Shelter Fund-Raising Set to Go Public

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Byline: Scott Maben The Register-Guard

The old, rusty Quonset hut long used for picnics, weddings and festivals at the Mount Pisgah Arboretum could be gone within a year, replaced by a light-filled, all-weather pavilion built to last 100 years.

That's the hope of arboretum officials as they prepare to kick off the public phase of a fund-raising drive to raze the dim, dilapidated picnic shelter and erect the new White Oak Pavilion.

"This will be a far more open and bright building," said Ron Funke, chairman of the arboretum board's planning committee.

The nonprofit organization that operates the 209-acre arboretum has raised $206,000 since last …