The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
(Vol. 18 No. 35)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
As of July 1, Smith County has officially become part of the Post Rock Extension District! Congratulations to the Smith County Extension Council, Sandra Wick, Extension Agent, and Nadine Holmes, Office Professional for making this transition into Post Rock. And, congratulations to Governing Board, Extension Agents, Program Assistants, and Office Professionals for your willingness to expand your District to include Smith County. I'm confident the District will continue to serve its public extremely well on a constant path for improvement! Nice knowing that planning is already underway to improve program planning and delivery as a unit and minimizing duplication of work by Extension agents. Broader and deeper program offerings for target clientele truly becomes a reachable outcome. Again, congratulations to Post Rock District!
Heat and drought are upon us. Please take a moment to review the Managing During Drought and Heat website. If there are topics or information you are needing/wanting, please let us know!
Have a safe, enjoyable, and great July 4 celebration of your country's freedom! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
PROGRAM PRIORITIZATION PROJECT UPDATE
Colleagues, your Program Prioritization Task Force (Task Force) met On
June 7 at Kansas State University – Salina to discuss the Program
Prioritization Project. In a very
productive and energetic meeting, the Task Force decided the following:
The Program Prioritization Project will be
conducted primarily via an electronic survey. Paper copies will be made
available for those not capable of responding electronically.
The survey will contain a maximum of 10
questions per Program Focus Team (PFT).
Each PFT will submit through their Task Force
Representative a maximum of 10 prioritized questions that have a corresponding
number of responses. If a multiple part
question requires five responses, it counts as five questions.
The Task Force reserves the right to reduce the
number of questions asked of respondents and to change the wording of the
questions.
Each question submitted by the PFTs should
relate to a program that the PFT can complete within five years.
The PFTs need to indicate who the survey
respondents should be.
The questions and potential respondents are due
to Margaret Phillips by September 15.
If PFTs wish to gather more information than the
survey will provide, they may want to consider conducting focus groups with
specific stakeholder groups. Training will be provided to team members of interested
PFTs on focus group best practices.
If you have any questions or concerns about the Program
Prioritization Project, please consult with your PFT’s Task Force
Representative. --Submitted on Behalf of the Task Force by Gregg Hadley ghadley@ksu.edu
WATER RESOURCES ENGINEER SEMINAR/INTERVIEW DATES
On behalf of the Southwest Area Extension office and Department
of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, interview and seminar schedules for
three candidates are set for the Water Resources Engineer
position. This position will be administered through the
Southwest Area Extension office with the tenure home in the Biological &
Agricultural Engineering Department. Each candidate will interview in both Garden
City and Manhattan, and the seminars in Manhattan will be streamed and posted
to the web. As the dates get closer, the
seminar web information will be available.
Please reserve these dates and times on your calendar if interested in
attending the seminars.
The first candidate will present a seminar in Garden City on
Thursday,
July 12, at
10 a.m. and in Manhattan on Friday, July 13, at
8:30 a.m. The second candidate will present a seminar
in Manhattan on Monday,
July 16, at
10 a.m. and in Garden City on Tuesday, July 17, at
2:30 pm. The third candidate will
present a seminar in Garden City on Thursday, July 19, at
10 a.m., and in Manhattan on Friday, July 20, at
8:30 a.m.
If you have any questions, contact any of the following:
Danny Rogers, drogers@k-state.edu; Phil
Sloderbeck, psloderb@k-state.edu; Troy
Dumler, tdumler@k-state.edu. --Danny Rogers
HEALTHY SMILE LINKED TO A HEALTHY HEART
You may have a
powerful weapon against heart disease sitting on your bathroom counter – a $2
toothbrush. Poor oral hygiene brings to mind problems like decaying teeth,
swollen gums, and bad breath. But a bacteria-filled mouth can lead to many
other problems throughout the body including heart disease, blood infection and
diabetes.
People who have gum disease are suffering
from a chronic low-grade infection, and their whole body is a little bit
compromised. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), recent studies have shown an increased risk of heart disease and stroke
in people with gum infections. The risk appears to increase with the severity
of the infection, as gum disease produces a tremendous amount of bacteria. If
you have a valve problem with your heart, the bacteria can invade and infect
the heart.
Remember that
regular and thorough brushing and flossing is your first line of defense against
gum disease, and be sure you get regular dental check-ups. Choose a healthy diet without sugary snacks
and sodas, avoid tobacco products and limit alcohol intake. If you have gum disease, do not share drinks
with children or blow on your child’s food to cool it down.
While
maintaining good oral health is something you can be directly involved in,
always consult your physician for more information.
The KSRE
Wellness team challenges you to “pick two” healthy lifestyle behaviors that you
can accomplish before October 15. More about this challenge and information
supporting Healthy You goals is available at www.healthyyou.ksre.ksu.edu. --Sharolyn Jackson sharolyn@ksu.edu
JUNE EXTENSION AGENT PERSONNEL CHANGES
Kylie Dicket, 4-H Youth Development Agent in Frontier District, began employment effective June 3, 2012. Her email address is kylied@ksu.edu.
Julianne Shoup, Family and Consumer Sciences Agent in Twin Creeks District, began employment effective June 3, 2012. Her email address is jshoup@ksu.edu.
Molly Trausch, 4-H Youth Development Agent in Ford County, began employment effective June 3, 2012. Her email address is mtrausch@ksu.edu.
Brian Waldschmidt, Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent in Harper County, resigned effective June 8, 2012.
Jill Deters, Family and Consumer Sciences Agent in Pottawatomie County, resigned effective June 8, 2012.
Kristen Garcia, 4-H Youth Development Agent in Riley County, began employment effective June 24, 2012. Her email address is kmgarcia@ksu.edu.
Dale Ladd, Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent in McPherson County, retired effective June 30, 2012.
--Stacey Warner swarner@ksu.edu
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