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SUNNY Temp: 92 °F Wind: W at 9 mph Friday, August 29, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend March 31, 2003 Master Gardener program may not last By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune Facing its share of $7.5 million in cuts to the Oregon State University Extension Service statewide in the next biennium, the popular Master Gardener program here will be able to make it to the end of the year, but its survival beyond that is in doubt. Botanist-agent George Tiger, the director of the program and teacher of many of its classes, will not be replaced when he retires Dec. 31, he said. OSU could fill his job with a part-time aide, but no decisions have yet been made. Any other staff cuts locally will be announced by OSU on July 1 and probably will start with encouragement of early retirements, then layoffs of non-tenured teachers, he added. The 325 members of Master Gardeners locally are willing to fill Tiger’s administrative and teaching duties but must first learn from OSU whether they would be able, without an agent in charge, to certify graduates in the annual four-month school as actual OSU Master Gardeners, said Linda Holder, chairwoman of the Master Gardeners’ Spring Fair. Club members are discussing private fund raising to help fill part or all of Tiger’s position, she said. "We’re absolutely willing to take over the organizational tasks, invite speakers and set up classes," said Holder. "Without the classes, it would be very difficult to keep Master Gardeners going. You need the new people." Tiger said he’ll help set up next year’s Master Gardener training, but "without an agent in charge, the general practice is not to have the program," he said. "After that (2004 training), the program is going to be hurting and it’s all a big question mark." OSU Extension Service and Agricultural Experiment Stations statewide will lose about a third of their organization during the 2003-2005 biennium starting July 1, according to an OSU memo cited by David Rugg, president of Master Gardeners here. "It’s bad and going to get worse, unless the economy turns around," said Rugg. "They (OSU) are still trying to figure out how to absorb these cuts. It looks like OSU will continue Master Gardeners through next year (statewide), but after that all bets are off." If Master Gardeners here cannot go on, Rugg said, it would mean loss of: The plant clinic, whose volunteers handled 3,000 calls last year about everything from a sick rose to how to handle a bug infestation. Education in home horticulture. Evening and weekend classes, such as "Winter Dreams," which trains 400 people a year. Demonstration gardens at the Extension Center, such as the heritage garden, water-wise garden and lavender garden. Spring fair at the Jackson County Exposition Park, which draws 100 vendors, 8,000 customers and $500,000 in sales. Master Gardener certification, offered January through April each year. Classes will be held in 2004. Since 1979, Master Gardeners have educated about 80 people a year in horticulture and home gardening for aesthetic and food-raising purposes. It has had about 1,800 graduates who annually provide 21,550 hours in community service and $24,370 in donations for a total value of $370,000 to the community — all without public or taxpayer funding beyond Tiger’s salary, Holder said. Jackson County pays for Extension grounds, buildings and some clerical salaries, and if that support should ever pull out, Rugg said, OSU would end its operation here. Jackson County Master Gardeners is the most successful in the state, Holden said, graduating the most people, having the largest budget, the largest per capita participation and the greatest number of community projects. John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected]. Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. 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