Post on 06-Oct-2020
See photos, page 6
Several Extension professionals from the
Panhandle District received recognition recently.
Nebraska Extension Fall Conference:
Extension Educator Gary Stone received the
Chester I. Walters Extra Mile Award, which
recognizes staff who go beyond the call of duty in
carrying out their responsibilities. When Jim Schild
was appointed Associate Research and Extension
Director in 2014, Gary took over several major areas
he had previously covered, including coordination of
the Master Gardener program and delivery of
pesticide education for private and commercial
applicators. He also helps with chemigation training
for Scotts Bluff, Morrill and Garden counties and
continues to help irrigators install and understand soil
moisture probes. He also has taken on new projects.
Extension Entomologist Jeff Bradshaw received
the Innovative Extension Specialist Award, which
recognizes outstanding contributions by an Extension
Specialist in his program areas. In recent years the
wheat stem sawfly has re-emerged to become the most
important insect pest of wheat in Nebraska. About five
years ago Jeff initiated a wheat stem sawfly survey,
collaborating with farmers, extension educators and
crop consultants. The survey has produced five years’
worth of data and helped create a network of people
interested in participating in tracking this pest. It has
revealed the presence of a parasitoid wasp and helped
track its spread, as well as that of the sawfly.
Several teams were recognized. The Innovation in
Team Programming Award went to the Go NAP
SACC program, whose members include Erin
Kampbell, Nutr ition Education Program Assistant
in Scottsbluff. Go NAP SACC stands for Go Nutrition
and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care,
a program designed to promote healthy child
development by supporting healthy eating and
physical activity for children with child care
providers.
The Nebraska Cooperative Extension Association
presented the Outstanding Programming Team Award
We are already well into 2017, can you be-
lieve that? Jim and I have had the chance to read
your reporting of the past year’s accomplishments.
As we move into the new year, it is great time to as-
sess where we are. A regular assessment of one’s
personal, professional and other aspects of life can
be refreshing and rewarding. I sometimes find my-
self “too busy sawing to take time to sharpen my
saw.” I hope you are better than me about taking
time to pause and reflect on your accomplishments
and goals for the future. Remember, we only go
through this life once, so taking time to stop and
smell the roses along the path is important. I suggest
that pausing periodically to do a personal inventory
ought to be part of all of our priorities.
We have enjoyed reading your Activity In-
sights contributions from the past year. It is the one
time a year for me to really grasp the full scope of
what you do individually, and what collectively our
district does for the investment made in our pro-
grams. In many ways, I am blown away by the
scope and quality of what you have been up to. I
complement you and thank for your efforts, thanks
for the work and thought you put into your roles in
the district. Thanks for having enough confidence in
me to allow me to serve as Director. I deem it a
great responsibility and privilege. Thank you. Have
a good month.
Jack
Continued on page 3
Spouse/Significant Other: Jesse Cruz
Children: Jazmine, stepdaughter , 18, senior at
Gering High School; Alyssa, stepdaughter, 16, junior
at Gering High School; Gabriel, son, 13, 7th grade at
Gering Junior High; Carlos, stepson, 12, 6th grade at
Lincoln Elementary; Izayah, son, 8, 2nd grade at Lin-
coln Elementary; Ezekiel Wayne, furry son, 1 year
old, German Shepherd; and Meaya Nicole, furry
daughter, 10 years old, Weimereiner/Lab
Background/family: Place of Bir th: North Platte;
four siblings.
Education/career: I have been in the workforce
since the age of 14, starting as a kennel technician
for a small animal boarding facility and working my
way up to office and kennel manager by the age of
18. Life took a turn when I became pregnant at the
age of 16 and a junior in high school. As a result, I
dropped out of school after completion of my junior
year. After the birth of my oldest son, I obtained my
GED and later secured my first entry-level position
in the financial services industry as a teller at a local
bank. I served in that position for several years until I
had my second son and left my position to pursue my
undergraduate degree in business. I attended the Uni-
versity of Phoenix online and obtained my associates
of arts in business administration while given the op-
portunity to stay at home with my children. I then
went on to pursue my bachelors of science in small
business management and entrepreneurship and re-
entered the workforce, securing a position at an in-
vestment company serving the role of Branch Man-
ager, which allowed me the flexibility to pursue my
educational goals. At the completion of my bache-
lor’s degree, I began pursuing my MBA. It was then
that I secured a mid-level career at a local bank man-
aging new and existing financial portfolios for vari-
ous small business in the Gering, Scottsbluff, and
Torrington markets. At the completion of my MBA,
I began attending Walden University and completed
a semester in the Doctorate of Business Administra-
tion program until life commitments took me away
from my educational focus. In 2016, I secured the
position of Financial Associate at PHREC and have
since been given the privilege to serve as the Interim
Assistant Business Manager. It is my hope to secure
this position permanently when the time comes and
continue to advance within my career at UNL.
Hobbies/Interests: My family and I enjoy travel-
ing and camping, my kids and husband enjoy fishing.
I specifically enjoy the art of classical dance; my
love of dance started at the age of 4 when I began
ballet and continued to grow throughout the years. I
enjoyed being part of competitive dancing, which I
was able to showcase my love for dance through
Pointe (a form of classical ballet).
Spouse/Significant Other: Jody, Water
Technician at the North Platte NRD
Children: Tyler , 20, attending Colby Community
College in Colby, KS, on a rodeo scholarship (tie-
down roping and team roping) majoring in Farm and
Ranch Management; Kaylie, 19, attending Colby
Community College on a rodeo scholarship
(breakaway roping, team roping, barrels) majoring in
Ag Education. She would someday like to be an Ag
Teacher.
Background/family: My husband and I have lived
in the Scottsbluff area for the past 20 years on a
small acreage outside of McGrew. We enjoy
watching our kids rodeo (although it’s a little harder
now that they are both in college and their rodeos are
in Kansas or Oklahoma), however, we are adjusting
to the “empty” nest and finding both our food bill
and laundry duties have significantly decreased.
Education/career: I have a master of science in
educational administration and a bachelor of science
in elementary education. I have taught at Morrill
Elementary school, Scottsbluff High school and
Bayard High School, where I also had the privilege
of coaching my daughter as the head girls basketball
coach. I have also been the clerk/treasurer at both the
Village of McGrew and Village of Melbeta for the
past 6 years.
Hobbies/Interests: I love gardening and taking
care of my fish pond during the summer. I also love
watching sports: football, basketball, rodeo,
volleyball, etc. NOT golf or tennis or curling LOL.
to the Animals Inside and Out program, whose
Panhandle members include 4-H staff Jana Schwartz,
Scotts Bluff County; Terri Lemmon, Dawes County;
Deb Kraenow, Box Butte County; and Melissa
Mracek, Sher idan County. Animals Inside and Out
is designed for elementary students to explore the
science of animals.
National Conference:
Animals Inside and Out also won the Excellence in
Science Programming Award from the National
Association of Extension 4-H Agents (NAE4-HA) at
this fall’s national conference in New Orleans.
Cynthia Gill, Extension Educator in Cheyenne
County, received a National Communicator Award for
her published photo of a 4-H member and his chicken
bonding at the fair. She also received the Achievement
in Service Award (ASA) for Nebraska, for
members with at least two years of service.
Sue Pearman, Extension Educator in the
Continued on page 5
OPEN POSITIONS
NOTE: A hir ing freeze remains in effect as the
University awaits finalization of a state budget for
2017-19. UNL and other state agencies anticipate
reductions in state funding due to lower projected
tax revenues.
Irrigation management specialist: Interview and
seminar of fourth candidate, John “Burdette”
Barker, has been completed. Candidates are under
review.
Other open positions include Extension educators in
Morrill County and Box Butte County.
DEPARTURES
Deb Alber, Office Manager in Morrill County.
NEW HIRES
Brianna Conroy, manager of Panhandle Research
Feedlot.
Chelsea Altena, 4-H coordinator in Morrill County.
Spouse/Significant Other: Mike Joern – Truck
driver (cattle) for B & W Livestock, Inc.
Children: Josh, 10 years old, 5th grade Lincoln
Elementary-mathematical genius and computer
whiz! Hunter, 5, preschool – loves trucks and
digging in the dirt!
Background/family: Born in upstate New York
into a Coast Guard family but raised in California
(Bay Area) by my grandparents. Moved to Wyoming
in 2006 to be with my family who “migrated east”
and then I moved to Nebraska in 2009. My parents
now live in Oregon and my sister still lives in
Evanston, Wyoming.
Bulk of my professional career has been in property
management and mortgage banking. I enjoy
spending time with my family. We are an outdoors
family who enjoys hunting and fishing together. I am
a proud horse-mom to Comanche and enjoy
exploring the Nebraska Panhandle on horseback as a
means to unwind and get away from technology.
Hobbies/Interests: Cooking/baking, horseback
riding, waterfowl hunting, fishing/camping,
gardening. I want to start a miniature cow farm!
Enjoy road trips to visit family and explore new
places.
Cody Creech, $37,800 from the Nebraska
Department of Agriculture for a project entitled
Incorporating Dry Bean into Dryland Cropping
Systems. Term of award: Sept. 30, 2016, through
Sept. 29, 2019.
Bob Harveson, $30,923 from Nebraska
Department of Agriculture for a project entitled
Integrating Fungicide Application Timings with
Genetic Tolerance for Managing Phomopsis Stem
Canker in Sunflowers. Term of award: Sept. 30,
2016, through Sept. 29, 2019.
Dipak Santra, $16,999 from the Nebraska
Department of Agriculture for a project entitled
Identifying the Best Peppermint and Spearmint
Varieties for Production in Western Nebraska. Term
of award: Sept. 30, 2016, through Sept. 29, 2019.
Dipak Santra, $16,999 from Nebraska
Department of Agriculture for a project entitled
Identifying High Seed Protein Pea Variety and
Production System in Western Nebraska. Term of
award: Sept. 30, 2016, through Sept. 29, 2019.
Carlos Urrea, $20,381 from Nebraska
Department of Agriculture for a project entitled
Identification of Sources of Common Bacterial
Blight pv. fuscans Resistance in Dry Beans. Term of
award: Sept. 30, 2016, through Sept. 29, 2019.
Jeff Bradshaw, $3,000 from Dow AgroSciences
for a project entitled Corn Rootworm. Term of
award: April 1, 2016, through Dec. 31, 2016.
Mitch Stephenson, $50,000 from Nebraska
Grazing Lands Coalition for a project entitled
Evaluation of Grazable Cover Crops and Annual
Forages. Term of award: Jan. 1, 2017, through Dec.
31, 2018.
Cody Creech, Dipak Santra, and others: $200,000
from University of Minnesota-SARE for a project
entitled Rotational Benefits and Agronomic
Evaluation of Field Peas in Cereal Based Cropping
Systems. Lead PI, Strahinja Stepanovic. Term of
award: Jan. 1, 2017, through Dec. 31, 2019.
Jamie Goffena, $2,500 from Panhandle Public
Health District for a project entitled National
Diabetes Prevention Program. Term of award: Jan. 1,
2017, through Dec. 31, 2019.
Mitch Stephenson and others, $7,740 to suppor t
application Improving Forage Mass and Nutritive
Value of Pastures by Interseeding Summer Annuals,
Lead PI John Guretzky. Term of Award: Through
Jan. 31, 2018.
Nevin Lawrence, $1,520 from Montana State
University for a project entitled Ecological
Management of Kochia in Irrigated Western
Cropping Systems. (Entire award was $325,000, with
$75,000 going to UNL.) Term of award: Sept. 1,
2016, through Aug. 30, 2017.
Central Sandhills office, was part of a team that
received the Educational Piece Team Award, a
National Specialty Award, for the new STEAM
Clothing Curriculum.
IANR Awards
Carlos Urrea, dry bean breeding specialist, has
received the Omtvedt Innovation Award from the
UNL Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
The award recognizes IANR faculty who demonstrate
exceptional abilities and innovation. His program
focuses on selecting plants that are multiple-disease-
resistant and have desirable qualities related to water
efficiency, minimum tillage and more upright
architecture, allowing direct harvesting.
Other kudos
Dipak Santra was given special recognition by Dr.
Jason Gillman of USDA-ARS, Chair of Crop Science
Society of America C9 Division, for his presentation
at the Nov. 6-9, 2016, Symposium, “Novel and
Ancient Crops: Small in Acreage, Large in Value,”
sponsored by CSSA, the American Society of
Agronomy, and the Soil Science Society of America.
Dipak presented on proso millet breeding, genetics,
genomics and uses. It was the first time for a
symposium like this to highlight such crops.
The Go NAP SACC team poses with Chuck Hibberd, Dean and Director of Extension, as they receive the Innovation in
Team Programming Award. Erin Kampbell, Nutrition Education Program Assistant in Scottsbluff, is on the right.
The Nebraska Cooperative Extension Association’s Outstanding Programming Team Award is presented to the Animals Inside and Out team. Panhandle members include Terri Lemmon (fifth from left); Jana Schwartz (sixth from left); Melissa Mracek (fourth from right); and Deb Kraenow (not pictured) with NCEA President Ron Seymour.
Gary Stone with Dean Hibberd. Jeff Bradshaw with Dean Hibberd. Carlos Urrea with Ron Yoder, interim
vice chancellor of IANR.