The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
(Vol. 17 No. 9)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
Happy New Year! I have remained on the e-mail list of Kirk Weisler's T4Ds ever since he was our keynote motivational speaker at the 2007 Annual Conference. I judged the message he sent on January 3, 2011 entitled Well here it is.... "RE" to be excellent. I hope you will take the hint and click on that link. And, I hope as we enter the new year each of you are refreshed, refueled, replenished, refined, refocused, reenergized, recommitted and ready to re-engage and reconnect with clientele, stakeholders, and co-workers!
I'm looking forward to upcoming Partnership Meetings. I hope to see Board chairs and additional Board members from every county and district across the state during that time. I believe we've got an excellent agenda planned.
I am also excited to be hosting President Kirk Schulz and KSU Foundation President/CEO Fred Cholick for a brief visit to the Sedgwick County Extension Office on Tuesday, January 18. Bev Dunning and the Sedgwick County faculty have planned an informative time to show program focus and impact. We'll also be updating our efforts towards relevant, valued, and sustainable Extension programming through Extension Districts across the state.
Welcome to 2011 and let's make it a great year! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
CHANGES TO PAY CHECKS IN 2011
In preparation for calendar year 2011, here are some changes that may be reflected on an
employee's net pay advice beginning with the check dated January 7, 2011.
• Group Health Insurance premium rates increase effective January 1, 2011
• Health Insurance enrollment changes made by the employee during open enrollment in October, 2010
• Federal tax rates change effective January 1, 2011. The new federal tax tables are published on our HR website, http://www.k-state.edu/hr/ped/2011FederalTaxRateTable.pdf.
The employee social security tax rate is reduced from 6.2% to 4.2% effective January 1, 2011
•
Employees who reached the social security wage base limit in calendar
year 2010 will begin to see social security tax withheld from their
checks beginning January 7, 2011
• Optional Group Life Insurance rate changes - The new rate table is published on our HR website, http://www.k-state.edu/hr/benefits/OGLIKPERS2011.pdf. An employee also may have automatically changed to a different age bracket (for example, from
age 44 to age 45). Optional Group Life Insurance deduction is taken
from the 2nd check of the month
• Voluntary Tax Shelter Annuity -
an employee may have changed their voluntary tax shelter annuity
amounts/percentages or Human Resources may have changed due to maximum
agreements
• Calendar Year 2011 United Way, Community Health
Charity, and All University Campaign (Foundation) contribution payroll
deductions begin with the check issued on January 7, 2011
• Any changes an employee made to their Federal or State withholding (W-4 or K-4) for 2011
The
Social Security wage base for OASDI will continue to be $106,800 for
calendar year 2011. Therefore, the maximum OASDI employee contribution
for 2011 will be $4,485.60, a $2,136.00 decrease from the 2010 maximum
of $6,621.60. There continues to be no limit on wages subject to the
Medicare tax in 2011. Medicare tax rates for employers and employees
remain at 1.45%.
Retirement and savings plan limits set by the
Internal Revenue Service remain unchanged for 2011. The elective
deferral limit for the 403(b) voluntary plan, the 457(b) deferred comp
plan, and the federal Thrift Savings Plan limits remain at $16,500. The
catch-up contribution limit under those plans for age 50 and over
remains at $5,500. The 15-year catch-up limit for 403(b) plans remains
at a total of $15,000 spread over a minimum of five years. --Division of Human Resources
KSRE CONNECT TRAINING
People in KSRE are using our Connect web conferencing system for
webinars, research, collaboration, and District meetings among other
things. At the start of 2011, we upgraded Connect to a new version.
The interface is completely new and includes a couple additional features.
Training is being offered January 12, 13, 19 and 20 at 10 a.m. This is a
good overview for both new and experienced Connect users. No
registration is necessary. Simply go to http://connect.ksre.ksu.edu/connecttraining/ during the training time.
For more information, visit the TechWeb site, www.ksre.ksu.edu/techweb/, or contact Gerry Snyder, gsnyder@ksu.edu, IET, 785-532-6270. --Gerry Snyder
GET IT - DO IT! APPLICATIONS ARE DUE FEBRUARY 1, 2011
Get It - Do It! begins its fourth year of supporting youth and adult partnerships to promote health. Applications are also available on the Kansas PRIDE website at http://www.kansasprideprogram.ksu.edu/PRIDE/prideresources/funding.htm#State.
Since 2008, Get It - Do It! has provided PRIDE communities with $3,000 grants to engage youth in local health promotion planning and project implementation. In order to successfully compete for funds in 2011, PRIDE community groups will need to:
* work with local Extension agents and youth to prepare their applications,
* submit their applications by February 1, 2011, and
* meet with Get It - Do It! staff between February 15 - 25 for a pre-funding visit to their community.
Applicants are also encouraged to involve schools, youth organizations (e.g, 4-H clubs, FFA, Scouts, FCCLA, recreation groups) in their applications.
Selection of the 2011 Get It - Do It! communities will be announced March 1, 2011.
For more information about Get It - Do It! 2011, contact Jamie Menon in the Kansas PRIDE office, 785-532-5840; Nadine Sigle, nsigle@ksu.edu; or Elaine Johannes, ejohanne@ksu.edu, 785-532-7720.
Get It - Do It! is a program of Kansas PRIDE, K-State Research and Extension and
the K-State School of Family Studies and Human Services. --Elaine Johannes
MARIE'S PICKS . . .
My picks this week include evidence of Medium Term (Behavior Change) Outcomes reported by Fran Richmond, Frontier District #11, and Medium and Long Term (Condition Change) Outcomes and a Success Story from Chris Long, Walnut Creek District #2:
*After polling 4-H members who experienced the 2010 Citizenship Washington Focus, a vast majority of the youths commented that “the trip gave me more confidence in my abilities to do new things.” Others said “I am more confident, out-going, and I speak up more in class,” “I volunteer more for things now,” “ I have more confidence,” “I was struck by being in Washington D. C., where history was made and where government happens,” “When I see things on TV and places where I’ve been, I take notice now. I share in government class and know more about the legislative stuff,” “I got to meet people from other states and they talk different, but we were a lot alike.” “I learned a lot about big cities and how to find my way around,” “I liked experiencing the new things like riding a plane, a train, and a boat.” One mother said “I can’t believe how out-going and confident she is now.” A unanimous response was that the two years of work/ preparation was well worth the experience of a lifetime.
*Producers have included hunting options when deciding on alternative forms of income.
*The number of acres in hunting leases has increased throughout the year.
*One individual used information learned to set up a hunting lease and is now receiving an
alternative source of income from his acres. Other individuals used the information to address liability issues when allowing hunters to use their ground without a lease. --Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.edu
JANUARY DIVERSITY PROGRAMS OFFICE UPDATE
Happy New Year! I hope you had a pleasant holiday season. The Diversity Programs Office is ready to start the New Year!
To start the New Year, the Diversity Programs Office, along with K-State Research and Extension, will be hosting a workshop for all College of Agriculture Faculty.
This workshop is to assist College of Agriculture Faculty expand their skills in working with diverse audiences (ie, students, parents, faculty/staff, etc), to become more aware of their own personal and organizational cultures, to examine how personal and organizational cultures affect our ability to work across differences in both negative and positive ways, and to build skills to increase competencies in working with others who are different. You’ll take home an activity to use with others for your professional and personal tool kit.
The workshop, “Navigating Difference in the College of Agriculture,” will take place on January 11, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Hemisphere Room located on the 5th Floor of Hale Library. Members of the K-State Catalyst team will conduct the workshop. These members are Dr. Zelia Wiley, Assistant Dean for Diversity; Nozella Brown, Extension Agent, Family and Consumer Sciences; Scott Gordon, Extension Agent, Agriculture and Natural Resources; Linda Lamb, Program Coordinator, Family and Consumer Sciences; Brian Rees, Extension Agent, Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Again, best wishes for the New Year! As usual, you may get more information from your Diversity Programs Office or contact Dr. Zelia Z. Wiley, Assistant Dean for Diversity, at zwiley@ksu.edu or 785-532-5793. Have a great semester! --Dr. Zelia Z. Wiley
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