The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service

  
Vol. 9, No. 5   December 10, 2002

IN THIS ISSUE...

...Kansas Grain Producers Need to Register to Vote Soon
...KanElect and Health Insurance Confirmation
...OzNet Holiday Schedule
...Effective January 6, 2003
...2003 Kansas City 4-H Global Conference Registration Deadline
...4-H Bear and Farm Animal Update
...K-State Enterprise Authentication System Becoming Reality
...Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab Holiday Schedule
...Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory Fee Schedule to Change
...Subscribe to the Electronic Food Safety Newsletter
...Healthy Diet and Physical Activity Funding 
...Junior Master Gardener Curriculum and Evaluation Training
...Announcing the Launch of Science.Gov
...KAE4-HA Katch Phrase
...Publications/Production Services Update
...Master Schedule

KANSAS GRAIN PRODUCERS NEED TO REGISTER TO VOTE SOON
The deadline is drawing near for Kansas corn, grain sorghum, soybean and wheat producers to register to vote for their producer representatives on the various Kansas Grain Commodity Commissions. Registration forms are due December 31, 2002 to the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

Three crop reporting districts are up for election in 2003. These include the western three districts in Kansas: District I, District II and District III. Corn, grain sorghum, soybean, and/or wheat producers in these areas must fill out voter registration cards to be eligible to vote in the elections.

Voter registration cards are available from county Extension offices, conservation district offices, the various Kansas Grain Commodity Commission offices, and the Kansas Department of Agriculture office. In addition, forms are available on the KDA's grain commodity elections Web site at www.ks-agr.org/commod/elections.htm .

Registered producers will receive a ballot by mail by January 15, 2003. That ballot must be completed and returned to the KDA by March 1, 2003. The new Commissioners will take office on April 1, 2003. Voters are required to be residents of the state of Kansas, be of legal voting age, and be actively engaged in growing corn, grain sorghum, soybeans, and/or wheat within the preceding three years. Please remind producers to register to vote. --Steven Graham sgraham@oznet.ksu.edu 

KANELECT AND HEALTH INSURANCE CONFIRMATION
Beginning December 10, employees may view their state health insurance (but not federal health insurance) and/or KanElect flexible spending account confirmation statements for plan year 2003 by going to the AKSESS program.

You will need to use the last password and will be prompted to change the password if it has been more than 30 days since the last login to the AKSESS program.

The AKSESS program may be found at the following web site: http://da.state.ks.us/aksess . 

Forget your password? Use either the secret question format in the AKSESS program or call the Help Desk at 785-368-8000, option 8, Monday-Friday, 8 am to 5 pm.

Questions should be addressed to the Division of Human Resources at 785-532-6277. --Stacey M. Warner swarner@oznet.ksu.edu 

OZNET HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
A reduced holiday work schedule (December 24, 2002, through January 1, 2003) is in effect for most people on campus. OzNet services including e-mail and web functions will be available but operating in "unattended" mode during this time. This means that should there be any interruption in service, IET staff may not be readily available.

If these services are interrupted, please contact IET staff by first calling 785-532-6270. Otherwise, call us in the following order should you need assistance: Larry Havenstein, 785-537-0131; Will Baldwin, 785-537-4346;  Roger Terry, 785-537-2245; Richard Wear, 785-456-7192. No one will be available on December 25, 2002 or January 1, 2003. Technical support staff (students) will not be available from December 24, through January 1. Normal operations will resume January 2, 2003. --Roger Terry rterry@oznet.ksu.edu 

EFFECTIVE JANUARY 6, 2003
Several years ago, e-mail addresses appeared as userid@oz.oznet.ksu.edu. In 1999, a decision was made to drop the "oz" from the address and have everyone use userid@oznet.ksu.edu. We have kept the oz.oznet.ksu.edu address active to give everyone time to transition to the oznet.ksu.edu address.

Effective January 6, 2003, the userid@oz.oznet.ksu.edu will no longer be valid. Please check your e-mail  client, reply to address, signature, any listserv, and local distribution lists and change the oz.oznet.ksu.edu to oznet.ksu.edu.

One simple way to check your signature and your reply to address is to send a message to yourself and observe the from address and the signature.

In Pegasus Mail, you can search for your oz.oznet.ksu.edu address to find anyone to inform about the change. To do this, close all folders. Open the folder list and select Edit, Find text from the main menu bar. Search for youruserid@oz.oznet.ksu.edu. Search in all folders and check Search message headers only. When the search is done, sort by date.

Be aware that any business cards, letterhead, or any other publications that contain the userid@oz.oznet.ksu.edu address will no longer be able to contact you at that address, these items will need to be changed. For more help contact your local support technician or e-mail support@oznet.ksu.edu. --Roger V. Terry rterry@oznet.ksu.edu 

2003 KANSAS CITY 4-H GLOBAL CONFERENCE REGISTRATION DEADLINE
Registration for the 2003 Kansas City 4-H Global Conference must be mailed to the State 4-H Office no later than Friday, December 13. Please make sure that all information requested on the forms is complete. If all of the information and fees requested are not included, we will have to return the forms to your office for completion. --Lindy Lindquist llindqui@oznet.ksu.edu 

4-H BEAR AND FARM ANIMAL UPDATE
Thanks for your support of the 4-H Bear and Farm Animal fund raiser for the Kansas State 4-H Council and the Kansas 4-H Foundation award programs. We still have a few rabbits, horses and Freedom bears, but the Centennial chickens, cows, goats, pigs, sheep, and the Brown Bears with Glasses are sold out. Watch your mail for an announcement of the items that will be available in 2003. --Lindy Lindquist llindqui@oznet.ksu.edu 

K-STATE ENTERPRISE AUTHENTICATION SYSTEM BECOMING REALITY
The K-State Enterprise Authentication System (KEAS) is rapidly becoming a reality. Part of the KEAS project involves making your OzNet username the same as your KSU eID. Over half of Research and Extension's employees either have an eID that does not match their OzNet username or they do not have an eID at all! Are you one of these people? To find out, click on "KEAS Explained" on the Research and Extension home page. From there click on "View Account Information" and log in with your OzNet username and password. Once logged in click the "View Your Account Information" button. A very detailed status of your OzNet account information is displayed with the top two boxes displaying your OzNet username and your KSU eID.

If you are one of these people, be aware that the lack of action on your part could mean changes to your OzNet e-mail address and your OzNet account. For faculty and staff to change their eID for no cost, a 2-month time period will open January 6 for these changes. Beginning at the same time, all Research and Extension employees who do not have an eID can begin creating an eID. Students will be able to change their eID for no charge beginning February 3. After February 28, there will be a $50 charge to change an eID.

For More details about your eID, KEAS and how this affects Research and Extension users: http://accounts.oznet.ksu.edu/keas/ . The University's eID informational website: http://eid.k-state.edu . Please direct your eID questions and concerns to: acctserv@oznet.ksu.edu . --Kathryn Burton kburton@oznet.ksu.edu 

PLANT DISEASE DIAGNOSTIC LAB HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
The Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory wishes you all Happy Holidays! The Diagnostic lab will be closed from December 23 - January 1. Please do not send samples after December 18. This should ensure the samples arriving by December 20. Thanks and have a great holiday season. --Judy O'Mara omara@plantpath.ksu.edu 

PLANT DISEASE DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORY FEE SCHEDULE TO CHANGE
Due to the recent statewide budget cuts, the K-State Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory will begin charging for all physical samples that come to the lab. Phone consultations and diagnosis of digital images will continue at no charge and are encouraged.

Starting on January 1, 2003, we will begin charging a nominal $5 fee for each physical sample submitted for diagnosis through the county extension office. If a sample requires a service such as a general nematode assay, ELISA or endophyte test, the diagnostic surcharge will be included in the cost of the test, i.e. $10 or $20. For a complete listing of fees charged by the Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab, go to the following web link: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/path-ext/Fees/NewFeeSchedule.asp 

For diagnostic samples that bypass the county extension office and are sent directly to the K-State Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab (i.e. crop consultants, golf courses, greenhouses), a university overhead charge of 34% will be added to the total bill. The diagnostic fee can be paid with a check made out to Kansas State University or with a credit card (Visa or Master Card).

According to the K-State Extension Operations office, penalty mail regulations prohibit the use of penalty mail dollars for mailing samples when there is a fee charged for testing services. Soil samples submitted to the KSU Soil Test Lab and plant samples sent to the Plant Diagnostic Lab fall into this category. If there is no charge for the diagnosis or service, penalty mail may be used. If you have questions regarding the use of penalty mail, contact Stacey Warner at 785-532-5790.

The $5 diagnostic fee plus the cost of postage should be collected when the sample is brought into the county office. The invoice you receive will reflect the amount due. If you have questions regarding the cost of the diagnosis, contact Diana Pavlisko, Extension Plant Pathology at 785-532-1380.

The K-State Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and the Extension Plant Pathology group remain committed to providing quality diagnostic support for Kansas county agents and their clientele. --Robert S. Zeigler rzeigler@plantpath.ksu.edu 

SUBSCRIBE TO THE ELECTRONIC FOOD SAFETY NEWSLETTER
In case you haven't done so already, you can still subscribe to the all electronic Food Safety Newsletter! You may self-subscribe by following the directions below.

Send a message to: mailserv@lists.oznet.ksu.edu . Leave the subject line blank. In the message body, type the following: subscribe foodsafenews. Press the "enter" key twice to add two blank lines. Do not add a signature. Press "send". To unsubscribe, follow the same procedure except use the following message: unsubscribe foodsafenews. If you have problems or questions, please contact kblakesl@oznet.ksu.edu  and we will subscribe you. --Karen Blakeslee 

HEALTHY DIET AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FUNDING AVAILABLE
The Office of Community Health wants to alert local Extension offices of the availability of the following funds to support outcomes-based work.

General Mills Champions Youth Nutrition and Fitness Grants at www.generalmills.com/corporate/about/community  are available to encourage communities to improve the eating and physical activity levels of people ages 2-20. Fifty $10,000 proposals will receive funding beginning April 1, 2003. Proposals are due February 1, 2003.

Active Living by Design through Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at www.activelivingbydesign.org . Twenty-five community partnerships will be awarded grants for up to $200,000 to develop and implement strategies that make it easier for people to enjoy physical activity as a part of their daily lives. Online brief proposals are due between January 6 and January 31.

Community Health is willing to help in applications for these funds. For more information, contact Elaine Johannes ejohanne@oznet.ksu.edu . --Elaine Johannes ejohanne@oznet.ksu.edu 

JUNIOR MASTER GARDENER CURRICULUM AND EVALUATION TRAINING
The 4-H Youth Development, FNP and Horticulture Departments will be offering a training to assist all agents, FNP staff and volunteers in the development of the Junior Master Gardener program. The training will be held Monday, February 10, 2003, from 1:30 to 6:00 p.m., in Manhattan.

JMG can be used as a nutrition or plant science curriculum in schools, after-school or summer programs. This curriculum cover 3rd - 8th grade. The Kansas science standards have been matched with the JMG lessons. This information can be found on the 4-H/JMG website.

This hands-on training will cover eight core lessons from the "Health & Nutrition from the Garden" curriculum which is for 3rd - 5th grade. Included in the training will be evaluation tools to implement knowledge and behavioral change of diet and youth development.

A brochure will be sent to each county office or you may obtain one online at the 4-H web site. The deadline to register is January 20. Cost of the training is $7.50. --Carol Fink cfink@oznet.ksu.edu  and Evelyn Neier eneier@oznet.ksu.edu 

ANNOUNCING THE LAUNCH OF SCIENCE.GOV
We want to let everyone know about the formal launch of the new www.science.gov  Web service that permits searching across many Federal scientific and technical databases, as well as Federal Web sites selected for their excellence. Science.gov is a gateway to authoritative selected science information provided by U.S. Government agencies, including research and development results.

Please take a look at the site and make sure agencies you work with are included, then pass the word about science.gov. Comments and suggestions will be most welcome and should be directed to the comments space (under Contact Us) on the science.gov site. --Steven Graham sgraham@oznet.ksu.edu 

KAE4-HA KATCH PHRASE
"Children are always the only future the human race has; teach them well." "A child is the only known substance from which a responsible adult can be made."

Youth. . . a significant program area for Extension and what you do as agents/specialists does make a difference! As the 4-H program has started its 101st year nationally, we invite you to get involved with the Kansas Association of Extension 4-H Agents. Full and associate memberships are available; contact Shawna Mitchell in McPherson County for more information. --Phyllis Kriesel pkriesel@oznet.ksu.edu 

PUBLICATIONS/PRODUCTION SERVICES UPDATE
Envelope Set-Up Changes
If your office has ordered new envelopes recently you may have noticed a difference in the appearance of the return address. U.S. Postal Service standards have necessitated moving the return address to the right of the logo, rather than beneath it. The old layout sometimes caused the return address to appear below the area specified by postal regulations, which could result in automated sorting errors. You need not order new envelopes until your supply is exhausted.

More Deadfiles
Printed copies of the following publications have been deadfiled, but electronic files will continue to be available:
SRP-883 2001 Kansas Performance Tests with Grain Sorghum Hybrids,
SRP-884 2002 Chemical Weed Control,
SRP-885 2001 Kansas Fertilizer Research,
SRP-886 Kansas Performance Tests with Soybean Varieties.

Order Forms Sent
Order forms for new and revised publications set for release in March, as well as for existing publications scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of 2003, have been sent. Deadline for orders is January 2, 2003. --Nancy Zimmerli nancyz@oznet.ksu.edu 

VIEW THE MASTER SCHEDULE OR ADD NEW ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS . 

Submit corrections to previously submitted items to jzarger@oznet.ksu.edu .

Nothing scheduled for the week of December 18, through December 24, 2002.

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