November 29, 2001

Extension recognizes outstanding individuals

By Cheryl Alberts, IANR News and Publishing

Outstanding leadership, dedication and accomplishments were recognized at the Nebraska Cooperative Extension Association's conference in Omaha Nov. 13-15.

Elbert Dickey, dean and director of University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension, announced award recipients Nov. 14. Honorees were Alan Baquet, Chuck Burr and Terry Hejny, extension coordinators for the Farmers and Ranchers College; Dewey Teel, extension educator in Antelope County; Don Adams, beef specialist at NU's West Central Research and Extension Center in North Platte; Soni Cochran, extension associate at Lancaster County Cooperative Extension; Vernon Waldren and Myrna Powell, co-unit leaders for Douglas/Sarpy Cooperative Extension; and Rosie Nold, animal science youth specialist at UNL.

The Excellence in Team Programming Award for the Farmers and Ranchers College was presented to Baquet, director of NU's South Central Research and Extension Center; Burr, extension educator in Clay County; and Hejny, extension educator in Fillmore County. College organizers say collaboratively, extension and agribusiness can provide more effective continuing education in a rapidly changing global agricultural environment. The college brings the best presenters to both grain and beef producers in meeting local needs. Some of the programs have had standing room only, and several participants said the college taught them the importance of planning, better production knowledge and marketing their commodities.

Teel received the Distinguished Educator Award. The Antelope County extension educator's programming includes rural revitalization and technology education for five communities in Antelope and Holt counties. He has attained thousands of dollars in grants for housing and has helped develop an area golf course and a bid for a regional correctional facility. Teel also was instrumental in developing Nebraska Electronic Main Street, which ultimately reached 125 business owners in the state with more than half of them building web sites. Teel's technology training continues with Technologies Across Nebraska, an NU-led team of more than 40 agencies.

Adams received the Distinguished Specialist Award, in part for his work in range cattle nutrition. Adams provides information to veterinarians as well as producers and helped start the Nebraska Ranch Practicum in 1999. The practicum is taught over seven months to help producers understand concepts and see them applied in the field under changing conditions. He also serves as faculty supervisor of the Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory, which facilitates NU's beef education outreach. Adams' outreach efforts are estimated to have saved producers more than $1 million.

Cochran received the Distinguished Associate Award. Cochran annually handles more than 4,000 urban pest management and wildlife queries. Cochran served on a Lincoln Public School head lice task force and helped make a videotape on this topic. Subsequently, LPS reported nearly 60 percent fewer head lice cases. Cochran also is involved with helping develop parenting guides for divorced parents and has co-chaired the earth wellness festival for about 20,000 area youth. The Lancaster County Cooperative Extension office web site, which Cochran coordinates and maintains, receives more than 100,000 hits per month.

Waldren and Powell received the Chester L. Walters "Extra Mile" Award. Their nomination notes they have worked hundreds of hours to better inform local decision makers about extension's unbiased, scientifically sound educational programs on topics such as household pests and wildlife, family life, food safety and nutrition, and gardening and agriculture.

Nold received the Extension New Employee Award. She has developed several programs for youth based on a safe food supply, leadership and character development, and educational campus visits. These programs include coordinating livestock quality assurance; developing new Premier Exhibitor awards at the Nebraska State Fair and Ak-Sar-Ben 4-H Livestock Exposition; and developing the curriculum for UNL's Premier Animal Science Events.

Teel, Adams, Cochran, Waldren, Powell and Nold each received cash awards.

About 165 extension personnel attended the NCEA professional development convention, held this year at the Omaha Marriott.

NU Cooperative Extension is an educational partnership of local, state and federal governments. Cooperative Extension is a division of NU's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Two UNL animal scientists leading national group

Two UNL animal scientists recently were named president and president-elect of the Federation of Animal Science Societies' board of directors.

Terry Klopfenstein, Kermit Wagner professor of animal science, is serving a one-year term as president of the federation board. Klopfenstein is past president of the American Society of Animal Science. He has been a faculty member since 1965.

Donald Beermann, professor and head of the animal science department, was named president-elect. Beermann also is a past president of ASAS. He joined NU's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources from Cornell University in 1999.

The Federation of Animal Science Societies was established in 1998 to provide a unified voice for the advancement of animal agriculture and animal sciences. The federation consists of three founding member societies: the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science and the Poultry Science Association.

ETV moves toward digital with federal grant

The Nebraska ETV Network moved closer to fully funding its transition to new digital television technology with a $1.5 million grant through the U.S. Department of Commerce's Public Telecommunications Facilities Program.

The Nebraska Public Radio Network also received a $15,300 public telecommunications grant to upgrade equipment at its transmitter in Chadron. Nebraska ETV and NPRN are both services of Nebraska Educational Telecommunications.

The $1.5 million for digital technology will be used to buy transmitters, transmission lines, antennas and test equipment at KHNE-TV, channel 29, Hastings, and KXNE-TV, channel 19, Norfolk. The grant will also help to construct a new transmitter tower for KPNE-TV, channel 9, North Platte. It will leverage $3.75 million in matching funds from the state of Nebraska, according to NET General Manager Rod Bates.

DTV can deliver high definition television (HDTV) programming with sharper images and better sound than the current analog broadcasting standard. Alternatively, DTV can transmit multiple standard definition television signals on a single frequency so viewers can choose between several programs on the same channel. DTV is also capable of sending data like a computer network.

The $1.5 million award constitutes the second installment of a multi-year PTFP grant. The first installment, received last year, paid for $1.2 million worth of the $3.1 million in improvements that NET invested to prepare four transmitters for digital conversion. Work is under way at these sites, and NET expects to begin testing digital broadcasts in January. All nine Nebraska ETV stations must begin digital broadcasts by May 1, 2003, the deadline established by the Federal Communications Commission.

The, $15,300 PTFP grant will provide NPRN listeners in the Chadron area with a more reliable signal.

NET received two of the 105 grants totaling $42 million awarded this year by the PTFP. In all, 252 grant applications requesting $170 million were submitted to the program.