News N Briefs

ASCOG Silver Haired Legislature to Meet: The Silver Haired Legislature will meet on Thur., May 10, 2012 at 12:30 p.m. at the Velma Senior Center, ½ mile east of Velma on Highway 7. For more information, contact Heather Sladek at ASCOG.

ASCOG Workforce Proposal Selected: The South Central and Southwest Oklahoma Workforce Investment Boards recently selected a proposal submitted by ASCOG for the delivery of Workforce Investment Act Title I Adult and Dislocated Worker services in the ASCOG and SWODA areas beginning July 1, 2012.

RVFD Certifications Due April 30: Certification and direct deposit forms for rural volunteer fire departments are available on request. All departments in the ASCOG area should contact Perry Brinegar, ASCOG rural fire coordinator, to update current information.

CDBG Applications: The due dates for most CDBG applications are history. Now applicants are anxiously waiting to see if they are one of the few lucky ones selected to receive funding. As with every application period, several just waited too late to begin the process. -- To have a real shot for CDBG funds, engineers for water and wastewater projects should have a permit to construct ready to be submitted with the application. -- Even communities that meet the required 51% Low to Moderate Income (LMI) threshold should consider conducting LMI surveys to see if their population has a higher LMI because the higher the percentage, the more points you receive in that category. -- To receive the maximum points for the water and sewer rate category, your combined rate has to be at least $45 for the first 5,000 gallons. There are several legitimate, creative ways to meet that threshold. CED staff can help you formulate a rate schedule that starts very close to where your current rates already are. -- The other category that receives strong consideration is the amount of matching funds or in-kind funds committed to the project. Many communities may not be able to come up with additional funds out of local coffers, however, don’t forget that REAP funds can be used for engineering and double as match since those expenses are counted as match even though they have already been spent. It is one of the few areas where the expenditure can take place before receiving a release of funds from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. Paying for the engineer with match money also has the added benefit of being able to use the engineer of your choice without a formal Request for Qualification process required if you use CDBG funds for the engineering. -- Bottom line: A good 5-year capital improvements plan (CIP) should help you identify the project that you need to focus all of your efforts on and you need to start now getting ready for the next application cycle. If you need help or guidance, please contact ASCOG’s CED staff. (Unlike most independent grant writers, we do not charge a fee for writing CDBG applications.)

Workforce Investment Act Youth Proposal Due May 22: A Request for Proposal for a Workforce Investment Act youth service provider for the ASCOG area was announced on April 20, 2012. Proposals in response to the RFP are due not later than May 22, 2012. Interested parties are to contact Ray Friedl at ASCOG by e-mail: frie_ra@ascog.org.

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA): MRSA is a germ that is commonly found in the nose and on the skin. It can be transferred to other parts of the body. The majority of the time, methicillin, penicillin and other antibiotics can kill different types of "staph" bacteria, but MRSA is resistant to these antibiotics. Although this used to be seen primarily in hospitals, most MRSA infections are now acquired in the community. You can learn more about this subject and others by attending an Ombudsman Volunteer training session. Contact Ruben Sotelo or Vonn Saltzman, ASCOG ombudsmen supervisors.

REAP Applications will be due Sep.19, 2012 and should be available on our website (www.ascog.org) by the first of July if not sooner. Start planning on submitting an application now.

MyPermitNow planning will also kick into another gear now that CDBG application submittal deadlines are no longer in play. Stay tuned.

CEDS meetings will be set for late May and early June time frames. Please plan to attend to help identify projects that should be on the comprehensive plan list for your area.

Former ASCOG President Dies: Gene Sawyer, former ASCOG trustee and past president from 1996 to 1998 died Mon. Apr. 22 in Carnegie. Gene represented the Caddo County Conservation District on the ASCOG board for 20 years.