WYDEN UNVEILS GUIDE TO RURAL GRANTS
Book Calls for "New Oregon Trail," Will Aid Rural Communities Seeking Money for Technology

Eugene, OR — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today unveiled a new publication, The Information Superhighway: Building a New Oregon Trail. Subtitled, "Road Map to Technology Grants for Rural Communities," the guide is designed to assist communities across Oregon in their efforts to obtain technology grants for business, health care, education, and other purposes.

"Just as the original Oregon Trail linked our state to the rest of America, a New Oregon Trail can link our small rural communities with the rest of the world," said Wyden. "This guide gives folks the specific information they need to make successful grant applications and join the telecommunications revolution right alongside America's larger cities."

The guide provides listings and background facts for government and non-government agencies offering technology grants. Its easy-to-follow format also includes information on how grant monies may be used, deadlines, the dollar amounts of similar grants Oregon has received in the past, and contact names and numbers.

Wyden's guide to technology grants has been more than a year in the making; it sprang from a Rural Infrastructure Conference hosted by the Senator. Among other topics, the conference highlighted the growing gap in telecommunications access between Oregon's rural communities and more populous areas. Wyden's staff compiled the grants guide to help communities from John Day to Vernonia "cut away the red tape" to grow small businesses, offer distance learning opportunities, improve health care with telemedicine, and use telecommunications technology in many ways routinely found in more urban settings. The Association of Oregon Counties and the Oregon Rural Development Council have endorsed the guide, calling it a "valuable tool for communities."

The 1999 Rural Infrastructure Conference brought together leaders of technology and rural development, along with county commissioners, city managers, members of private industry, and federal and state agency officials.

Communities represented at the conference will receive a copy of The Information Superhighway: Building a New Oregon Trail; other communities and organizations may request the guide by calling Senator Wyden's Eugene office at 541-431-0229.