July 30, 2010

Governor’s Weekly Message to Delawareans

Delaware Enjoys Its State Fair - Farmland Preservation Hits 100,000 Acre Milestone

Dover - In his weekly message , Governor Markell talks about stories from this year’s Delaware State Fair in Harrington, which runs through this weekend.  On Thursday, Governor’s Day, Jack Markell spent the day walking the fair talking to Delawareans, young future farmers and long-time Delaware farmers.  He also joined with former governors to celebrate a farmland preservation milestone.   Delaware has protected 100-thousand acres of farmland, part of our Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Act.  
 
“Most of our state’s farms are family-owned.  They raise poultry and livestock, grow vegetables, fruits, grains and trees,” said Governor Markell.  “Farmland makes up over 40-percent of our state’s land.   This program helps keep those farms for farming.”
 
The governor also signed into law an effort to help our state’s National Guardsmen and women who are away serving their country and joined with our Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to give awards for young winners of fishing competitions and environmentalists.
 
“We celebrated some of what’s best about being a Delawarean at the State Fair – great food, friends, music and a real old-fashioned sense of community,” said Governor Markell.  “That’s what makes those fun-time summertime memories at the State Fair and keeps our neighborly spirit of the First State moving forward.”
 
At noon every Friday, a new video message is posted to the Governor’s website and YouTube channel and is distributed to Delaware media outlets.  Transcripts of the messages are posted and the audio version of the Governor’s message is available on iTunes as a podcast for distribution to personal MP3 players and home computers.   The Governor’s weekly message is currently being carried on the air and posted on websites by various media outlets, and the direct link is:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGLAKNp1hUQ

Constituents, media outlets and others are free to link to the Governor’s video message on YouTube -http://www.youtube.com/user/GovernorMarkell - or on his Facebook page -http://www.facebook.com/governormarkell - or on the Delaware State website at http://governor.delaware.gov/information/podcast_video.shtml. All are also invited to follow him on Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/governormarkell - and submit ideas through http://ideas.delaware.gov.