West Virginia University Extension Service

Volume VIII, Number 1 Summer 1993

Camp Eases Transition to Jr. High •

Remember your first day of junior high school? The build­ing was bigger, the schedule was more corifusing, and most of the other students were strangers. You suddenly real­ized that this was not just another school year; this was a milestone in your journey toward independence.

In Ra leigh County, hundreds of youngsters going to junior high or middle school this fall are a little more prepared than most. That's because they have just completed a weeklong camping experience specially designed to ease their transition from ele­mentary school.

Extension agent Dewayne McGrady developed the camp in 1992 as an outgrowth of his work with the Raleigh County Dropout Prevention Task Force. He enlisted the aid of several local agencies to offer a camp that reinforces basic leaming skills and provides a glimpse of what's ahead.

"Research has shown us that this transition is a critical time for kids. What we're trying to do is help them build the skills they

Extension

Independence High School teacher Marcella Adkins guides campers through computer-assisted math and reading exercises . At the keyboards are, from left , Kim George of Beaver, Lori Johnston of Odd, Amber Cyrus of Crab Orchard and Wesley Edwards ofTerry.

will need to succeed," McGrady said.

At the camp, Raleigh County teachers conduct computer­assisted lessons in reading, math and science. Law enforcement officers help the children explore ways to avoid drugs and protect themselves from bullying. Auto safety instruction is offered each day through West Virginia Uni­versity's Youth Highway Safety program.

Most of the action takes place at the Raleigh County 4-H Camp at Little Beaver State Park. How-

ever, the week includes trips to the Youth Museum, Beckley Ex­hibition Mine, and Theater West Virginia's outdoor drama at Grandview State Park.

McGrady says one of the most important outings takes place in midweek, when the students go to the junior high or middle school they will be attending in the fall. For many, it's their first time in the building.

A scavenger hunt gives them a chance to explore. They locate such critical areas as the

continued on page 3

VIEWPOINT

Since the days of Aaron Rapking in the 1930s, the WVU Extension Service has been com­mitted to working with citizens to improve life in rural communi­ties. County and state faculty have assisted communities with planning for their future. We have a division at the state level called Agriculture, Forestry and Community Development. So development is not some new topic or a radical departure from our history. The level of concern in the state, however, is very high, and resources for commu­nity development in WVU Exten­sion declined through the 1970s and 1980s.

The team of county and state faculty working on community economic development has de­fined their vision this way:

"WVU Extension will be a dynamic and active catalyst in bringing about community eco­nomic development that is locally based, holistic, and sustainable. Through helping people solve their own economic problems, extension will make a real impact on the quality of life experienced by West Virginians."

I see extension's role as one of capacity building at the local or community level. In a forthcom­ing book, Ron Ferguson and DeWitt John define several ca­pacities as important to develop­ment. Using their definitions, let

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me describe extension activities and indicate the level of our ac­tivity.

Physical Capacity This includes all parts of the

physical infrastructure. Exten­sion has done much recently under grant funding to help cre­ate and implement local solid waste authorities, to demon­strate wastewater technologies, and to use telecommunications for training, credit courses, and staff meetings. Extension work in this category will be moderate.

Financial Capacity This includes both capital

availability and business activity. Extension's role has been limited primarily to assisting farmers and families with financial plan­ning. ·I would expect extension's role in this area to remain lim­ited, but we probably should consider educational programs and technical assistance for very small or micro-enterprises.

Intellectual Capacity This is technical knowledge or

the ability to access technical knowledge. WVU Extensional­ready has technical expertise in many areas and systems for sharing it with communities and organizations. As we build links into other intellectual resources in the WVU faculty, we can ex­tend that knowledge to commu­nities. Extension work in this category will be high.

Work Force Capacity This refers to existing skills,

as well as skills evolving through the education system. Exten­sion's focus here has been on youth development and labor education. Recently, we have expanded our youth programs to include entrepreneurial educa­tion through REAL and Learn to Earn demonstration projects and a career education program

called "A Future for Me." Exten­sion work in this category will be moderate.

Civic Capacity Often, a community's social,

political or leadership base is described as its civic capacity. In simple terms, it means the com­munity's ability to organize and get things done. Here extension has a rich history of leadership development in 4-H, Extension Homemakers, agricultural com­modity groups, the bed and breakfast organization, and other groups. We have provided leader­ship training, community vision­ing and strategic planning, tech­nical assistance, and training to local governments and commu­nity groups, the Mon Valley Leadership Academy, and the Leadership Academy at Jackson's Mill. Extension work in this cat­egory will continue to be high.

I hope this gives you an idea of the framework within which WVU Extension approaches com­munity economic development. We are not the only agency or organization that does capacity building, but we will not dupli­cate what others are doing. We collaborate with other groups because together we can do more.

This fall, we will start a search process to recruit new program leadership for commu­nity economic development. Once that person is on board in 1994, you can anticipate even more specific plans.

Rachel B. Tompkins Associate Provost for Extension and Economic Development Director, Cooperative Extension Service

Extension Vision: Summer 1993

Cpl. J. D. Meadows of the Beckley City Police discusses the dangers of drugs with Raleigh County youths who will soon enter junior high or middle school.

continued from page 1

cafeteria, health room, and li­brary. They check out the gyms, the restrooms, the lockers. They get a feel for how the building is laid out well before that pres­sure-filled first day of school. "We've found that this is a fun way to relieve some anxiety. They feel more in control if they know how to get around in their environment," McGrady said.

You won't find competitive sports or contests at this camp. Instead, cooperative activities give the youths a chance to work together, building self-esteem and trust. Three camps were held in 1992 and two in 1993. Each weeklong camp brings together about 100 children from throughout the county.

Besides the Exten­sion Service, support comes from the Beckley

In extension agent Dewayne McGrady, right , Raleigh County youngsters find a good listener who can help to relieve some of their anxiety about the future.

Extension Vision: Summer 1993

Recreation Department, Beckley City Police, Raleigh County Board of Education, Fayette­Monroe-Raleigh-Summers Men­tal Health Council, Beckley Art Group, Raleigh County Commu­nity Action, Beckley Hospital, and Raleigh County Sheriffs Office. Private donations and help from the Drug-Free Schools and Youth Highway Safety pro­grams also support the camp.

Who gets to attend? Elemen­tary school guidance counselors

make a special effort to recruit students identified as at risk from such factors as socioeco­nomic disadvantage or low aca­demic performance. These stu­dents have the first opportunity to enroll in the camp. Then, enrollment is open to any inter­ested fifth-grader going into middle school or sixth-grader going into junior high. McGrady said the diversity of campers makes the experience more ben­eficial for everyone, and more reflective of the junior high ex­perience.

High school students serve as counselors, staying in the Quonset hut "cabins" with the campers and providing indi­vidual attention. These counse­lors and all of the professionals working at the camp are volun­teers.

Cpl. J. D. Meadows of the Beckley City Police assists McGrady with administrative details and leads the drug awareness sessions. Meadows thinks the summer months are a vulnerable time for youths. "I am not a proponent of three­month vacations," he said. "Kids get bored by late summer and they start to lose the gains they

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4

It gets the kids into the

learning mode.

made over the school year. I'm excited about this camp because it ties the last year and the next year together. It gets the kids into the learning mode."

Meadows says one of the best parts of camp is that the kids meet others with whom they'll be going to school. They develop friendships quickly, he said, and that helps them in the fall.

The campers agree. Jason Belcher of Cranberry said he met many future classmates at Beckley Junior High School while at camp. "I thought camp would be something different to do. I was getting bored at home. I met a lot of people, and that was nice. I also liked working on the computers," he said .

Hank Long of Beckley said the food was the best part of camp, but he also had fun meet­ing people who would be attend­ing Park Junior High with him. Similarly, Jennifer Massey of Coal City rated swimming as her favorite activity, but said she

also felt better prepared to enter Stoco Junior High as well.

Debbie Wright of Indepen­dence High School was a camp counselor. "As the week went by, we became like a little fam­ily," she said. "A lot of the girls were nervous about junior high. They were scared they wouldn't have any friends. Meeting new people this way has helped them."

Attitude surveys taken before and after the 1992 camp showed that the children had more positive attitudes about themselves and were more com­fortable about school after par­ticipating in camp. The 1993 campers will be surveyed later in the school year to see if these benefits continue.

"The principals tell me infor­mally that they think the kids who went to camp had a better adjustment," McGrady observed. "In our formal evaluations, we're looking for an improvement in attitude toward school, reading, math, and science, and for

higher self-esteem." In Raleigh

County, it is no longer sink-or-swim for students enter­ing junior high. Instead, they are learning how to successfully navi­gate what was once a perilous course. And, they're having a lot of fun doing it.

,___,Grace Truman

Camp assistant Hillary Phillips, right, explains the importance of seat belLs to Carrie Wolfe of Beckley.

Extension Vision: Summer 1993

New Farm Practices Protect Land, Water •

As a recent Gallup poll (see box) confirms, farmers are con­cemed about the environmental impact of agricultural practices. However, farmers are also busi­ness people who must compete in an increasingly global, and tough, economy.

So the question becomes: Can farmers be good stewards of the land and sustain or improve their ability to make a living? The answer, say extension agents and specialists, is yes.

Cattle fanner Chub Warren (left) and Tom Basden scouifor pes is in an alfalfa field. Warrenfertilizes his fields with turkey liiier purchasedfrom a neighbor. By using scouting, he can apply the litier in just the righi amounts, at the right times.

Farmers can have economi­cally and environmentally viable farms, in the opinion of Mark

McFarland, extension soil and water resources specialist. Ways

Poll: Farmers Concerned About Environment

West Virginia farmers and extension agents weren't surprised when a

December 1992 Gallup national poll found that three out of five U.S. farmers

are more concerned about the environment than they were five years

ago-and a majority said they have made changes in how they farm.

Recent trends in agricultural practices in West Virginia confirm the poll's

findings.

Although some people "look for a villain to blame" for environmental

problems, there is none, said Suzanne Poland, assistant extension specialist.

"Farmers aren't any more resistant to change than city people," Poland

said. "In urban areas, people are having to stop bagging up grass clippings

because landfills can't handle the garbage. Most get used to the idea,

understand how it will benefit them in the long run, and change willingly.

Others resist change," she said.

Chub Warren, cattle farmer and president of the Cattlemen's

Association in Greenbrier County, agrees that farmers are no different than

anyone else. "Except, " he said, " we work with the land every day and

have taken care of it for generations. The only difference now is that we are

learning ways to do it better."

The polling organization coducted interviews with 1 ,200 men and

women between 18 and 65 years old who farm at least 240 acres on a half­

time or more basis. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.8 percent. Sandoz

Agro commissioned the survey.

Extension Vision: Summer 1993

to do this include using inte­grated management techniques to determine loading rates for manures and fertilizers and timing of pesticide applications, rotating crops, improving pas­tures, and choosing disease­and pest-resistant plants.

The results of these increas­ingly common practices have been good for everyone, reports Mason County extension agent Rodney Wallbrown.

"We're seeing better manage­ment all around, which means fewer costs, better yields, and less potential for damage to the environment," he said.

Extension agents advise farmers throughout the state on practices that protect the land and water. WVU researchers, extension faculty, and farmers also conduct demonstrations and trials that yield important information relating to environ­mental concerns.

Eventually, research findings and project information reach all extension faculty to use with farmers.

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Above: John McCutcheon (right) and Tom Basden, Greenbrier County extension agent and assistant extension specialist, respectively, examine a waste manage­ment system. Hog farmer Sam Warren applies 7,000 or 8,000 gallons of slurry (liquid manure) to each acre of com. After manure washes into the reiriforced concrete holding tank through a concrete trough, it is pumped into a tank for application.

"If we can get information into the hands of the farmers, some will make changes. If they in tum convince their neighbors to give them a try, we will meet the challenge," Dr. McFarland said.

Integrated Management Greenbrier County cattle

farmer Chub Warren doesn't accumulate much animal waste on his farm, so he buys turkey litter for his pastures from a nearby farm. Although he is officially wrapping up a three­year stint in the Integrated Crop Management (ICM) program, Warren said he plans to con­tinue practices he "fine-tuned" during the project.

At Warren's farm, an exten­sion-trained scout has collected soil samples for testing from each field every year. During the growing season, the scout also monitored corn and alfalfa at least weekly, looking for weeds, insects and diseases.

Tom Basden, assistant ex­tension specialist, then used the scout's report to develop a nutri-

6

ent and pest management plan each spring, which recom­mended whether to apply fertil­izer and pesticides, how much, and when.

Basden also recommended the turkey litter as a low-cost fertilizer. Results of a manure testing program led to the determination of accurate loading rates.

"The program sells itself because everyone wins," said John McCutcheon, Greenbrier County extension agent. The farmer is saving money and maintaining or improving the area's environmental quality.

Ron Slonaker, who grows apples and other

A contained spraying unit being developed at the WVU Experiment Farm in Kearneysville is used with dwarf and semidwarj trees planted closely together (intensive). The system re­duces drift, recycles spray, and uses half as much spray as conventional sprayers.

better management

means fewer costs, better

yields, and less potential for damage

fruits on his 500-acre Jefferson Orchards in the Eastern Pan­handle, also praises integrated management practices.

Slonaker, who participated with other growers in an exten­sian program to learn how to scout orchards, said he "cut 5-10 percent off my bill for insecti­cides and fungicides." An added benefit, according to the or­chardist, is that decreasing pes-

ticide use "pleases customers" concerned about food safety.

Intensive plantings of small staked and trellised trees at near by WVU Experimental Farm in Kearneysville outpro­duce traditional larger apple trees and require about 50 per­cent less spray, said Tara Baugher, extension horticulture specialist at the farr1 .

Because these trees are small and closer to­gether, they can be sprayed using a con­tained unit, which the farm is developing.

"These trees are catching on-especially among newer growers­because of environmental factors and better yields. They also require the use of smaller, less energy­intensive tractors and lend themselves to me­chanical harvesting, " Dr. Baugher said.

Total Farm Management Total Farm Manage­

ment (TFM), a new pro­gram promoted by the National Cattlemen's Association, looks at how best to manage all farm resources.

"TFM includes all the same things ICM stresses, but also pays attention

on unused acreage conserves the soil and provides a cash crop, " commented Smith.

Water Quality Initiatives Increased awareness by agri­

cultural producers of the factors that impact water quality has led to some big changes on farms throughout the state. Old and new technologies have

teet both surface and ground­water.

To date, 9 animal waste im­poundment systems have been designed or installed, 186 springs and troughs have been developed, 26 wells drilled, and 53 dugout or embankment ponds constructed. The Agri­cultural Stabilization and Con­servation Service (ASCS) paid 75

percent of the costs for structures. Approved cost-share funds have reached over $1 million.

Emory Hanna, a dairy farmer and program par­ticipant, who has a new manure pit that helped him significantly increase yields, offered the ulti­mate praise: "It's been a labor-saver and dollar­saver, and that's the bot­tom line."

Extension and several other agencies are in­volved in the Potomac Headwaters Water Qual­ity Project, another major U.S. Department of Agri­culture initiative target­ing a particularly sensi­tive region.

The Greenbrier Wa­tershed was targeted because its topography, which includes a system of underground water­ways traveling through limestone caves, in-to record keeping sys­

tems, financial manage­ment, and consumer wants," said Luther Smith, extension farm management adviser.

Orchardist Ronald Slonaker "scouts" his plot of staked, semidwarj trees for pests and diseases . The smaller trees require more management and pruning in early years, but he 's giving them a try because they reportedly give higher and earlier yields, and require half as much spray.

creases the risk of con­tamination of surface­and groundwater.

The Potomac River and its tributaries are

Environmental issues constantly come into play when looking at things from a busi­ness management perspective, Smith said. For instance, farm inputs such as chemicals and pesticides are expensive, and . . . there are many conservation practices that pay off. "For in­stance , planting Christmas trees

Extension Vision: Summer 1993

merged to produce management systems that are environmen­tally sound and economically viable.

Through the three-year-old, multiagency Greenbrier River Hydrologic Unit Project, many farmers have developed man­agement plans that help to pro-

critical because they con­verge with other rivers that traverse rural and urban re­gions-eventually emptying into the Chesapeake Bay.

The Potomac Headwaters Water Quality Project, begun this year, extends into nine Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands counties. As with the

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Using newspaper as animal bedding, as seen in this Easiem Panhandle chicken house, is a growing trend on West Virginia poultry and dairy farms. In addition to being inexpensive, ihe bedding is dean, absorbent, and sterile.

Greenbrier project, extension faculty will provide information and education on IPM/ICM practices, waste management systems, and conservation structures.

In addition, the project will focus on improving the manage­ment of the many confined poul­try and dairy feeding operations in the area.

"These programs help pro­ducers identifY and implement both old and new technologies that protect water quality," McFarland said.

Newspaper Recycling and Sewage Sludge

Much municipal solid waste comes from paper products and sewage sludge, and West Virginia's landfill space dwindles with each passing year.

That's why West Virginia farmers who are using old news­papers as animal bedding and mulch, and processed sewage sludge as fertilizer are doing the rest of us a big favor, said Arthur Selders, extension agri­cultural engineering specialist. "At the same time," he added, "they are saving themselves quite a bit of money."

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Poultry and dairy farmers in some half-dozen counties-and a handful of sheep, horse, and hog farmers statewide-are us­ing newspapers for bedding.

"Farmers like it because it's cleaner and cheaper than other materials. Mastitis levels in their herds are as low as or lower than with sawdust, straw, or other bedding," Selders said. In 1992, producers used more than 500 tons of newsprint for poultry litter and livestock bed­ding.

Using old newspaper as mulch is being tested on veg­etable and small fruit crops. The mulch is sterile, weed free, and plentiful.

Logistics is the primary prob­lem. The paper is plentiful in urban areas and scare in rural areas. "Even more farmers would probably use it if we can find a way to get it where it's needed cost-effectively," he said.

The EPA has commended West Virginia for having a sludge-management program that already complies with most of the new federal safety guide­lines, said Jeff Skousen, exten­sion research associate.

In 1991, 47,500 tons of sew-

age sludge were applied to pas­ture land instead of dumped in state landfills; the amount in­creased in 1992. Preliminary 1992 figures indicate farmers saved $500,000 in fertilizer costs by using the free sludge. Not only does sludge save farm­ers money, it also keeps sewer rates down and reduces the potential for pollution from landfill dumping or incineration . Total savings for West Virgin­ians was about $3 million, ac­cording to preliminary 1992 figures.

Sustainable Agriculture The director of extension's

Center for Sustainable Agricul­ture is seeing growing interest in using integrated management practices, protecting water qual­ity, recycling, and learning about alternative and organic farming methods.

Although the current goal of many programs is for farmers to decrease their use of chemicals by about 20 or 30 percent, Keith Dix believes many will cut chemical use even more by the end of the decade.

"The two trends in agricul­ture, organic and traditional, are gradually coming together. Issues of food safety and water pollution are not going to go away, so it's going to happen," he said.

Agreeing is Edmond B. Collins, leader of extension's agriculture, forestry and com­munity development division. "Extension's biggest thrust right now is environmental steward­ship. The concept is integrated into almost everything we do."

,.--..__.,Mary Furbee

Extension Vision: Summer 1993

Ideas Flowing Through Mon Valley •

A river runs through it. Now there's a thought-provoking t itle for a movie. Closer home, there's a river running through a valley wh ere ideas a re flowing.

Ideas about cooperation rather th an competition. Coop­eration in economic develop­m ent in the 18 Monon gah ela River Va lley counties in th ree states. Tha t's the cha llenge seized by the Mon Va lley Tri­State Leadership Academy, an in itiative of the Mon Valley Tri­State Network Inc.

Network members believe thai economic development is everybody's business, particu­larly local commu n ities. This diverse array of valley leaders a lso supports regional economic development. They view ii as ihe most effective way to resolve issues and capitalize on oppor­tunities affecting the valley's economy and quality of life.

The academy is the first

Extension Vision: Summer 1993

funded service of the five -year­old network that promotes coop­erative economic and human resource development in the 7,400-square-mile Monongahela River Valley of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, and a small portion of western Maryland's Potomac River Val­ley.

With a $774,000 grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the academy became a collabo­rative effort a mong 10 partici­pating regional colleges and universities , including West Virginia University where the academy office is b ased .

"As a leader ship a ca demy, a university b ase is es sential for

us ," Paul Fendt, academy direc­tor, s a id. "The institutions in this region have recognized the n eed io become more responsive to and integrated with the com­munity. "

Because of vast changes in the region's economy, the coun­ties sha re a similar need for economic development. The academy's goal is to develop individua l leadership and to en courage innovation in re­giona l economic development using cooperative and team­building strategies. Through tra ining and education, partici­pa nts a re en couraged to develop person a l, professiona l, and lead ­ership s kills.

Above: K emp S. DeVille. left. and Paul Fendt envision lhe Mon Valley Tri -State Leadership Academy as setting the standard for leaching. and practicing. regional leadership and cooperation in economic development. Dr. Fendt is academy director and DeVitle is the program director.

Left: Letting the ideas }low is Peggy Pings. a WVU graduate research assis­tant in paries and recreation manage­ment. Pings also is p res ident of the Monongahela River Trails Conservancy.

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Creative thinking can generate some entertaining ideas as evidenced by Virgil Peterson's response. Dr. Peterson, professor of English at West Virginia University. teaches participants the art of keeping a journal as Lhey explore leadership concepts to use during their projects.

Leadership training for com­munity and regional economic development began in the spring of 1991 with leadership acad­emy modules taught at three sites, one in each of the three participating states. Each module is a course with four 10-week training peri­ods. The fourth module starts this fall with partici­pants finalizing a regional development project within their state , using databases available through the 10 regional colleges and uni­versities.

The Maryland partici­pants have targeted a tour­ism project. The Pennsylva­nia participants, a riverfront development at Rice's Land­ing emphasizing tourism and Monongahela River recreation. In West Virginia, the focus is on a retirement community in Buckhannon and a regional telecommu-

10

nications package. "The academy," Dr. Fendt

explained, "is intended to pro­vide an ongoing service after the Kellogg grant through contribu­tions of financial and in-kind support from valley sources. The network is a membership orga­nization of governmental groups, private profit and nonprofit businesses and organizations, higher education institutions, and individuals. Each industry makes a dollar contribution and/ or in-kind support. We have a transition year from Kellogg.

"We're thinking about the four modules over two years. Under consideration is a tele­communications network where we can use uplinks and go any­where," Fendt said.

"We're integrating our pro­gram into extension's. For ex­ample, through our affiliation with the Leadership Academy at Jackson's Mill, we're expanding leadership and economic devel­opment training," he continued.

As program manager, Kemp DeVille conducts research and writes grant proposals for net­work and academy projects. He is a key member of the curricu-

!urn development team and has the day-to-day responsibility for the overall management of the Mon Valley and the Jackson's Mill academies. He also is chief financial officer for the academies.

"We are teaching that team­work and cooperation across community or county lines will bring greater economic prosper­ity for the region," DeVille said. "Our goal is to produce leaders with a vision of the future which extends beyond their immediate communities."

Since 1988, the Leadership Academy at Jackson's Mill has provided quality training in lead­ership, management, and techni­cal skills for administrative, su­pervisory, technical, and clerical staffs of West Virginia companies and agencies.

Dean Hardman, program coordinator at the Jackson's Mill academy noted, "Together, we can provide leaders with valu­able information which will en­able them to create a positive future for West Virginia, the re­gion, and the nation."

"Mon Valley Tri-State Leader­ship Academy graduates become members of the Mon Valley Net­

work. We don't require that participants finish the projects lo complete the modules. These are ongo­ing projects. Some could go on 50 years, "Fendt ex­plained.

The modules' economic development strategy be­gins with a review of se­lected development litera­ture, then involves brain­storming sessions, followed

continued on page 12

Enjoying a refreshment break are John MarLys, program manager of the Human Resource Development Foundation in Morgantown, and Elizabeth Elias. grant wriierfor Fayette County Community Action in Uniontown. Pa.

'Discard~

Becomes Wirt County Office •

When is "value added" worth adding up? When ihe "value added" totals more than one million dollars.

More than a million dollars' worth of equipment, furniture, and supplies have flowed into county extension offices, county 4-H camps, Jackson's Mill, and state extension programs over the past 18 months through WVU Extension Service's new Federal Excess Property Pro­gram.

A million-dollar savings? "I can't say it's a savings. It's

value added. Some of the equip­ment our budget never would have allowed us to buy," ex­plained Charles Morris, admin­istrative services director for the WVU Extension Service.

The forklift at Jackson's Mill State 4-H Conference Center is an example. "We would have never been able to buy it," Morris said.

Another "new" acquisition is en route to Morgantown from a federal property site. But it can't travel under its own steam. The Institute for Safety and Health Training (ISHT) needed a tractor to demonstrate retrofit­ting and other safety measures for its learners. Roger Brewer, extension's property screener, found ISHT a tractor, one that's missing a few things-including its engine. But the safety train­ers didn't need one with an en­gine. They just needed a tractor.

One person's trash .... The federal government

doesn't label any property as "trash" easily. It's just "excess."

The tractor acquisition dem-

Extension Vision: Summer 1993

Workers prepare to put the 24-by-60:foot mobile q[[ice on the road l.o its new home in Wirl County, which paid the moving expenses.

onstrates how the excess prop­erty program is an example of frugalness, not wastefulness, Morris believes.

"Excess" items are pieces of property no longer needed by a particular federal unit. Some items are new. (Sometimes it's cheaper to purchase in quantity and make the excess available to other federal units.) Whether new or used, the items remain the property of the federal gov­ernment, which continually recycles its acquisitions among various programs.

However, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) doesn't expect to reissue expendable items-such as envelopes, mail­ing labels, poster board, and ink pens. But it will keep track of that circa -1960 tractor. The same goes for West Virginia county 4-H camps' newly ac­quired refrigerators, (new) mat­tresses, desks, chairs, commer­cial ovens, spoons ....

"We can keep them as long as we have use for them," Morris said. "We just have 'use' of them. We don't 'own' them." When the WVU Extension Ser­vice no longer needs these items, they must be returned to the GAO for other federal use or

for the federal government's disposal.

The spoons may be a little difficult to track, but a recent acquisition won't be.

Wirt County Extension Ser­vice needed an office building. Brewer found one, a 24-by-60-foot mobile office no longer needed by the U.S. Department of Energy in Morgantown.

Brewer meets extension's needs in three ways: checking the faculty and staffs "wish list" against federal inventory lists, scouting federal excess property sites, and networking with fed­eral site employees, who alert him when equipment is avail­able.

The program is injecting more than "items" into exten­sion's camps and offices. It's even boosting employees' bud­get-beleaguered morale.

Everyone has-or can-ben­efit. "If an office hasn't gotten what it needs," Morris said, "we'll keep looking."

.--.__.. Florita Stubbs Montgomery

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continued from page 10

by individual proposals. Propos­als are written and a business plan developed to evaluate their viability and feasibility. The final regional project proposals were presented and reevaluated at the Tri-State annual conference at Nemacolin Woodlands in August.

Among individual projects considered by the 70 partici­pants: At the Washington, Pa., site-Create an adult literacy service; organize bridge housing for women in crisis; and develop a program matching prospective purchasers of goods and ser­vices with businesses owned by women.

At the GarreU County, Md., site-Establish an indoor recre­ation center in Garrett County; construct the Chestnut Ridge sewer system; expand a chain of hardware stores; and develop a long-term health care strategy in Western Maryland.

At the WVU site-Convert a mall into a specialized clothing

VISION is published three times a year by the West Virginia University Extension Service

Managing Editor: Joyce A. Bower

Layout and Graphics: Patricia Fork

Phot ographers: Greg Ellis Ed Petrosky

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outlet; open a group home for disabled people in the Valley District of Preston County; es­tablish a day-care facility in the western part of Monongalia County for young children of working parents; and create recreational trails from Morgan­town to Fairmont.

The Mon Valley Tri-State Leadership Academy encom­passes 18 counties in south­western Pennsylvania, western Maryland and northeastern West Virginia. These 18 coun­ties are Barbour, Harrison, Lewis, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, Randolph, Upshur, Taylor, and Tucker in West Vir­ginia; Allegheny, Fayette, Greene, Somerset, Washington, and Westmoreland in Pennsylvania; and Allegany and GarreU in Maryland.

All 70 participants have some job-related economic de­velopment activity and a strong interest in economic develop­ment. They include economic

development professionals, non­profit agency executives, govern­ment managers, entrepreneurs, education administrators, busi­ness and industry employees, and community leaders.

Beginning in 1990, the Kellogg Foundation commissioned Michi­gan State University to perform an external evaluation on a group of projects that focus on rural economic development in America. In 1992, the Mon Valley Tri-State Network and the Lead­ership Academy were evaluated by Mary P. Andrews, co-director of the Rural America Cluster Evaluation Project.

"The academy and the net­work have become windows of opportunity for the region ," she observed. "Everyone is accepting the challenge that now is the time to do something."

,__,Jerry Kessel

Programs and activities offered by the West Virginia University Cooperative Extension Service are available to all persons without regard to race, color, sex, disability, religion, age, or na­tional origin.

Issued in furterance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Rachel B. Tompkins , Director, Coop­erative Extension Service, West Virginia University.

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