Rural Development officials tour Valley facilities

PALMER — Staff with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett, toured projects the USDA Rural Development recently helped fund, and hope to continue to fund in the Last Frontier.

Hazlett joined Jerry Ward, State Director for USDA Rural Development, on tours of the Waste Water Treatment Plant in Palmer that began operation earlier this year, and the Vista Rose senior housing complex in Wasilla. Vista Rose opened its first facility in September, and plans to open the second building on Lucille Street in Wasilla on Nov. 1. According to staff, there are only six available rooms left of the 78-unit facility.

“Things are so different here than the Lower 48. I think it’s even more important in states like that that have very real challenges to see how we can make a difference with our dollars,” Hazlett said.

While the acronym USDA is often connected to farms, Rural Development has been active in a number of community outreach programs that affect quality of life, the economy, and housing. They helped fund multiple clinics in the Valley including the Willow and Sunshine Clinics, and the Benteh Nuutah primary care facility.

“Our core mission is to increase rural prosperity, to help build prosperity and be a partner to local leaders in building that prosperity. We have staff who can be out in the community and know what the needs of that community is,” Hazlett said. “That helps really inform how we shape our own programs to make sure that we are able to meet those needs. So we are here. We’ve been here for generations and we will be here for generations to help these places grow and thrive.”

One of the major goals for Rural Development was a topic of discussion for Hazlett on Friday during the Alaska Federation of Natives conference in Anchorage. Hazlett hopes to continue to see the growth of high-speed broadband Internet, which can help affect residents in a multitude of ways.

“It’s important to have not only the educational aspect of broadband, but also the medical part of it. It brings us into the century to where rural America can compete,” Ward said.

Ward works on the opioid task force and has seen the devastation it has brought through the Valley communities. Ward said he believes joblessness can lead people down dark paths, but that more readily available broadband Internet can help provide jobs in rural areas that had not been available before.

“We’re focused on really the infrastructure in these places. The challenges that we see here, I think the remoteness of the population as well can make it challenging to pay for these broadband and high speed internet that is such a lifeline in the modern economy. From health care, to education, to small business opportunity, I know that’s a real challenge here as well. How can we do more of that?” Hazlett said.

Ward noted that federal legislators from Alaska have been instrumental in setting aside money. Continuing resolutions appropriated $6 billion for broadband fiber and $4 billion for opioids outreach. Ward said he feels passionately about these issues and wants to foster further community engagement on where money needs to be spent to fix such problems.

“If we don’t have the particular program that fits within rural development, we will lead them to the Small Business Association or wherever they need to go to make it work,” Ward said. “What really needs to be known is this administration is standing ready for people to approach us. We want people to approach us because, if in fact, we don’t have a program to lend the money or grant the money or to do it, we can find it in the federal government.”