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Governor announces $8.5 million in parks and recreation grants

North Carolina is awarding $8.5 million in grants that will benefit outdoor recreation projects across the state.

Governor Roy Cooper announced last week that 19 projects are set to receive funding from the state’s Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF). 

Among the recipients is the Armfield Civic and Recreation Center in Pilot Mountain, which will apply its $500,000 grant to renovations.

Wilkes County is receiving $475,000. The funding will be used to help develop the Roaring River Park and provide access to the Yadkin River.

And in Ashe County, $500,000 is earmarked for Paddy Mountain Park, which broke ground on new trails earlier this month.

West Jefferson Town Manager Brantley Price released a statement calling the grant announcement “a dream come true” that will allow for the construction of trails, restrooms, shelters, and a parking area for Paddy Mountain Park.

The PARTF grant program was established in 1994 and provides matching grants to local governments that can be applied to outdoor recreation opportunities.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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