Opinion
Planting vegetables in April
What a nice spring we have experienced so far! It’s hard to believe how warm it has been and how early things seem to be growing this year. With the exceptional warm temperatures, what about planting vegetables in April? Hopefully, all of the cool season vegetables that could be planted in March are in the ground and doing well. In case that did not occur, you can still plant potatoes, peas, beets, lettuce, onions, cabbage, broccoli and cauli...
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Americans with Disabilities Act
“It is a waste of time to be angry about my disability. One has to get on with life and I haven’t done badly. People won’t have time for you if you are always angry or complaining.” - “http://www.disabled-world.com/editorials/stephen-hawking.php” \o “Stephen Hawking - A Journey Through Life”Stephen Hawking Recently officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Justice met with the Kansas administration to d...
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Preparing for one of retirement’s major expenses – taxes
As you plan for retirement, you’re likely considering the major expenses you may encounter, such as housing and health care. But are you overlooking something that may have a significant impact on your ability to achieve a financially secure retirement? If the bulk of your retirement savings are in tax-deferred accounts (workplace retirement plans and traditional IRAs), most or all of your distributions will be subject to ordinary income tax ...
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Sure sign of spring – asparagus
If you are a gardener who has asparagus in your patch, like me, you are probably watching anxiously for those first tender green shoots to appear. I saw the first last week! This is a sign of two things - that spring is here and there will soon be an abundance of the tasty spears! Asparagus are actually a member of the lily family. The spears grow from a crow and under ideal conditions can grow 10” in a 24-hour period. Each crown will send sp...
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Learn to make the most of aging
As with other stages of life, there is a positive side to aging—more time to explore new interests, choices and opportunities. Aging also presents a different set of challenges – how to access health care, community support services, and long-term care services; how to manage retirement income and finances to support health care costs and living longer; how to make lifestyle choices to improve quality of life. Providing information to older a...
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Pruning shrubs and trees – some need it now
In my last column, I highlighted fruit tree pruning and have since received several calls wanting to know about pruning shrubs and trees. Correct pruning is as important for the long life of a tree and shrub as is insect and disease control. It is the methodical removal of parts of a plant with the object to improve its form and to improve growth and cultivation. Don’t let the thought of pruning intimidate you. There are just a couple “rules ...
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Six tips for achieving financial fitness 
You may be focused on getting in shape for swimsuit season, but take a break from the gym this spring and spend some time on your financial fitness. Here are six tips to help get your investment portfolio into prime condition. ¬† 1. Shed the weight of extra accounts. It’s not unusual to acquire multiple retirement accounts over the years, especially if you’ve changed jobs several times. Consider consolidating them to simplify the management o...
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Treat your body like a computer; troubleshooting tips
We often expect our bodies to do more than they should, so some trouble-shooting tips might be in order.¬† An article by Alice Henneman, of the University of Nebraska Lincoln Extension in Lancaster County, provides some tips to prevent your body from “crashing.” If your body was a computer, would it be receiving lots of “error” messages? Is it beginning to run slower and take longer to “start?” Perhaps you are trying to run too many programs ...
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Nurturing innovation and creativity
“The Stone Age did not end because they ran out of stones.” This profound statement was made at a conference I recently attended on transforming teaching and learning sponsored by Discovery Learning. The presenter was Yong Zhao, PhD from the College of Education, University of Oregon. His presentation, entitled The Education We Need, kept me glued to his every word. This particular statement caught my attention because much time and energy is...
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IDs sought for 1957 photos with Blunk
Robert Blunk, a founder of our Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum, recently donated photographs taken in May 1957 of students working on the museum’s first exhibit. Blunk wrote, “This was in what was known as the Old Calvert Store on the southwest corner of Main and Highland. It was open for about two weeks.”¬†Four years later the museum opened at a permanent site on S. Grant Ave. Blunk was unable to recall every student’s name and hoped Ch...
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Lent is fasting and prayer before Easter
As we approach the Christian season of Lent, some have asked me exactly what Lent is. So, with that in mind, I offer the following: The English word lent derives from the Germanic root for Spring. The earliest reference to a period of fasting and prayer before Easter is in the writings of the 2nd c. church father Irenaus of Lyons (c.130-c.200), who wrote of a period lasting only two or three days. Apparently at that time there was a variety o...
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Tips make homemade jerky easy and safe
Making beef or venison jerky is becoming increasingly popular; it’s relatively easy, allows seasoning the dried, lightweight meat product to your taste, and can offer a cost-savings on food, including snacks. Mistakes in the process can, however, compromise the quality of the product and cause foodborne illness, said Karen Blakeslee, K-State Research and Extension food scientist. With beef, temperature is an issue, said Blakeslee, who explain...
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Impression part of recruitment process
Neosho County Community College continues to be one of the fastest growing community colleges in Kansas. In 2001-2002 we produced about 27,000 credit hours. This year (2011-2012) we are projecting more than 50,000 credit hours. In 10 years we will have nearly doubled the size of the enrollment. There are a lot of reasons for these results Рexpansion of programs, growth at the Ottawa campus, and the addition of the online campus are just a f...
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Importance of colostrum to baby calves
With my last article on calving season preparations, let us continue this week with the importance of colostrum to newborn calves. Sandy Johnson, Northwest Area livestock specialist, provided the summary from past Calving Management Schools.  Research has shown passive immunity obtained from colostrum is an important factor in determining the health of calves both pre- and post-weaning, and indirectly influences calf growth rate during those...
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Don’t be fooled by health fraud scams
You might see ads on TV, in magazines, in direct mail, in unsolicited emails, or on the Internet that make a lot of promises about a new health product. Words like “scientific breakthrough” or “quick fix” or “new discovery” may fool some people into buying health products that sound great, but are really fakes. Some products may cause serious problems like pain, suffering, or even death. Don’t take the risk with your health or your money. A h...
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There’s nothing especially romantic about Feb. 14
Yes, a single guy is complaining about Valentines Day. No, I’m not bitter. I’m not here to say that Valentines Day is necessarily a bad thing. Any time people come up with some excuse to buy more than normal can be good for business. But I have some problems with it. There’s the obvious: Valentines Day makes single people who don’t want to be single feel worse than most other days. Holidays generally make lonely people feel worse, so it cou...
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DD long-term care services needed
DD long-term care services needed I am very concerned that long-term care services have not yet been removed from the Administration’s ‘KanCare’ managed care proposal. I am a Kansas citizen, taxpayer, voter and supporter of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I cannot state emphatically enough that I expect these vital long-term care services to be removed from KanCare. It is simply unacceptable to conduct such a massiv...
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‘Managed care’
First of all I need to apologize in advance for what I am about to say, but I am mad as hell. I feel like I am watching a train wreck right before my eyes and there is nothing I can do about it except help clean up after the disaster. I dislike writing negative columns, but something has to be done about managed care. It will have the biggest impact upon people with intellectual disabilities since the Developmental Disability Reform Act of 1...
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Make Super Bowl party a winner
USDA consumer food specialists report the quantity of food consumed on Super Bowl Sunday is second only to Thanksgiving. And, while food safety information is plentiful during the holiday season, bowl parties can create additional food safety risks, said Karen Blakeslee, K-State Research and Extension food scientist. “Football games last for several hours, making it more difficult for hosts to keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold,” Blakesle...
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Drought conditions likely to ease in 2012
December precipitation across Kansas averaged 1.69 inches, which was almost double the normal amount. That helped ease drought conditions in parts of the state and early forecasts point to a further reduction in 2012, according to Kansas climatologist Mary Knapp. “The preliminary statewide average precipitation total for December was 192 percent of normal,” said Knapp, who is director of the state’s Weather Data Library. “That makes it the 16...
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