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In support of history Photo by Bob Pennell Southern Oregon Historical Society Executive Director Brad Linder, center in light shirt and tie, listens to Thursday's debate over historical budgets. County Assessor Dan Ross, foreground left, spoke in favor of cutting historical funds. Crowd opposes county cuts By DANI DODGE A county proposal to cut funding for local historical societies drew a packed house of history buffs Thursday. Crowds jammed into the Jackson County Courthouse auditorium for Thursday's budget hearing, some waiting more than four hours to speak. Many people never even got to sit down: Every pew and chair was full. Speakers defending the historical societies outnumbered those favoring the cuts nearly 4-to-1. "If Oregon doesn't honor the pioneer heritage and the courageous people who settled this lovely valley for us -- what other state will?" asked Terri Provost, a volunteer at the Southern Oregon Historical Society. "Keep the current funding for all the Southern Oregon historical societies and pay homage to the wonderful legacy that has been entrusted to us." Thursday was the third day of public hearings on the county's $171 million budget for 2000-2001. The budget will take effect July 1. The committee made no decisions Thursday; it starts deliberations today at 8:30 a.m. in the Courthouse Auditorium. The historical societies presentation was slated for 10:30 a.m., but other presentations ran long. The committee didn't get to the historical societies until after 1 p.m., and then the hearing lasted nearly three hours. Not wanting to break for lunch, budget committee members ate sandwiches as they listened to testimony. Declining timber revenues have forced county budgeters to come up with $1.7 million in general fund cuts. Staff members recommended dealing with the shortfall by cutting overtime in the sheriff's department, increasing fees and making Talent Work Center inmates pay their own way through their fees and labor. Also proposed was a 27 percent cut for the Jackson County museums association -- an umbrella organization that includes the Southern Oregon Historical Society and 13 smaller historical societies. At Thursday's meeting, the crowd numbered more than 175. The committee heard from a number of groups wanting money, including people who provide services to the poor, the Southern Oregon Visitors Association, and the Arts Council of Southern Oregon. But unlike the other groups, the historical societies only recently had to attend the annual begging sessions. Until 1997, the museums had their own separate historical fund, a continuing serial levy approved by voters in 1948 that for about $2.2 million a year. But when voters approved Measure 50 in 1997, that levy was folded into the county's general fund. Several people at the budget hearing said the county budgeters are "on the right track." Deputies and animal control are more important than history, one woman reasoned. "They have to take their cut just like everyone else and stop whining about it," said Nancy Clark of Medford. "We are dealing with flesh and blood creatures and human beings ... and history is just oldy-moldy." County Assessor Dan Ross pointed out that the historical fund passed in 1948 by a 50.47 percent margin -- less than one-half of one-percent of the 15,433 votes cast. "As services are threatened to be cut, I ask: what is more vital to the public?" Ross said. "Our communicable disease control activities, maternal and child health services and others are really stretched. Should we maintain a veterans office, a sheriff's patrol or further reduce jail space. ... Or take a cut in the Historical Society." To many, including Lynn Newbry, president of the Talent Historical Society and a former state senator, the answer was easy. Don't cut sheriff's patrols. But don't cut the historical society either. Just cut the $2 million "rainy day fund " -- the money the county is setting aside for a time when federal timber funding completely dries up. "As far as we are concerned this is a rainy day," Newbry said. Jack Vaughan of Trail said the federal government is wrong to cut funding to the county when it owns half the county's land. And the county is wrong to take money that was intended for the historical societies. Vaughan explained: "This is why people don't trust government." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA