Take the Challenge! Be a Loser

A 10-week course of self-discovery, education, skill-building, and support designed to help adults learn to control their weight.

Brought to you by the Woodford County Cooperative Extension Service, the Woodford County Health Department and Falling Springs Recreation Center

Ready to lose weight for good?

This program will help you design a real way to get your weight under control. You’ll learn how to make your plan flexible and to keep it working over time. 

When:  Mondays, 5:30 to 6:30 pm, April 11^th through June 13^th, 2011

Where:  Agriculture Resource Building, 184 Beasley Road, Versailles

Cost:  There is a registration fee of $20. Those who lose at least 5% of their body weight during the 10-week program will receive a full refund!

What to expect:

Come have some fun in a sharing, supportive atmosphere.  Each of the 10 weekly sessions will include research-based information to help you lose weight along with a recipe demonstration or group activity to illustrate easy ways to eat well.

You’ll have an opportunity to decide which weight loss strategies work best for you.  And then, after a few weeks, you’ll be able to redesign your program to keep strategies that work and discard those that don’t. 

Controlling weight is a skill that you can learn.  It will take thought, time, effort, patience, and perseverance.  But if you’re ready, so are we. 

Call the Woodford County Extension Office at 873-4601, or the Health Department at 873-4541. The deadline to register is Friday, April 8, 2011 at 3:00pm.

Educational programs of Kentucky Cooperative Extension serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability, or national origin.

What is Memory Banking?

Our connection to the University of Kentucky is what allows us to offer evidence-based programming to improve the lives of Kentuckians. Many of the programs and information we provide at the Extension Office is the result of research studies involving Kentuckians for the benefit of Kentuckians. Memory Banking offers an opportunity in the College of Human and Environmental Sciences to be involved in ground breaking research to help guide the work of Family & Consumer Sciences Cooperative Extension.

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Got Memories?

If So, the University of Kentucky needs YOU for a research study

Do you have memories that you want to share with family members but don’t know how? 

Do you want to preserve your stories or the stories of someone you love?  

Are you interested in keeping your memory active? 

·     Are you a current caregiver seeking creative ways to provide quality care?  

If you answer YES to these questions, then the research study on Memory Banking could be for you!

Memory Banking is a 4-week program aimed at teaching participant teams how to document and track personal life stories and health histories.  Teams may include but are not limited to spouses, parents and adult children, grandparents and grandchildren, friends, siblings and caregivers.  With each lesson, teams learn to connect life and health history to relationships, mental healthiness, brain exercise, and legacy.  It is anticipated that Memory Banking will promote mental healthiness and quality of life.

What:

The Memory Banking program is a research study.  It consists of a pre-screening interview,

pre/post assessments, four 90-150 minute program lessons (one lesson/week), and one six-month follow-up telephone assessment.  The assessments are estimated to take approximately 45 minutes.   

Who’s Conducting the Study?

The University of Kentucky’s FCS Cooperative Extension, Graduate Center for Gerontology, and Sanders Brown Center on Aging.

Who Can Participate?

We are seeking pairs of individuals to work as a “Memory Banking Team.” 
Team members must know each other, be 18+ years old, and free of cognitive impairment.
At least one team member must 65+.  

When:

Monday, May 2, 9, 16 and Wednesday, May 25  

Where:

Fayette County Extension Office: 1140 Red Mile Place Lexington, KY 40504-1172

Compensation:

Participants will be compensated at the end of the study, including travel reimbursement

How to Participate:

Call or email your local Extension Agent

For More Information:

Contact Program Director: Amy F. Hosier, Family Life State Extension Specialist at (859) 257-1763 or amy.hosier@uky.edu.  You may also call the University Of Kentucky Office Of Research Integrity at (859) 257-9428.

Family Fun Mealtime

Photo by jenly

 
Join us Monday, February 28th at 10:00 am for Family Fun Mealtime.

Learn how to make the most of your time together sharing meals as a family. You'll get tips for making meals in minutes and make-ahead meals that will save you time while keeping your family healthy.

Our presenter will be Natasha Saunders, FCS Agent in Boyle County. This class is free of charge, but registration is required. Call 873-4601. We hope to see you there!

Skunks: Sharing the road with motorists

Photo by donjd2

In Kentucky skunks are often killed on the roads during February because of their mating habits. The mating season begins in late January and continues through February, resulting in kits in May and June. During breeding season males of this mostly nocturnal species wander between four and five miles each night. These randy raccoons move slowly and resist fleeing from danger, which results in a high incidence of animals being hit by cars. Many motorists note the increase of animals (and odor) on roads and along roadsides during these weeks.

Members of the weasel family, skunks are beneficial, but because of the noxious and unmistakable odor they emit when provoked, they are unpopular and even feared. They can be found in a wide variety of settings, from woodlots to hayfields to cities, throughout Kentucky. They are opportunistic, eating plant and animal material, including insects and small animals such as mice, rats and shrews. Skunks do occasionally kill poultry and eat eggs, but because they mostly consume what are considered vermin (rats, shrews, moles, etc.), the accepted course is to leave them alone in their habitat.

Skunks can become an issue when they take up residence in close proximity to dwellings, for example, under the front porch or start digging underneath foundations. They also can get into trash cans, beehives and henhouses, where they can do damage. 

In addition to their offensive odor, skunks are susceptible to rabies, a serious viral infection they can transmit to other mammals and humans through biting. Great care should be taken to keep children, pets and livestock away from skunks. Pets and livestock should be vaccinated against rabies. If you are bitten by a skunk, capture the animal and submit it, with head intact, to your public health department for testing. Scrub the wound with warm, soapy water for a minimum of 20 minutes. Seek medical attention immediately. Your local public health authorities, physician and veterinarian can provide more information on rabies. 

The best option to prevent interaction with skunks is to make your house, barns or farm less attractive to them. Use wire mesh and fencing to keep animals away from dwellings; promptly remove extraneous attractions such as pet food, animal feed, garbage or sheltering debris that will bring skunks to your property.

Skunks are beneficial, eating agricultural and garden pests. Since skunks eat large numbers of grubs and can damage lawns, some folks might want to see if they have a grub problem and if so, treat that problem. Habitat modification can limit problems with skunks, but the recommended method is to leave them alone. Skunk musk, while off-putting, is usually simply a means of self-defense.

For more information on skunks, contact your local Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Resources biologist or contact the Woodford County Cooperative Extension Service at 873-4601.

 Source: Thomas G. Barnes, Extension Wildlife Specialist

Extension Homemaker College Scholarship Opportunities

Know a college-bound Woodford County resident? 

Help us spread the word! Applications are now being accepted for the Sarah Feltner Memorial Scholarship and the Jenny Carr Memorial Scholarship. Each scholarship is $1,000. 

Photo by AMagill

The Sarah Feltner Scholarship is open to a resident planning to major in Family and Consumer Sciences or a closely related field. The Jenny Carr Scholarship is open to a Woodford County 4-H member in good standing. Students may apply for both scholarships, but only one will be awarded. 

The application deadline is April 1, 2011!

Photo by James Almond

 

Head over to the Woodford CES website for more specific guidelines and an application form. There you will also find brochures and flyers for distribution. Also, any of these forms may be picked up from the Extension Office. Call for a packet and the office will have it ready, 873-4601. 

Monthly Interest Groups for Adults

The best thing about Homemakers and being connected to Cooperative Extension is that we manage to make learning and service fun! Learning a new skill and spending time with others improves mood, reduces stress and promotes brain health.

The Cooperative Extension Service hosts several interest groups each month. If you are looking to get involved with new projects, learn a new skill and enjoy the company of others with similar interests, you should consider stopping by for a meeting. 

Current groups include Herbalists, Painting with Bessie, Scrap Happy Quilters and Glitzy Crafters. These group meetings are open to all and your participation is welcome. 

Below are the monthly meeting times of current groups:

Herbalists – 1^st Monday, 7:00pm

Painting with Bess – Every Monday, 10:30am to 2:30pm

Glitzy Crafters – 4^th Tuesday, 6:00pm

Scrap Happy Quilters – 1^st Thursday, 3:00-4:30pm

For registration, contact person or supply information, please call the Extension Office, 873-4601.

 

If none of the current groups spark your interest, and you have an idea, consider starting your own! The Extension Office will be glad to work with you to provide meeting space for a community educational endeavor!