Beck to highlight town that “hasn't taken any money from the government”

Beck: Wilmington, Ohio, is “fighting to be Bedford Falls, not Pottersville.” On the November 19 broadcast of his Fox News show, Glenn Beck described Wilmington as “a city fighting to be Bedford Falls, not Pottersville.” He said, “I personally plan to roll up my sleeves and help,” adding, “I'm going to do a show there. I invite you to come. I'll give you more information.” From the November 19 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: Wilmington is a city fighting to be Bedford Falls, not Pottersville.

And I personally plan to roll up my sleeves and help. If they will have us, I'm going to pay a visit next month, and I'm going to do the show from that little street, and I'm going to ask all the folks in nearby Dayton and Columbus and Cincinnati and Cleveland, or wherever else you might be, to join me -- kind of a mini 8.28.

It's not going to be extravagant. It's not going to be big. I'm going to do a show in actually one local theater that last year they did a show in -- because they do it every year. They do a show about the history of their town, and the furnace went out. And people came, but they were sitting in jackets. But they still came.

I'm going to do a show there. I invite you to come. I'll give you more information. [Glenn Beck, 11/19/10]

Beck: Wilmington “hasn't taken any money from the government.” In explaining his decision to hold an event in Wilmington, Ohio, Beck and co-host Pat Gray marveled that the town is “such an amazing place” and that despite being “ground zero of joblessness,” the “town hasn't taken any money from the government.” From the November 22 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Glenn Beck Program:

BECK: This is such an amazing place. They have - this is, this is what CBS calls ground zero of joblessness, ground zero of the recession.

GRAY: Because DHL was located there, right?

BECK: Yes.

GRAY: And they left.

BECK: And they left. So it's a town of 12,000, and when DHL left they shed 9,500 jobs. A town of 12,000 losing 9,500 jobs. Can you even begin to imagine what that does to this town?

It went from the Number 1 most up and coming city, and a city everybody wants to live in, to ground zero. And this town hasn't taken any money from the government. They don't want any money from the government.

And they are pulling together. Thirty-four churches are all pulling together to help. [The Glenn Beck Program, 11/22/10]

Beck promises to “highlight” Wilmington's self reliance: “I think this town is going to help the rest of the country.” From Beck's November 22 radio show:

BECK: The soup kitchen there is struggling so hard, the soup kitchen now has lines all the way around the block. And the guys, they won't take any money from the state or the feds. They don't want any money. And I asked them why.

Because God will provide. God is our father. He loves us. And if we have faith, he will provide. We don't need it from the government.

And so they go in every morning and they put their hands on the shelves to say their morning prayers, and they're like, “Lord, help us fill these shelves. Please, Lord, show us the way. Help us fill these shelves.”

This is a town that we're going, and I'm not going to help. I'm not going there to -- because I feel sorry for this little town in Ohio. I'm going there because I think this town needs to be highlighted. I think this town is going to help the rest of the country, not the other way around.

We're not going there to help them. We're going there because they'll help us.

City of Wilmington, Clinton County have received more than $6 million in stimulus funds

Recovery.gov: City of Wilmington and its agencies have received at least $2.6 million from stimulus. According to recipient reports posted at Recovery.gov as of November 22, the following grants have been awarded to Wilmington City agencies under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA):

Recovery.gov: Clinton County and its agencies have received over $4 million from the stimulus. According to recipient reports posted at Recovery.gov as of November 22, the following grants have been awarded to Clinton County, which includes The City of Wilmington, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:

Clinton County part of $3.6 million stimulus award for home weatherization. From an August 6, 2009, Wilmington News Journal article:

Thanks to federal stimulus dollars, Clinton and Clark counties have $3.6 million of home weatherization funds available for their residents instead of an $800,000 base sum for the assistance program.

The funds were allocated for two counties because Clinton County Community Action has operated the home weatherization program in Clark County since 1987. It's projected that the $3.6 million will be enough to weatherize 428 homes in the two counties, according to Dean Knapp, director of Clinton County Community Action.

Weatherization funds are available to both home owners and renters. [Wilmington News Journal, 8/6/09]

City of Wilmington received $661,993 in stimulus grants for energy efficiency and conservation. According to the Ohio Department of Development, the City of Wilmington has received two awards under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Energy and Conservation Block Grant Programs:

• City of Wilmington (Renewable Energy Technologies) - $352,600 for the installation of a 58.3 kilowatt solar electric system at their waste water treatment facility.
• City of Wilmington (Methane Gas Reduction) - $309,393 for the installation of a 43 kilowatt electric generator and associated piping that can collect methane gas from the city landfill. The electricity generated will be used to power the city wastewater treatment plant. [Ohio Department of Development, ARRA Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program Awards]

Clinton County received $340,175 in stimulus grants for energy efficiency and conservation. According to the Ohio Department of Development, has received a grant for $340,176 under the ARRA's Conservation Block Grant Programs:

• Clinton County (Renewable Energy Technologies) - $340,175 for the installation of a 58.3 kilowatt solar electric system at the county jail. [Ohio Department of Development, ARRA Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program Awards]

Energize Clinton County: Grants integral to “attracting future green investment to Clinton County.” In a release announcing the grants, officials with Energize Clinton County stated:

It is difficult to overstate how important these grants are for attracting future green investment to Clinton County. With these projects, the community will have an opportunity to take a great leap forward in building the technical and economic expertise required to spur green development. The community will also be able to tangibly demonstrate its commitment to green development, and more importantly, its ability to facilitate investment through local leadership.

We would like to especially thank Mayor Raizk and Laura Curliss from the City of Wilmington; Mike Curry, Dave Stewart and Randy Riley, our Clinton County Commissioners; Mark Brooker, the Clinton County Economic Development Directory; and Chris Schock, Director of the Clinton County Regional Planning Commission. None of this would have been possible without their support, their energy, and their vision for bringing innovation to Clinton County. We'd also like to thank the State of Ohio, Gov. Strickland, Brewster Rhodes, and Ohio Department of Development for their continued support of Clinton County. If you run into one of these public officials, we encourage you to congratulate them and express your appreciation for their commitment and support. [Energize Clinton County, 3/24/10]