Supporting County Government: 2009 Livingston County Strategic Planning

Bringing Knowledge to Life! / Partner Report /
LivingstonCounty
2300 East Grand River Avenue Suite 111
Howell, Michigan48843-2432
Phone: 517-546-3950 / E-mail:
Fax:517-546-5154
Web:msue.msu.edu/livingston
Director: Grace Mutua
March 2009

MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion, age, height, weight, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or veteran status. Issued in furtherance of MSU Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Thomas G. Coon, Director, MSU Extension, East Lansing,MI48824. This information is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned.

Supporting county government: 2009 Livingston County strategic planning

Livingston County leaders, like their peers across Michigan and the nation, are facing challenges related to revenues. Meeting these challenges calls for the establishment of clear directions and policies that will enable leaders to weather the current economic storm.

An MSU Extension educator is facilitating discussions to help establish county board of commissioner service and funding priorities. This process started in February with discussions to capture the current and anticipated economic environment, and will end in March with identification of county priorities. The process should further understanding of the current economic situation and help decision makers to better plan for the future of the County.

SaferKids in action

Early one sunny February morning, a Livingston County car was pulled over by a sheriff’s deputy. The deputy noted that the driver was transporting two children without the legally required booster seats. The couple had both recently become unemployed and lacked the money to purchase car seats. The deputy, who also serves as a child passenger safety technician and volunteer with Safe Kids Livingston County, provided the family with information about the Safe Kids initiative and told them that they ticket could be forgiven if they obtained the legally required car seats.

The family immediately contacted SafeKidsLivingstonCounty and scheduled an appointment for the same day. During their car seat check, the MSUExtension-based Safe Kids coordinator discovered that not only were they lacking booster seats, but their infant car seat was expired and incorrectly installed.

The Coordinator provided the family with boosters and a safe infant car seat. They expressed surprise andgratitude at the cooperation and teamwork of theLivingston County Sheriff’s Department and MSUExtension/SafeKids Livingston County.

“We share the common goal of Safe Kids, to make Livingston County’s children safer,” the deputy said. “Programs like MSU Extension’s Safe Kids provide a great service that helps safe the lives of children in Livingston County.”

Agriculture and Crop Productioninformation saves farmers money

These are turbulent times for Livingston County farmers. High fertilizer, fuel, seed and land rent prices were not balanced by high commodity prices in 2008. Input prices (except fuel) have remained high, while commodity prices have plummeted with little promise of rallying.

To stay in business, farmers need objective science-based information from MSU more than ever. MSU Extension offers educational materials, programming and consulting on issues related to farm financial management, commodity marketing, soil fertility management, pest management, crop variety selection and a host of other crop production topics.

At the 2009 Field Crop Management meeting in Mason earlier this year, MSU Extension educators and faculty members presented information on integrated pest management, soil fertility and crop insurance.

In an evaluation following the program, participants estimated that the information they gained from the program would help them saving or earn more than $2.8 million this year.

Continued

Cropping program—continued

There were 82,468 acres of farm land represented at this meeting.While this program was not delivered in LivingstonCounty, there were over 9,400 acres of LivingstonCounty farmland represented.

During a presentation at the 2009 Livingston County Farmer’s Day on March 3, farmers learned how to use the information found on their soil test reports to determine the optimal fertilizer rates they need to apply. This information is critical in a year when fertilizer prices are outrageously high. When it was delivered in Ingham County, this presentation was estimated to be worth more than $17 per acre by those who answered the necessary survey questions.

Families attend “Community Connect”

On Jan. 31, Livingston County’s Homeless Continuum of Care hosted the second annual Community Connect. Designed as a one-stop shop for families in need, the Community Connect brings together local human service agencies, food pantries, churches and community members to offer free services.

More than500 people attended, nearly doubling last year’s attendance. More than 200 volunteers and 45 vendors provided free services, including legal advice, food from a mobile pantry, hair cuts and resume reviews.

Livingston County MSU Extension’s Family Nutrition Program staff provided nutrition, cooking and food-money management resources. One of the guests remarked on their evaluation that “[This event was] very well organized. The Extension Service’s cooking information and recipes were excellent. The volunteers were so kind. Thank you very much.”

MSU Extension staff representing Safe Kids Livingston County partnered with the Livingston County Sheriff’s Department to distribute vouchers for car seats and provide child passenger safety education. Safe Kids distributed 38 car seat vouchers that were redeemed at a car seat check event the following week, in partnership with the Howell Fire Department.

Six volunteer child passenger safety technicians from the sheriff’s department, Hartland Fire Department and Hamburg Police Department attended the seat distribution and check event.

MSUExtension advisorycouncil vicepresident Bill Ten Eyck volunteered at the event as a guide for the guests, escorting them to the various services throughout the day.

At the conclusion of the event he very enthusiastically stated, “This event was wonderful. It was the best public service event I’ve ever participated in!”

Cultural experience enriches student life at Three Fires Middle School

On Feb. 26 the Three Fires Middle School in Howell held its annual Cultural Diversity Day, during which students celebrate cultures from around the world.

Among the invited speakers was an MSUExtension educator who made a presentation about Kenya. The 10- to 13-year-olds were amazed by the fact that many Kenyan children their age, and even younger, spend a lot of time playing outside and make their own toys from everyday waste materials such as bicycle tires and soda cans.

They watched aYouTubeclip of a Kenyan child fashioning a toy cell phone out of clay. Some of the children promised to spend more time playing outside instead of being cooped indoors watching television and playing video games.

The children also had the chance to touch hand-made carvings; hand-weaved baskets and other items from Kenya. Some tasted Kenyan drinking chocolate and were amazed that it tasted just like the American hot chocolate.

After watchingvideos of children their age participating in traditional dances, and student donned on a kanga--a cloth that’s many uses include carrying babies and as an apron-- and tried the dance. For about 200 kids who attended this session, it was fun and learning all around.

Mentors help youths gain Forward Focus

The Forward Focus Mentor Program pairs adjudicated youth with positive adult role models. The program currently has 13 pairs of mentors and youth interacting in fun and educational activities.

The response from mentors, mentees and probation officers has been very positive. One youth who was initially reluctant is opening up to his mentor and haseven taken the initiative to bring his mentor a copy of his progress report showing improved grades.