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ARTS & COMMUNITY
Extension service -a community
classroom for gardeners and more
By Laura Lavezzo
Staff Writer
Whether it’s mold growing on your prized fruit
tree, insects invading your vegetable patch, or con
cerns over food-born diseases, the Forsyth County
Cooperative Extension Service is there to help resi
dents. Funded partly by the University of Georgia,
partly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and
partly by Forsyth County, the extension service
serves the community by providing professionally
trained staff who answer homeowners’ questions on
agriculture and consumer issues.
County extension agents typically hold degrees in
horticulture, agriculture and family and consumer
sciences. Most extension service information is pro
vided free of charge. Daryl Pulis, agriculture pro
gram assistant for the Forsyth County Cooperative
Extension Service, says the purpose of the extension
service is to evaluate the latest results of research
and reproduce it in such away consumers can easily
apply the news to their daily lives. So extension
agents are essentially the “middle men” between the
University of Georgia’s highly technical research
labs and your own back yard.
Aside from her post at the county extension service
in downtown Cumming, Pulis answers gardening
questions on her Saturday morning radio call-in pro
gram, from 9-10 a.m. on the local Mountains Lake
Radio station. When she’s not answering homeown
ers’ questions, Pulis is also the coordinator of the
extension service’s master gardening program, one
of the extension service’s methods of incorporating
community volunteers.
Through the extension service, members of the
community can become master gardeners - volunteer
stewards of the soil who have been trained in every
aspect of gardening. Potential master gardeners
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In recognition of Georgia’s Gardening Day held Saturday, March 20, the Forsyth County
Extension Service held a “doctors’ clinic” of master gardeners at All Seasons Plant Nursery on
Hwy. 9.
Your help needed
In 2002, the 4-H Youth
Development Program will cele
brate its centennial anniversary. We
would like to have a 100th
Anniversary 4-H commemorative
stamp issued. A 4 H stamp was
released in 1952 to commemorate
the 50th Anniversary of 4-H.
The U.S. Postal Service receives
as many as 40,000 requests for
stamp subjects and designs per year.
Approximately 25 to 30 new sub
jects for commemorative stamps are
recommended by the Citizens’
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nodem day fife Judges built not by man, but by God.
we His love and power in a setting of praise and
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liffld WPASendces - A blending of
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11 Service - A more contemporary service,
less structured, featuring teanis and *B
J Nursery aval!able...call 770 837-5542 for more Information.
intensely study agricultural and horticultural methods
for two days per week for three months at a time.
“We’re looking for volunteers," Pulis said, explain
ing that after a trainee receives “master gardener”
certification, he/she volunteers 50 hours per year to
the extension service. As volunteers, the master gar
deners answer phoned-in homeowners’ questions
from the extension office and donate time and ener
gy to local community garden efforts, including the
community garden behind the Forsyth County Public
Library.
The Forsyth County Cooperative Extension Service
also provides consumer information on family
issues. If you want your child to have a healthier
diet, or if you are having trouble managing your
finances, the extension service may be able to help
you get situated. Carol Propes, county extension
coordinator, and Debbie Wilburn, county extension
agent, are your best bets for the right information on
family and consumer science in Forsyth County.
Wilbum shares this duty with the Hall County exten
sion group. Her column appears regularly in the
Forsyth County News.
The Forsyth County 4-H program is also managed
by the extension service. For years, 4-H has provid
ed children ages 9 to 19 many learning opportunities
outside the classroom. Tammy Wright, a newly hired
4-H program assistant, can answer questions on how
to get your child involved with 4-H.
Forsyth County’s Extension Service welcomed
Sam Geer as the new horticultural extension agent in
October. Shortly before taking the position, Geer
earned his master’s degree in horticulture from
UGA. He filled the position vacated a year ago by
extension agent lan Cowie.
For more information, call the Forsyth County
Extension Service at (770) 887-2418.
Stamp Advisory Committee.
4-H members, leaders, alumni,
parents of 4-H’ers, sponsors, sup
porters and elected officials are
asked to assist 4-H in convincing
the U.S. Postal Service Citizen
Advisory Committee to design and
produce a 100th Anniversary 4-H
Commemorative Stamp. To show
your support, write a letter or post
card to the Citizens’ Stamp
Advisory Committee, c/o Stamp
Development, U.S. Postal Service,
475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW, Room
4474E, Washington, D.C. 20260-
2437. Along with your request, be
sure to mention why you feel they
should develop a 4-H stamp, how
you are involved in the 4-H
i Program and include where you
I live. All letters and postcards
should be mailed by March 31,
- 1999.
The 4-H Youth Development
i Program is the largest informal edu
i cational program for boys and girls,
, with more than 5.6 million youths
i participating in 4-H each year.
Starting as general stores that sold everything]
GROCERIES - HARDWARE - DRY GOODS I
In 1981, We Completely Remodeled Our Store In Downtown Cumming...
In October Os 1982, Parsons
Reopened In Tri-County Plaza
Then... Our Store Was Completely UPBM E *EB| I
Destroyed By Fire June 6,1982. '
In March Os 1991 We Opened In Lakeland Plaza...
THEN IN THE SUMMER OF 1995 I
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Specializing In
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Home Decor and Hallmark I
1 Now We Are
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We Would Like To Take This Opportunity To Say I
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AskAbout Lakeland Plaza I
Our Preferred Cumming, GA.
Customer Program
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS—Sunday, March 28,1999—1
PAGE 19D