In This Issue

Garden Calendars Are on the Way!
Get Ready; Get Set for WVU Extension Day at the Legislature
Is Your Information Up-to-Date?
Help Your Group Have a Healthy New Year
Walking Groups Taking Off Statewide
Training in Online Reporting Tool for Extension Faculty Is Available
Tri-state Hay and Pasture Conference Scheduled for January 19
Grazing and No-till Crop Management Videos Available Online
Looking Ahead to Camp
Deadline Approaching for 2012 State 4-H Shooting Sports Air Rifle Event
Meeting Notes
Publications
People and Places
Retirements
Have You Heard
In Memoriam –
“To Our Good Health”:

About Extension Focus

Extension Focus is a biweekly publication of the Office of the Associate Provost for Extension and Public Service. News items should be sent to the Office of Communications, 507 Knapp Hall, P.O. Box 6031, Morgantown, WV 26506-6031 or by e-mailing Marie Burleigh, editor.

Note: Hyperlinks are not maintained in archived issues.

Our Continuing Mission

The mission of the West Virginia University Extension Service is to form learning partnerships with the people of West Virginia to enable them to improve their lives and communities. To these partnerships, we bring useful research- and experience-based knowledge that facilitates critical thinking and skill development.

The 2012 WVU Extension Garden Calendars have been shipped! More than 75,000 were delivered statewide by UPS before Christmas. Due to the holidays and varying office schedules, it may take a few days this week for them to hit all corners of the state.

This year’s calendar has the theme “A Kid’s Garden Adventure,” and features art that was created by 4-H’ers from across the state during the 2011 summer camping season. In addition to the art that was chosen for the calendar, a second category of county honors will be featured on the WVU-ES website. Every child who submitted a piece of artwork will receive a certificate of participation. As always, the articles for the garden calendar were written by our expert WVU Extension agents and specialists. The 2012 calendar also features QR codes, giving smart phone and tablet users fast and easy access to additional information on the web.

Please consider using the calendar for some targeted marketing and PR efforts. Some of our county agents mail or deliver it to their key stakeholders and local leaders and include a letter with a summary of the year’s work. For those of you who heard Marshall Stewart speak at Annual Meeting, you will recall that he emphasized the importance of saying “thank you.” The calendar is a great way for you to thank some of your local and state leaders for their support of WVU Extension Service.

A black and white version of the calendar, suitable for printing at home, is available for download at http://anr.ext.wvu.edu/r/download/117492 (4.6MB PDF).

WVU Extension’s annual day at the West Virginia Legislature is set for Tuesday, Feb. 21. This is an educational day for WVU Extension and WVU, in which our volunteers and youth can learn more about the legislative process and about WVU people and programs.

Registration for this event will open next week, so watch for more information. If you are making plans to bring 4-H’ers and volunteers, the general schedule includes the 9-10 a.m. welcome at the Culture Center and more than 50 exhibits in the Capitol by WVU programs and departments.

The 2012 West Virginia legislative session begins Wednesday, Jan. 11. Agents and volunteers should take next week to schedule visits with your local legislators. You can find out who represents you and how to contact them using the “Who’s My Legislator” feature on the West Virginia Legislature website (www.legis.state.wv.us/Districts/district_zip/zipmems.cfm).

If you have questions or ideas for your groups, contact Ann Berry (Ann.Berry@mail.wvu.edu; 304-293-8640).

Now that we’re all more familiar with MyAccess, it’s a good idea to go into the system and check your personal information. This is important because the online Extension directory will eventually pull information from this database.

Checking and, if necessary, updating your information is easy. Go to http://myaccess.wvu.edu and login. Click on “My HR,” then select “Personal Information.” This will allow you to see your basic details, home and office addresses, physical work location, phone numbers, and emergency contact information. If you need to make changes, use the “Update” tabs on the right-hand side of each section.

If you work with a group or club that would be interested in fun and easy health spots for their monthly meetings, WVU Extension has materials to make that happen. While the Health Motivators program was originally designed for a CEOS audience, the 2012 version has been created for a broader audience.

It’s easy to use. Clubs choose a member to be their “Health Motivator.” WVU-ES provides materials for them to lead a 5- to 10-minute break at their meetings on a health topic. A monthly tips booklet is available for the club’s health motivator. Calendars are provided to each member for personal activity tracking. The program goal is to motivate participants to take daily action to live healthier lives.

The materials can be viewed online (http://ceos.ext.wvu.edu/health_motivator_materials). And, if you’re an individual who just wants to get on track, take a look at the calendar and see if it might work for you.

Walking groups are taking off across the state. Leaders are forming active groups in their workplaces, neighborhoods, and clubs. Last spring, a new “Wild Wonderful Walking Groups Kit” was sent to each WVU Extension County office. Kits have also been distributed to more than 100 group leaders in 36 counties and two states at their request. In Mingo County for example, Extension Agent Dana Wright inspired 30 leaders to form walking groups. For more information about walking groups or free kits, contact Elaine Bowen (EPBowen@mail.wvu.edu; 304-293-8584).

As announced earlier, there’s a new tool designed to help Extension faculty create their Faculty Assignment Documents (FADs), report on their activities, and build their promotion and tenure (P&T) file productivity charts. Information about using the reporting tool is available online at https://extapps.wvu.edu/FAD/Training%20001%20-%20Reporting%20Tool.pdf. Additional GoToMeeting training sessions are being held on the following schedule:

Jan. 10 at 1:30 p.m.
Jan. 12 at 9:30 a.m.
Jan. 18 at 9:30 a.m.
Jan. 24 at 1:30 p.m.
Jan. 26 at 9:30 a.m.

If you have questions or need more information, contact Alex Yohn (Alex.Yohn@mail.wvu.edu; 304-293-8967.

Balage systems, forages, and dairy heifer grazing research are just a few of the topics that will be included at the upcoming Tri-state Hay and Pasture Conference. Ed Rayburn will discuss selection for earlier conception and greater calf sale weights in pasture systems. The conference will be held Jan. 19, at Garrett College in McHenry, Md. It is being sponsored by the West Virginia University Extension Service, University of Maryland Extension, Penn State Extension, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service — Maryland, Maryland-Delaware Forage Council, Maryland Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative Coalition, Maryland Grazers Network, and Northeast Center for Risk Management Education. For registration information, contact Ed Rayburn (Ed.Rayburn@mail.wvu.edu; 304-293-2654).

Gaining Ground, a Virginia partnership designed to improve soils and farms, has produced two 15-minute movies about grazing management and no-till crop management. Each video has farmers telling their stories of how these management tools have improved their farming efforts. These videos are available to all, from local conservation districts to vo./ag. teachers and individual farmers, so please spread the word. They’re available online at www.gaininggroundvirginia.org.

A few years ago, Mason County built heavy-duty permanent bunk beds and purchased mattresses for their camp. Rodney Wallbrown reports that the project was so successful, he would hate to go back to using individual beds. Rodney is happy to share the blueprints for the bunks, which are constructed from 4×4’s, 2×4’s, and 1-inch lumber. The bunks can be moved around the dorm, but are wide enough to prevent them from being taken outside. The mattresses were purchased from the Imperial Bedding Company in Huntington. If your county camp needs to add or upgrade beds, feel free to contact Rodney (RMWallbrown@mail.wvu.edu; 304-675-0888) to get more information.