State budget cuts have rounded up more victims — Douglas County 4-H’ers.

Cathy Musick, the 4-H agent who organized activities for the county’s 670 4-H’ers, left in February. A hiring freeze within K-State Extension means it will be months before another agent is hired.

That worries Marla Metsker, a sophomore at Lawrence High School, who later this month will be square dancing at regional 4-H competition. Usually, the county 4-H agent organizes participants at the competition.

“It’s pretty important,” Metsker said. “We need someone to help us out with leadership and make sure everybody does what they’re supposed to do.”

Musick, who had been in Lawrence about two years, left to become the extension agent in Gove County.

Jim Lindquist, metropolitan area extension director for the state, said an agent hiring freeze had been in place for about a month because of state budget cuts. He said the position was open to other agents if they wanted to move to Lawrence, but so far there haven’t been any takers. There are several agent positions available in the state.

Lindquist said it would be at least several months before the hiring freeze was lifted.

“We need to wait and see what the Legislature’s going to do this year,” he said. “In the short term, the other agents in Douglas County will pitch in to help with events and activities and other work that needs to be done, and we’ll have a part-time program assistant.”

That program assistant could be on board as early as the first of April. Lindquist said unused money from Douglas County could be used to fund the position. The county contributes about $580,000 a year to the extension service.

Grant Metsker, left, 13, and his sister, Marla, 16, notch the ear of a piglet as a sow feeds her young. Because of state budget cuts, 4-H youths in Douglas County no longer have an extension specialist dedicated to their activities. Wednesday, the Metskers notched ears, cut teeth and gave the piglets iron shots at their farm near Lone Star Lake.

There are four other agents in the county, tending to family and consumer sciences, agriculture, horticulture and nutrition.

“We kind of divvied up the jobs that have to be done,” said Bill Wood, the agriculture agent.

He said Musick’s departure would mean extra leadership classes and work in after-school 4-H programs would go undone until a new agent was hired.

Those are extra services that Metsker and her family say are important to the 4-H program. They are members of the Lone Star 4-H Club and raise hogs on their property near Lone Star Lake.

LuAnn Metsker, Marla Metsker’s mother, said the 4-H agent allowed the county’s 14 clubs to do more than they could on their own.

“It’s pretty vital to get that position filled,” she said.

¢Douglas County Extension office