Editorial: No need to dust off a north-south fight

Monday, Aug. 5, 2002 | 8:59 a.m.

A proposal by the University of Nevada, Reno, to build a large building eight miles from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is not as questionable as it first sounds. The proposed $7.2 million, 42,000-square-foot building would mostly house Cooperative Extension programs that are now scattered in three locations. As the land-grant university for Nevada, UNR administers Cooperative Extension, the long-standing, government-funded program that offers knowledge to all citizens. It provides dozens of urban and agricultural learning programs in areas such as water conservation, child care, nutrition and gardening.

The new building would allow for centralized administration of Cooperative Extension in the Las Vegas Valley, and UNR studies show it would save money in both the short and long runs. Only about 10 percent of the building would be used for UNR programs, such as recruitment or fund-raising. There may be reasons for the Board of Regents to turn down the idea, but please, let's not hear the old north-south battle cry. This isn't UNR invading UNLV's turf. Cooperative Extension is an invaluable program that serves Southern Nevada. To build or not to build should be based upon the soundness of the plan to settle Cooperative Extension under one roof.