Cooperative Extension - Un-Cooperative Local Leadership - Mindless Budget Cuts Threaten This Community Minded Organization

CCE Washington County That is how we refer to Cornell University, Cooperative Extension for Washington County. These extension offices help people improve their lives through the collective experience and knowledge of their community. It is a wonderful resource for newbies to come to, to learn about the soil, water, agricultural heritage and most any local issues involving farming, living and community.  They also help keep the local 4H program active, informative and meaningful (above you can see the 4H milkshake and ice cream stand at the county fair).

Tax relief assistance for those without the ability, soil study, water study, ag-tourism building (cheese tour, yarn tour, etc), small business development, agricultural resources for our ag-rich community, youth programs including 4H, partnerships with Head Start and WIC and other community programs - are only some of the many things this organization does.

Our Extension office is run by Brian Gilchrist. That he does not look like his photograph, is another story, and so, I decided to share one of his. You can see him teach a class during the Washington county fair.

Charlie and I benefited a great deal because of the extension office in Washington County, and its leaders like Brian Gilchrist, Sandra Buxton and Laura McDermott and of course many others. Above you can see Grandma Burd (Bernice Burd, paternal grandmother of Charlie) with Brian at the Washington County Fair. Whilst grandma found it a challenge to spend every day, all week with farm animals, she was a sport, and in end, began to at least pretend like she was having fun.

She did enjoy the cloggers. And now, it has almost become a tradition for us to bring whoever is visiting during County Fair times, to the grounds to watch our local cloggers. They put on a great show. The music, the choice of it, both peculiar and in some strange way, wonderful.

Brian and his family run a cattle farm. They raise polled hereford (above, he is showing his cows. And their cows won almost all the prizes) cows for beef. Grass fed and finished on grain, we have had the privilege of cooking with their beef in our kitchen. Why do I share this information? To bring to you his wealth of experience and knowledge. Gained first hand by working daily at his farm, before and after working a full long days job at the Extension Office.

Brian used the CCE newsletter to encourage residents to add new spice and flavor at their table. After he met us, and had cooked from my book, he used his editorial letter to encourage area residents to add a new dish at their table for thanksgiving. He reminisced about how the holiday had come to creation, and urged all to at least add one dish each year on their table, and thereby, grow their culinary exerperiences, and also educate themselves and their families about the world at large. Brilliant! The extension office also works with families and kids around food and diet. You can see the kids learning about the food pyramid and the choices that need to be made.

Cheese farmers of Washington County and parts of VT, would be nowhere, had it not been for the work of the extension office in organizing a great Cheese Tour of our county and neighboring parts of VT. They have helped put these artisanal cheesemakers on the map. And have helped them in others ways, to keep their businesses alive, making profit and in some cases even thriving.

The extension officers take their jobs seriously. Volunteer their time, help families and farmers even outside of work, and their days are long, often running into weekends, and yet, I have not met one employee that complains or cannot find a second to greet you and smile.

What a shame it is that in this time of fiscal challenge, our area politicos find the Cooperative Extension Office to be one of the places where they can show fiscal frugality. Of all things working with help from the government,  this is one of those few organizations that does great good, with a small team, and very efficiently.

Brian Gilchrist and the Cooperative Extension helped a great deal with the Courthouse Community Garden, that truly has added a wonderful new layer of knowledge and experience into the lives of area kids and youth.

All of this happens, because the extension office, and officers, are married into the well being of this county and how the community works together as a family - as a community. That is what makes an area richer than passing ups and down of economy.

Below, I have pasted text from the CCE website. Please take a minute. Read through, and write letters to the editors of the local papers. Make some noise. Demonstrate where you know your voices will be heard. Hopefully some sense will go into the heads of the powers that be.

The Cornell Cooperative extension network brings you the expertise of locally based extension educators, volunteers and local partners on topics such as:

• agriculture
• horticulture
• youth and families
• the environment
• financial management
• food, nutrition and health
• community development

For 80 years Cooperative Extension has responded to the needs of residents of Washington County.

The organization's priorities are determined by the people.  The local board of directors and program advisory committee members represent individuals from varied backgrounds who reside in Washington County's rural towns and villages.

The result is a broad spectrum of educational programs.

We serve people at locations that are convenient to them and distribute information in a variety of ways.  You can:

• attend our classes or workshops
• request farm visits
• request home visits
• request work-site programs
• participate in satellite conferences
• enroll in our 4-H clubs and other youth activities
• request video tapes/ home study courses
• subscribe to our newsletters
• read Cornell publications
• serve as an active volunteer

We are Committed to:

• Excellence- We deliver programs of the highest quality and take pride in the variety of our programming
• Responsiveness- We respond to people's needs in a timely manner.
• Collaboration- We optimize resources through partnerships.
• Learner-centered, lifelong education- We enable people to adapt to a rapidly changing environment.
• Volunteers- We respect and depend on volunteers to multiply program efforts an help lead the organization.
• Inclusiveness- We embrace diversity and respect a variety of opinions.

Comments

[Heather Bellanca]

Imagine! Cutting this kind of budget in an agricultural district?! Nuts!! I'll be in touch w my reps for sure!!

[Donna Farringer - Executive Director, CCC]

Al Fresco weekend is the primary fund raiser for the Courthouse Community Center. The CCE and Paula Schaffer have been instrumental in guiding our annual celebration of our rich agricultural heritage. Due to budget cuts, Paula was unable to assist us this year. The CCE has been most effective assisting my organization, and I offer my support to make sure the full spectrum of worthy services offered are maintained.

[sue clary]

Thanks Charlie and Brian... Cooperative Extension does a great job for us here in Southern Washington County!!!!! It is important to all and necessary to ensure a safe food source and thankfully more and more people are benefiting from homegrown, so this is NOT the place to cut!!!

[Brian Gilchrist]

Thank you all for your support and kind words and to Suvir and Charlie for giving people a place to talk! Survir is too kind in his words. Cornell Cooperative Extension is so successful due to its hard working educators who are in tune with the needs of the county residents and are able to form relatinships with all that we work with. The success is further fuled by all of the local partners we collaborate with to achieve our goals. We would like to continue to provide these valuable programs for all of Washington County. Please make your voices heard to your local town supervisor and the Chairman of the Board, Don Wilbur. I feel we can fight our way back to level funding, but the decision makers need to hear from you. If you need more information, please do not hesitate to contact our office at 746-2560 or email me at btg5@cornell.edu.

Here is a list meetings Budget Officer Gayle Hall will be holding. I am not sure how many comments she will actually take at these meetings as I am sure she will encourage all to make them at the PUBLIC HEARING on NOVEMBER 13, at 10:00 in the main county building.

Budget Officer Gayle Hall announced on Monday five meetings around Washington County that will present the 2010 spending plan to the public.

The meeting times, locations and dates are listed below. The meetings should be pretty interesting. There’s a $4 million reduction in the overall budget, but the tax levy (or the amount collected in property taxes) is actually going up by $1 million, according to the tentative proposal.

The budget relies on cuts to Washington County Cornell Cooperative Extension in Hudson Falls, and a slew of cuts to employee insurance, furloughs, layoffs and less equipment purchases.

Here is a schedule of the budget presentations:

* Salem, Nov. 6 Proudfit Hall, 2 to 3:30 p.m., 181 Main St.,

* Granville, Nov. 6 American Legion Post No. 323, 10 Columbus St., 7 to 8:30 p.m.

* Whitehall, Nov. 10 American Legion Post No. 88, 148 Main St., 3 to 4:30 p.m.

* Fort Edward, Nov. 10 Washington County Municipal Center, 383 Broadway, 7 to 8:30 p.m.

* Greenwich, Nov. 12 VFW Post, Abeel Avenue, 3 to 4:30 p.m.

Thank you to all and we look forward to working with all of you in the future!

[just a local]

Ok, so there are budget cuts on the table...the word on the street is that pioneer farm credit figures that 50% of Washington County farmers will be GONE, Bankrupt by spring...I suspect that the county budget officer has her ear to the ground and is wondering why CCE needs staff if we will have 50% less folks in full time ag...If washington county is the 6th largest county in terms of ag land in the state..
and Total Farm Production Expenses in 2008 was $ 93 million one can conclude that we are about to loose the agriculture infrastructure in this area and when its gone, its gone and won't come back..CCE was not designed to support hobby farms it was designed to support ag as a livelyhood for those living off the land... I would hate to see it go, and think its a stupid budget descision. The amount of the cuts are small in the overall budget, I suspect that if the supervisors paid for their own coffee and donuts they could find the cash...
perhaps she needs to be tad more for forward looking and go down to NYC one day and look at all the hungry mouths and wonder why they all eat food and drink milk from califorina and happy cows smoking hemp....