WASHINGTON, October 5 – Vermont’s congressional delegation – Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and Rep. Peter Welch – and Gov. Peter Shumlin today announced that over $200,000 in Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) funds will go to support two economic development projects in Lyndon and Brighton.

Lyndon State College and the Northeastern Vermont Development Association will receive $128,500 to boost manufacturing in the area. The funds will help develop professional resources, create collaboration among Northeast Kingdom manufacturing employers, expand training programs and further collaborative programs between area high schools, career and technical centers and Lyndon State College.

The town of Brighton will receive $78,190 to construct a new 2,100 foot walking path along a section of Island Pond Lake, connecting it to the downtown area. This project resulted from a year-long study aimed at enhancing tourism and recreation in the community.

“These grants will provide a vital boost to parts of our state that need it most,” Vermont’s congressional delegation said in a statement. “We created the commission as a means of responding in practical ways to the common economic challenges throughout the border regions of the Northeast. These grants will help further that goal.”

“This is good news for creating jobs and strengthening communities in northeastern Vermont, and I thank our congressional delegation for working hard to secure these funds for Lyndon and Brighton,” said Gov.
Shumlin.

Vermont’s congressional delegation was influential in creating NBRC, which directly invests federal resources for economic development and job creation in economically distressed regions of northern Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. In Vermont, eligible counties include Essex, Franklin, Lamoille, Orleans, Caledonia and Grand Isle.