ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, September 17, 1996 TAG: 9609170055
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TONY PAYNE
THE ROANOKE Master Gardener Association has been one of the targets of Gov. George Allen's efforts to cut spending. As of July 1, no more Virginia state funds can be used to provide Virginia Cooperative Extension Office help to the Master Gardener Association.
Since 1989, this association has been answering consumers' questions about horticulture and pest-management problems for those who called in on the ``green line'' at the Virginia Cooperative Extension offices.
A major problem some consumers will experience because of Gov. Allen's action is that they can no longer call John Arbogast, the Roanoke city extension agent, for answers to their really tough horticulture questions.
Roanoke city and Roanoke County extension offices will be combined. The current Virginia Cooperative Extension agents will be available only to commercial producers and to address environmental problems.
In addition, Gov. Allen's actions have prevented the Virginia Cooperative Extension Office from overseeing the Master Gardeners activities or providing any help in the classroom instruction of future master gardeners.
There are 15 other projects that Master Gardeners have been conducting in the Roanoke area. Two of these are maintaining the Fishburn Park rose garden and supervising many school 4-H Club projects.
Roanoke city and the counties of Roanoke, Botetourt and Craig have determined that the services being provided by the Master Gardeners Association are so important that these municipalities have funded a person to work full time with the Master Gardeners to continue the green-line service and to provide supervision to Master Gardeners in other projects.
The Master Gardener training classes that have been so popular in the past will be continued into 1997. These classes will be developed without any state funding, and will be made possible only through the efforts of volunteer Master Gardeners.
The Master Gardeners Association hasn't been able to determine what logic Gov. Allen's office used in deciding to discontinue state help to consumers with horticultural questions. One study determined that the state treasury was paying about $300,000 a year for the support of the Master Gardener program through the Virginia Cooperative Extension Office. The benefit of the volunteer help provided by these Master Gardeners has been calculated at $900,000. We know of no other program where the state has been able to get a $3 return for a $1 investment in state funds.
Tony Payne of Roanoke is president of the Roanoke Valley Master Gardener Association.
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