MAYFLOWER -- A federal agency has awarded more than $1.6 million in grants to help Faulkner County expand disaster recovery efforts and water, sewer and road infrastructure projects.
Gov. Mike Beebe; U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark.; and others on Thursday visited Mayflower, the site of an April 27 tornado and a March 2013 oil spill, to talk about the grants.
Beebe told local leaders and Mayflower students that no city should have to endure what Mayflower has "gone through time after time" but that the city has distinguished itself for its strength and resilience after adversity.
Three members of Arkansas' congressional delegation -- Pryor; U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark.; and U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin, R-Ark. -- first announced the grants last month, the same day the U.S. secretary of commerce said the department's Economic Development Administration was awarding nearly $9 million in grants for infrastructure in Arkansas.
The biggest of the grants for Faulkner County was for $1.1 million to help Mayflower "construct critical water and sewer infrastructure along Interstate Drive to support business expansion," said a release issued then by Griffin's office on behalf of the delegation.
Griffin, whose 2nd Congressional District includes Faulkner County, issued a news release Thursday saying he was "pleased to support Mayflower in its application" for the $1.1. million grant. "This funding will provide more assistance in disaster recovery efforts, upgrade our infrastructure and support economic development and job growth."
"I was proud to work with Senator Boozman and Congressman Griffin to secure this critical funding and boost recovery efforts," Pryor said in earlier release.
A second grant was for $300,000 to the Central Arkansas Planning and Development District so it can hire additional staff members to coordinate continuing recovery efforts in Faulkner County. The third one was for $201,000 to tornado-stricken Vilonia so the city can extend Industrial Park Drive to improve new business and industrial development.
The April tornado killed 16 people in Pulaski, Faulkner and White counties.
On March 29, 2013, Exxon Mobil's Pegasus pipeline ruptured in Mayflower's Northwoods subdivision and spilled an estimated 210,000 gallons of heavy crude oil into the neighborhood. The cleanup continues.
Information for this article was contributed by Gavin Lesnick of ArkansasOnline.
State Desk on 10/21/2014