The Polk County Extension Associates offered their support recently for the proposed move of the House of Flags museum to Columbus.

At its recent luncheon at the 4-H Center in Columbus, the group presented a $650 check to members of the House of Flags board of directors.

If the museum &dquo;can get $650 from every event like this,&dquo; it will soon have the funds needed to complete the move, said Harriett Sams, president of the Polk County Extension Associates.

The House of Flags, currently located at the Green Creek Family Life Center, has been raising funds over the past couple years to move to the location of the old Columbus Fire Department building on Gibson Street.

The museum previously planned to tear down the building and construct a new one, but now plans to renovate the old firehouse instead. Robert Williamson, chairman of the House of Flags board, says the museum has raised about $70,000, and may need less than $130,000 to complete the renovation.

The House of Flags plans to consult with engineers and the county building inspector to make sure the renovation will work.

Paul Sutherland, vice chairman of the House of Flags board, thanked the Polk County Extension Associates for its support.

&dquo;We have a vision that the House of Flags is going to be in Columbus, North Carolina, right next to Veterans Memorial Park, and we hope it will be sooner than later,&dquo; said Sutherland. &dquo;We&squo;ve been looking at other opportunities to do that and one is to rehabilitate the (old fire department) building. It&squo;s got some history to it&ellip; and it looks good for us to proceed along that track.&dquo;

The Polk County Extension Associates is a county-wide organization consisting of four individual clubs ‐ Columbus Club, Peniel Club, Saluda Club, and Thrifty Workers Club. The extension associates club has a long history of contributions to the community and volunteer assistance to the Polk County Cooperative Extension Center.

To learn more about the extension associates, call 894-8218.

Anyone interested in learning more about the House of Flags museum can&bsp; visit www.houseofflags.org. The House of Flags is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt, non-profit North Carolina corporation at P.O. Box 1090, Columbus, N.C. 28722.