BURNETT COUNTY AG/EXTENSION COMMITTEE
May 17, 2004
Minutes

I. The meeting was called to order by Doug Stubbe, 4-H/Youth Development Agent, at 9:30 a.m. in Room 165 of the Burnett County Government Center on Monday, May 17, 2004.

II. Notice was posted according to open meeting law requirements.

Present: Charles Peterson, Maury Miller, Gene Olson, Mary Falk, Mike Kornmann, Julie Yezek, Doug Stubbe, Ellie Tripp and Wanda Hinrichs.

Election of new officers was held. Maury Miller, President; Charles Peterson, Vice Chair; Mary Falk, Secretary.

III. Motion to approve the April 19, 2004 minutes was made by Peterson, seconded by Falk. Motion carried.

IV. General Business

Doug Introduced Ellie Tripp who will be working as the Summer Intern for the Extension Office.

The new committee members introduced themselves and shared a little. Gene Olson drives bus for Frederic Schools. He is glad to be a part of the Extension Committee and will be attending the WACEC Conference in Eau Claire on June 6-8, 2004. Gene would like to receive a needs assessment for Extension so the committee knows what is expected of them.

Miller suggested the committee sets one or two goals for the term and try to achieve them.

Mary Falk introduced herself. She and her husband own a 200 acre sheep farm where they produce cheese. She supports agriculture in Burnett County and is concerned about preserving it.

Julie Yezek, Nutrition Education - (Julie gave her report so she could leave for WIC) Julie introduced herself to the new committee members and described her role as a nutrition educator. She has been attending a lot of training for educating the eligible clients in Burnett County. Julie will do evaluations with the programs she teaches to see how effective they are. There was a lengthy open discussion on Nutrition and the schools.

A. Department Head Report

In Marilyn's absence, Doug Stubbe presented the Department Head Report. Explained why vouchers aren't gone over at the committee meetings.

WACEC Orientation Binders were sent to all committee members - Everything you ever wanted to know about WACEC. You may use these for your agendas and minutes.

The Extension Committee meeting dates have traditionally been the third Monday of the month at 9:30 a.m. We will be keeping the same schedule.

The 2004 Financial Report through April was shared.

Update from Dean's WisLine (May 3) - Discussion on Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) which affects counties. Wisconsin Counties Association is discussing this issue. It's modeled after Colorado which is not working well there. More information on this is available.

Community Partner Advisory Group will be initiated in our county, along with other counties around the state. A training session is coming up this June which Doug and Marilyn will attend.

Local Budget Crisis training will also be held this summer for Department Heads and other agents. Doug and Marilyn will also be attending this training together.

Northern District Wisline (May 10) - John Preissing will be working on a special project to evaluate economic development education programs from Sept. 2004 - May 2005 as part of his Ph. D. dissertation. His position as District Director will be backfilled at 40%.

Dean Arlen Leholm plans to visit Burnett County on August 26, the first day of the Grantsburg Fair. We will be planning activities for his visit.

State WACEC conference, June 6-8 in Eau Claire. Suggestions for auction items are needed. We usually collect $5 per member for the auction items from our county. Members planning to attend are Charles and wife Mildred Peterson, Gene Olson and Marilyn Kooiker. Registration packets were due by May 12. Registrations were faxed to the Western District office.

The Tri-County Ag position in Spooner is now being advertised for an external candidate. There were seven applicants at last count for this position.

Other Business - Public Issues Leadership Development Conference, Washington DC, was held May 1-5. Marilyn attended with two WACEC members from the Northern District. They participated in excellent programs and activities. Expenses were paid by the Dean's office with the exception of travel to and from the airport.

Marilyn Kooiker here at 10:15 a.m. and departed at 10:25 a.m.

B. Agent Reports

Doug Stubbe, 4-H/Youth Development - Coming events - Big Gust Days and the Rocket Launch sponsored by the Wood River Beavers will be held on Sunday, June 6 at the Grantsburg School athletic fields.

Doug continues to work with the plat book problem. More discussion on producing it ourselves.

On June 29, Doug and Marilyn will be attending the Community Partnership Advisory Committee in Medford, and the Budget Development Seminar at Palmquist Farms, June 30.

In 2006, Wisconsin will host the National Association of Exterior 4-H Agents Conference in Milwaukee. Doug will be part of the planning and work committee. Doug will be attending the 2004 National Conference in Oklahoma City. He is applying for a grant to help fund expenses.

Discussed 4-H Fair and the humane treatment of animals. Doug discussed the role the fair board and Leaders Association plays.

Mike Kornmann, Community Development - The opening ceremonies for the Tourism/Birding Trail will begin on Thursday at noon with a luncheon at 1 p.m. at the Crex Visitor Center in Grantsburg. The advertising in the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press has been out the last two weeks. The event evaluation survey has been mailed to county lodging facilities and will be at area businesses as well.

As part of its strategic planning process, the BCDA board identified some action plans to address current issues. The main thrust of their plans include actions to get more participation from absent board members and to create membership in the organization.

Two Leadership Program meetings have been scheduled to get direction from community leaders on developing a two county leadership program. The meetings will serve to develop interest and establish a steering committee.

Mike attended the County Officials Workshop on May 12 in Rice Lake. The workshop was excellent professional development as preparation for more local government education.

Mike continues to facilitate the Long Range Planning Committee for the Grantsburg Fire Association. The group has identified action plans and will work on developing an action plan in June.

Mike attended the Mayor's Breakfast in Grantsburg on April 27 at the Grantsburg Community Center.

The Burnett County Lakes and River Association held their spring educational meeting on Saturday, May 15. Twelve people attended to hear presentations on purple loose strife, storm water issues and the clean water/clean boats program.

The committee discussed BCDA and where to proceed with the organization.

Marilyn Kooiker, Family Living - HCE Scholarship winners were Nick Kolander and Rachel Houdek, both from Grantsburg. Each received $250. They will be awarded their certificates at the Awards Program Monday evening, May 17.

The Living with Grief-Alzheimer's Disease satellite program was attended by nine people. Evaluations were positive and good discussion followed the program. This was open to the public.

The HCE District meeting in Hayward was attended by seven members from Burnett County. The meeting was held at the Beehive Botanicals. They enjoyed a very interesting tour.

There has been a request for the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren newsletter on the state website. These have been submitted and will be available soon statewide.

In April Marilyn was appointed to co-chair the Public Policies Committee for the Wisconsin Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.

Upcoming Family Living Activities:

STAR parenting classes have been scheduled for parents of infants and toddlers for the first four Wednesdays in June. More parenting classes will be set up for parents of pre-schoolers/early elementary children, older children and adolescents. These have been requested by Health & Human Services clients. Flyers have been distributed through the WIC program and also news releases have been sent to local media.

Marilyn continues to participate in monthly or quarterly meetings for Safe & Stable Families Steering Committee, Coordinated Community Response Team, HCE Executive Board, State Family Living Association and Dept. of Family Development committees.

The Northern District Family Living meeting will be held in Price County on May 25. Topics of discussion will include "Understanding Child Temperament: Theory, Research and Application" and "Obesity Prevention: What We Know and Where do We Go From Here?" Julie will also be attending this meeting.

Marilyn will be attending the Chippewa County In-service "Educational Programming in County Jails" on Tuesday, May 18 with Grace Gee and Julie Yezek.

V. Any Other Business

Discussion was held on the County Fairs.

VI. Set Next Meeting Date

Next meeting date will be held on Monday, June 21, 2004 at 9:30 a.m. in Room 165 of the Burnett County Government Center.

Adjournment - Motion to adjourn the April 19, 2004 meeting was made by Peterson, seconded by Olson. Motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 11:46 a.m. by Chairman Maury Miller.