Cooperative Extension to continue providing services

The public relations official for the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension wants the community to know that despite funding cuts, the agency plans to continue providing educational services to both Pahrump and Tonopah.

Marilyn Ming said the loss will eliminate some of the services provided by the agency.

The Pahrump office, which serves the communities of Pahrump, Amargosa and Beatty, saw a $120,000 cut in funding.

Ming did say that the state provided funds to staff a part-time 4-H coordinator and part-time Master Gardener coordinator in Pahrump, as well as a part-time 4-H coordinator in Tonopah and Round Mountain.

Specialists from the extension will work with Nye County, offering assistance where needed.

“A couple of the programs have been eliminated, but we are trying to keep our flagship 4-H program going,” she said. “Pahrump has a very good base of active Master Gardeners and we are trying to keep that afloat too. The 4-H program will remain on a part-time basis.”

Ming also said that while the process is not an ideal situation, the agency is doing what it can to continue helping the residents of Nye County.

“We don’t want rumors going around that we are not serving Pahrump, because we are,” she said. “We really want people to know that the cooperative will continue to provide services to Nye County. If people have questions about our programs, we are available.”

Additionally, Ming said she doesn’t foresee Pahrump’s office hours altered as a result of the loss in funds.

She noted that both the Pahrump and Tonopah offices will now have limited access to staff or walk-in services.

“As far as I know, everything is covered in Pahrump. The office in Las Vegas is working to see whether we can have calls forwarded to our office, so the Pahrump staff doesn’t come in the next day and have 20 or 30 calls to return. A lot of the gardening calls, we can take care of at the Master Gardener help desk here. We also want to let people in Tonopah know that we are still there for them too.”

Ming also said she’s never witnessed a more critical time in regard to funding at the Nye County extension during her tenure.

“I have been with the cooperative extension for 16 years and I have never seen this happen before in Nevada, or anywhere else that I have heard of,” she said. “We are looking to figure a way so that people don’t have to jump through a lot of hoops just to get a question answered.”

For additional information, call the Pahrump office at 775-727-5532 or the Tonopah office at 775-482-6794.

Questions may be emailed to southern.news@unce.unr.edu.

The Pahrump office is located at 1651 E. Calvada Blvd.

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes