By RON WILSON
Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

Pioneers. They were the brave men and women who came west and settled the state of Kansas. Today we honor those pioneers, but we also honor the modern-day entrepreneurs who have pioneered modern approaches to agribusiness. One such entrepreneur has built a remarkable agribusiness enterprise in southwest Kansas.

Steve Irsik is an agricultural entrepreneur whose family has built a remarkable ag enterprise. His family has deep roots in western Kansas. In fact, it is a true story of pioneers.

“My grandmother came to Dodge City in 1880 on a stagecoach,” Steve Irsik said. It sounds like a western movie, but it’s true. The Irsik side of the family came west to Kansas in the 1920s. These pioneers settled in southwest Kansas and built homes and farms.

Steve Irsik’s father served in the south Pacific during World War II and came back to the farm. Steve was born and raised near Garden City. He went to K-State, studied agricultural economics, and served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam era.

When Steve came back to join his family in the farming operation, the irrigation and feedlot industries were beginning to be developed. The Irsiks were pioneers in this type of agribusiness.

“My dad bought a farm which had the second irrigation well in western Kansas,” Steve said. “My father and two brothers started feeding cattle in 1961. That was just the second or third feedyard in southwest Kansas.”

Before that time, farmer-feeders had been raising a few head individually to be butchered or sold. Feedyards became a more efficient way to produce finished cattle. Then beef packing plants were built in western Kansas so as to be close to the source of production.  The agribusiness complex boomed.

The Irsik family was a leading part of the agribusiness growth. Their first feedyard built in 1961 had a capacity of 2,000 head. Today that feedyard’s capacity is 40,000 head.

Irsik Farms is now a dryland and irrigated farming and ranching operation with ranches in Kansas and Nebraska, including a 1,800 head cowherd. Irsik & Doll is a related business with feedyards and grain elevators across southwest Kansas. Irsik & Doll elevators are located in communities from Hutchinson to Sublette. The feedyards are in rural locations in southwest Kansas, near towns such as Garden City, Scott City, Cimarron, Hugoton, and Pierceville. Pierceville has a population of perhaps 300 people.  Now, that’s rural.

Part of the success of the Irsik family farming operation has been to integrate the various elements of the beef value chain.

“We go all the way from beef cattle genetic development clear to the meat cooler,” Steve said.

Steve was also part of pioneering initiatives to market agricultural products such as the 21st Century Alliance grain processing cooperative and U.S. Premium Beef. These farmer-investors bought a flour mill in Texas and an oat-milling company in Nebraska.  “If you ate granola, you probably ate some of our oats,” Steve said. “If you ate a tortilla in New Mexico or west Texas, the flour probably came from our flour mill.”

In the process of building these businesses, Steve got to know private equity investors in Dallas and elsewhere. He joined them in other investments such as a steel pipe company in Vermont, a food manufacturer in Massachusetts, and a wholesale vegetable distributor in Florida. The food manufacturing company, for example, produces products that are marketed under major brand names such as Hersheys and Nestle.

“These companies want to market their brand, but they don’t want to do the manufacturing,” Steve said. So, this company produces the powdered chocolate drink, but it is sold under the Hersheys brand. These are innovative ways of marketing.

Pioneers. Those brave men and women came west and built the state of Kansas. Now modern pioneers such as the Irsik family are leading the way in innovations of modern production agriculture. We commend Steve Irsik and family for making a difference as pioneers of today.

And there’s more. Steve Irsik was also a pioneer in another form of the cattle business – but not beef. We’ll learn about that next week.

Holy cow! If the last couple of weeks haven’t been busy enough for you, let’s try this one on for size!  Tons to do, tons to see and many places to go, so let’s get rolling …

Today, EHS Golfers traveled to Hays to match up with TMP on the Golf Course. You won’t find an FFA member around, as they are at State FFA in Manhattan. Good Luck to all.

The Ellis Express Youth Track Club will have practice tonight at 6:30 p.m. They just finished a full weekend of meets, traveling to Goodland on Saturday and Russell on Sunday. These kids are very impressive in their events. Lots of talent coming up in the Ellis Schools. A big thanks goes out to all the coaches and parents who help with the Track Club.

Tuesday will find the Ellis Jr. High students at Plainville for a track meet, the JV Golfers will be in Norton, and the Baseball and Softball players will be on their way to Hoisington for games. The Community Foundation of Ellis will be meeting at the Alliance office at 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday allows people to take a short breather. All I have on my schedule is an Alliance meeting at 3:30 p.m. at the Alliance office. The Ellis Good Samaritan Residents will enjoy a Cheese Tasting in the evening.

Thursday revs up with the EHS Golfers at Trego and EHS Track at Victoria. EJH Track members will have track pictures after school at the Track & Football field. At 6:30 p.m., you can be thoroughly entertained by the WGS students during their Spring Programs. The K-3 students will begin the evening’s festivities at 6:30 p.m. and the 4-6 grades will begin at 7:30 p.m. I have heard great things about the program contents from my fifth-grade student, and I’m very excited to see it all put together.

Friday doesn’t slow down at all. The EHS Golfers will be in Hill City, Jr. High Track will be here in Ellis, along with Softball as they take on Goodland, and the Baseball team travels to Minneola. The Ellis Good Samaritan Residents will be baking in the afternoon, which sounds like a great afternoon to me. The Ellis Good Samaritan Center is also gearing up for National Nursing Home Week next week with tons of activities for the residents and community alike.  Take some time and visit the Center next week and participate in all the great events. (Like the barbecue on Wednesday)

Saturday will see the Ellis Express Track Club in Minneapolis, Kan., for the next meet. The Junior High and High School Music and Band program will be held Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the High School Auditorium. With the extreme musical talent of our instructors and students, this event will not disappoint.

Don’t forget Mom on Sunday, as we all pause to thank our moms for putting up with us and all our crazy days as kids and adults. Thanks, Mom!

Last week, I was so excited to share with you the coming of Big Creek Floral and Gifts. Well, I kinda-sorta put the cart before the horse. Their target opening date is June 1, but as in everyone’s daily life, sometimes those targets run the other direction. I will definitely let you know as time gets closer when the official opening date has been declared.

Next week is National Nursing Home Week at the Ellis Good Samaritan Center and there are events and special days planned all week. Theme Baskets are being given away on Friday, May 16, you do not need to be present to win. For more information, you can call the Center at (785) 726-3101. One of the big events of the week is the Community BBQ on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend and are asked to bring 2 side dishes. More details will be posted next week.

All right, everybody, let’s get this week kicked off with a bang. If you know something that needs to be shared, please let me know!

Make it a great day!

Dena Patee is executive director of Ellis Alliance.

Before diving too far in my review of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” I want to talk a little bit about perception and experience. Whether we like it or not, we all look at the world through lenses — how we want the world to be, or what we’re afraid it might become.

For example, I saw “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” at the 13th Street Warren Theatre in Wichita this past weekend. For those who have never been to the Warren: the balcony features to-your-seat meal and drink service, heated seats and, most importantly, a very old-timey focus on the “movie-going experience.” As a film reviewer who sees a lot of movies, they experience is very often lost on me, it’s routine. Shaking up that perception can mean everything. I am deeply in love with the first half hour of “Amazing Spider-Man 2” for two reasons; it features very high quality Spider-Man excitement, and I was completely jazzed about the experience of being “at the movies.”

Therein lies the key, in this reviewer’s opinion, to the sustained survival of the film industry. In the not-too-distant future, new release films will likely be available to download and watch from the comfort of our homes. The question then becomes, why, oh why, would we ever submit ourselves to going to a crowded theater full of inconsiderate young people when we can sit on our couches? The only viable answer to that question is the theater experience and how that changes our perception and enjoyment of a movie. If that experience exists, and is worth the cost, many people will continue to choose it. If not, services like Netflix might be looking at the cinema industry in the rearview mirror.

••••••••••••••••

Despite what the previews and reviews might suggest, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is a very strong, if not the strongest, entry in the “Spider-Man” franchise.

Andrew Garfield returns as Peter Parker/Spider-Man to wonderful effect. Garfield absolutely nails the “make fun of villains while dispatching them” bit that is one of the core pieces of the Spider-Man character. Coupled with stunning CGI effects, Garfield’s Spider-Man is stunning.

Nearly without exception, the cast of the “Amazing Spider-Man” series far surpasses the cast of the first “Spider-Man” set of films. Emma Stone is more likable than Kirsten Dunst, relative newcomer Dane DeHann is already a far better actor than James Franco will ever be; and, to this reviewer’s delight, Toby Maguire is nowhere to be found.

“Amazing Spider-Man 2” is not without its flaws. While it handles it infinitely better, “Amazing Spider-Man 2” is as over-saturated with villains as “Spider-Man 3” was. In some ways, however, the density of material is a good thing. Garfield thrives on interactive scenes — whether it’s villains, bystanders, love interests or family members, Garfield’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man is a completely different, and decidedly stronger, character in the presence of others that when he’s alone.

There are a few dull scenes, and there is some cheese, and while  “Amazing Spider-Man 2” may not have amazing oozing out of the walls, it certainly has more than its fair share. I think this is a wonderful kick-off movie to the summer movie season – definitely a better start than last year’s moderately disappointing “Iron Man 3.”

Here are my recommendations: Go see “Amazing Spider-Man 2,” enter the theater looking for fun, not depth, and take a trip sometime to see a movie at the Warren Theatres in Wichita.

5 of 6 stars

As have many directors before me, I am asked to represent the Chamber membership on various community committees. I consider these requests to be an important role in serving the community; it’s another way your Chamber membership is actively working toward fulfilling our mission of a better and prosperous business economy.

I’ve had the pleasure of assisting with the research and analysis of the school district’s facilities needs, as well as offering leadership with Oktoberfest, Festival of Faith and many other groups.

Most recently, I served on the Fort Hays State University presidential national search committee, charged with finding Dr. Edward Hammond’s replacement after his nearly 28 years at the helm.

After six months of receiving and reviewing applications, the committee invited five candidates to campus in April. Not only did the committee view this as a time to better know each finalist, we recognized this as our chance to share more about Hays and FHSU’s accomplishments. I’ve personally escorted each candidate around, providing a high-level city tour. For those bringing along his or her spouse, I’ve spent additional quality time showing off our city.

Viewing the community through these visitors’ perspectives made me even more proud of our town’s accomplishments. Scene after scene, I pointed out examples of where public and private entities forged together to make progress where needed. Whether it was developing student housing; combining learning centers with tourist destinations such as Sternberg Museum; or offering joint economic development solutions such as the proposed Convention Center, all depict healthy partnerships and collaboration.

At the newsletter’s press time, no candidate has been selected, but I am so honored to be part of this historic experience. More importantly, this Chamber’s involvement secures a quality connection with the future FHSU President.

When the business community partners with FHSU, all of Hays and our neighbors reap the benefits by having a stronger local economy.

Tammy Wellbrock is executive director of the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce.

The Kansas Legislature passed the state budget early Saturday, and while that’s probably a good thing, there is this little procedural business in getting it passed that is troubling.

In combination with the clock and weariness of legislators, the state’s budget for the coming fiscal year was essentially written by four people. Yes, just four people.

There are still 40 senators and 125 state representatives, and the House and Senate have budget committees that consider the budget bills they send to the full House and Senate for debate. Sounds pretty orderly.

But this year for the first time, the House passed a budget whose provisions never spent a minute being debated by the full House. The budget—as it was presented to the House—was assembled by two Republican senators and two Republican representatives, and sent to the full House for a simple up-or-down vote. That’s it.

The Senate earlier this spring passed a complete budget bill that established the chamber’s position on how to spend taxpayers’ money. The House never did. Instead, the House agreed to a conference committee report—that’s the product of what became two House and two Senate leadership-appointed negotiators’ views on the budget. Democrats on the conference committee were jettisoned by an agree-to-disagree motion that made them unnecessary to pass the final conference committee report to each chamber.

Once the conference committee report reached each chamber, it was “yes,” pass it and go home or “no,” don’t pass it and sit around while a new spending package is assembled.

Is this under-the-Dome stuff? Yes, but it’s also Kansas government. Most Kansans’ legislators didn’t get a chance to propose amendments or spending that might be good for their constituents.

Seems a little less-than representative government, but in Kansas Republicans have strong majorities in both the House and Senate, and conservatives among the Republicans have strong majorities within their party in both chambers.

And, if Democrats, or maybe short people, had majorities it’s hard to believe that they wouldn’t use the same, if relatively unsettling, tactics to put together a budget they want. If you have the votes, you can pretty well determine what happens. No doubt about that.

And, this is the second year of a budget cycle and most of this budget bill was tune-ups to financing government that couldn’t be foreseen last year. Things change and most of the new budget was making more than 100 small tweaks to the year-old budget.

But there is this business about the House approving on a take it or leave it basis a budget that most of the members didn’t have any chance to offer amendments to, or at least to debate in a manner that might see their views included.

Now, the dollars and cents probably got to agencies and programs that need the money but the process was a little unsettling for long-time Legislature-watchers. House members who wanted little changes didn’t get a chance to propose them on behalf of their constituents.

Not-quite schoolbook representative government, but it worked, and the budget is passed, the legislative session was adjourned faster than any in the past 40 years and legislators are back home again. That may be good enough…

Syndicated by Hawver News Co. of Topeka, Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report. To learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit www.hawvernews.com.

There has been a lot of discussion surrounding the Community Improvement District plan and, as a Walmart market manager, I feel the need to help clear up a few misconceptions about my company’s stance. Walmart has proudly served area customers for nearly 30 years by offering our Every Day Low Prices on merchandise and fresh groceries, providing quality jobs and supporting local causes and issues that matter most to the community. Walmart supports the construction of the proposed convention center and the economic growth it will bring to the city.

What the article, “Walmart decision forces tabling of convention center plans,” failed to explain is that the current CID plan has changed significantly since it was first proposed more than a year ago. In its current iteration, the special sales tax would apply to a very small number of businesses located within the CID boundaries, with Walmart bearing most of the responsibility. This version of the plan would translate to our customers shouldering a majority of the sales tax that would fund the building of the convention center.

We encourage development of a CID plan resulting in broader participation so that funding of an amenity with community-wide benefit, like the convention center, is made more equitable. The idea of a new community amenity is fantastic and we need to ensure our customers are not responsible for a disproportionate share of funding for the project.

We look forward to continuing serving our Hays customers and having conversations with the city and its stakeholders to find a viable option to bring new amenities to the city so that residents can live better.

Chad Rohr, Walmart market manager

April was the month for aging issues in Ellis County Extension programs. We hosted the regional Full Circle Aging Expo last Friday in Hays where more than 90 people learned various aspects of living life to the fullest in their later years. During April we also offered programs on new ways to look at aging, physical activity for older adults and funeral planning and end-of-life issues.

In May, the Ellis County Extension Office will team up with the Northwest Kansas Aging and Disability Resource Center to again offer helpful information for those at or nearing retirement age. A joint program on “Medicare Basics” will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday, May 8, in the Extension meeting room, 601 Main.

This free educational program will cover Medicare eligibility, how and when to apply, what is covered by the various parts, and how to fill the gaps. Programs available to assist low income individuals will also be discussed.

Anyone interested in learning more about the Medicare maze would benefit from this program, particularly those who are nearing age 65 or those who help aging parents with insurance and financial matters.

Presenters for the program are Glenna Clingingsmith, from the Northwest Kansas Aging and Disability Resource Center, and Linda Beech, Ellis County Extension FCS Agent.

Medicare is the federal government program that provides health insurance to those who are age 65 or older, or under 65 and have a disability, no matter their income.

Medicare has different parts that cover inpatient services, outpatient services and prescription drugs at the pharmacy. Unless someone makes another choice for how to get benefits when they become eligible for Medicare, they will have Original Medicare, the traditional fee-for-service program offered directly through the federal government. In Original Medicare, you are covered to go to just about any doctor or hospital in the country.

People can also choose to get their Medicare benefits instead through a Medicare Advantage plan (such as an HMO or PPO). These plans, which are also called Medicare private health plans, must offer at least the same benefits as Original Medicare but can have different rules, costs and coverage restrictions.

Medicare is different from Medicaid, which is a state and federal program offering health care coverage to people with low incomes.

Everyone has a choice about how to get Medicare health benefits. Whether making decisions for yourself, or helping parents, grandparents, relatives or friends make health care decisions, it is important to understand Medicare options and to choose Medicare coverage carefully. The decisions you make about Medicare benefits can affect quality of care.

To learn more, plan to attend the free program on “Medicare Basics” at 4 p.m. May 8 at the Ellis County Extension meeting room, 601 Main in Hays. Enter the rear door from the north parking lot. Please pre-register by calling the Extension Office, (785) 628-9430, to ensure adequate materials.

Linda Beech is Ellis County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.

As New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will soon discover, adding religious holidays to the school calendar is a slippery slope on the rocky terrain of public school politics.

Earlier this year, the recently elected mayor announced plans to close schools on two Muslim holidays — Eid-Ul-Fitr (end of Ramadan) and Eid-Ul-Adha (end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca) — and the Lunar New Year, an important holiday for many Asian communities.

Right out of the box, the Association of Indian Americans expressed great disappointment that Diwali, the festival of lights celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains in India and other South Asian countries, didn’t make the list.

Deciding who’s in and who’s out on school calendars is a complicated political and legal conundrum in a city (like many other American cities) exploding with religious and cultural diversity.

Mayor de Blasio is drawing the line at three — the three he thinks most justified — but balks, for now, at adding others for the obvious reason that students don’t learn much if they are not in school.

But wait. Doesn’t the First Amendment’s Establishment clause bar city officials from closing public schools on religious holidays? Yes, if the purpose is to accommodate religion. No, if the closing serves a legitimate secular or educational purpose.

The best, and perhaps only, “secular purpose” for shutting schools on a religious holy day is when opening school doesn’t make financial or educational sense. New York City and some other school districts, for example, close on major Jewish holidays because large numbers of Jewish students and teachers will be absent.

It’s worth noting that most Christians don’t need to push for this accommodation because Protestants baked Christian holy days into the school calendar when they founded public schools in the 19th century. Schools don’t meet on Sunday, Christmas is a national holiday, and many “spring breaks” still fall during Easter week.

If numbers drive these decisions, where should public schools draw the line? As the population of Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and others grows in many American cities, how can school officials afford to keep adding holy days — even when the numbers are compelling?

Some school districts have decided the best solution is to say “no” to everyone. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, schools in Hillsborough County, Florida don’t close for any religious holidays (save Christmas, which is also a “secular” holiday).

Other school districts choose to follow the numbers. In Dearborn, Michigan, for example, where almost half of the students are Muslim, schools close on Muslim holy days.

It could be argued that Mayor de Blasio has defensible secular reasons for expanding the school calendar to include two Muslim holy days. Although it isn’t entirely clear how many Muslim students are in NYC public schools, most estimates put the number at about 10%. And with Asians comprising some 15% of city students, closing on the Lunar New Year could also make financial and educational sense.

But here we start down the slippery slope. New York City is also home to many Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains — and they are lobbying hard for recognition. The Diwali Coalition, an interfaith group, recently wrote the mayor arguing that the numbers favor their cause. Asian Indians make up 2.4% of the city’s population — and that doesn’t count thousands more of other racial and ethnic groups that also celebrate Diwali.

As religious diversity continues to expand in all parts of America, many school and city officials may be forced to decide that Hillsborough County has landed on the only viable solution.

But whatever schools decide about the calendar issue, they should do two things to promote fairness and uphold religious freedom:

First, every public school should have an absentee policy that allows students to miss school on a reasonable number of religious holidays without penalty. The policy should also ensure, to the extent possible, that significant school events aren’t scheduled on major religious holy days.

And second, every public school should teach students about religions — including religious holidays — at various times of the year. Religious literacy is critical for sustaining a free society in which people of many faiths and no faith treat one other with civility and respect.

Religious diversity brings messy new challenges to America. But here’s the good news: The greater the diversity, the more protection for religious freedom.

As James Madison pointed out many years ago, “For where there is such a variety of sects, there cannot be a majority of any one sect to oppress and persecute the rest.”

Charles C. Haynes is director of the Religious Freedom Center of the Washington-based Newseum Institute. [email protected]

In a recent writing of mine, I claim mainstream media bias had lots to do with the re-election of Obama. Most polls showed Americans were not in support of Obama’s agendas on growing the economy, creating jobs, spending, etc., nor even in support of Obamacare. MSM, however, didn’t hold him accountable for his failures.

That being said, there were other major factors that gave Obama another term. Call them Obama scandals. As I point out the scandals, I ask readers to think about how much coverage they witnessed by mainstream media. Not a whole lot, from what I could see.

In order to get re-elected, Obama lied over 20 times that, with his signature Obamacare law, you could keep your doctor, your same insurance, and premiums would be $2,500 less. Since most voters liked their doctor and insurance and were OK with premiums before the law, Obama knew full well he couldn’t get re-elected unless he lied. The lies still keep coming.

How many Romney voters didn’t vote or speak out with threats coming from the IRS? IRS targeting of Obama’s conservative opponents will go down as the most corrupt ballot box interference by government in American history. Now we’re finding out there was IRS collusion with DOJ, other government agencies and even some Dems in Congress.

The Census Bureau, which is supposed to be non-partisan, doctored unemployment numbers to make Obama look good. Yup, the CB even admitted that they lied about getting it below 8 percent since no president won re-election with people out of work at that number or above. No wonder Obama moved the CB to the White House way back in ’08.

Obama and Hillary lied about how four Americans were killed in Benghazi because al-Qaeda was supposed to be on the run and it wouldn’t look good for Obama’s re-election if terrorists were still up and running after Osama bin Laden’s demise. If readers don’t know what the big lie was, it proves my point. MSM still won’t go there with ongoing investigations.

Add to all of the above, there was voter fraud. There are cases to prove it.

Recent reports showed some 35,000 in North Carolina alone voting in two different states — and Dems fighting voter ID is nothing more than a ploy for illegals to vote since Hispanics vote overwhelming (8 to 2) for Dems.

I would be remiss not to add Obama’s smear campaign of Republicans being racist, sexist, homophobes, bigots and not for the poor. The scandalous mud-slinging worked to divert attention away from the real issues of the day.

What do all these scandals have in common? Far too many voters were uninformed since Obama’s media refused to investigate and report. Not only were there lies all over the place, there’s stonewalling taking place of current investigations, thus preventing Congress and we the people from knowing the truth. Nor does media even care.

Another huge story – Obama bought a lot of votes with your tax money and mine giving handouts to millions on welfare. People getting tax money from Obama’s government was a huge voting block in his 2012 re-election.

Ponder this little stat: Liberal mainstream TV media to date has had 99 interviews with Obama while conservative TV got only eight interviews. That’s 99 interviews holding our president accountable for nothing.

Snoopy of “Peanuts” could get elected considering all of the above. If ever in this country’s history there’s a “re-election” that should not have been, this is it!

Les Knoll lives in Victoria and Gilbert, Ariz.

It’s a beautiful day! Or so says my oldest son, and I think I have to agree.

The wind is finally down, however it will be back up as the day goes on.  Maybe today you only have to keep two rocks in your pocket to help weigh you down, — much better than Monday, which had to be an eight-rock day!

Today, I encourage everyone to get out and take a walk around your neighborhoods. While you’re out, check out your neighbor’s yards, visit with them, enjoy the birds and take in the scenery. Then, pick up the items that have blown out of your yard and take them home with you. I had to track down some things from the Chrysler Home yard yesterday and get them back in the yard. Hopefully, they are still there this morning.

This week has been busy, however many activities were delayed due to the crazy Kansas weather. Stay tuned, and I’ll post updates and times as soon as I hear of anything. Today, the Ellis Junior High Track team will head out to Oakley and the EHS Golfers are hosting the I-70 Classic with Trego. Tomorrow finds the EHS Track team in Quinter, and the Softball Team will travel to Plainville. Saturday is State Forensics and State Journalism. Go Railers!

The end of school is very near but there are tons of activities between now and then. Music concerts, track meets, baseball, softball, golf, FFA activities, awards, graduations — lots of activities to go! One announcement that the Ellis school kids will totally dig is that the last half day of school on May 21 has been removed from the calendar. The Ellis school year will end on May 20. (Whooping and hollering are being heard from the crowd.)

Ellis will soon have a new downtown business. Please welcome, Big Creek Floral & Gifts! They will be open and running by June 1. Keep your eyes here for more details on a Grand Opening celebration and Ribbon Cutting. Ellis will have a new LED Downtown sign too! Thank you all for the very generous donations to the project, they are appreciated! There is still time to donate to the project if you would like.

Riverfest 2014 will be a Battle on Big Creek. Don’t miss your chance to skydive with us. Team Fast Track will be taking us up for a tandem skydive as part of the fun of Riverfest. Would you like to go? Give me a call at the Alliance Office at (782) 726-2660 for all the details and to get signed up! Final deadline to register to skydive is May 10.

Get out today and enjoy the sunshine and lots less wind. As always, if you know things that I don’t, please share with me and I’ll spread the word.

Happy May Day, everyone!

Dena Patee is executive director of Ellis Alliance.

It seems there is a new, major computer security breach or issue popping up all around us on a weekly, if not daily basis. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear the bad guys are going to let up; a new era is officially upon us where any information that holds any type of value is under constant siege and the bad news is that this line of thought is here to stay.

Case in point… Remember a few years ago when identity theft was covered consistently by the media? What happened to the constant media coverage? Has identity theft miraculously gone away because of new changes in place? No, thieves are still stealing identities at an alarming rate and with greater ease than they were just a few years ago.

The difference is that identity theft is no longer the worst thing out there and the media (and us in general) have become somewhat complacent and accepting of identity theft. It’s going to happen and simply a matter of when and how; the difference is that all of it may occur without any fault of your own.

The big security issue this week deals with Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer is the lower case ‘e’ you might find on your desktop to browse the internet. First and foremost of importance is that this particular flaw doesn’t require you to do anything out of line on your end other than simply browsing to a website. Keep in mind that an “infected” website doesn’t necessarily mean the dark, shady corners of the internet. In the past, websites inadvertently serving up malware to unsuspecting users have included some of the most notable and trusted websites on the internet.

Second, Microsoft has yet to release a security patch for the vulnerability. That means you could be doing absolutely everything you are told to do — running Windows Updates, not clicking pop-ups, etc. — and you will still be susceptible. That being said, because the hole is tied to Adobe Flash, the good news is that Adobe has just recently released a patch for the software which patches the hole in a somewhat roundabout way. Microsoft will ultimately come up with their own patch to “officially” close the door on the flaw, but it might not be for some time.

Or will they? Microsoft will patch the hole for some, but not for all. The other importance of this issue is that Windows XP users will never receive a patch for this particular vulnerability. Yes, Adobe has released a patch for Flash users who are still running Windows XP, however, the underlying issue still exists. It’s not quite the worst case scenario or the official death knell for Windows XP, but it is the first major “enduring” blemish since Microsoft ended support for it on April 8th, 2014.

What are some simple steps you can perform to protect yourself and your data? Although it wouldn’t particularly help you in this situation, make sure you are running your updates! Whether those updates are for Windows, Apple, Adobe Flash, Adobe Reader or Java, it is always a good idea to keep them up-to-date.

At Sicoir, we always recommend an “alternative” browser for customers regardless of their operating system — Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows XP, Apple OS, etc. I would emphatically advise using an alternative browser if you are still using Windows XP. What is an alternative browser? Basically, you ditch Internet Explorer and instead use a free alternative such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Opera; most of the time, your internet experience doesn’t change and you typically will have a little higher level of security… especially if you are running Windows XP.

In closing, giving tips on keeping your Windows XP system safe doesn’t mean I condone using it, but that shouldn’t stop you from doing everything you can to protect yourself if you are.

Dallas Haselhorst, CISSP, GSEC, is the founding partner at Sicoir Computer Technologies (www.sicoir.com). He has more than 20 years of IT experience and in that time, he has traveled all over the U.S., physically and virtually, assisting companies large and small with their computers, networks and security. Whether dealing with an individual surfing the web or a business/organization whose primary data relates to PCI, HIPAA, or SOX, he has likely secured it in some way, shape, or form. When he’s not working, Dallas enjoys tinkering in all things technology and spending time with his wife, two children and their family dog.

Dear Dave,
I owe the IRS $6,000, and currently I’m making monthly payments. Should I roll this debt into my debt snowball, and then really attack it when it gets to the top of the list?
Jared

Dear Jared,
My advice would be to put the IRS at the very top of your debt snowball. Usually, when it comes to paying off debt, I advise people to arrange their debt snowball from smallest to largest, then start with the smallest one and work their way up. This doesn’t always seem to make mathematical sense, but the truth is personal finance is 80 percent behavior and only 20 percent head knowledge. Paying off some small debts quickly energizes you and gives you motivation. It makes you feel like you can really do it. Besides, if you were such a math genius you wouldn’t have debt in the first place.

But the IRS is a different animal altogether. Their interest rates and penalties are ridiculously high. Plus, they have virtually unlimited power to collect. So put them at the top of the list, and get them paid off as fast as you can!
—Dave

Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He has authored four New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover and EntreLeadership. His newest book, written with his daughter Rachel Cruze, is titled Smart Money Smart Kids. It was released April 22nd. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 8 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com.