Extension in good hands
Alvin E "Pete" Maley
Friday, January 20, 2012
The Lyon County Extension Service has existed for a century and has been an educational tool for Lyon County farmers and all citizens.
Informational meetings have been held annually to keep all citizens informed about new methods that have improved the family income and living conditions.
An executive board meets monthly to conduct business, plan programs and hire extension agents. Board meetings are open. For those who complain: how many board meetings have you attended? How many crops, soils, beef and swine special meetings have you attended? Did you work with the Lyon County Livestock Association?
I can remember most who attended. Were you one of the 2,100 who were certified at the extension office to learn how to handle chemicals safely? How many times have you called or visited the extension office? Or did you get our information from a neighbor who does attend and appreciate the extension programs?
The integrity of the board members and agents is not questionable. I spent 25 years working in Lyon County and 15 years elsewhere. It has been a pleasure to work with so many fine people.
Alvin E. “Pete” Maley
Lyon County Extension Agent, retired
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
Nice letter, well written.
Thank you for your past service Pete.
January 20, 2012 at 3:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jasper007 (anonymous) says...
Mr. Maley has done a great service for the area. I grew up on a farm, so I am well aware of the services the Extension Office provides.
But you don't just have to be a "farm" kid to benefit from this office. There are plenty of services and information provided by the Extension Service. As per Mr. Corbin, thank you Mr. Maley.
January 20, 2012 at 4:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Mr. Maley, you missed the point. The value of the extension service is not being called into question by the irate citizens who plan to sign the petition. It is the way the Lyon County Commissioners made their decision, with no regard for the tax payers who will be expected to foot the bill.
Perhaps it would have been a good idea for commissioners to question the idea of UNLIMITED taxing authority and to remove that part of it. THAT, Mr. Maley, is what has everyone so upset. I'm surprised you didn't pick up on that. It's been indicated by comments here on the forum since the very beginning of this controversy.
January 21, 2012 at 8:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
create, also a nice reply. I think Mr. Maley does miss the point on this. There are many who back the extension office and what it does. But these same people are NOT for the taxing authority that this question puts forth.
Several reasons from different people on why this should go for a vote.
Several months for people to voice their pros and cons, and then the voters will decide.
I was told the eggs and issues yesterday was rather interesting.
What do you think will happen if the Governers school budget passes? OUR LOCAL SCHOOL MIL-LEVY WILL EXPLODE ! It's another cause and effect deal. I know that our property taxes will go UP next year. Our governing bodies won't or can't cut spending. To add another taxing district at this time is asinine in my opinion.
January 22, 2012 at 9:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dml (anonymous) says...
I am a local rancher and have benefited from the programs Extension puts on starting when I joined 4-H when I was 7 years old when Mr. Maley was still the Lyon County Ag. Extension Agent, and doing a very good job I might add. I have also been to meetings in Lyon and surrounding counties put on by Extension through the years that interest me from Beef Cattle production programs to Range Management and Brush control programs, and not all of these were in Lyon County either. I have been to Waubunsee, Osage, Franklin, Coffey and Greenwood counties for these programs. In some cases, it was put on solely by the hosting county, and in other cases, 2 or three counties worked together to put it on, and they were not in an Extension District with each other. One example was a Brush and Weed control program put on in our Anderson Building and the main speaker was the Greenwood County Extension agent because he had spent a lot of time studying Sericia Lespedeza which is a county option Noxious Weed that is very difficult to control.
I am also carrying the petition helping to collect signatures to bring this to a vote because I do not see where we will get a $23,000/year benefit to joining the Frontier District. It makes sense to me to join if we can cut expenses, but we only hear about agents specializing in their areas of interest. For example, Brian Rees (Our current Lyon County Ag Agent) told me that all 3 counties have an Ag Agent, but his area of interest is Agronomy and crops, another agent is interested in Range Management, and another is interested in Beef Production. He said that with the Extension District, if he got a question from someone about one of the other two Agent's interest was that he could just call them up and ask if he did not know the answer. My thought even though I did not say anything was, "Aren't you doing that now? And if not, why not?" We are continually being told that each county will keep their own agents so it does not sound like there will be any savings there. The only thing that he mentioned that sounded like a benefit was that they would be able to get a fleet discount on insurance and save $2000 to $3000. OK, but that is a long way from $23,000! Also, even though they have only been an Extension District for 2 years, Franklin and Osage counties have added a Program Coordinator. What will be added if Lyon County joins?
January 22, 2012 at 1 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )