Author: Alexander Elswick
Major Program: Promoting Healthy Homes and Communities (general)
The state of Kentucky, like the rest of the nation, has been scourged by the opioid epidemic. Overdose fatalities have risen steadily for a decade to over 1,000 overdose deaths per year in the Commonwealth. Drug overdose has surpassed vehicle accidents as the leading cause of accidental death in Kentucky. Nationally, Kentucky ranks third in overdose fatalities per capita. And while the overdose fatalities are disturbing, they only paint a narrow picture of the opioid epid
Author: W Wilson
A young man sat in the back of the bus heading home on Friday evening. He opened a bag of food and began to eat everything in it that he could. The bus driver alertly noticed and questioned the young man about his actions. The answer was that the bag was food from the backpack program and he wanted to eat before someone took it away from him. It is because of youth like this from struggling homes that teachers and family resource center directors are out during the summer vac
Author: Valerie Holland
About 1.7 million toaster ovens are sold in the United States each year. Twenty-seven percent of households us it only for toasting foods (Energy Star Market Industry Scoping Report: Toaster Ovens, November 2011). Toady’s toaster ovens have capability beyond toasting and use one-half to one-third less energy than conventional ovens. Additionally, smaller yield recipes may be more efficiently prepared in a toaster oven. Individuals who understand the advantages of toaster ovens may find the
Author: Tracy Cowles
One message at just the right time can change someone at that very moment.....their outlook, thought, their day or even their destiny. The BCKY Rocks Project is a partnership between the Butler County Cooperative Extension Service , the Butler County Family & Consumer Sciences Agent and the Butler County Library. BC KY Rocks started at a time when our community was hurting: we had have several car wrecks, deaths, and families hurting for one reason or another in a matter of just
Author: Mary Hixson
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the average person will move 11.7 times during his or her lifetime. There are many reasons why a person may consider downsizing to a smaller home. In recent years, downsizing has become increasingly common, especially among older adults. Older adults are often interested in downsizing to meet retirement goals, simplify their lifestyle, or to live closer to family. Occasionally, the decision to downsize is one that is based on necessity; notably, the loss of
Energy efficiency represents one of the most cost-effective pathways to lowering energy usage, though the biggest barriers to completing energy efficiency (EE) measures are basic skills/knowledge and the upfront money needed for tools/materials. Family and Consumer Sciences agent, Conmmunity Education and Bluegrass Community Action in Garrard County partnered with Bluegrass Greensource, a 16-year old environmental education nonprofit that serves 20 Central Kentucky counties, to provide a multi-l
Author: Joann Lianekhammy
In my role as an FCS Extension Specialist, I have been overseeing the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Child Poverty Nutrition Center (RCPNC). National trends show that both the overall rural poverty rate and the rural child poverty rate have been higher than their urban poverty rate counterparts over the past thirty plus years. Research has found worse outcomes in terms of nutrition, activity, and obesity for children living in rural areas compared to children liv
Author: Anna Morgan
"DOWNSIZING AND ORGANIZING YOUR HOME" Lesson Impacts Purchase & Pennryile Area HomemakersDownsizing your home and transitioning into a smaller living space has become a recent trend for older adults. As people age, their larger homes require upkeep, continued maintenance, and expensive utility bills. Seniors may also face accessibility and self-care challenges stemming from multi-level living. By downsizing and minimizing, a smaller home can provide significant savings on property
Author: Gwenda Johnson
The area that once was the Elliott County Economic Development site has slowly become a recreation and events area. It is home to the 4-H shooting sports range, 4-H livestock pavilion, youth soccer, a fit trail, and the Farmers' Market pavilion. The Farmer's Market Pavilion is home to community events such as God's Pantry food distribution, educatioinal programs sponsored by the County Extension office and other organizatioins. The partnership for a healthy Elliott County saw the nee
According to the CDC, Elliott County has an obesity rate greater than 40%. To face the epidemic, using CDC/UK grant funds, the Partnership for a Healthy Elliott County placed an outdoor gym at Isonville Elementary. According to the principal and teachers at the school, the outdoor gym helped them leverage funding to extend recess time from twenty to thirty minutes. They increased the number of enrolled students participating in outside physical exercise from 75% to 90% daily and to 100% at least
Author: Karen Denniston
The Bourbon County Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent in collaboration with the Snap-ED assistant and Bourbon County Extension Homemakers provided the Recipe for Life Program experience to every fifth grade student in Bourbon County. 289 fifth graders participated in the preparation of 10 recipes while learning the importance of kitchen safety and sanitation, reading and following a recipe, proper measuring of both wet and dry ingredients and the math skills involved in altering re
Author: Thays Flores
According to Pew Research, 37 percent of Americans reside in their hometown and have never moved. The same research study says the percentage is much higher for individuals who have a mental, social, or physical disability. Because 30.3 percent of Estill County citizens live at or below the poverty line, the Family and Consumer Sciences Agent decided to host this Cooking Around the World program. The Agent collaborated with another FCS Agent in Bath County to educate participants about dif
Author: Matti Coffey
According to research by the University of Waterloo in Canada, we are more likely to have long-term memory recall for items that we have drawn than we are for items we have written. Written text enters our short-term memory, which has a smaller amount of storage space in our brains, thus making it easier to forget. Using this logic, the Family and Consumer Sciences agent started combining lessons dealing with nutrition and gardening information with painting projects. Each month a canvas paintin
Author: Patrick Hardesty
In 2017 there were 30 active shooting incidents throughout the nation. A total of 138 were killed in the shootings. An active shooter is defined by the FBI as someone actively killing or attempting to kill in a populated area.In response to the rise of active shootings, the Taylor County Cooperative Extension Service requested a representative from the University of Kentucky to evaluate the Taylor County Extension Office and discuss with the staff options to make the facility safer.An
Author: Lora Howard
Clay County is a small rural county in Eastern Kentucky, families are encouraged to make choices to improve health and well-being, participate in physical activity. According to 2014 statistics 43% of Clay County is obese.The Family and Consumer Science Agent is a member of the Healthy Clay Committee and one of the original members for the ACHIEVE Grant. The committee has continued to provide leadership for health and physical activity, and community improvement through working together.Th
Author: Alethea Price
Radon is an odorless, tasteless gas that can seep into a home from the rocks beneath it. Radon is the second leading cause for lung cancer. This gas can be detected in a home very easily by using a simple home radon test kit.The FCS Agent attended an online webinar about radon. This webinar explained what radon gas is, how it gets into a home, how to test for it, and how to mitigate the problem if it's found. The FCS Agent partnered with the Boyle County Health Department to host a Radon Awa
Author: Cabrina Buckman
Extension Agents are challenged to reach the public using a number of diverse communication methods to provide research-based information through Cooperative Extension. In addition to in-person programming, newspaper articles, social media posts, newsletters, and radio segments, the Washington County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent and Horticulture Agent now produce radio tips of the week. Family and Consumer Sciences radio tips are composed by the Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, using in
Author: Kathy Byrnes
According to the American Cleaning Institute® (ACI), risk of infection occurs in the workplace, at home, in schools and other public places, due to the transmission of bacteria, foodborne pathogens and other microorganisms. A number of studies have demonstrated the ability of topical consumer products to reduce bacteria on the hands and the body, as well as the risk of infection. The consumer, however, is often left overwhelmed and confused with the many products on the market or the variety
