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Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service |
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Vol. 16, No. 9
January 5, 2010
...Word from the
Associate Director - Extension and Applied Research
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH Happy New Year! Welcome to 2010. I'm certainly looking forward to warmer days in Kansas. With the forecast for unseasonably cold conditions for the next several days, do take the appropriate precautions to remain warm and safe!
I am sure by now that you have all seen the announcement "Fred Cholick to lead KSU Foundation as president and CEO" . His appointment with the Foundation begins on February 4. We thank Fred for his great leadership over the past 5 1/2 years, and know he will provide great leadership to the KSU Foundation. Plans remain for Fred to be out around the state later this month for the Annual Extension Partnership meetings. We should be hearing soon of a process through the Provost's office to move forward on identifying a replacement as Dean and Director.
With the new year many persons will make resolutions. I would encourage a resolution of accountability. My thanks to Sandra Wick for sending me a special quote that helped me to focus on the importance of accountability. Sandra gets her motivational quotes from http://walkthetalk.com . A culture of accountability makes a good organization great and a great organization unstoppable. ~Henry J. Evans I find this quote to be very applicable to K-State Research and Extension. At times it is easy to lack the desire to report impacts, or to provide data supporting evidence of those impacts. Yet, as a publicly funded organization, we must be accountable to all taxpayers and stakeholders. I hope you will take your role seriously to be accountable to the significant commitments you've made and are vitally important to the long term success of this organization.
And, as a slice of evidence for accountability, I would point you to the K-State Research and Extension home page , and the 2010 Internal Report to the Kansas Legislature . Highlights of selected projects, programs, and impacts from across K-State Research and Extension are provided, and will be presented to the Kansas Legislature later this month. In a small way, this report represents our accountability to the people of Kansas through the Kansas Legislature.
Another way to hear about the accomplishments is to listen to Fred's commentary on the K-State Agriculture Network that was aired on December 22.
I would also point to the K-State Research and Extension 2010 Strategic Opportunities document as an organizational commitment to accountability from now into the future.
Accountability is about fulfilling commitment. Doesn't seem like that big a deal. However, I believe Henry J. Evans gets it right when he identifies that the culture of accountability is what makes an organization great. I am making accountability my personal resolution, and hope you too will do the same. And, have a great week! - Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
EARLY DEADLINE FOR JANUARY 19 TUESDAY LETTER Since we observe Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday, January 18, the deadline for the January 19 Tuesday Letter will be 12 noon on Friday, January 15. It is very important all articles are sent to tuesday@ksre.ksu.edu and that they are received no later than noon on that Friday. We appreciate your cooperation.
INSTRUCTIONS TO FIX KSRE WEBSITE SECURITY CERTIFICATE ERRORS KSRE recently received updated Security Certificates for all of the KSRE websites. However, many web browsers do not recognize these new certificates yet, and may not for some time as their manufacturers work to update their list of secure certificates. If you have been getting error messages when visiting secure KSRE websites, this is most likely the cause. Thankfully, you can easily install the certificates yourself and avoid any problems.
IET Tech Support has set up a webpage with instructions on how to install the certificates, as well as a download link to get the latest ones. If you are having these issues, please visit http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/techweb/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=817 and follow the instructions there to update your certificates. If you have any problems with this, or any other questions, please feel free to contact IET Tech Support at 785-532-6270 or e-mail us at support@ksre.ksu.edu . --Russell Feldhausen russfeld@ksu.edu
As a service to the U.S. Census Bureau in support of a successful 2010 Census, K-State Research and Extension is committed to sharing messages regarding the 2010 census. Following is information coming from the media contact out of the Kansas City Regional Census Center. Please share this information through your newsletters and media releases to all our readers and listeners.
Census data is used for congressional apportionment, legislative and congressional redistricting, as well as to determine funding and locations for schools, housing, child-care centers, shopping centers, roads and more. These improvements can have a significant impact on the lives of everyone in your community.
This is one of the shortest census forms in history; the 2010
Census form asks 10 questions and takes about 10 minutes to complete.
Census forms will be delivered or mailed to households in March 2010.
Census Day is April 1, 2010, the official day of the population count.
Households should complete and mail back their responses upon receipt.
Census workers will visit households that do not return their forms to
take a count in person.
Thanks for helping get the message out! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
The IRS reduced the privately owned automobile mileage effective January 1, 2010. As required by K.S.A. 75- 3203a(c)(1), the Kansas Secretary of Administration has reduced the private vehicle maximum* reimbursement rate for FY2010 effective January 1, 2010 to:
50¢ per mile for privately owned automobile
The following remain unchanged:
32¢ per mile for privately owned motorcycle $1.10 per mile for privately owned airplane (based on air miles rather than highway miles)
*If a mode of transportation is available and is less costly than transportation by privately owned conveyance, mileage payments for use of a privately owned conveyance shall be limited to the cost of that other mode of transportation. (K.A.R. 1-18-1a (d)(1)). --K-State Controller's Office
MICHAEL CHRISTIAN RETIREMENT RECEPTION A final reminder that you are invited to join the Northeast Area Extension Office Staff and the K-CARE Office Staff in celebrating Mike's retirement with a reception this WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, from 2 to 5 p.m. at Pottorf Hall (Riley County Fairgrounds/Ci-Co Park area), Manhattan, Kansas.
Mike's Extension service of 33 1/2 years has been at Dickinson County, Riley County, and serving as a Watershed Specialist, Lower Blue River.
If you cannot attend and would like to
send a card, note and/or letter, our mailing address is:
--Dale Fjell dfjell@ksu.edu
BECKY WALLACE RETIREMENT RECEPTION You are invited to join Hamilton County Extension staff in celebrating the work of Becky Wallace, FCS Agent, during a reception in her honor on Wednesday, January 13, 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. at the Hamilton County Extension Office. The reception is a come and go format. We will be recognizing Becky for her 30 years of service to Hamilton County K-State Research and Extension. --Natasha Bennett ncrites@ksu.edu
THANK YOU FROM CHERYL KLINGENSMITH I would like to thank the Southeast Area Office faculty and staff for hosting a fantastic retirement reception in honor of my 45 years in office professional extension positions. They worked very hard to make my day special. I would also like to thank all who came, sent cards, e-mails, phone messages, gifts and helped trim the money tree.
I will keep a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart towards all of my extension family. I sincerely love you and may God bless you all. --Cheryl Klingensmith
FEATURED EMPLOYEE
4-H DOG
JUDGES TRAINING REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS JANUARY 15, 2010!
All judges certified before 2004 must re-certify to remain on the State Certified 4-H Dog Show list. --Jim Adams jadams@ksu.edu
USDA LAUNCHES HIGH TUNNEL PILOT STUDY TO INCREASE AVAILABILITY OF LOCALLY GROWN ORGANIC FOODS Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan recently announced a new pilot project under the 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' initiative for farmers to establish high tunnels - also known as hoop houses - to increase the availability of locally grown produce in a conservation-friendly way.
Kansas is one of 38 states in the 3-year pilot study that will help determine if high tunnels are effective in reducing pesticide use, keeping vital nutrients in the soil, extending the growing season, increasing yields, and providing other benefits to growers.
In Kansas, the high tunnels practice will be available in qualifying Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) applications through the Organic Initiative. For accepted applications, NRCS will limit the practice to one high tunnel per farm.
Organic producers, or those transitioning to organic, interested in the establishment of a high tunnel should stop at their local NRCS field office and visit with the staff about addressing resource concerns on organic systems and submitting an application for the Organic Initiative through EQIP. A cutoff date will be set in the near future for organic applications in Kansas.
More information about NRCS is available at the Website: www.ks.nrcs.usda.gov . --Steven Graham sgraham@k-state.edu
FREE 14-WEEK
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INTERVENTION FOR WOMEN What you get: FREE 14-week class,
program materials, pedometer and up to $60 for participation in research
study.
There are weekly classes offered on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Wednesday from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., beginning the week of January 25, 2010. This intervention is not a quick fix program, but consists of a behavioral change approach which has been proven to be effective for adults of all ages. The program has great easy-to-follow advice, charts, forms, and checklists to illustrate how to overcome the barriers to being physically active so you are able to enjoy a lifetime of good health. Leaders help facilitate goal-setting, problem solving, and barrier identification while also providing physical activity education and self-monitoring skills.
The groups are made up of women who are not very active right now, but want to be more physically active in the near future. The program is a discussion format, 14-week physical activity class delivered by experts in the field to help you begin and sustain physical activity. Unlike other programs, we will not be exercising with you or "prescribing" a specific exercise program. Instead, we will help you pick what activity, how much activity, and where that activity will take place.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to e-mail paphlab@ksu.edu or call 785-532-3484. Further instructions will follow prior to the beginning of the intervention should you choose to sign up for participation. --Elizabeth Fallon efallon@k-state.edu
SYMPOSIUM ON ADOLESCENT HEALTH ISSUES, FEBRUARY 5, 2010 The 2010 Kansas State Department of Education’s annual "Symposium on Adolescent Health Issues" will focus on intentional and unintentional injuries. The symposium will be held February 5, 2010 at the Doubletree Hotel in Overland Park, KS. Registration is $95 and is available online at the KSDE webpage . . Conference sessions will address alcohol/drug use, bullying, sexual violence, cutting, suicide, overeating and under eating, depression, and teaching techniques to address intentional and unintentional injuries.
For more information, contact Dr. Darrel Lang at dlang@ksde.org or 785-296-6716. Details are also available at http://conferences.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=537 . --Elaine Johannes ejohanne@ksu.edu
KANSAS DROPOUT PREVENTION REGIONAL ACTION PLANNING SESSIONS Kansas’ dropout prevention initiative, Kansas DropINS will host eight Regional Post-Summit Action Planning sessions throughout January. In follow-up to the successful state summit, held at Wichita State University in October, school representatives, business members, youth and parents are encouraged to attend a regional planning session to contribute to the state planning effort.
Regional planning session details and locations are available at www.kansasdropins.org . --Elaine Johannes ejohanne@ksu.edu
KSRE WELL-REPRESENTED AT KANSAS HEALTH LEADERSHIP SUMMIT Many KSRE professionals participated in the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s "Cultivating Healthy Kansans Leadership Summit" held December 1-3, 2009 in Topeka. KSRE presenters, exhibitors, conference planners and participants included:
Sharolyn Jackson, NE Area Extension Office Joan Kahl, FSHS Leah Robinson, Kearny County Nadine Sigle, Osborne County; Post Rock District Rhonda Janke, Horticulture, Forestry and Recreation Resources Ginny Barnard, Riley County Fran Richmond, Osage County Lisa Martin, Shawnee County Lori Wuellner, Wyandotte County Brandee Werth, student FSHS and Pre-Physician Assistant Elaine Johannes, FSHS
In addition to Summit presentations from national health experts at CDC, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, HHS and PAXIS Inc., sessions were conducted by state leaders, many of whom were K-State faculty. Kansas Health Leadership Summit presentation videos and materials are available at http://www.cultivatinghealthykansans.org/ .
Sharolyn Jackson, invited presenter and "Walk Kansas" exhibiter, identified connections between sessions focused on physical activity, healthy eating and tobacco reduction and KSRE’s work-site wellness initiative. In 2010 the KSRE worksite program will be offering additional self-assessments to help personnel monitor progress towards their health goals.
Contact Sharolyn at sharolyn@ksu.edu for information about the KSRE worksite wellness program, or Elaine Johannes at ejohanne@ksu.edu about the KDHE Health Leadership Summit. --Elaine Johannes
BUILDING COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP Make plans now to join fellow agents and specialists for a unique professional development workshop that will help you develop three key competencies needed by all leaders to affect change in their communities: (1) framing issues and ideas; (2) building social capital; and (3) mobilizing people and resources. The workshop is scheduled for Thursday, February 18, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at K-State Salina.
Framing means helping a community recognize and define its opportunities and issues in ways that motivate people to act. Building social capital is about developing and maintaining the relationships that allow people to work together and share resources across differences. Mobilizing people and resources is about bringing together enough people and resources around focused action plans to accomplish the community's goals and outcomes. This workshop will include hands-on breakout sessions that will teach you practical tools for applying the three competencies to a broad range of community issues that you work with every day.
The registration fee is $25 per person and includes lunch and free copy of The Community Leadership Handbook. Register by contacting Robert Wilson in the Office of Local Government at 785-532-7823 or rmwilson@k-state.edu . The deadline to register is February 11. This workshop is open to the public. Agents are encouraged to recruit participation by local leaders.
Funding for this workshop provided by the Alpha Rho Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi. --Robert Wilson rmwilson@k-state.edu
AUTHORS VALIDATE OLDER PUBLICATIONS Thanks to the K-State Research and Extension authors -- including those who inherited publications from authors who have retired or left the organization -- you can assure clients that older publications still actively distributed remain valid.
Subject matter specialists have recently completed an annual review of publications to evaluate accuracy and current best practices. Those no longer deemed appropriate are being removed from inventory or revised to include updated information. Future printed materials will continue to indicate date of the most recent revision, but also note the system of annual review.
These changes will be reflected in future publication order forms and in the library/catalog site at http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library .
Note that research documents reflect information current at the time of publication. These documents -- such as crop performance tests, fertilizer research, or Swine Day -- are NOT revised, but current research data are available in the latest version of annual publications. --Nancy Zimmerli-Cates nancyz@ksu.edu
Publication of the newly revised and expanded Kansas Garden Guide (S51) has been delayed by changes in author responsibilities. Originally scheduled for distribution by January 1, 2010, the publication is now expected to be available by late February or early March. We regret the delay. --Nancy Zimmerli-Cates nancyz@ksu.edu
PLEASE NOTE CHANGES ON DECEMBER 23 ELECTRONIC ORDER FORM Internal clients are asked to use the electronic order form sent December 23 rather than the printed copy of the March 2010 order form sent earlier. The printed form contained pricing errors.
Remember that items shown on the intranet site are drafts and may not accurately represent the final publication. For the latest drafts of publications listed on the form, please see http://intranet.ksre.ksu.edu/ap_pub_preview .
If you have already placed an order using the original printed form AND IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR ORIGINAL ORDER, please contact the Distribution center at orderpub@ksre.ksu.edu , FAX: 785-532-7938, CALL: 785-532-5830.
We regret the errors. The new deadline for preorders is January 15, 2010. --Nancy Zimmerli-Cates nancyz@ksu.edu
COMMUNICATION MINUTE: TIPS FOR CHANGING YOUR PASSWORD The start of a new year means it is time to change your eID password. You must change your eID password by February 10.
To be valid, your new password must meet certain criteria, available at https://eid.k-state.edu/eProfile/jsp/faq/password.jsp#required . Among the requirements, your password must
A password can be a multi-word phrase; you can separate parts of the password with spaces.
To change your eID password, simply log on to the eID Web site, http://eid.k-state.edu , and enter your current eID and password. Then, click the "Change your eID password or password-reset options" link and set your new password.
Some additional tips:
If you have questions about this process, contact IET technical support at 785-532-6270, or support@ksre.ksu.edu . If you forget your eID password, or have problems changing your eID password, you can also call the K-State IT Helpdesk at 785-532-7722 or e-mail helpdesk@k-state.edu . --Russ Feldhausen russfeld@ksu.edu
DECEMBER EXTENSION AGENT PERSONNEL CHANGES Lori Sporer, Family and Consumer Sciences Agent in Logan County, resigned effective December 31, 2009.
John J. Forshee, District Extension
Director, River Valley Extension District, began employment on December
20, 2009. His e-mail address is
jforshee@ksu.edu .
KSRE MASTER CALENDAR Go to: http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/MasterCalendar
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