By Roslyn Ryan
Editor

A House budget amendment may lead to the loss of Powhatan County’s Cooperative Extension office.

The change calls for the closing of 13 Virginia Cooperative Extension Service offices, including Powhatan’s, and merging them with other nearby offices.
In Powhatan’s case, the office would be merged with Chesterfield’s.

For Powhatan extension agent Eric Bowen, news of the proposal came as a surprise. Bowen said he first learned of the possibility that the Powhatan office could be shut down on Feb. 21. Information since then has been hard to come by.

“Other than what’s been presented,” said Bowen, “we don’t know what’s going on.”

Should the Powhatan Extension Office close, it would likely spell the end of a number of popular county programs. In addition to providing agricultural help and advice for county residents, the Extension office oversees the Master Gardener program, the 4-H club and the Powhatan Leadership Institute.

Bowen said he has been fielding calls from both residents and VCE volunteers about the future of the office but has little to offer them for now.

“Volunteers are concerned, and they have questions about what is going to happen,” said Bowen. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any good information for them.”

Although Powhatan residents will have access to the services offered by the office, and will only have to travel to Chesterfield to get them, Bowen expressed concern that residents will be losing a resource that is specific to Powhatan.

For now, Bowen said he and his co-workers are forging ahead with their work, awaiting the Senate’s decision on the measure.

“Until we are told differently, we will do business as usual,” said Bowen. “Until they tell us differently, we are making future plans.”