     The Chadron City Council last night unanimously approved Community Better Grants to 3 local organizations.
Funding comes from the city’s share of KENO proceeds and returns from the PACE natural gas program.
The largest of the grants $4,500 to Fur Trade Days for basic expenses including insurance, event staff, and rental of portable toilets. Fur Trade Days has a total budget this year of $51,650.
United Way of Western Nebraska is receiving just under $4,000 for a program that sends age-appropriate educational books to children in the community up to age 5 to promote and encourage early literacy and strong foundation for reading.
$4,025 goes to Western Community Health Resources for its Community Essentials Pantry, which provides hygiene and cleaning products once a month to families that are struggling financially.
The number of recipients has increased sharply over the past year. Since the start of last year, the Commodity Essentials Pantry has given out 158 packages of laundry soap, 131 containers of dish soap and of household cleaner, and 128 bars of soap.
It’s also distributed 175 toothbrushes, 130 tubes of toothpaste, 128 razors, 126 containers of body wash, 124 of shampoo, and 148 two-roll packages of toilet paper.