The new grant cycle for the Garfield County discretionary funds started this month, as eight organizations requested nearly $30,000 at the commissioner meeting last week.

With another $10,000 already awarded by Garfield County, the total for the first quarter requests comes to nearly $40,000 – almost a third of the $120,000 budgeted for 2019 grants.

On Monday, commissioners elected to award $23,000 of what was requested, bringing the first quarter total to $33,000.

Garfield County will have $87,000 left in the discretionary awards budget for the rest of the year.

Among the organizations receiving funding on Monday was Garfield County 4-H and St. Stephen Catholic School, both of which requested funding for their respective Washington, D.C. trips, among other items.

Emma Thate, the delegate for 4-H, said during a presentation last week that they’d be leaving June 30 for a week-long trip to the nation’s capital. She said they hope to better learn how legislation works and see lawmakers’ day-to-day firsthand.

Later in that same hearing, Garfield County 4-H member Whitney Chapman outlined a trip to Japan she will be taking this summer. She requested $1,000 from the commissioners.

“I will be one of 17 students on the eight-week program to Japan,” she explained.

Garfield County awarded $4,000 for each Washington D.C trip, along with another $1,000 for Chapman.

azorn@citizentelegram.com