Open house slated Monday at Extension Service office

The Greene County office of Purdue University Extension Service will conduct a public open house Monday in conjunction with the Greene County Extension Homemakers Clubs' fall gathering.

The Extension Office open house runs from 4-7 p.m. The office is located at the Greene County Fairgrounds, one mile west of Switz City on State Road 54.

Visitors are encouraged to stop by and meet the three Extension Service educators -- county manager Lindy Miller, PhD. (Agriculture/Natural Resources/ Economic Development), Polly Gettinger (Consumer and Family Sciences) and Tammy Steiner (4-H/ Youth Development).

The local Extension Service Board members will also be available to greet visitors.

The educators will offer a slide show highlighting past program events, they will have written program updates available and explain the functions of the office. There will be a suggestion box available to receive ideas from the public on how the office can better serve the county, according to Gettinger.

"We're suggesting people come in the front (north) door and visit with us (educators) and then they can meander around in the back of the community building," Gettinger pointed out. "This is just a way for us to get the information out."

Steiner added, "It's a chance for us to introduce our extension activities to the community."

Light refreshments and finger foods will be available.

The Cooperative Extension Service is one of the nation's largest providers of scientific research-based information and education. It's a network of colleges, universities, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, serving communities and counties across America. The Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service, with offices in all 92 Indiana counties, features programming in Agriculture and Natural Resources, Consumer and Family Sciences, Economic and Community Development as well as 4-H Youth Development.

The second part of the evening will be a Christmas holiday-themed gathering from 6 to 8 p.m. -- hosted by the Lyons M & Ms Home Economics Club and Country Corner Home Economics Club from the Linton/Dugger area.

There will be demonstrations on holiday wreath making by Sherry Gaither of the Watering Can in Linton, followed by the singing of Christmas carols.

The event will also provide an opportunity to tour the Festival of Trees that is set up in the Community Room to benefit Shawnee Summer Theatre in Bloomfield.

There will be home-baked cookies and wassail, a traditional holiday beverage, for visitors to enjoy.

"This is a new take on our annual (homemakers) meeting that is open to the public. We just thought we'd make it easier on everybody by doing this all together. The homemakers were meeting and we needed to have a (public) meeting before the end of the year and decided why not make it easy on everybody. People can drop by here at their leisure and they can stay as along as they like," Gettinger said. "There will be no speakers. Just come and visit."