Energy assistance funding is still available for Black Hills Energy residential and small commercial electric customers who need help paying their energy bills.
In March, Black Hills Energy announced it would provide approximately $340,000 for energy assistance funding by partnering with local not-for-profit organizations across its electric service territory to disburse this record level of funding. The deadline to apply for the funds through the non-for-profit partners has been extended to Sept. 1.
“While we may be nearing the end of the pandemic, many members of our community are still experiencing hardship due to its impacts,” said Julie Rodriguez, senior community affairs program manager at Black Hills Energy. “We encourage those residential and small commercial electric customers to reach out to the nonprofit partner in their community for help and to take advantage of the energy assistance funding before it’s gone.”
Participating not-for-profit organizations are accepting applications from residential and small commercial customers and disbursing the funding provided by Black Hills Energy. For more information or to apply for energy assistance funding, customers are encouraged to contact the agency in their area.
For more information, call Brandon Maroni at Loaves & Fishes at 719-275-0593.
Voices from the Archive; Second Sunday History Series at the Bell Tower
The stories of pioneers and immigrants to Florence and the region will be shared by members of the Florence Historical Archive on five Sundays, beginning July 11 and continuing every second Sunday through November at the Bell Tower Cultural Center, 201 E. Second St. in Florence. Two separate topics will be presented at each program, with an accompanying PowerPoint of historical photos, maps and documents.
Presentations scheduled on July 11 are titled “Our Earliest Residents and the Hardscrabble Settlement” and “Patterns of Immigration to Colorado and Fremont County,” by presenters Sylvia Andrews and Martie LaCasse. A question and answer period will follow this and subsequent programs in the series. Programs in the series are scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
Voices from the Archive is the 2021 research theme of the Florence Historical Archive. Each year the Archive Board selects a theme, with members researching sub-topics on that theme. This year, Archive members attempted to unearth hidden jewels within the Archive collection that reflect the lives of early settlers and of individuals from the immigrant groups that have added to the rich tapestry of local culture. They used diaries, letters, newspaper articles, photos and the recall of descendants to piece together personal histories that bring forward the voices of pioneers and immigrant families. If you are an enthusiast of local history or have family history in this area, you will enjoy this series of programs.
Additional topics in the series are Innovative Farmer, Jesse Frazer, and his original Abstract and The Weight of Water; Ditch Development and its Pioneers on Aug. 8; The Reminisces and Legacy of Edwin Biehl Lobach, plus Early Land Claims in the Eastern Fremont County on Sept. 12; Yugoslavian, and other Eastern European Groups and their Cultures, Family Truck Farms of Brewster, and How the Village was Formed, demonstrated in a Jigsaw Puzzle Map on Oct. 10; and finally on Nov. 14, The Business that Jack Built; The Jack Family and their Florence Businesses, and Concrete and Lower Beaver Creek.
The Archive presents these programs in cooperation with the Bell Tower Cultural Center. Refreshments will be served following each program. Admission for Bell Tower Members $4; non-members $5. Proceeds benefit both the Archive and the Bell Tower. Free informational handouts will be available at each event or by request at the Archive.
A companion exhibit of photos, articles, and maps will be on display at the Archive Exhibit Hall. Admission is free during Archive hours (10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday and Wednesday through Friday) and by appointment. The Archive is located in Suite H of the Florence Municipal Building, 600 W. Third St. (Colo. 115). Entrance and parking are off the Washington Street parking lot on the east side of the building.
