4-8-2005 |
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PROVIDING PROPERTY FOR FLOOD VICTIMS The West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) has leased 70 acres of property it owns just outside Moundsville to the West Virginia Housing Development Fund (WVHDF) to provide temporary housing for families displaced by September flooding along the Ohio River. The subsequent mobile home village has been named Gus R. Douglass Park. "I'm honored, but I had no idea that anyone was planning on naming anything after me," said Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass. "I'm just pleased that we were able to help those individuals and families who were displaced by the flooding last fall. We are fortunate that the Department has land resources that can be called into use when needed." The project is providing 21 families with manufactured housing up to 18 months, according to Steve Fisher, with the WVHDF, which is managing the project with assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Fisher said he is grateful for the WVDA's cooperation in quickly executing a lease on the property, which is part of farmlands once used by the former Moundsville penitentiary. "Of all the state agencies I work with, his [Commissioner Douglass'] office impressed me as being just extremely helpful. We had our lease signed in just a matter of days which helped us to get these families in as quickly as possible.. It was just a great experience for us," said Fisher. Fisher added that after 18 months, the families will move on to permanent housing, but that water and sewer lines have been extended to the property making the land available for some future use in the community. The WVDA has agreed to deed the land to the Marshall County Commission after the temporary residents have moved on, said Commissioner Douglass. The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org. |
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