Extension Update: February 2004 Archives

Strafford County legislators, commissioners and department heads participated in the third “County Conversation” last Thursday at the Strafford County Office complex. The “Conversation” provided an opportunity for UNH President Ann Weaver Hart to learn more about how UNH can collaborate more effectively with New Hampshire’s individual counties and to discover what emerging trends and issues specifically face Strafford County.

Earlier in the day, President Hart and Jennifer Murray, UNH Vice President for Communications, traveled to the Strafford County office to learn more about UNH Cooperative Extension programming in the county. Included in the event was a tour of the new Strafford County House of Corrections facility, currently under construction. My thanks to the Strafford County staff for their hard work on this event. They did an excellent job of showcasing their positive impact the residents of the county. The next “County Conversation” takes place May 24 in Rockingham County.

Members of a State Advisory Council sub-committee hit the road this past month, visiting county advisory council meetings, urging members to create their own Public Awareness Teams. These teams will develop their own plan to increase public awareness with policy makers in their county.

To bolster this effort, we’re creating a statewide database of our volunteers and key supporters. Steve Judd and Paul Bonaparte-Krogh will work with each county and other staff who maintain a database of volunteers to secure current lists and adapt them to export the necessary information. If you maintain such a database, either on campus on in the county, contact Steve Judd. Steve will work with each of you to retrieve this data for a statewide effort. We will also be discussing protocol for confidentiality and use of this information.

The Annual Administrative Office Professionals Conference will be held on the UNH Campus March 17th from 8:00 a.m. t0 4:30 p.m. in the MUB. The conference is designed for administrative office professionals. As in the past, we highly encourage our county administrative staff to attend this meeting. Details of the day’s agenda and workshop descriptions are available at: http://www.unh.edu/hr/pod/aop-conference.htm Nancy Franz and Suzann Knight will be offering workshops at this event. Jim Grady is trying to set up a meeting for all Extension staff during this event.

Nutrition Connections Program Associate Terri Schoppmeyer and chef Michael Neely of the Blue Mermaid restaurant in Portsmouth are teaching a cooking class that helps participants, primarily low-income young mothers, learn how to purchase and cook healthy food.

A joint project of the New Hampshire Food Bank and Share Our Strength, a leading anti-hunger, anti-poverty organization, the free classes also send participants home with a free bag of groceries.

A flyer is now available for the Coalition Building workshop May 4. The workshop, for all who work in communities, including all Extension educators, addresses principles of success in creating community change through coalitions. Discussions will center on coalition building barriers, strategies for coalition success, and maintaining activities and success.

The presenter, Tom Wolff, PhD., authored “From the Ground Up! A Workbook on Coalition Building and Community Development.” Contact Charlie French for the flyer and registration information. Training takes place at UNH Cooperative Extension's Hillsborough County Office (Goffstown) from 9:30-4 pm. The $45 fee covers training, lunch, and helps offset Dr. Wolff's costs. Sign up using the on-line registration for inservices under Professional Development on our web site.

Plenty of room remains for this in-service but staff must register soon, an insufficient number of registrants may cause cancellation.

Sharon Ross, the victim of a serious automobile/pedestrian accident a year ago January, continues to recover from her injuries. Sharon recently moved to her own apartment and welcomes cards and communications. Her address is 3 Lita Lane, Apt. 153, Newmarket, NH 03857. She attends a therapy program three days a week in Portsmouth.

Staff separations:
Pam Gerbi leaves her part-time Merrimack County Family Development position that focused on human development/coalition building in March. Charlene Baxter will propose interim options to address the highest priority programming needs in human development in the county. Marilyn Sullivan continues her work in Family Development in Merrimack County, delivering programming in family resource management and food safety.

Barbara Hunter retires from her Family Development position in Belknap County April 15th. Barbara will continue to work two days a week through early June to wrap up program commitments. Charlene Baxter is working with Barbara and the Belknap County Advisory Council to determine the most viable options for addressing family development programming.

Even though Val Long retired at the end of December, she continues to work on contract as Nutrition Coordinator with the Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program. Debbie Luppold provides leadership to the Nutrition Connections program. Val relocated to the Merrimack County office with Andrea Talbot, Educational Program Coordinator, Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program.

With Judy Bush’s retirement last fall, the Strengthening New Hampshire Communities Team was reduced by one-third. Charlie French and Michele Gagne continue to address the highest priority needs and issues for this important initiative.

Kath Jaworski retires from Nutrition Connections, Merrimack County, in April. There is no decision regarding filling this position at this time.

Ann Dolloff left UNH Cooperative Extension in December to become the Information and Referral/Special Projects coordinator for the PA Initiative on Assistive Technology (PIAT) Institute on Disabilities at Temple University in Philadelphia. Chris Conlon is now the full time 4-H Camps Manager. Larry Barker has agreed to provide support to the staff at Barry Conservation Camp. Ann’s position in the department will not be filled but the Institute on Disabilities will assist with technical areas for specials audiences that Ann provided in the past.

Chris Bozak will be retiring from Strafford County in April. The county will provide funding to hire a part time educator from April through December 31, 2004. A job description is currently being developed and neighboring counties will continue to share leader training and youth development opportunities.

Sharon Meeker, Extension Specialist, Marine Education, retires April 15th. Since this position is supported primarily by Sea Grant and other funds, it will be filled.

Nancy Adams retired from Rockingham County at the end of December. The county contracted with Nancy to return one day a week to serve as the Master Gardener Coordinator. Arrangements are being discussed with the ornamental horticulture team and the Advisory Council to determine appropriate coverage for Nancy’s past work in Rockingham County.

Bill Lord retired as Fruit Specialist at the end of December. He continues to work on his research. A small fruit and vegetable specialist will be hired with split Extension and teaching duties. Until that position is filled, George Hamilton will provide coverage for this area.

David Seavey will retire in April from Merrimack County. Bruce Clement, Paul Bonaparte Krogh and the Merrimack County staff are working with county decision makers to provide increased funding to fill this position.

Bruce Clement will retire in April. The Program Area Structure Team will make a recommendation on how to address the Ag Program Leader vacancy. Nancy Franz and several ag staff will provide leadership as needed until new leadership is identified.

Jan Furbush will retire in April from the BSC. There is no decision regarding filling this position at this time.

Steve Wood retired from Sullivan County at the end of December. Bob Edmonds, Paul Bonaparte Krogh and the Sullivan County staff are working with county legislators to fill this position. Forestry and wildlife programming is being covered in Sullivan County by other forestry and wildlife Extension staff.

Many New Hampshire communities lack safe places for youth when they are not in school, especially in rural areas. Children who spend time in quality out-of-school programs have better work habits, school attendance, interpersonal skills and non-aggressive responses to peer conflict.

Three teams of Extension staff from the Family and 4-H Youth Development programs spent the past five years gaining valuable lessons in creating sustainable after-school programs in rural New Hampshire. They worked in partnership with Boscawen, Claremont and Haverhill, through a grant from the CSREES Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) initiative from 1998 through 2003. The projects developed included two middle school sites (grades 4-8) in Claremont and Haverhill, and an elementary school site (grades 1-5) in Boscawen.

Two-thirds of the 506 participating youth qualify for free/reduced school lunch, meeting federal program requirements. Each program site offers two to three hours each afternoon of homework assistance, enrichment, community service learning, computer labs and activities to build life skills (social skills, teamwork, goal setting, decision-making and conflict resolution). University faculty and students evaluate the program’s effectiveness and its impacts. Community advisory committees, comprised of parents, youth, school personnel, program staff and community leaders help with program design and development, evaluation and sustainability.

While none of these programs existed five years ago, they now continue and grow. In Boscawen, the Concord YMCA assumed program management, expanding the program from three to five days each week. In Claremont, the program grew from serving 28 middle school youth in 1998 to 1,380 students in five schools (K-12th grade) in the 2002-2003 school year. In Haverhill, the program expanded school-wide and the advisory committee worked to sustain its budget through diversified funding.

Mary Banach, D.S.W., UNH Associate Professor of Social Work, provided the initial project evaluation. Scott Meyer, Ph.D., Professor of Social Work, Plymouth State University, and UNH graduate student Stephanie Halter facilitated final project evaluation. Over three-fourths of children and parents believe these programs help improve the child’s ability to complete homework assignments, and improve overall school performance. Nearly half the school staff felt participating students improved their class participation and one-third perceived improvement in academic performance. A majority of school staff felt participating students improved in leadership development. They also cited improvements in other critical areas of behavior/emotions.

UNH Cooperative Extension initiated a 4-H After-school Team, in partnership with the National 4-H Council, J.C. Penney, and PlusTime NH. Building on lessons learned, Extension staff provide training and support to after-school programs throughout the state. In the past year, training reached 332 after-school providers who serve 3,876 children and youth. Working with community coalitions, Extension staff helped after-school programs secure over $1.1 million in new funds and in-kind services to support after-school programs.

Again this year, President Ann Weaver Hart will present a Presidential Award of Excellence to two PAT staff, two Operating Staff, and one Extension Educator. Nominations are being accepted and are due March 26, 2004. Staff are encouraged to identify and nominate PAT, OS and EE staff who excel in dedication to the University and the successful accomplishment of its mission. An award of $1,000 will be presented to each recipient in appreciation and honor of their contributions to UNH.

The CRAS Committee recommended program development and evaluation be the major roles for the Associate Director. As a result, Nancy Franz developed a five-year vision for UNH Cooperative Extension program excellence in a logic model format. The Leadership Team and Program Development & Evaluation Council reviewed and endorsed this vision. Please take time to examine Nancy's vision and help her continue our excellence in programming. She welcomes your feedback and ideas for implementing and measuring progress of her vision.

Thank you to all who participated in the January Plan of Work Caucus in Concord. The event produced strong direction for our next statewide Plan of Work in the following areas:
Financial planning and management
Civic participation and community network development
Parenting
Healthy lifestyles
Career/workforce development
Youth in out-of-school time
Land use
Water quality
Support for agricultural producers and related industries
Economic viability of small businesses
I think you'll find the summary of suggested actions for Extension programming useful in your work. The Leadership Team and the Program Development & Evaluation Council will use this summary and other data sources to create our Plan of Work. Extension educators, specialists and partners also will have opportunities to react to the plan. Thanks again to those who helped with the Plan of Work Gap Analysis process.

The 1990 Farm Bill calls for appropriate guidelines minimizing actual or potential conflicts of interest among employees from each college or university that receives funds from the Bill and whose salaries link to this funding source.

Each state Cooperative Extension must update and submit its conflict of interest policies and procedures to USDA for approval. These federal Human Resources policies affecting Cooperative Extension call for Cooperative Extension directors and administrators to review their conflict of interest policies annually and make sure all employees are aware of these policies. State Cooperative Extension Conflict of Interest policies must be sent to USDA CSREES whenever changes are made.

In compliance with this regulation, I am including a link to the USNH conflict of interest policies, highlighting those sections relevant to Cooperative Extension employees only. These, as well as Civil Rights Compliance, American with Disabilities Act (ADA), Sexual Harassment, and other pertinent policies will be discussed as part of the annual performance appraisal process. In the meantime should you have any questions regarding these policies or procedures, please contact your appropriate program leader, Nancy Franz, or Jim Grady.