CAMDEN — By TAMMY FRAZIER
Managing editor
Representatives of Sen. John Boozman’s office visited Camden this week to observe the expansion work at the Ouachita Child Enrichment Annex, to get a first-hand look at where rural development funds are being spent, and get a sense of the impact the expansion will have on the community.
Chase Emerson, field representative/assistant projects director for Boozman, told the Camden News that he and Boozman’s Legislative Aide, Mary Catherine Cromley, are visiting locations that received recent USDA Rural Development funds.
Emerson also stated that “it’s easy to see the (funding) numbers pass by your desk, but actually seeing where these funds go” is the purpose of visiting the various sites.
He added that it is also good to see how useful the funds will be and “how it impacts the kids at the enrichment center and the community around it. “That is way better than sitting on the other side” (of the desk) and not getting an ‘up-close and personal’ connection.
“I was just getting a list of the projects the USDA Rural Development has done in South Arkansas, and that (Ouachita Enrichment) was one that seemed worth highlighting,” stated Emerson.
Ouachita Enrichment Director Cathy Cash stated that the facility received a rural development low-interest loan for the expansion/remodel of the Ouachita Enrichment Annex.
Cash estimated that the project would be completed by the end of this summer.