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Bantry Union Cemetery Gets Upgrades with SRT and RDFC Grant Funds
Bantry Union Cemetery Gets Upgrades with SRT and RDFC Grant Funds
MINOT, N.D. – Bantry Union Cemetery in McHenry County was recently able to place pre-1940 grave markers, thanks in part to funding from a Rural Development Finance Corporation (RDFC) grant matched by SRT Communications.
RDFC awarded a $500 grant to Bantry Union Cemetery in 2022, which SRT matched with an additional $500 donation. Seventeen new grave markers were placed in honor of area settlers this summer.
The cemetery, located north of Towner, was established in the early 1900s. While the City of Bantry is no longer incorporated, the cemetery’s sexton and five-person board will continue to work to keep it clean and up-to-date with its grave sites.
“I know quite a few people buried here,” board member Darlene Tiffany said. “After losing family members myself, it’s so important to honor our deceased family members, and it’s been really rewarding to be able to place so many markers.”
Established as a non-profit organization, funding comes from several sources. Board members for Bantry Union Cemetery are working on fundraising to place a dozen more pre-1940 grave markers this fall. Their research has shown that there were about 70 unmarked graves.
SRT is among the North Dakota rural telecommunication and electric cooperatives that are members of RDFC. A nonprofit finance and development corporation, RDFC provides funding for economic development and diversification projects in rural North Dakota. Applications are submitted to RDFC; if approved, funds are matched 100% by SRT.
“SRT appreciates the rural towns and efforts made by community members who help with projects like this one at Bantry Union Cemetery. We’re happy to be able to match RDFC funding,” said Kristi Miller, SRT Board President.
SRT Communications, headquartered in Minot, North Dakota, is the state’s largest telecommunications cooperative. Established in 1951, SRT employs nearly 190 people and serves more than 48,000 customers across north central North Dakota. SRT is committed to bringing the benefits of fiber to rural and urban communities alike and earned the distinction as a Certified Gig-Capable Provider in 2017. Services include internet, phone, and security/surveillance systems for home and business.
The Rural Development Finance Corporation (RDFC) is a nonprofit corporation that encourages economic diversification and community vitality through the generation of funding that supports sustainable asset building. Funding for RDFC programs comes from fee income generated by Dakotas America LLC, a community development entity providing New Market Tax Credits in economically distressed census tracks across the United States. The North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives provides support to RDFC.
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CUSTOMER ALERT
CUSTOMER ALERT
Stay Alert – Voice Cloning Scams Can Be Convincing
Cybercriminals are using artificial intelligence to clone people’s voices, and the crimes are leading to distressing phone calls for people around the country. All that’s needed is a brief clip of someone talking, which is often pulled from social media, and they can make an eerily similar clone of the voice — a deception so convincing that a mother thinks it’s her child.
Victims of voice-cloning scams are tricked into thinking they’re talking to a distraught relative who desperately needs money because they’ve been in a car accident, robbed, or kidnapped. Readily available technology enables cybercriminals to respond in real time during these calls by typing out sentences in their voice-cloning apps. Some go as far as to research personal information about the victim’s relative to make the call more believable.
Cybercriminals often ask for forms of payment that are difficult to trace or recover, such as gift cards, wire transfers, reloadable debit cards, and even cryptocurrency. As always, requests for these kinds of payments should raise a major red flag.
To protect yourself from becoming a victim of a voice-cloning scam, do the following:
Cybercriminals are using artificial intelligence to clone people’s voices, and the crimes are leading to distressing phone calls for people around the country. All that’s needed is a brief clip of someone talking, which is often pulled from social media, and they can make an eerily similar clone of the voice — a deception so convincing that a mother thinks it’s her child.
Victims of voice-cloning scams are tricked into thinking they’re talking to a distraught relative who desperately needs money because they’ve been in a car accident, robbed, or kidnapped. Readily available technology enables cybercriminals to respond in real time during these calls by typing out sentences in their voice-cloning apps. Some go as far as to research personal information about the victim’s relative to make the call more believable.
Cybercriminals often ask for forms of payment that are difficult to trace or recover, such as gift cards, wire transfers, reloadable debit cards, and even cryptocurrency. As always, requests for these kinds of payments should raise a major red flag.
To protect yourself from becoming a victim of a voice-cloning scam, do the following:
- Set a verbal codeword with kids, family members, or trusted close friends. Make sure it’s one only you and those closest to you know, and everyone uses it in messages when they ask for help.
- Always question the source. In addition to voice-cloning tools, cybercriminals have other tools that can spoof phone numbers so that they look legitimate. Even if it’s a call from a number you recognize, pause and think. Does that really sound like the person you think it is? To be safe, hang up and call the person directly.
