TUESDAY MORNING NOTES - February 14, 2012

Tue Feb 14 08:54:35 MST 2012

TMN submittal:
http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/tuesday/form/submittal_form.html 

Tuesday Morning Notes 

February 14, 2012

FOCUS ON PROGRAMS:

*	The Maricopa County Master Gardeners held their 16th Annual Citrus
Clinics on January 21 at the Greenfield Citrus Nursery in Mesa and on
January 28 at the Truman Ranch in Surprise.  Due to the assistance of
extraordinary presenters and top notch Master Gardener volunteers, over 475
people learned about topics such as irrigation and fertilization practices,
citrus varieties demonstration and tasting, planting and pruning citrus and
deciduous fruit trees, date varieties, insect pests and their control,
disease management and low-chill deciduous fruit varieties.  The East Valley
citrus clinic was chaired by Master Gardener volunteer Travis Tonzi.  Our
thanks to those who taught sessions during these two weekends:  John
Babiarz, Owner/Operator, Greenfield Citrus Nursery; Stacey Bealmear, Urban
Horticulture Agent, Yuma County Extension; Scott Frische, Manager of
Horticulture, Phoenix Zoo; Rick Gibson, Pinal County Extension Director and
Agriculture Agent; Ed Martin, Professor & Extension Specialist, Ag &
Biosystems Engineering; Mike Matheron, Research Scientist & Plant Pathology
Specialist, Yuma Ag Center; Jim Oravetz, Director of Public Education,
Maricopa County Master Gardeners; James Truman, Farm Manager (retired);
Kelly Young, Assistant Horticulture Agent, Maricopa County; Peter Warren,
County Extension Director & Urban Horticulture Extension Agent, Pima County;
and Glenn Wright, Associate Research Scientist, Yuma Agricultural Center.
*	Mohave County 4-H School Gardening Program has made local newspaper
headlines with hands-on learning complementing grade level standards.  Nina
Brackett <mailto:ninab at cals.arizona.edu> , Instructional Specialist, has
successfully outreached to more than 18 schools in less than 5 years,
averaging 70 classroom visits per academic year, collaborating with the
local school districts and the County School Superintendent of Instruction
to reach more youth.  On-campus school gardens are busy hosting open-house
for parents and school administrators to taste fresh winter vegetables
(broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, pak-choy, and Brussels sprouts). Recent
news articles have appeared in The Standard and/or Kingman Daily Miner
(January 18
<http://cals.arizona.edu/mohave/4h/images/SG%20News%20KAOL%20Green%20Team%20
2012%200125.pdf> & 23 and February 8
<http://cals.arizona.edu/mohave/4h/images/SG%20News%20KUSDLaSenitaStudentGAR
DNERS%20Club%202012%200208B.pdf> ) as well as featured on Mohave County Ag
Gardening <http://cals.arizona.edu/mohave/4h/AG-GARDENING_NEWS.htm>  and Ag
in the Classroom <http://cals.arizona.edu/mohave/4h/AG-IN-THE-CLASSROOM.htm>
websites.
*	Several members of the Climate, Natural Resources, and
Sustainability Signature Program Team, (Dan McDonald, Kerry Schwartz,
Candice Rupprecht, and Mark Apel) will be evaluating the team's efforts to
promote sustainable practices in Cooperative Extension programming. To do
this they will conduct a keyword search of last year's APROL, identifying
use of the word "sustain" or its derivatives. Data will be extracted from
each individual APR and categorized based on how the word "sustain" was
used. No identifying information will be attached to the data. If a name or
any other identifying information is to be used, individual faculty members
will be contacted first for permission. The intent is to publish and present
the information resulting from the evaluation.

ARIZONA 4-H CAMP AT MINGUS SPRINGS:

Because one of the most frequent questions I get these days is "how are you
doing to raise funds for the camp?," we have placed a thermometer on the
main Arizona 4-H homepage to show our progress.  Check it out
<http://extension.arizona.edu/4h/> .  Thanks to Matt Olson for creating it
and Robert Armstrong for posting it!  We are more than halfway to the goal.
Also, we recently received a nice card and a donation check from a 4-H club
in Wellton (Yuma County) who conducted a fundraiser to support the camp -
thanks to the Desert Herdsman 4-H Club!  Randy Ryan is helping us look at
the potential of solar panels at the camp to make the facility more "green"
and we are working with Robert MacArthur to get WiFi installed to make the
camp more attractive to adult groups.  Good things are in the works.  Stay
tuned!

TECH TIP OF THE WEEK:

When creating documents such as in Microsoft Word, you may wish to include
some faded background text or an image - called a watermark.  Common text
would include "Draft" or   "Confidential"; an image could be a logo or clip
art.  Below are some simple steps in Word 2007 or 2010 to include a
watermark in your document.

With your document open:

*	Select the "Page Layout" Tab from the top menu
*	In the "Page Background" group, select "Watermark"
*	You can now select one of the pre-defined watermarks, or you can use
your own text or image by selecting "Custom Watermark" at the bottom.

For a Custom Watermark:

*	To insert a text watermark, select the Text Watermark option, then
either select a pre-defined text from the drop-down, or type in your desired
text on the "Text" field.  You can customize your watermark with other
options in this dialog such as text size, text color, etc.
*	To insert an image watermark, select the "Picture watermark" option,
navigate to and choose your image, and insert it.  You may optionally select
a customized scale.

RESOURCES:

*	As noted in an earlier TMN, the National Network for Sustainable
Living Education (NNSLE), an initiative of ANREP, recently published the
"Sustainable Living Handbook - A Citizen's Guide to Thoughtful Action."
Area agent Mark Apel has a very limited quantity of this booklet for anyone
interested in a copy or two. The booklet can also be downloaded online
<http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/handle/1957/25843> .  If you are
interested in obtaining this booklet in larger quantities for your programs,
they are available from Oregon State University for less than $2 each plus
shipping and handling - minimum of 100 booklets per order. Contact Mark
<mailto:mapel at cals.arizona.edu>  for more information.   
*	Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan last week announced
that USDA has selected 298 recipients in 44 states and Puerto Rico to
receive business development assistance through the Value-Added Producer
Grant (VAPG) program.  Merrigan made the announcement in Chicago after
keynoting the "Local/Regional Food System Conference" hosted at the Federal
Reserve Bank of Chicago.  "In his State of the Union address last week
President Obama was clear that we need to do more to create jobs and promote
economic growth.  These projects will provide financial returns and help
create jobs for agricultural producers, businesses and families across the
country," Merrigan said. "This funding will promote small business expansion
and entrepreneurship opportunities by providing local businesses with access
capital, technical assistance and new markets for products and services."
Arizona had one recipient listed - Caballos y Companaros, Inc. (Walking J
Farm),  Patagonia, $39,500.
*	Benjamin Ginsberg's recent book, "The Fall of the Faculty: The Rise
of the All-Administrative University and Why It Matters" (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2011) is bound to generate controversy and interest on
American university campuses.  Not many administrators will probably pick up
this book, but the author presents some compelling trends and concerns
related to the role of faculty in university governance.  For example, from
1975 to 2005, the cost of attending college tripled.  During that period,
faculty/student ratios stayed about the same, but administrator-to-student
ratios ballooned.  During this period, the number of administrators
increased by 85 percent, and the number of staffers increased by 240
percent.  While Ginsberg admits that some of this growth may be due to the
expanded services universities now offer, he also argues that has not
translated into a better college education.  Ginsberg argues that the
proliferation of "deanlets" and "assistant deans" has resulted in "meddle
management" in higher education and reduced faculty members to a bystander
role in important academic decisions.  The book is a hybrid of a call to
arms and a grand-jury indictment.  He is especially harsh on strategic plans
and marketing campaigns by university communications officers.  However, the
solutions he provides are weak and feeble and would do little to reform the
academy.  The book is more about criticism than solutions.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

WRRC IS hosting a Conserve to Enhance webinar series starting February 21 at
1:00pm MST/12:00pm PST for the first webinar in the series, "Making the Link
Between Water Efficiency and the Environment:  Conserve to Enhance."  To
participate, go to the Elluminate site
<http://elluminate.oia.arizona.edu/scheduleMeetingnonetid.php?sessionId=6250
43>  and RSVP to Brittany Choate <mailto:bchoate at email.arizona.edu>  by
February 17.  You are invited to join the five-part webinar series each
month as follows - "Achieving Local Water Conservation and Environmental
Enhancement Goals with User Contribution Programs" (March 2012),
"Establishing a User Contribution Program" (April 2012), "Accounting
Mechanisms for Tracking Water Conservation and User Contributions" (May
2012), and "Program Evaluation and Expansion in Your Community" (June 2012).
To learn more, visit the WRRC Conserve to Enhance website. 

Kirk A. Astroth
Interim Associate Dean and Director
Arizona Cooperative Extension
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
PO Box 210036
Tucson, AZ  85721-0036
520.621.7205
520.621.1314 (fax)

To submit tips, suggestions, ideas for changes and anything that could help
us be more effective, use  the "Director
<http://extension.arizona.edu/state/directors-suggestion-box> 's Suggestion
Box" - all submissions are anonymous.  

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