BURNETT
COUNTY AG/EXTENSION COMMITTEE
March 15, 2004
Minutes
I. The meeting was called to order by Chair, Doug Dewing at 9:30 a.m. in Room 165 of the Burnett County Government Center on Monday, March 15, 2004.
II. Notice was posted according to open meeting law requirements.
Present: Doug Dewing, Charles Peterson, Maury Miller, Marilyn Kooiker, Missy Olson, Julie Yezek and Wanda Hinrichs.
III. Motion to approve the February 19, 2004 minutes was made by Peterson, seconded by Miller. Motion carried.
IV. General Business
A. Department Head Report
The finance report was not available for distribution at this time.
Update from Dean's Wisline (March 1) - Search for Associate Dean to replace Fitzsimmons is narrowed down to five candidates. The Dean went over the task groups at the state level: Stakeholders Strategies Task Group; New Urban Models Task Group; Public Good, Private Good, Fee Policy and Cost Recovery Task Group; Local Budget Crisis Task Group.
Update from Department Head Conference (March 3-4) - Northern District Department Heads met with John Preissing. Discussed SIPR's, Civil Rights Review schedule, Dean's county visit (Burnett scheduled for May 26), position openings in the north, and 2005 WACEC conference bid. - "Getting to Great" was the theme of the conference. Keynote speaker from Michigan State University talked on "Transformational Education" (making a difference). Marilyn attended the session on "strengthening relationships with county government" and "giving performance feedback."
WACEC winter meeting scheduled at Schwan Center, Trego, March 4-5 was cancelled due to weather. It has been rescheduled for April 6-7.
The Dean's visit to Burnett County has been scheduled for May 26. We will discuss a possible agenda for his visit.
State WACEC conference is scheduled for June 6-8 in Eau Claire. A tentative agenda was distributed. More discussion on this at a later date.
Marilyn shared the update on Doug Stubbe. His official return date will be April 19. A welcome home reception will be planned to coincide with the May County Board Meeting.
The Tri-County Ag Agent position is posted for internal search now. Closing date is March 16 for internal candidates. The search will be opened up for external candidates if no qualified internal candidates apply.
B. Agent Reports
Julie Yezek, Nutrition Educator - During the past month Julie attended a two-day training in Stevens Point. Initial information and data and useful resources were shared.
Julie met with Grace, Toni and Lori in Superior to collaborate on various projects on the schedule. They plan to meet monthly to coordinate projects and schedules.
The job schadowing with Lori Ballentine at a WIC pick-up site in Solon Springs and the senior meal teaching went well. Julie will have her first WIC day in Grantsburg soon.
Participated in a training Teleconference which went well.
Julie taught a lesson to the Dairyland HCE group as part of a required training for the certificate received at the end of New Employee Training.
Crock Pot cooking will be the feature at Julie's first WIC clinic March 15 and 16. Samples will be provided to clients. The meal will be prepared by Julie and paid for by WIC.
On March 17, Julie will attend a Seminar in Superior called "What's all the Hype About Diets". Much discussion followed on dieting.
Julie will be attended a training in Steven's Point the week of March 22. When she returns, Julie will teach her first lesson to the Seniors at the Dairyland Nutrition site. A state evaluation will be done after each lesson or information.
Julie will be setting up a display for the Webster Kindergarten Round Up on March 29 and 30. The topic will be the importance of eating breakfast. Webster will donate the ingredients and Julie will make sample granola bars to pass out.
Julie will not be attending the next Extension meeting in April. She is scheduled for Nutrition Site lessons and will be going to Madison for more training.
Much discussion on Nutrition continued. Progress has been made with Webster schools with the WNEP Program hopefully returning to teach lessons.
Missy Olson, 4-H/Youth Development - Superior Days in Madison went well. The youth met with Senator Harsdorf and Representative Pettis. They also met with the State Superintendent of Education, Burmeister. A new rule will be implemented next year, limiting the number of years an individual youth can participate in Superior Days to two.
The second teen court meeting was held and went very well. Missy is still waiting to hear about a non-profit status to be used in applying for grants for the program.
The Cultural Arts Festival will be held March 20. The numbers look to be down slightly due to area school conflicts.
The Winter Fun Day was cancelled until next winter, due to weather.
The Jr. Leaders will meet Tuesday, March 16 to plan for the Cloverbud Day Camp and Cultural Arts Festival.
The next Volunteer Orientation will be held March 30. There are currently two people signed up.
The county-wide roller skating party is April 6. The attendance for last year was 80 youth and adults.
A state-to-state 4-H exchange has been set with Clarion County, PA. Burnett County will travel there the week of August 2-8, with Pennsylvania coming to Burnett County in the summer of 2005.
Maury Miller asked how involved 4-H is in working with the youth in the county to help stop the drug problem? Much discussion on the topic continued.
Information of Missy and her future roll with Teen Court was discussed.
Marilyn Kooiker, Family Living - An update on dropout rates of area high schools was given. Missy requested information from the AODA advisors and received feedback from Webster High School.
Marilyn attended the Northern District In-service in Odanah on February 18-19. Doug Stubbe came for part of a day and received a standing ovation from the agents/staff there.
Marilyn attended a partner meeting at Hertel Head Start in preparation for their federal review. This will be held on March 24.
Rita Houser, Dairy Council representative presented the HCE program "Importance of Calcium" on March 11.
Marilyn is preparing for the presentation on United for Students project at the JCEP conference in April.
The 5th Grade Babysitting Class will be held on March 16 and 18 at the Grantsburg Elementary School. Twenty students have enrolled. Guest speakers will be Diane Lindh and Tracy Finch.
HCE Recognition Banquet will be held April 5. Fran Krause, 50 year member, will be honored.
Upcoming Activities - Community Ed Babysitting Class on March 16 & 18 at Grantsburg Elementary School.
Continue to participate in monthly or quarterly meetings (Safe & Stable Families Steering Committee, Coordinated Community Response Team, HCE Executive Board, State Association and Dept. of Family Development committees.)
Mike Kornmann, Community Resource Development - The hardcopy and the web page has been completed for the Rural Development Guide. Maps will be added soon.
The Birding Trail event is coming together well. New activities have been planned. The Grant was not awarded. Several other funding sources are being sought. New funding has come from BCDA in the amount of $2,400 and from Burnett County Tourism Committee of $750. Co-chair Lisa Hobbie will be seeking funds from Northwest ITBEC. An evaluation survey for the event and work with area lodging is in the process.
Eight students and seven adults attended the Superior Days Event. UWEX and counties requested a Criminal Justice Specialist that would assist communities with jail/health and human services issues. Becky O'Brien presented the issue regarding medical assistance payments when people are arrested and jailed.
The fourth meeting on strategic planning for the BCDA was held. The group developed a new Mission Statement and identified four key issues to address. The next steps are to identify some action plans/goals for the organization to move forward on.
The Resolution supporting the WITC branch campus in Frederic has been drafted for review. A motion was made by Maury Miller to approve the resolution and Charlie Peterson seconded the motion. Motion was approved unanimously.
Mike is in the process of writing/developing a brochure to educate local leaders about the benefits of a community leadership program. Working with a colleague from Polk County, they are spending a lot of effort to develop a strong committee so they have a large pool of potential participants. A kick off/planning meeting will be scheduled for some time in May. This will be a joint project with Burnett and Polk Counties.
Mike attended the Northern District In-Service February 18 and 19. The focusa was adult education.
A citizen participation meeting with the County Forest Department was held. Mike facilitated the session which identified issues citizens wanted addressed in the 10 Year County Forest Plan.
V. General Business
Maury Miller made a motion to thank Doug Dewing for all his years of dedicated service to the Extension Committee. Peterson seconded the motion. Unanimous.
VI. CLOSED SESSION
A. Motion to go into Closed Session made by Miller, seconded by Peterson. Roll call vote: Miller, yes; Peterson, yes; Dewing, yes. Motion carried.
B. Motion to return to Open Session made by Miller, seconded by Peterson. Roll call vote: Miller, yes; Peterson, yes; Dewing, yes. Motion carried.
VII. Any Other Business
Mike Kornmann asked to have Charlie Wolden invited to attend the April 20 County Board meeting to be there when the Resolution is introduced to support the WITC Branch Campus proposed for Frederic.
VIII. Set Next Meeting Date
Next meeting date will be held on Monday, April 19, 2004 at 9:30 a.m. in Room 165 of the Burnett County Government Center.
Adjournment - Motion to adjourn the March 15, 2004 meeting was made by Miller, seconded by Peterson. Motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 11:15 a.m. by Chairman Douglas Dewing.