The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service

  
Vol. 7, No. 16    March 6, 2001

IN THIS ISSUE...
...Spring Action Conferences Postponed for a Year
...Retirement Celebration for Nancy Gafford
...4-H FNP Associate Specialist Begins Work
...Learning Quest Education Savings Program
...NE Area Commercial Horticulture Team Sponsoring Summer Bus Tour
...Arbor Day is Almost Here!
...Marketing Items
...Open-K Providing Travel Benefit Scholarships
...Thank You
...18th Annual Water and the Future of Kansas Conference
...Master Schedule

...Tuesday Letter Archives  

SPRING ACTION CONFERENCES POSTPONED FOR A YEAR
Spring Action Conferences scheduled for March 27-28 in Garden City, and April 3-4 in Lawrence have been cancelled for 2001.

This week, campus-based departments are facing significant budget recalls due to the high utility bills this winter, which the University did not anticipate. As we are late in the fiscal year, we anticipate this unexpected cost to adversely affect travel budgets for most campus-based Extension faculty.

Spring Action Conferences, to be successful, require active participation by campus, area, and county faculty. While we know individual campus faculty will be making some difficult choices on curtailing expenditures, we wanted to simplify the decision about participating in Spring Action Conferences.

Extension programming is enhanced through on-going communication and coordination. Please use every opportunity, including telephone and e-mail, to maintain strong agent - specialist - team dialog. But for 2001, Spring Action Conferences are cancelled. --Daryl Buchholz dbuchholz@oznet.ksu.edu , Paula Peters ppeters@oznet.ksu.edu , and Gary Gerhard ggerhard@oznet.ksu.edu 

RETIREMENT CELEBRATION FOR NANCY GAFFORD
After 42 years of service, Nancy M. Gafford has announced her retirement effective April 1, 2001. Please help us celebrate her distinguished career by attending a retirement celebration on Sunday, April 1, at Valentino's in Seneca from 2 to 4 p.m.. A gift and notebook containing letters or cards will be given to her at the party. Contributions for a retirement gift or letter for retirement notebook can be sent to the Nemaha County Extension Office by March 23. --David Key dkey@oznet.ksu.edu 

4-H FNP ASSOCIATE SPECIALIST BEGINS WORK
We are pleased to announce that Carol Fink has accepted the position of Associate Extension Specialist, 4-H FNP, and began her half-time appointment on March 5. Carol will be housed in the State 4-H Department, 201 Umberger Hall, and can be reached at 785-532-5800. Her e-mail address is cfink@oznet.ksu.edu . 

Carol's major responsibility will be to work with Karen Hudson and me to address specific nutrition and physical activity needs of school-aged youth, and to develop a systematized, valid, reliable and user-friendly documentation process for school-aged youth in FNP programs. Carol plans to begin work on her Ph.D. starting with the summer session. We heartily welcome Carol to the team and I'm sure the FNP programs will be hearing from her. --Steve Fisher  sfisher@oznet.ksu.edu 

LEARNING QUEST EDUCATION SAVINGS PROGRAM
Information about the Kansas Learning Quest Education Savings Program can be found at http://www.ksu.edu/hr/benefits/educationsavings.htm .

The program allows individuals to save for a college education. The earnings grow tax-deferred. Accounts may be opened with a lump sum investment of $500 or a $25 monthly investment. There is a 24-month wait from the time the account is opened until qualified withdrawals can be made. Kansas income taxes can be reduced by the gross amount contributed for each student. --Stacey Warner swarner@oznet.ksu.edu 

NE AREA COMMERCIAL HORTICULTURE TEAM SPONSORING SUMMER BUS TOUR
A Bus Tour to Michigan State University Gardens, Ball Seed Co., Morton Arboretum, and Chicago Botanical Gardens is being sponsored by The Commercial Horticulture Team of the NE Area. This summer bus tour is July 9 - 12. We invite all horticulture agents, ag agents, horticulture faculty, and horticulture specialists to join us for this enjoyable learning experience. Dr. Joe Levine, MSU Extension; and Mary McLennon, MI Director of Master Gardeners; will provide a banquet program. MSU spends over $5million yearly to develop their extensive gardens and hosts 750,000 visitors yearly. Reservations need to be in by May 15. The cost of the tour is $275, with checks made payable to Kansas State University. 

Contact Penny  Adams at the NE Area Office for registration details -- padams@oznet.ksu.edu , or 785-532-2271. --Emily Nolting enolting@oznet.ksu.edu 

ARBOR DAY IS ALMOST HERE!
Arbor Day in Kansas is March 30, 2001, the last Friday of the month. Individuals and communities can learn more about Arbor Day on the Kansas Forest Service web site. There is a brief history of Arbor Day, Ideas on how to celebrate Arbor Day, a sample Arbor Day Proclamation and press release, information on the Kansas State Tree, and it's history in Kansas.

Check it out at: http://www.kansasforests.org .

For more information, contact your District Forester, http://www.kansasforests.org/District_map.htm .
--Jon Skinner  Jskinner@oznet.ksu.edu  

MARKETING ITEMS
We still have new Bic Clic Pens for sale at 28 cents each. We also have Post-It Notes at 65 cents each, K-State Research and Extension Note Pads (8.5" x 5.5") for 76 cents each, and purple K-State Research and Extension pins with white lettering for 4 cents each.

If you are interested in ordering a purple tablecover (see February 26 Tuesday Letter), please contact me or my secretary, Janet Wenderott, by this Friday, March 9. --Steven M. Graham sgraham@oznet.ksu.edu  

OPEN-K PROVIDING TRAVEL BENEFIT SCHOLARSHIPS
OPEN-K is providing travel benefit scholarships to attend the "Coming Together for Kansas Families" conference!

"Coming Together for Kansas Families" is the theme for the first joint meeting of five related Kansas professional organizations. Sponsoring groups are the Kansas Association of Extension 4-H Agents, Kansas Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, Kansas Association of Teachers of Family and Consumer Sciences, Kansas Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, and Alpha Rho Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi. It will be held on April 19 and 20, at the Sedgwick County Extension Center.

OPEN-K (Opportunities for Prevention Education and Networking in Kansas) is OFFERING TEN TRAVEL BENEFIT SCHOLARSHIPS of $200 to State, Area and County Research and Extension Faculty to attend this Professional Development Conference. 

Please submit a application by March 15, 2001 to:
Jana Hackney
OPEN-K Project Manager
4-H Youth Development &
Office of Community Health
201 Umberger Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506

Please refer to the conference registration booklet to assist with your application. (You should have received this in February).  Include the answers to these questions: 1. How does this conference fit into your professional development plan of work? 2. How will this training apply to your work in Youth, Family and Community Development? 3. What is your need for the scholarship?

A review team of K-State Research and Extension faculty will go over applications and recipients will be notified by March 26. Recipients of the travel benefit will be required to send a brief report back by May 21, 2001 describing what outcome (new skill, new audience, new perspective and your own measurement of it) do you expect after the conference?

Questions? - Call Jana Hackney 785-532-5800. --Jana L. Hackney jhackney@oznet.ksu.edu 

THANK YOU...
Thank you to all who recently completed the "Organizational Change Survey: CYFAR Evaluation Collaboration Project." The data is being compiled and we expect to have a short summary available after July 1. --Elaine Johannes ejohanne@oznet.ksu.edu 

18TH ANNUAL WATER AND THE FUTURE OF KANSAS CONFERENCE
Placing value on Kansas water is the primary focus of the 18^th annual Water and the Future of Kansas Conference. The conference will be held March 13, 2001, at the Holiday Inn, Manhattan. 

Participants will be updated on the status of water in Kansas and have the opportunity to interact with others who share an interest, responsibility, or concern for water. A plenary session will start the day with three keynote speakers. These water professionals from across the United States will address a number of topics.  

* Integrating Environmental Values into Western
  Water Management, Ray Huffaker, Washington State
  University.

* The Ownership of Water in Kansas: Implications for 
  Water Policy, Don Pitts, the Law Office of Shughart,
  Thomson, and Kilroy, Kansas City, Missouri

* The Recreational Value of Water, Ron Kaiser, Texas
  A&M University

A representative from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will also be on hand to explain new proposed regulations for confined animal feeding operations. Town hall meetings or discussion sessions will be held to examine research and education needs in several areas: TMDLs in the Arkansas and Kansas River Basins, urban water quality issues and protection of the Equus beds.

The conference will also include a poster session and displays, and concurrent sessions throughout the day relating to the following topics: the value of clean water, sustainability of groundwater, an update of projects supported by the Kansas Water Research Institute, policy issues pertaining to water and urban water quality issues.

For more information, contact the conference office at: 785-532-5569 or e-mail info@dce.ksu.edu  More program and registration information is available at http://www.dce.ksu.edu/dce/conf/waterfuture/ . 

VIEW THE MASTER SCHEDULE OR ADD NEW ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS . 
Submit corrections to previously submitted items to jzarger@oznet.ksu.edu .

DATES TAKEN FROM THE MASTER SCHEDULE FOR MARCH 14, 2001, THROUGH MARCH 20, 2001:

Wednesday, March 14
.... FrontPage Web Author Training, Manhattan (317 Umberger Hall), Statewide, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Gerry Snyder gsnyder@oznet.ksu.edu 
.... Residue and Management/No-till Meeting, El Dorado/BU, Statewide, 1:30 p.m., David Kehler dkehler@oznet.ksu.edu 

Wednesday, March 14, through Friday, March 16
.... Kansas Environmental Leadership Program, Topeka/SN, Statewide, 12:00 noon, Morgan Powell mpowell@bae.ksu.edu 

Wednesday, March 14, through Saturday, March 17
.... Kansas City 4-H Global Conference, Kansas City, MO, Regional, Lindy Lindquist llindqui@oznet.ksu.edu 

Thursday, March 15
.... Prescribed Burn Workshop, Medicine Lodge/BA and surrounding counties, SC & SW, 9:30 a.m., Paul Ohlenbusch pohlenbu@oznet.ksu.edu 
.... Internet for Ag Producers, El Dorado/BU, Statewide, 7:00 p.m., David Kehler dkehler@oznet.ksu.edu 

Friday, March 16, through Sunday, March 18
.... 4-H Sports Fishing Workshop, Rock Springs 4-H, Statewide, Conall Addison caddison@oznet.ksu.edu 

Saturday, March 17
.... KSU Sheep Days, Manhattan, Statewide, Cliff Spaeth cspaeth@oznet.ksu.edu 

Sunday, March 18
.... Photography Workshop, Auburn/SN, Statewide, Leroy Russell lwrussel@oznet.ksu.edu 

Monday, March 19, through Sunday, March 25
.... KSU Spring Break

Tuesday, March 20
.... Pork Quality Assurance Course, El Dorado/BU, Single county, SC, 7:00 p.m., David Kehler dkehler@oznet.ksu.edu 

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