A multi-million-dollar program in Indiana is so successful the state is extending it.
The Young Hoosier Conservation Corps employed almost 1,900 low-income young adults this summer, and, now, this fall, too.
Gov. Daniels talked with corps members at Harmonie State Park in New Harmony Tuesday afternoon.
And, he announced the state would continue to fund the program, which was supposed to end next month, through the middle of October.
A clearing near the river, where picnic tables and other amenities will soon go - Jon Craig and Drew Seitz played a big part in making it happen.
"The first two days, I would say were pretty rough," said Craig. "We had to get all the brush and weeds down - all that stuff. Once we got in there, we were able to see which trees needed to come down. And, we're still working o it right now. But, we've cleared a lot of it out."
They're exactly who the state was aiming at with the work program.
"I got out of the army in February and got back to Mt. Vernon, Ind., from Seattle, Wash. And, I was having trouble finding employment," Seitz said.
Indiana hired young adults ages 16 to 24 in five 16-week shifts starting in May.
They made $8.50 an hour.
Crews worked at spots across the Hoosier state, locally from Harmonie State Park to Angel Mounds.
Crews there cleaned up damage and debris from the January ice storm and some issues dating all the way back to the 2005 tornado.
Statewide Gov. Daniels' office said workers restored 2,600 acres, made more than 100 miles of new trail and fixed more than 1,000 miles of existing trail.
The program cost Indiana about $24 million.
The money came from a stimulus package program.
And, though Daniels isn't a fan of much of what the stimulus package did, he really likes this program.
"I think it's exactly what the president intended and, I think, what the public expected when the idea of the stimulus bill was broached. I just wish the whole stimulus bill had been as well targeted to economic distress as we believe the Youth Conservation Corps was."
Craig and Seitz think it was a success too.
"It's hard work, but it's worth it," Craig said.
"Hopefully other parts of my family will be able to enjoy it later on down the road," said Seitz.
And, both say, down the road, they would recommend the corps to other young people looking for summer work.
Daniels wants the project to happen again next summer.
He said the funding for it already exists.
The federal stimulus program the money came from has a two-year time frame.