Six months ago this week we received word from the Kansas Attorney General’s office that the Cottonwood Extension District #17 had been approved. Months of hard work by our Extension supporters preceded this formal announcement. With approval from both Ellis and Barton County Commissioners last December to move forward, a transitional board began meeting to get started on the task of combining our two Extension Councils. I was named the interim District Director in May and the District Director beginning July 1st.
The Cottonwood Extension District includes a staff of seven agents and two office professionals. Our goals include providing research based information to help improve the quality of life of the individuals we serve. I hope you have had an opportunity to utilize our services. Perhaps you have worked with one of our Agriculture agents, Alicia Boor or Stacy Campbell, to learn about wheat varieties that do well in our region. If your family is involved in 4-H or after school programs, you have two experienced agents, Susan Schlichting and Berny Unruh, leading the youth development program in our district.
Take time to introduce yourself to our new Horticulture Agent, Rip Winkel. Rip is dividing his time between the two counties and is excited to answer yard, garden and tree questions you may have. And finally, Linda Beech and I are committed to bringing Extension educational programming related to nutrition, health and wellness, food safety, family resource management, aging issues, and family life in general. I also want to mention our two experienced office professionals. Brenda Walton, in the Great Bend office, is taking the lead with the finances for the district while Theresa Meis, in the Hays office, focuses on communicating our efforts through newsletters and our web site. Both Brenda and Theresa handle a multitude of other duties that keep our offices running smoothly.
While it is great news that K-State Research and Extension has answers to many of life’s questions, typically at no or low cost. Unlike what you might find through a Google search, the answers we provide are research based and non-biased. But we need to know how the Cooperative Extension Service can best serve you now and into the future.
A multi-county listening session to hear about your needs and how you prefer to receive information is set for Tuesday, December 19th from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Russell 4-H Building, 702 Fairway Drive. For more information please contact me at: (620)793-1910 or [email protected].
Donna Krug is the District Director and Family & Consumer Science Agent for the Cottonwood Extension District.