USDA gives $139,000 to ambulance service

FORT KENT – Ambulance Service Inc., based in Fort Kent, will receive $139,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to purchase two new ambulances to replace vehicles that no longer are roadworthy.

The grant was announced Thursday by Maine’s congressional delegation. The USDA money, funded under the Rural Development program, provides a five-year, 4.5 percent low-interest loan.

The service is the only ambulance provider in the area and serves a population of 4,268.

“The funding announced today will help provide service to an area where dispersed communities make it difficult to provide adequate coverage,” U.S. Sens. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan M. Collins said in a prepared statement.

“This grant will ensure access to high quality emergency care,” U.S. Rep. John Baldacci said in a prepared statement. “It should enhance the quality of life in the St. John Valley.”