A discussion continued Thursday on the possibility of combining the services of the Lyon County Extension office with the Frontier Extension District, and county commissioners will make a decision at 10 a.m. next Thursday when they meet for their regular action session.
The Frontier District, which is made up of Franklin and Osage Counties, invited Lyon County Extension to join the district at the annual meeting of the extension council last week. Members of the executive board voted to accept the invitation and request the change before the county commission.
The Frontier District was formed in July 2010, and has experienced benefits from combining services, according to Gary Thompson, district chairman. Those benefits include a streamlining of services and the ability for agents to be more specialized.
“There are less state specialists now than there have been,” Thompson said. “With the economy the way it is, the state has cut back. So with our agents being more specialized in the area of their expertise they can give good answers to patrons quicker than they have been.”
The Frontier District is the 11th of 14 extension districts that have been formed in Kansas since 1991, when counties were given the authority to combine. If Lyon County joins the district, its four agents and two office staffers will join the district’s five agents, one program assistant and three office workers. The county’s current office and staff will remain in Emporia, according to information from the extension meeting. If county commissioners approve joining the district, the commission will appoint four members to the district’s board, with membership later being determined by public vote.
For the complete story, please see Friday's Gazette.