alike, we have ushered in a New Year, 2014, one that will be filled with opportunities, changes and untold challenges as we prepare for upcoming elections and global situations that impact us here in America. For me it’s a bitter-sweet moment in my life as I complete my last year of service as your State Representative for House District 13.

I have been blessed and honored to have been able to serve you, the citizens of Sanders County, for these past four legislative sessions. While filled with difficult yet rewarding outcomes through each session and throughout the four campaigns, the highlight of my service has been you, the people, the friendships I’ve made and those I’ve been able to help not only at a state level, but on a personal level in my day to day service these last seven years.

However, as the New Year begins, due to the states redistricting process, even House District 13 has undergone change, and will now include Marion and Kila, while House District 14 now includes Plains, Hot Springs and all of Paradise, Dixon and Camas Prairie along with its Mineral County counterparts.

While change itself can be challenging, only with the passage of time will the unintended consequences or the blessings which lie ahead for us be revealed. We must always remember, we our blessed as a State and that of a Nation under God. Sometimes, in light of so many troubling headlines, we forget that many of the things we take for granted are blessings. Blessings which we need to be reminded of from to time in order that we might remember to be grateful for what we do have and not what we don’t.

As we each embrace this year and the journey which awaits us, I hope to revisit a few articles that I’ve shared with you over these past seven years, as a reminder of what we do have in this great state of Montana. One of those reminders is that it is time when applications for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) Renewable Resource Grant and Loan Program and its Reclamation and Development Grants Programs are available.

This renewable resource loan program began in 1981 by the Montana Legislature, which granted a total of $250 million in coal tax bonding authority. The renewal of this program is brought before the Legislature each legislative session through what is known as House Bill (HB) 6, at least while I have served. HB 6 is an act implementing the Renewable Resource Grant and Loan Program, appropriating money to the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation for prioritized projects found throughout the state and in local communities. HB 6 will again come before the 2015 Legislature.

This program is one of those benefits we may have taken for granted, forgotten or not even known existed. It is made possible as a result of Montana’s rich coal reserves which have been harvested over the years. Today, each coal train that travels our rails brings in approximately $30,000 in state and local taxes, providing not only jobs, but continued funding for programs like this one, the Renewable Resource Grant & Land Program. Continued tax revenue helps to shore up our Coal Tax Fund, a valuable asset for Montana. And those revenues make other programs possible such as the Treasure State Endowment Fund, Big Sky Economic Development Fund, and the Cultural Trust.

The 2012 Reclamation and Development Grant and Loan program funding covers a wide variety of natural resource projects and are available to political subdivisions of the state, local and tribal government including state agencies and universities, counties, incorporated cities and towns, conservation districts, irrigation districts, water/sewer/solid waste districts and tribes. Granting funding is limited to $100,000 per project, with emergency grants limited to $30,000 per project, while loans are limited by the applicant’s debt capacity.

Application guidelines and forms for the Reclamation and Development Grant and Loan program may be downloaded from the DNRC website at: http://dnrc.mt.gov. DNRC staff is available to answer questions you may have regarding grant or loan applications at (406) 444-6668, or PO Box 201601, Helena, Montana 59620-1601. The deadline for application submittal is May 15, 2012.

As you embrace the New Year, remember to count your blessings!

Now it is your turn to “Keep in Touch” by contacting me regarding your questions or concerns. I can be reached via e-mail at pathd13@blackfoot.net, or call me at 827-4652 or by mail at P.O. Box 1151, Thompson Falls, Montana 59873.