Hello from Topeka! We had a good turn out on Saturday in Hays at the Legislative update. We will be having more at the end of the month.

Monday was the final day for bill introductions from most committees, we will see how many of them get hearings and move forward. The half way point of the session is February 22nd, so there will be lots of discussions leading up to that time. Last Wednesday, the focus was on the Inauguration of Jeff Colyer, M.D. as the 47th Governor of Kansas, I look forward to working with him in the coming weeks and look forward to sharing with him the concerns of the 110th District.

Last Tuesday, the House K-12 Budget and Senate Education Committees meant jointly to hear from Dr. Blake Flanders, CEO, Kansas Board of Regents, Dr. Randy Watson, Commissioner of Education. Dr. Flanders noted that concurrent enrollment is when high school students are enrolled in post-secondary for college credits. This different from a partnership where high school teachers teach the courses. He mentioned the work of the First Generation Task Force, which made a report in June 2017, regarding the barriers and supports that exist for first generation college students. The First Generation Task Force recommended the expansion of concurrent enrollment programs to provide open access and reduce costs for first generation students.

The Board of Regents and Department of Education formed a Concurrent Enrollment Partnership, which met three times in fall 2017 and continues to meet in 2018. Goals of the Task Force include: expand early college access for all qualified high school students, particularly traditionally underrepresented students; increase the number of students graduating from high school and attending college; and maximize the recognition of rigorous postsecondary coursework for purposes of meeting high school graduation requirements. The Task force reviewed the opportunities that high school have to earn college credit prior to high school graduation. Those are: dual enrollment programs; Advanced Placement (AP) exams; College Level Examination Program (CLEP); International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme; and Modern States Education Alliance. At its January 8th meeting, the Task Force voted to form working groups to make recommendations on: identification of 5 courses offered for statewide delivery; establishment of standardized eligibility requirements for students; agreement on a common rate for tuition/fees; and identification of alternative delivery methods. The working groups recommendations have been made and are currently under review.

Also, last week, the House Taxation Committee met jointly with the Senate Committee on Assessment and Taxation. The Committees heard from Charles McGuigan, the Chief Deputy Attorney General from South Dakota. The Committees also heard from Bryan Clark, Assistant Solicitor General, from the Attorney General’s Office and Mark Beshears, Department of Revenue. The briefing centered on the South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., which is a pending U.S. Supreme Court case that will address whether a state may collect sales taxes from online retailers with no physical presence in the state. Clark’s testimony covered the preceding cases, National Bellas Hess v. Department of Revenue of Illinois and Quill Corp. v. North Dakota. On October 2, 2017, South Dakota asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision of the South Dakota Supreme Court. Kansas joined 34 states filing an amicus curiae brief supporting South Dakota’s request for U.S. Supreme Court review. On January 12, the U.S. Supreme Court granted South Dakota’s request to take the case. The Department of Revenue presented its compiled data and information on taxation of internet retailers.

I serve on the Taxation and Transportation along with Vice-Chairman of the Water and Environment committee.

If you come to Topeka during the session, my office is in Room: 352-S. My phone number is (785) 296- 7463 and email is: [email protected] and my cell number is (785) 302-8416.

It is my honor to be your representative.

Last week, we heard the “State of the Union” address. While I do not intend to ever talk politics in my column space I do want to share some of the positive things that are happening in the Cottonwood Extension District. Perhaps you will see something that piques your interest and gives you a reason to call our office to sign up as a participant.

K-State Research and Extension focuses on four main program areas: Agriculture and Natural Resources, Family & Consumer Science, 4-H and Youth Development, and Community Development. Our Program Development Committees for each of those areas will be meeting soon to brainstorm ideas from both Ellis and Barton Counties as we meet the needs of our residents.

A calving school, cover crop program and a session on Lease Laws have kept Agriculture and Natural Resource Agents, Alicia Boor and Stacy Campbell, busy during the month of January. A Master Gardener class started last week in the Great Bend Office. Horticulture Agent, Rip Winkel, and Alicia, ARN agent, are taking the lead to welcome 15 new Master Gardeners into the program.

In the area of Family and Consumer Sciences, Linda Beech and I are meeting the needs of families with research based information about many topics. A freezer meals workshop had to be rescheduled in Hays due to weather and is now set for February 22nd. I had a great response to the Stay Strong, Stay Healthy workshops and will be offering another class starting in mid-April. I will be teaching the “Healthy Cooking Styles” information based on a fact sheet I wrote last year. The free educational programs are set for February 21st in Great Bend and April 3rd in Hays.

K-State Research and Extension’s signature program, Walk Kansas, is set for March 18 through May 12th. Next weeks’ column will be devoted to the details of this program so stay tuned and dust off those walking shoes!

The 4-H and Youth program is off to a busy start in 2018. A successful Judges training workshop was held last weekend and 4-H Day events are coming up soon in Ellis and Barton Counties. Another exciting program that you’ll hear more about soon is the “Monarchs on the Move” grant that was awarded to the Cottonwood District.

And finally, a program that involves several of our District Agents is the “Estate Planning Workshop” set for February 26th, in Great Bend. The workshop will run from 5:30 – 9:00 p.m. at the Great Bend Recreation Center Burnside Room, and features four excellent speakers relaying information about this important topic. Registration is $20 per person, and $15 for each additional family member. Fees cover the meal and materials. Registration deadline is Friday, February 16th, so give us a call to register.

I’ve just had room to give you short descriptions about the many upcoming learning opportunities available in the Cottonwood Extension District. If you would like additional information I would invite you to take a look at our quarterly newsletter available electronically at www.cottonwood.ksu.edu Follow the news/media link and you will see it listed. I hope to see you soon!

Donna Krug is the District Director and Family and Consumer Science Agent in the Cottonwood Extension District – Great Bend Office. You may reach her at (620)793-1910 or [email protected].

Just as we were all adjusting to warmer temperatures, Mother Nature decided to turn the tables and dumped snow and near-zero temperatures on our sunny, warmer days. And judging by the weather forecasts, the rest of the week will bring us additional white stuff. Who knows, maybe for the rest of the month.

Don’t take this the wrong way, we all know the moisture is good for our crops, plants, the environment, but still. Guess, I’ll change the subject and turn to a more appealing topic. Something that makes us all feel better — food.

In today’s world, food sometimes takes a bad rap. As one of my favorite comedians Rodney Dangerfield would have said, “I’ll tell you Johnny, food gets no respect.”

How did this begin? Who started this public relation’s nightmare?

It all started with Adam and Eve. What caused them to sin?

An apple, of course. Everyone knows what one bad apple does to a barrelful, right?

When a friend buys a car and problems arise, he does not call the car lousy, does he? No, instead it’s labeled a lemon.

When someone receives bad advice, the suggestions weren’t bad, instead the person was given a bum steer. And a bad joke is not called stupid; it is referred to as corny.

Pits from fruit will grow an orchard, but if something is awful it is considered the pits. Extremely homely girls are distastefully referred to as pigs. Homely guys are labeled turkeys or boars. Someone who lacks gray matter is often called a muttonhead.

You gotta be careful of corn at night. They can be really creepy with their husky voices and seedy appearance. Why, they even cob right out and tell you to shuck it right to your face.

Rosemary was always late delivering packages. This prompted the head of International Herbs & Spices to call her supervisor, demanding to speak to the parcel sage about Rosemary and time.

There’s no other food that inspires as many cringe-worthy puns as nuts. Yes, we know they’re salty, and we’re also aware we have the option to lick them, but if you were going to insist on making joke after joke, we’d rather just run to the store and buy our own. There’s more but this is a family column.

All children know Cinderella’s beautiful carriage turned into a pumpkin at midnight. A gingerbread house landed Hansel and Gretel in the witch’s oven and a poisoned apple was the downfall of Snow White.

And the bad stories related to food are never ending. One of my favorites involves a hungry traveler who stops at a monastery and is taken to the kitchens. A brother is frying chips. ”Are you the friar?” he asks. “No. I’m the chip monk,” the traveler replies.

Or, I decided recently that becoming a vegetarian was a missed steak. And one more – did you hear about the cannibal who showed up late to the luncheon? They gave him the cold shoulder.

I’ll tell you food gets no respect.

No doubt, the food industry needs an image facelift – some “good old PR hype.” To be honest, it all leaves a bad taste in this writer’s mouth. But then I guess it could just be a case of sour grapes.

John Schlageck is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.