An annual senior event in Carbon County has been postponed until the spring.

Mindy Graver, family living educator for the Carbon County Penn State Cooperative Extension, announced that the organization's annual Holiday Program, which provides information on various topics to senior citizens, has been canceled for the fall due to the lack of a state budget. The Penn State Cooperative Extension, which has offices in every county, is part of Penn State University."This decision came after much discussion and deliberation and the conclusion was mainly due to budget constraints across the state," she said.Graver explained that the Carbon County Cooperative Extension has not yet been affected by the lack of budget, but other counties, which have representatives who were scheduled to speak at the program, have been affected and are trying to cut back on expenses.She noted that she had the option to cover travel expenses for the speakers, but that would mean passing the bill on to the seniors who attend the program. Graver did not see that as a viable option."We try to keep the price (for the day of educational programs and lunch) reasonable," Graver said. "It was prudent on my part of my advisory board to make the decision to cancel because I think it will be hard for the seniors to decide spending the money on a fun day out or on needed heat, medicine or food."She added that as of right now, the Cooperative Extension plans on holding the holiday program in the spring, most likely sometime in April. More details on the program will be announced as information becomes available.The annual Holiday Program was designed to be both fun and informative, talking about various educational topices such as how to conserve energy and money during the hard winter months; recycling and how to create your own foods to help cut down on costs.Penn State Cooperative Extension is a community-oriented educational organization that provides programs such as Prosper and Better Kid Care, as well as the 4-H program, in which children and teens can learn about a variety of topics from sewing and basket making to traveling and agriculture while building a strong social network. It also provides pesticide and food safety education; troubleshooting for home horticulture, agriculture, insect problems, and home gardening production; and help with the Christmas tree industry in the Northeast region.If you have questions or suggestions, contact Graver at (570) 325-2788 or

mjg26@psu.edu.