The mission of 4-H is to provide opportunities to acquire knowledge, develop life skills, form attitudes, and practice behavior which will enable youth to become self-directing, productive, and contributing members of society.

The first organizational meeting for the Drew County 4-H Poultry Club will be held on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 6 p.m. at the Oak Grove Assembly of God Church. For more information, contact the Drew County Cooperative Extension Service at 460-6270.

This 4-H Poultry Club is open to all youth between the ages of 5 and 19 without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, gender, or disability. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (large print, audiotapes, etc.) should notify the county Extension office as soon as possible prior to a meeting.

The 4 H Shooting Sports Club also competes in the AG&F, Arkansas Youth Shooting Sports Program, AYSSP. The Southern Regional Competition will be held May 7&8. The top 8 teams in the regional competition will go back and compete June 4&5. The 4 H Shooting Sports Program is open to all youth ages 9 to 19. The youth have an opportunity to win trophies and ribbons.

The AG&F, AYSSP is open to all youth 6th thru 12th grade. The youth have an opportunity to win SCHOLARSHIP money for any college in the state of Arkansas, along with trophies and the opportunity to compete for a chance to try out for the Junior Olympics.

The practices are held on the weekends. Once all the registrations have been competed we will make contact will all the interested youth and discuss in more detail the practice times and which program or programs they wish to participate in. If you do not have your Hunter Education Card, we will be forming a class to get everyone eligible.

All the registration materials must be complete and turned in by January 23 to be able to compete in the AYSSP program. If you are interested you can contact the Drew County Extension office at 870 460 6270 for Chuck Capps, or 4 H Volunteer Coach Terry Koone at 870 367 9172 or 870 723 6428.

All meetings and activities announced in this news article are open to all youth between the ages of 9 to 19 without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, gender, or disability. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (large print, audiotapes, etc.) should notify the county Extension office as soon as possible prior to the activity.

1. Create a warm room in your house by closing off any un-used rooms. Close off the registers and use a blanket or towel to create a seal at the bottom of the doors.

2. Dress warmly. A hat is your number one friend at times like this. A large percentage of body heat loss occurs in the head region, so it is crucial to keep your head covered. You should wear slippers or socks. Dress in layers, especially with wool or cotton clothing. Don’t wear your winter coat in the house or you will have nothing else to put on when you go outside. When you are sitting still put on a blanket.

3. Cook. Steam will raise the moisture level in your home, making you feel warmer. While you are at it, you may wish to make a soup or stew in a boiling pot. Make cookies or a pie, too, as your oven will help to heat the kitchen area. The kitchen will be warm while you are cooking, and then you can eat the warm food.

4. Drink warm beverages. Make a cup of tea, coffee, or hot chocolate. Sip some warm broth.

5. Find a pet or friend to snuggle with. The living body of any warm-blooded being is a furnace unto itself.

6. Be active. Moving around produces heat!

7. Use a hot water bottle. Great for warming your hands and lap while sitting; also put it under the covers at the foot of your bed.

8. Turn on the lights. Incandescent and halogen bulbs create light through heat and can significantly increase temperatures in the room.

9. If you can afford it, leave other heat-producing appliances on, such as computers/monitors or strong lamps.

Here are a few warnings to consider:

1. Be sure to remove any home-made or store bought “pillow” style heating pads from the bed before falling asleep. They retain heat for a long period of time and if left too often in one spot, they can heat feather blankets or mattress covers to a dangerous degree and cause fires.

2. Don’t start any kind of fire or use your stove to stay warm.

3. Don’t overload electrical receptors when using space heaters.

4. Be aware that the more you seal off air circulation to the outside, you increase the possibility of a dangerous buildup of carbon monoxide in the air – especially if you use natural gas or propane in your home. Be sure to install a carbon monoxide detector if you don’t have one already. If you do own one, check it on a regular basis.

As always during extreme weather, keep an eye on elderly relatives or neighbors and your pets!

Bradley, Calhoun, Clark, Clay, Cleburne, Cleveland, Craighead, Dallas, Drew, Faulkner, Grant, Greene, Hempstead, Jackson, Lafayette, Lincoln, Lonoke, Miller, Monroe, Nevada, Ouachita, Poinsett, Prairie, Pulaski, Saline, White, and Woodruff Counties

THE STATE OF ARKANSAS IS REQUESTING INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DAMAGES INFORMATION NEEDED:
PRIMARY HOMEOWNERS INFORMATION (Social Security Number, Damage Address, Phone Numbers, Email, Etc.)
TYPE OF INSURANCE
TYPE OF DAMAGES
TYPES OF ESSENTIAL AND/OR SPECIAL NEEDS
TEMPORARY HOUSING NEEDS UNINSURED PERSONAL PROPERTY LOSS

STATE DISASTER INFORMATION HOTLINE
888-683-ADEM (2336)
TDD 501-682-8820

APPLICATION PERIOD AND HOURS OF OPERATION
January 4 — 8, 2010
8:00 AM — 4:00 PM

CALL CENTER IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY. DISASTER ASSISTANCE IS NOT AVAILABLE AND GRANT FUNDING WILL NOT BE AWARDED

We wish all our patrons a Happy Holiday!

Fridays Sanitation Route will be ran on Monday November 30th, 2009

Monticello City Offices will be closed on Friday, as well.

The Transfer Station will also be closed, and trash routes will not today.

 LEARN ABOUT:
Profitable Grazing Management
Efficient Use of Nutrients
Effective Electric Fence Construction 

Please Call to pre-register by 9/1/09
870-367-8400, Ext. 3

 Sponsored by the:
Arkansas Grazing Lands Coalition
Drew County Conservation District
Natural Resources Conservation Service
U of A Cooperative Extension Service

USDA is an equal opportunity employer and provider

The first eight Drew County teams who register will receive insulated drawstring back packs complements of the Drew County Health Unit. Team members do accomplish more than winning prizes. People who walk regularly decrease their risk of depression, heart attacks, hypertension, obesity, osteoporosis, stroke, and some cancers. Becoming a part of a Walk Across Arkansas Team can help you to become a healthier and happier person.

“The Walk Across Arkansas program is open to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, marital or veteran status, or any other legally protected status. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program informatiion (large print, audiotapes, etc.) should notify the county Extension office as soon as possible prior to the activity.”

For more information on becoming a Walk Across Arkansas participant, contact Donna Francis at the Drew County Cooperative Extension Service. Call 870-460-6270

All meetings and activities announced in this news article are open to all youth between the ages of 5 to 19 without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, gender, or disability. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (large print, audiotapes, etc.) should notify the county Extension office as soon as possible prior to the activity.

Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan has announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin continuous sign-up for the new Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) on August 10 with the first signup period cutoff scheduled for September 30. CSP is a voluntary program that encourages agricultural and forestry producers to maintain existing conservation activities and adopt additional ones on their operations.

“This program will help the Nation’s agricultural and forestry producers reach greater levels of conservation performance, which will help protect our land and water,” Merrigan said. “The conservation benefits derived from maintaining and enhancing natural resources will improve the quality of soil and water, assist in addressing global climate change, and encourage environmentally responsible energy production.”

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) authorizes CSP. Congress renamed and revamped the former Conservation Security Program completely to improve its availability and appeal to agricultural and forestry producers. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers CSP. Eligible lands include cropland, grassland, prairie, improved pastureland, rangeland, non-industrial private forestland-a new land use for the program-and agricultural land under the jurisdiction of an Indian tribe.

Eligible applicants may include individual landowners, legal entities, and Indian tribes. The program will be offered to producers in all 50 states, District of Columbia and the Pacific and Caribbean areas through continuous sign-ups. Agricultural and forestry producers must submit applications by Sept. 30 to be considered for funding in the first ranking period. Congress capped the annual acreage enrollment at 12,769,000 acres for each fiscal year nationwide.

To apply for the newly revamped CSP, potential participants will be encouraged to use a self-screening checklist first to determine whether the new program is suitable for them or their operation. It will be available on NRCS Web sites and at NRCS field offices. After self-screening, the producer’s current and proposed conservation practices are entered in the conservation measurement tool (CMT). This tool estimates the level of environmental performance to be achieved by a producer implementing and maintaining conservation activity. The conservation performance estimated by the CMT will be used to rank applications. States will determine their own priority resource concerns, one of the criteria that will be used to rank applications. States will establish ranking pools to rank applications with similar resource concerns.

NRCS field staff also will conduct on-site field verifications of applicants’ information obtained from the CMT. Once the potential participant has been field verified and approved for funding, he or she must develop a conservation stewardship plan.

For information about CSP, including eligibility requirements, producers can visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/new_csp or visit their local NRCS field office.

USDA is finalizing the program’s policies and procedures. The CSP interim final rule, published in the Federal Register, is open for public comment through Sept. 28.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (800) 795- 3272(voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).