Tara Soloman-Smith, Family and Wellness Agent, Sunflower District of Kansas State University’s Extension Office. Submitted photo.
Social media brings both advantages and drawbacks, with particular concerns for young people. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy highlights in his Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health that children aged 10 to 19 are in a critical stage of brain development. During this time, their sense of identity and self-worth is still developing. They are also more emotionally sensitive, prone to peer pressure, and likely to engage in risky behaviors they might otherwise avoid.
More research is needed to see if social media is the direct cause of mental health issues but we shouldn’t ignore the correlations. Parents can take practical action now to help protect our youth.
Set guardrails early. Setting ground rules before giving kids a smart phone can set you up for success. Examples include making certain rooms technology-free or limiting use to certain times of day. Delay social media use until 16.
Navigate and strategize together. Have an open, non-judgmental conversation about social media. Explore what they enjoy, share any challenges you face, and work together to establish guidelines, such as deciding when to take breaks, adjusting privacy settings, or considering which platforms to avoid.
Have an ongoing conversation about needing to put real-life effort into forging meaningful relationships.
Work with teens to choose appropriate privacy settings for their social media. Social media sites provide tools for parents on how to set privacy settings. You can also visit Common Sense Media – the “Parents need to know” section – provides everything you need to know about social media, how different apps work, and how to set privacy controls.
Be clear about what is unsafe to post: full name, address, specific places they go, phone numbers, vacation plans, or anything else that would help someone identify or locate them.
Not allowing teens to sleep with their cell phone nearby. When teens are always connected, their rest will be interrupted.
Monitor for any behavioral changes that could be linked to internet use. Look out for signs such as increased secrecy, spending excessive time online, and withdrawal from friends, schoolwork, or previously enjoyed activities.
Make sure your teen knows they are loved unconditionally and can come to you with any problem. Engage with your child by joining them in an activity you both enjoy, like watching a baseball game or playing a video game. Use this shared experience as a starting point for meaningful conversation.
Today’s article was adapted with articles by the Greater Good Science Center and University of Minnesota Extension. For more information contact Tara Solomon-Smith, [email protected], or call 620-244-3826.
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Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service
Welcome: Twenty-four members representing nineteen agencies attended the meeting held at the Keyhole. Billie Jo announced the following items from the Board:
The swim pass program had allowed 42 families, 128 children, and 170 total people to use the Aquatic Center this year.
To date for 2024, the Coalition Board has assisted 31 families including 80 children with rent and utility assistance in the amount of $6,862.
Janelle Tate has been added to the Coalition Board to complete Elizabeth Schafer’s term.
Travis Wilcoxen and Nick Johnson will be the Bourbon County Coalition Co-Chairmen beginning in October. Billie Jo will remain on the board for one more year to insure a smooth transition.
Billie Jo also shared a recent newspaper article and congratulated The Beacon for being in operation in Bourbon County for forty years.
Member Introductions and Announcements:
Kathy Romero introduced Lauren Klinksick the new account executive for Angels Care Home Health.
Cherie Walrod, KState Extension: They will be starting a support group for parents of special needs children with a “Meet and Greet” on September 13; all the information is in the attached flyer.
David Gillen, The Beacon: David reviewed all the services the Beacon provides and reminded members that the Beacon is open Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p..m. In August they served 329 families and 826 total people. Requalification will be held in October. David noted that due to increase in costs, they need about $9000 more this year to provide the same amount of assistance as in 2023.
April Jackson, Thrive Allen County, SEK Recovery Resources: Their federal grant ended last month but they are continuing their programs; to date, 38 have been served through the Recovery House. Their most recent project has been to build a drug endangered children alliance; they do whatever they can to help with substance abuse disorder.
Christine Abbott, SEK Kansasworks: For now, Christine will be in Fort Scott on Mondays and Wednesdays at the HBCAT building. The KEYS (Kansasworks Empowering Youth Success) Summit will be October 10. The Pittsburg office is now located at 1005 East Jefferson.
Megan Rogers, Safehouse: Megan reminded members that they can provide emergency shelter and help with about anything to allow a person to live a life free of abuse.
Theresa Amershek, Safehouse: She handles the referrals from the court system; at present she is overwhelmed with people from Bourbon County. There is a small fee for her services; her goal is to make children safe during supervised visits.
LeaKay Karleskint, KState Snap educator: Her only class right now – Create Better Health – started in Fulton on September 3: She is looking for new partners to provide space for her classes for the coming year.
Shanna Willey, Community Health Worker CHC: Shanna can assist people with any resource applications.
Angela Handly, Compassionate Ministries/Salvation Army: Box fans are available for those who need them. She can be contacted at 620-223-2212; her office is open on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Shanda Stewart, Community Resource Director, Kansas Renewal Institute: They presently have 40 children in residence; they can house 50. They are currently hiring behavior therapists, nurses, and several other positions. Shanda expressed thanks to Buck Run for providing school supplies and USD 234 employees who make sure school goes on for those clients.
Lisa Robertson, HBCAT: Her employer has changed but she continues to help individuals that are insecure.
Ashely Reeder, SEK Mental Health: Currently they provide school therapists in each school in USD 234 and USD 235.
Michelle Stephenson, FSPSC: Michelle works with parents who have children prenatal through age 6 to assist the parent in preparing children for preschool or Kindergarten; she has a few slots available.
Rachel Carpenter, HBCAT: The “Dare to Dream Women’s Entrepreneurship” event will be held on September 28; flyer with all the information is attached.
Deena Betts, CORE Community: Core graduated twelve from their first class; the second class will be starting on September 10. Their first annual fall festival will be held on October 19 at the Shead Farm; information for the event can be found on the CORE Facebook page or the attached flyer
Program: Judy Hood, along with her jobs as wife, mother, grandmother, juvenile intake officer and part of the county attorney’s office, has been a Keyhole board member since 2018. The Keyhole is now open from 3-6 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for middle and high school students. Keyhole provides games, electronics, and snacks; many who come to Keyhole have their evening meal while there. The space is available for use; the Keyhole board wants to figure out how to make Keyhole more of a benefit for our community. The Keyhole is funded by the Key Charitable Trust and donations.
Open Forum: Nothing further came before the membership.
Adjournment: The next General Membership meeting will be October 2, 2024.
The October program will be presented by Dustin Emmett, Retain Outreach Coordinator for SEKANSASWORKS.
ATTENTION: Starting the morning of Monday 9/9/2024, 195th street north of the rearing pond will be shut down to traffic due to work being done on the culvert system. Traffic to the east side of the lake will have to use Hackberry Road to access their properties and the east side of the lake. We are going to use a quick hardening concrete so the road should be open by Thursday if not sooner. We asked the Bourbon County Public Works to add rock and grade Hackberry, which they did, so the road should be much better to use over these three days. Sorry for the inconvenience as we thought we could do one side at a time or lay steel plates over the hole but with the size of the culvert this will not be possible. Thank you for your patience.
There is a new community liaison with Core Community, a local helping organization that has a mission to engage the community to lift families out of poverty.
Deana Betts, the new Core Community Liasion, moved to Fort Scott this summer and began work with Core Community on July 8th.
Betts moved to the area after her husband accepted the pastor position at Lifetrack Church in Frontenac.
In discovering the organization and the opening for a liaison, she learned Core Community is a faith-based organization that helps people out of poverty.
“I liked that they are leading themselves out of poverty, with support. It’s more than just a class, it’s a pathway.”
The mission statement of the organization is “Engaging the community to lift families out of poverty.”
Classes for this second year of the organization in Bourbon County start on Tuesday, September 10 at the Nazarene Church, 1728 S. Horton Street with 16-17 people enrolled.
Every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. will be a family-style meal provided by different organizations in the community. Following this, children will be directed to the childcare area with Angie Trim, the childcare coordinator and the people from last year’s classes will meet with the coach, Janice Lamb. The new class meets with teachers, Amy Harper and David Goodyear. The evening finishes at 7:30 p.m.
The first class graduated in May of this year.
Getting Ahead In A Just Get By World by Ruby Payne is the book that is worked through, in the 20-22 weeks of the classes.
Fall Festival
Larry and Vickie Shead have agreed to open the Shead Farm on Saturday, October 19 for a fundraiser for the Core Community organization. The farm has an annual community spring festival that has grown larger each year.
Vickie and Larry Shead, 2020, from her Facebook page.
“Our childcare coordinator Angie Trim helped the Sheads with their spring festival. I met with them and they said it’s the Lord’s farm. I asked them to pray about it, and they did and said yes,” she said.
The event is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the farm located at 2468 Calvalry Road, Garland, south of Fort Scott.
The cost is $5 per person, for families with over five members it’s $25 and there will be food, vendors, games, and raffles to entertain the family.
To learn more about Core Community or the Fall Fest, contact Betts at [email protected] or 785.488. 8411.
Lonnie Mengarelli is a K-State Research and Extension Agriculture agent assigned to Southwind District. He may be reached at [email protected] or 620-223-3720
In the last week or so, I’ve had many calls about fall fertilizer applications on fescue and brome pastures and meadows. Much of the nitrogen (N) applied to tall fescue and smooth bromegrass hay meadows and pastures goes on in January or February in eastern Kansas but fall is the best time to apply phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) for the spring growing season. The amount of N-P-K depends heavily on forage use such as grazing vs haying.
Normal N fertilization rates for established fescue and bromegrass hay fields are 90 to 120 pounds actual N per acre, or about 30 pounds of N per ton of expected yield. A summary of K-State N response data shows the average yields for unfertilized brome and fescue were about 1.4 tons of hay per acre, while maximum yields averaged 3.2 tons of hay with 140 pounds of N. Protein levels will also be increased at the higher N fertilizer rates, assuming timely harvest. In cases where producers are relying on high-quality hay as their primary protein source, they will want to push N rates to the upper end of the recommended range.Timing of N application is another factor to consider. While most growers apply all the N and any needed P and K for hay production in a single application in the spring, research in Kansas has shown that applying all the fertilizer in the fall will normally result in slightly higher yields, though the protein values will normally be slightly lower. Prior K-State research indicates that smooth brome responded to spring applications as late as April without effects on tonnage of dry matter produced and significantly greater crude protein levels than fall applications. Fall applications of N and P stimulate root growth and produce more tiller buds, resulting in more stems the following spring. Under normal conditions, tall fescue and smooth bromegrass pastures that are grazed in both spring and fall should receive about 100 pounds total N per acre, with 60% applied in the winter or early spring and 40% of the N along with any needed P and K in late August or early September. So, producers should plan on applying 60 to 70 lbs N per acre in late winter or early spring, starting as early as January in southeast Kansas or February in the central and northern parts of the state.
Both smooth bromegrass and fescue are efficient users of soil P and K. One of the reasons for this is the dense root system — two to three times more roots per unit of soil volume than corn or soybeans. As a result, these crops can grow and thrive at lower soil test levels than other crops commonly grown in Kansas. But both smooth bromegrass and fescue do remove about 12 pounds of P2O5 and 40 pounds of K2O per ton of hay, which will lower soil test values. Thus, these grasses will respond to P and K fertilization on soils with low or very low soil test levels. Recent work in northeast Kansas has shown response to applied P at soil test levels below 12-15 ppm. P and K application rates should be based on soil tests, as with most crops. In any type of fertilizer management program for tall fescue and smooth bromegrass, whether for hay production or grazing, needed phosphorus and potash should be applied in the late summer or fall for best results, along with a light application of N. Research with smooth bromegrass and fescue production has shown that fall applications of N and P, while these cool-season grasses are still actively growing, will help the grass develop a good root system for the winter, and develop buds for new tillers the next spring. P and K applied in late winter or early spring won’t provide the same benefits. One option for hay production not widely used is to apply all the N, P, and K needed for the following year in late fall, rather than early spring. Research has shown that the yields from a late- fall application are actually higher than from an early spring application, but the protein levels in the hay are slightly lower (a dilution of the N due to higher biomass production). The increased production from a late fall application is due to the stimulation of root growth and production of additional tiller buds.
One additional nutrient producers should be aware of for tall fescue and smooth bromegrass pastures or hayfields is sulfur (S). If the pasture or hayfield is receiving adequate nutrients and precipitation, but is dropping off in production, it could be deficient in S. Sulfur deficiency will cause a general reduction in forage production long before it results in visual deficiency symptoms. An application of S to a tall fescue or smooth bromegrass pasture or hayfield that is deficient in S can result in forage yield increases up to 500 to 800 lbs per acre. Sulfur is taken up by plants as sulfate. If a sulfur application is needed to correct a deficiency in a growing crop, a sulfate-S source should be used, such as ammonium sulfate or gypsum. Elemental sulfur sources can be used if applied far enough in advance of crop uptake needs to allow soil organisms to oxidize the S to sulfate. This will normally take several weeks to months, depending on soil temperature and moisture.
To determine whether P, K, S, and lime are needed on tall fescue and smooth bromegrass fields, producers should consider soil sampling. The best time to sample is in the fall, prior to fertilizer application. However, soil testing can be done in the spring. Samples for a P and K soil test should be taken to a 6-inch depth. A profile S test to a depth of 24 inches should be used to evaluate S needs.
Fall fertilizing also allows Producers to overseed their brome and fescue. One major factor which we all seem to be struggling with is the lack of moisture. It is important that when you overseed to try to overseed right before or right after a rain event to maximize the stand of new grass.
You can no till new seed into existing grass stands or if you wish to start over with a new stand of grass. Moisture is hard to come by right now if you plan to no till I would recommend doing so after a rain event if overseeding or right before in new stand.
The simplest and most common way to do it is to put in a fertilizer buggy with your fertilizer. There are some restrictions with doing it this way. First of all, you will need to check with your local fertilizer dealer to make sure they are ok with mixing in seed in their fertilizer blender. Second fescue and brome seed will not travel as far as the fertilizer… I would recommend a 50-foot double spinner spreader that you will have to half the rate and double spread it aka drive on 25ft centers to get an even seed distribution. Lastly do not spread on a windy day. The wind will have a significant effect on the seed spread pattern.
To conclude
Lonnie Mengarelli is a K-State Research and Extension Agriculture agent assigned to Southwind District. He may be reached at [email protected] or 620-223-3720
K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Agenda for the City Council of Uniontown on September 10, 2024 at 5.30 p.m.
Personnel interviews followed by regular council meeting.
ORDER AT ________ by _____________________________
ROLL CALL:
___ Jess Ervin ___ Danea Esslinger ___ Amber Kelly ___ Mary Pemberton ___ Bradley Stewart
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS/PROJECTS
Interview non-elected personnel –
Motion by _____________, Second by __________, Approved ______, to enter into executive session pursuant to non-elected personnel exception, KSA 75-4319(b)(1), in order to interview applicants of non-elected personnel, the open meeting to resume at ____________.
CITIZENS REQUESTS
Bill Martin
FINANCIAL REPORT
Charlene Bolinger – Financial reports
APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA
Minutes of August 13 Regular Council Meeting and September 3, 2024 Special Meeting minutes
