Biden visits Wayne, Duplin counties
By From staff reports
Published in News on April 1, 2009 12:13 PM
Full Size
photo courtesy of the USAF/ Staff Sgt. Jessica Varrato
4th Fighter Wing Commander Col. Mark Kelly walks on the flightline with Vice President Joe Biden this morning after the vice president disembarked from his plane at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base en route to two appearances in Wayne and Duplin counties.
Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack have arrived in Wayne County this morning to announce stimulus funding of projects in Faison and Pikeville.
They also were expected to announce a major new nation initiative to boost funding for rural housing.
The dignitaries flew into Seymour Johnson Air Force Base about 11 a.m. and were greeted by Air Force officials, including Col. Mark Kelly, commander of the 4th Fighter Wing.
Biden and Vilsack were to speak at the Goshen Medical Center in Faison this morning. The center is receiving more than $600,000 in federal funding for improvements.
In Pikeville, they were to speak this afternoon, announcing funding to help build a new station for the Pikeville Volunteer Fire Department.
Wayne County officials said Tuesday they would present Biden with a wish list of projects eligible for stimulus money. County Manager Lee Smith said the package would include school construction, emergency communications system improvements and an agricultural center, which Smith said should mesh with the White House's push for "green" projects.
For video of the vice president's speeches in both Faison and Pikeville look to the News-Argus Web site throughout the day.