HomeQuest has Home Energy Loan Funds Available

Thanks to HomeQuest and Norway Savings Bank, homeowners living in the Oxford Hills area can borrow up to $10,000 to help make energy upgrades to their homes. 

Energy upgrades may include:

·         Purchasing wood, coal or pellet stoves,

·         Window upgrades,

·         Insulation and weather stripping,

·         Replacing or improving boilers or furnaces.

Loan terms can be 3 years, 5 years or 10 years.  Interest rates vary according to loan term.  The minimum amount borrowed is as low as $500 and the maximum is $10,000.

Homeowners in the towns of Norway, Paris, South Paris, West Paris, Oxford, Buckfield, Otisfield and Hebron are eligible for loans under this special program.

Call HomeQuest at 1-866-221-4383 or visit HomeQuest on the web at www.homequestmaine.org for more information.

Get your home energy systems updated before the cold weather hits.

Community Concepts Named 2009 Rural Community Transportation System of the Year

Auburn, Maine – June 24, 2009.  Community Concepts of South Paris, Maine was named the 2009 Rural Community Transportation System of the Year by the Community Transportation Association of America at its annual Awards Banquet on June 3^rd, 2009 in Providence, Rhode Island.  This national award recognizes Community Concepts for its efforts in improving service to its passengers and serving the community.

            The award, presented annually at the Association’s national EXPO, recognizes excellence by rural transit systems in serving the needs of people in their communities.  Association Board Member Fred Schmidt, in presenting the award, praised Community Concepts for its extensive partnerships with private and public organizations throughout the community.  These partnerships enabled everyone, “…whether it’s children, families, working poor, immigrants, disabled persons, veterans, seniors or the homeless” to benefit from the efforts of Community Concepts.  Community Concepts, Schmidt said, displayed “…the power of volunteerism through one of the largest volunteer driving forces in the Northeast.”  Community Concepts’ strong volunteer force enables the organization to provide a wide variety of transit-related services, including medical transportation, transit for childcare and public education, and transportation for Health and Human Services.  In total, Community Concepts’ can services and volunteer drivers have served more than 9,000 clients and have traveled over 14 million miles.

            In accepting the award on behalf of Community Concepts, Director of Operations Dick Card, speaking with many of his colleagues by his side, said, “The honor of this award truly belongs to the entire community.  The efforts of our organization could only be realized with the outstanding commitment from our volunteers.  Participation of this sort truly exemplifies the idea of community transportation.”

The Community Transportation Association of America, established in 1989, is a national non-profit, membership association committed to removing barriers to isolation and improving mobility for all people.

Community Concepts, Inc., a local Maine non-profit, helps more than 25,000 individuals every year.  Founded in 1965 and led by an 18-member volunteer Board of Directors, its services include: Head Start, family support services, transportation, energy programs, economic development and affordable housing throughout Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford.  The organization has an annual budget of more than $27,000,000 in revenues.  Funding comes from a variety of government contracts, grants from private foundations and gifts from individuals.