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Budget hews historical services Ax begins falling at Ashland office, Jacksonville museum; jobs cut too By Dani Dodge Budget cuts are biting into the Southern Oregon Historical Society. The recently opened Ashland branch of the Southern Oregon Historical Society is history. Seven-day-a-week access to Jacksonville museum is at an end. Admission prices are going up. Four people are being laid off. Others employees will have their hours cut. "On one hand, I hope it doesn�t have serious impact," said the Society�s Executive Director Brad Linder. "We are trying to keep the impacts minimal, but on the other hand we didn�t have any choice. " In May, the Jackson County budget committee cut funding to the county�s historical associations by 14 percent. It was part of a package of cuts and restructuring approved to deal with a $1.7 million shortfall. While all 14 historical societies share in the $238,241 cut, as the far biggest historical society SOHS is taking the biggest blow. Among changes the historical society announced Monday: The Ashland branch museum will close. Linder said he hopes to open another Ashland museum in a new location with space for a retail store that can generate revenue to help offset costs. All Jacksonville sites � the Jacksonville Museum, Children�s Museum and Beekman House � will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. The museums will be open Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. The Beekman House will be open Wednesday through Sunday 1 to 5 p.m. summers only. The History Center in Medford, including the research library, will be closed Saturdays. The center will be open 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Four positions will be eliminated: the historic resources director, the curator of education, the field services coordinator and the museum educator. Another nine employees will have their hours cut, including "Mr. Beekman," an employee who as part of the living history program wandered the streets in Jacksonville and taught people history through his portrayal of a late-1800s era Jacksonville banker. A development director is being hired to improve all areas of society fundraising, including gifts, grants and memberships. On-site school programs are being cut to five per week and outreach programs are being cut to one per week. The Education Newsletter is being reduced from four to two issues per year. Admissions prices are increasing at museums from $1 to $2 for children; and from $2 to $3 for adults. The age for senior citizen discounts will rise from 55 to 65. The layoffs are effective June 30. The closures have already taken effect, Linder said. Laid-off workers will get eight hours a week to look for other jobs, and assistance from a vocational counselor. Linder said news of the impending cuts hadn�t been a secret to the staff. "Obviously for the people not laid off it was a relief," he said. "Some people were pretty good sports about it and some people were devastated, but I don�t think anyone was surprised." He said he believes the historical society still will be able to continue teaching history. "It�s tough. It was nasty. But we�ll be OK," he said. "We�re going to try to pick up the pieces now and focus on the future." For more information on Historical Society programs, call 773-6536. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA