Shirley O'Brien has served
on Faculty Senate for over 20 years. She is a strong advocate for Cooperative
Extension and University Outreach. Shirley is retiring this year, and I encourage
you to vote for new candidates to continue Shirley's advocacy role. Faculty
can vote by regular ballot, but they have to request it. They can vote electronically,
but they need a NetID. The last day to vote is March 7. The address to vote
is found by selecting employee link, in the lower right corner of UA main web
page (arizona.edu). Instructions are posted on how to get a NetID at http://cals.arizona.edu/ecat/comm-update.html.
Due to unfortunate budget constraints and uncertainty, Program Enhancement
Awards will not be offered this year. We hope to reassess our budget
situation in the Fall of 2003 for funding in subsequent years. At this
time, we continue to set aside monies for professional development (travel
and leadership opportunities) and for in-service educational expenses.
Reminder: the Program and Procedural Manual for Cooperative Extension
Personnel, section 7.01.13 - Other Fiscal Policies, states "Cooperative
Extension Travel Reimbursements - Any requests for travel reimbursements on
Extension funds submitted more than 60 days following completion of travel
will not be honored. This policy extends to all Extension Agents,
Specialists and Administrators." Also, "Travel expenses on county or
department/school funds should be submitted within 10 days of return for
out-of-state travel" (see Procedure 14.30 FRS Departmental Manual). Due to
budget cuts and limited funds, these policies will be strictly enforced.
Thanks to the efforts of Lucy Bradley, the 4-H Foundation received the largest
single grant from the Marley Foundation. This grant will support the 4-H Jr.
Master Gardeners program in Maricopa County that will continue her focus on
teaching youth about the importance of agriculture and the real story about
where their food comes from. For more information you can view the upcoming
4-H Youth Gardening Conference at: http://cals.arizona.edu/youthgardens/growingawareness.html.
CNN recently ran an on-line story about similar programs in California: http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/02/19/school.gardens.ap/index.html.
Congratulations to Sharon Hoelscher Day who developed a new web-based Hazardous
Analysis of Critical Control Point (HACCP) for small food businesses. It is
located at http://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/fcs/haccp/index.htm.
Mark your calendar for May 21 and 22 for the Community Capacity Building Workshop
(Community Development 101). This training, co-sponsored with the Western Rural
Development Center, will cover topics such as issue framing, building community
partnerships, avoiding political land mines, asset mapping, and more. Skill
building to help Extension personnel with their existing programs will be the
emphasis--"how to do what you are already doing better". The training will be
in Tucson at the Pima County Cooperative Extension office starting 8:00 a.m.
on May 21 and ending at 12:00 noon on May 22. A grant has been submitted to
help cover some of the travel expenses. More details to follow. For more information
contact cflynn@cals.arizona.edu, plantdoc@cals.arizona.edu,
or jwaits@cals.arizona.edu.
The Mohave County office will be closed Friday, March 7, 2003 for a
scheduled painting and carpeting project that makes it necessary for
faculty and staff to pack boxes, move computers and phones, and prepare for
the work crews to get started at noon. They expect to resume normal office
hours on Monday, March 10.
The AZ Forage Producers Association's First Annual meeting will be March
13, 2003 at the Maricopa Agriculture Center. The meeting will begin at
8:00am-2:00. No registration fee and 1 CEU has been approved. For more
information please call the AFPA office at (520) 318-7271.
The Pesticide Information and Training Office will be giving a 6 credit CEU
class with an emphasis on Turf and Ornamentals and General Pesticide Safety,
April 22, 9am-4pm at the Pima County Parks and Recreation building 3500 W. River
Road. To preregister or for more information, follow this link http://cals.arizona.edu/pito/ceu_class.htm
or call Louis Carlo (520) 621-2754.