SNAP gets grant to build savings

Wed., Dec. 14, 2005

Compiled from staff reports The Spokesman-Review

A Spokane nonprofit organization has received a state grant aimed at helping low-income people to save for major expenses.

Spokane Neighborhood Action Programs will use the money, nearly $150,000, for “individual development accounts,” the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development announced Tuesday in a press release. Households that have the accounts receive a dollar-for-dollar match up to $4,000 for money they deposit in savings.

Participants will receive training on financial literacy, according to the press release. Savings earned in the program can be used to pay for education, to create a business or as a down payment on a home.

Spokane Neighborhood Action Programs’ development account program previously has received $135,000 from banks and other sources, according to the press release.

Ferry over Columbia to undergo repairs

The Keller Ferry across the Columbia River will be out of service next week from Monday until Friday morning.

The Martha S., which has been servicing the route since 1949, must undergo repairs after hitting a rock over the weekend.

Motorists can use a bridge just downstream of Grand Coulee Dam on Highway 174.

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