Strengthening Families and Communities

• Leadership Noble, a county leadership program, completed its 12^th program year and 10 individuals completed the program improving the participants’ leadership skills and gaining a comprehensive examination of the working of the county.

• Extension worked with the Noble County Community Foundation to secure $50,000 in funding for a new scholarship fund to benefit students seeking post-secondary education.

• In order to assist families facing unemployment from a local manufacturing plant scheduled to close in 2009, the FCS educator conducted a series of Managing Between Jobs programs for 173 employees.  Topics addressed included:  identifying daily habits that can impact financial security, tracking expenses and making spending plans, deciding which bills to pay first, and talking with creditors. An additional session is planned which will address the emotional impact of unemployment.  Comments from the resource team who coordinate the retraining program have been positive and employees have requested numerous copies of the factsheets that were recommended during the presentations.

• What is Extension? was the title of a presentation made by the FCS and 4-H educators for students at Muskingum College enrolled in an undergraduate and a graduate education class on Family Centered Practices.  The goal was to inform future teachers about the resources available through Extension for use with students in the classroom or their families.   Only 14% of the students previously knew about Extension.  Comments from students included: “The agency is a great source of information for students and teachers”, “I hope to use them when I do my student teaching”, and “I plan to incorporate nutrition information on serving/portion sizes in my science lesson plans and I also intend to purchase several of the 4-H school enrichment curriculum books.”  This presentation has been delivered each semester since Autumn, 2006.

• Designed to aid parent in helping their children adjust to the changes that result from a divorce, Helping Children Cope with Divorce is a bi-monthly program that has been conducted since May, 1993, and has reached a total of 797 people since its inception.  The program is mandated by the Court of Common Pleas.  When asked is they planned to use the information learned in the program, the mean response was 4.7 (on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being “strongly agree”).  Parents indicated that the most important things learned in the program included: be fair and listen to children; do not put children in the middle; how to help my children deal with the divorce; and how to understand children’s views and feelings.

• Conducted by the FCS program assistant, the Family Nutrition Program (now the SNAP or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is designed to help families who qualify or food stamps to stretch their food dollars to feed their families.  Educational programs provided information on nutrition, food safety, food budgeting, and food security.  422 people participated with 84% gaining knowledge and 72% planning to make changes to improve their daily diets.

• 4-H Volunteers - The volunteer base for youth programming continues to grow.  Over 120 adults serve as 4-H advisors, middle managers and committee members. These volunteers contribute countless hours of service to 4-H clubs, the 4-H Council, Junior Fair Livestock and Sale Committee and other 4-H activities and events in helping to develop life skills in the youth they work with.

Preparing Youth for Success

• 4-H in Noble County: In 2008, six hundred forty-seven youth were involved in the 4-H program.  481 members participated in at least one of the twenty-six 4-H community clubs and 166 participated in 4-H School Enrichment and Special Interest programs.  4-H members completed 1,343 4-H projects learning the importance of record keeping, budgeting, decision making, time management, responsibility and communication skills.

• Teen Leadership:  Through programs such as Junior Leaders, Camp Counselor Training, and Junior Fairboard, 85 teens were provided leadership training and development.  The teens are involved in planning and conducting many aspects of the 4-H program and utilized program planning, public speaking, time management, conflict resolution and communication skills to accomplish these tasks.  They are also involved in community service and mentoring activities.  These teen leaders on average contribute more than 100 hours of volunteer service to county and community-based activities and events.

• 4-H Camp: One hundred three youth participated in 4-H Camp this summer.  Campers were involved in a variety of activities that helped develop their basic life skills. Teamwork, decision making, time management, and cooperation were several of the skills developed through the group living dynamics at 4-H Camp. 

Enhancing Agriculture and the Environment

• Pesticide Re-certification- 30 pesticide applicators attended a training session covering restricted use pesticides. These individuals were taught proper application methods, calibration techniques, record keeping requirements and information about new pesticides on the market. After meeting comments by participants confirm the re-certification session offered by Extension helped applicators understand the correct and safe use of pesticides.  

• Beef Cattle Marketing- Sixty producers attended a 2.5 hr. meeting to learn methods of marketing beef cattle. Many options were presented for the farm managers to consider. Examples and scenarios were presented so farm managers could determine if one method would fit better into their operation. After meeting evaluations led to a determination that a minimum of 26 percent of those attending would use what they learned to change their current marketing procedures.  

• Ag School Days – Over 150 third grade students from Noble County participated in Ag. School Days held at the Eastern Agricultural Research Station.  Youth attending the event increased their knowledge of agriculture and the environment and the role that farmers play in the production of wholesome and nutritious foods.

• Quality Assurance: Three county-wide Quality Assurance trainings were conducted to teach humane animal care, record-keeping and essential animal production practices.  These were attended by 495 youth and adults.  The Quality Assurance sessions focused on food safety with meat animals and the importance of ethical treatment of animals.  Participants gained decision making and management skills that will ensure a safe and wholesome food supply.

Advancing Employment and Income Opportunities

• Noble County joined with the economic development entities in Morgan, Muskingum, and Guernsey counties to complete a study of a large industrial site in three of the four counties.  Four development options were created as a result of the work.

• Work was completed on a study of the OH SR 78/37 corridor stretching more than 100 miles from Monroe County to Fairfield County.  Short, intermediate, and long term improvement recommendations were developed.