Pamela Montgomery, right, coordinates with Bruce Zimmer as OSU Extension materials are staged for moving Monday in Marietta. (Photo by Janelle Patterson)

Program offices closed Monday for this week at the Ohio State University extension office for Washington County as the educators and program assistants prepared for their move across the Muskingum River.

Today and tomorrow, a box truck will ferry SNAP education supplies, gardening materials, family and consumer science materials, and 4-H youth development materials along with administrative materials to 1115 Gilman Ave., on the west side of the Muskingum River.

“If you’re outside looking at the building we’re going in the right wing, second floor,” explained OSU Extension Educator Marcus McCartney.

Pamela Montgomery, an area leader over multiple OSU extension offices in southeast Ohio, was on-site Monday to help direct the staging of the move alongside program educators and staff clearing out excess materials.

“This has given us an opportunity to purge some things that we probably should have gotten rid of a long time ago, too,” said Montgomery.

The OSU Extension learning garden off of Davis Avenue will remain in service through November after which a new garden is predicted to be built near the county health department. (Photo by Janelle Patterson)

Then, programming will be back on this weekend after the move is complete.

“Bruce (Zimmer) has day camp this Friday at the Fairgrounds and then the Skillathon on July 31,” noted Montgomery.

And Amanda Bohlen will be completing pressure canner testing Saturday, followed by Zimmer working with state fair recipients Sunday.

According to Flite Freimann, director of Job and Family Services, the move is anticipated to cost the county less than $1,000, including two days to rent a box truck and cleaning supplies.

“And the Sheriff (Larry Mincks) is taking care of his moves,” shared Commissioner Jamie Booth, nodding to the planned shift of some administrative offices of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office into the current OSU building on Davis Avenue between the juvenile center, county health department, Ohio Department of Transportation District 10 office and Marietta High School.

Eight staff of the office funded through federal, state and county dollars are to be impacted by the move.

* Learning garden

But the OSU partnership with the juvenile center and master gardening will continue in the same vicinity rather than crossing waters, the commissioners confirmed Monday.

The garden is predicted to shift to a new build near the current county health department off of Muskingum Drive.

McCartney noted this will aid in coordination planning with the center so as to not involve transportation.