Cumberland County Judge-Executive Tim Hicks, the chairman of the board of directors for the Lake Cumberland Area Development District, thanked those who had helped provide the funding needed to construct the new additions to the facility at the ribbon cutting last Thursday.

He asked the crowd gathered to recognize Donna Diaz as someone he said was responsible for moving the multi-county agency forward and the driving force behind the recently completed expansion.

The expansion replaced a collection of aluminum clad trailers that had been located around the Russell Springs headquarters of the multi-county agency.

The district is a clearing house for grants, loans and other assistance to local governments as well as providing area-wide services that individual counties would not qualify for funding to provide.

The new facilities were funded through the USDA's Rural Development offices as well as two rural electric cooperatives and followed the remodeling of the main structure.

Hicks said that Southern Kentucky RECC had solicited the assistance of Shelby Energy to help raise the over $600,000 needed to meet the need after the federal assistance.

Todd Firm, state director for the USDA projects said the agency's contribution adds space for local staff who work to secure more federal funding for this and other counties locally to meet the needs of the elderly and others.