December 04, 2003 HISTORIAN WHO LOST JOB IN BUDGET CUTS WINS STATE AWARD OSWEGO (AP) - Barb Dix lost her job as county historian in August because of budget cuts. This week, the state Board of Regents named the 69-year-old Dix New York State Local Historian of the Year. Dix will become a member of the state education commissioner's Local History Advisory Council, said Carole Huxley, deputy commissioner for cultural education at the state Education Department. The council advises education Commissioner Richard Mills on services to local history, Huxley said. Dix spent 12 years as the Oswego County historian. She also served 21 years as a village and town historian and helped form the Association of Public Historians of New York State. "She clearly cares very much about New York and her part of New York, so we were clearly very impressed," Huxley said. "It's a very rich history so it deserves attention, and we want to honor people like her who bring that attention to the public." In August, the county administrator eliminated 69 positions, including Dix's job, to save the county $2 million as it copes with a fiscal crisis and tries to avoid a 43-percent tax increase. In November, Dix challenged an incumbent and fell short in a write-in campaign for a county legislative seat. >Just thought you might like to know. >Marilyn Rowsey Dirk >VP Oswego County Genealogy Society