March 2, 2007
AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
With Spring Approaching, Lawn Maintenance Time is Near
FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCE
Protecting Yourself from Identity and Other Consumer Frauds
4-H YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
4-H Introduces Students to Real World
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With Spring Approaching, Lawn Maintenance Time is Near
Source: A.J. Powell Jr.
Nothing signals springtime quite like the smell of fresh cut grass wafting through the neighborhood. With spring just around the corner, lawn care should begin creeping into your mind. In just a few short weeks, it will be time to clip the yard for the first time. Your most important annual lawn duties begin with that first mowing.
The first mowing makes the lawn look spring-like and very attractive. Subsequent regular mowing hardens the grass for drought and heat stresses later on. So when the first clump of grass grows above the mowing height, mow -- even if a lot of the yard doesn’t need to be mowed yet.
Not all grasses start growing at the same time. Grass on northern slopes, or in heavy clay soil, will start growing several days later than others. Grass that wasn’t fertilized in the fall or early spring also has a delayed growth.
Following recommendations for mowing height and frequency will make your lawn-care duties easier and result in a more attractive yard.
If your mower has a fixed, all-year height, set it at two and one-half inches.
However, if you can easily vary the height, set it at 1.5 to two inches for the first several times you mow this spring. The shorter mowing height will help remove a lot of the winter-burned, brown leaves. Exposing more dark green growth will transfigure your lawn into the most uniform, attractive one in the neighborhood. Move the height up to 2.5 inches after you mow the grass several times.
To protect your grass from summer heat and drought injury, when summer arrivesraise the mower height to three or 3.5 inches. However, remember that extrahigh grass, especially tall fescue, tends to fall over and mat down during hot summer weather causing increased summer disease problems.
Once you get the mowing under way, how often should the lawn be mowed? Generally speaking, mow often enough to remove no more than one-third to one-half of the grass height.
If your mower is set for two inches, mow again when grass height reaches approximately three inches. Be sure not to scalp the lawn by mowing off most of the green leaves.
For tall fescue lawns, a rule of thumb is to mow at five-day intervals during the spring, and at seven-day intervals the rest of the year. If you have a Kentucky bluegrass lawn, a seven-day interval usually is sufficient at a mowing height of2.5 inches. That interval can probably be expanded during hot, dry weather.
For more information on lawn care, contact the (CountyName) Cooperative Extension Service.
Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability or national origin.
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Protecting Yourself from Identity and Other Consumer Frauds
Source: Robert Flashman
Identity theft is a serious issue and one that shouldn’t be ignored. It can destroy your credit record and make it difficult to obtain loans, employment or housing. Victims can spend years trying to recover their good name.
In 2006, identity theft topped the list of consumer complaints received by the Federal Trade Commission for the seventh year. While Kentucky has fewer identity theft complaints than all but six states, it is still a problem -- especially for those that fall victim to the fraud. In Kentucky in 2006, 1,766 identity theft complaints were reported to the FTC.
Credit card fraud is the most common form of identity theft, followed by phone or utilities fraud, bank fraud and employment fraud.Identity fraud related to telephone or utilities is most likely a relative using a family member's name to start new service because they can no longer get service in their own name due tounpaid bills.
Criminal identity theft is a special problem. Because the criminal commits crimes under someone else’s name, identity theft victims may be arrested for crimes they didn’t do.
To protect yourself from identity fraud and other types of consumer fraud, contact (Your County) Extension office and ask for the following two publications, “Let the Consumer Beware! A Guide to Fraud and Rip-Offs” and “Making Your Ride on the Internet Safer.”
If your personal information gets out where the wrong people can see it or someone steals your identity, you can do some things to protect yourself. First, contact one of the three biggest credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion, to put a fraud alert on your credit record. You may also do this by telling a consolidated credit report provider such as AnnualCreditReport.com. Contact them online at or call 877-322-8228. When you tell one of the three big credit bureaus, they will tell the other two.
You might find it hard to get through and tell them, however don’t give up. The big credit bureaus take your requests over the phone, but their phone systems can be hard for you to use. You might find it easier to place your request on the Web site of one of these companies or on AnnualCreditReport.com. But you might still need to mail them some information so they can access your file. Do this, even if it is difficult; if you do nothing, you will be far worse off.
If your personal information gets out where the wrong people can see it, but you find no fraud on your credit report, you may place an alert on your record for 90 days. You can renew this alert every 90 days. You get a free credit report when you place this alert.
If someone does steal your identity, file a police report with your local police or with the police where the fraud took place. Close all accounts that might have been seen by the wrong person or that were opened against your wishes.If you have a police report of actual fraud, you may place an alert for seven years.
A new Kentucky law that takes effect July 12 will allow you to place a security freeze on your record. This will keep people from getting your credit report without your approval. It will cost $10, but will be free if you give them a copy of your police report. Don’t place such a freeze on your record unless you need to do it, however; it will make it hard for you if you apply for credit yourself. But, if you need to buy something big like a car or home, you can lift the freeze temporarily for $10.
Dispute any bills that result from identity theft. Tell the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office about any companies that try to get you to pay those bills even after you write to them about what happened.
For more information on identity and other consumer frauds, contact (YOUR COUNTY) Extension office. Educational programs of the Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability or national origin.
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4-H Introduces Students to Real World
Source: Martha Welch
Think back to when you were in school. How did you picture your adult life back then? A nice house, sporty car, stylish clothes, fancy vacations? Maybe you simply envisioned the freedom to do whatever you wanted with no one telling you what to do. Do you remember when you realized those early dreams might not have had a firm basis in reality? Or at the very least, would take a lot of preparation and work?
With the Reality Store, 4-H helps youths come to that realization while there is still time to alter the coming reality. They learn that with planning and foresight, it’s possible to increase their choices, which has the potential to improve their lifestyles.
The Reality Store may be an individual event that awakens students to what they can expect in the real world, or it may be the culmination of a series of lessons on life skills. In those sessions, teenagers are asked to think about what they are going to do with their lives and how they plan to accomplish those goals. What type of education will it take? What kinds of grades do they need to make? Can they afford to pay for some type of post-secondary education, or will they have to rely on scholarships? And if they will need scholarships, will they be able to compete for them?
Whether we like it or not, money is often a major factor in the decisions we make. Through the Reality Store program, students often have eye-opening experiences about what they can expect to earn in their chosen career fields and how far that money will go in the real world. Students are assigned a career and the appropriate wage or salary they can expect to earn in that job. They might be a lawyer or a doctor. They might find themselves doing a trade or working as a clerk in a convenience store. And many of them aren’t just supporting themselves, because, in the world of The Reality Store, they may have one or more children to raise.
Now the spending begins. First, a portion of their income goes for taxes. Then they are required to spend on the everyday necessities such as groceries, childcare, clothing, transportation, housing, and medical and dental care. Items such as telephones, internet access, cable – all the things they might take for granted now – add to a long list of expenses they might not be able to afford. To a 14-year-old, a minimum wage of almost $900 a month might sound like a lot of money at first, but once he sees how fast that money disappears, he suddenly gets a glimpse into what it takes to make ends meet with only a high school education. That fancy car, that expensive house, those exciting trips are suddenly not possible in this new reality.
The point of The Reality Store is to help teenagers understand that they need to prepare now for their future. Their grades, their decision to drop out of school, or continue and seek post-secondary education, whether that is college or a skilled trade, all affects their earning potential and their future lifestyles. It also makes many of them realize that what they do on a Friday night can result in having to take care of a child at a time when they could be finishing their education and preparing for a secure future.
The Reality Store teaches teenagers an important lesson. It’s life, and it’s not easy. It’s better to be prepared now, than to suffer the consequences in the future.
For more information on the 4-H Reality Store program, contact the (COUNTYNAME) Extension office.
Educational programs of the Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability or national origin.
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