No doubt you, or someone you know, was affected by the wind storm that passed through our state last week. While the weather predictions earlier in the week were spot on, it was still hard to comprehend what needed to be done in preparation. The following day a phone call from my Regional Extension Director, who was in the midst of her own property clean-up effort in Lincoln County, was quick to check on the wellbeing of our staff and offices. Within an hour of that call I received a call from our Director of K-State Research and Extension, making sure we knew of their concern and support. The concern shown by our KSRE Administration made me proud to be part of the Extension Team.
A few hours later I received an e-mail from Dr. Hadley with information about behavioral health resource support for those directly affected by the fires in our area. The KDA (Kansas Department of Agriculture) has agreed to cross list those resources on their site.
A couple of excellent links have been posted on our Cottonwood Extension web site if you are in need of any of these relief services: Kansas Wildfire Recovery Resources December 2021 (ks.gov) and Natural Disasters-Community-Research and Extension (K-State.edu)
The KDA web site has up-to-date information related to emergency hay distribution, livestock welfare, disposal of disaster debris, specialty crop losses, insurance problems, and other topics.
The good news is that you can count on the help and support from Extension to continue. This is not the first time a disaster like this has happened so we are reaching out to colleagues who have been part of previous wildfire response efforts.
The best way to contact anyone from our Cottonwood Extension Team during the next couple of weeks will be to send an e-mail to either of the following addresses: BT@listserv.ksu.edu or el@listserv.ksu.edu
This past weekend, my daughter’s family gave me a bracelet with a message on the inside to “Focus on the positive.” As we celebrate the holidays with our families my hope is that you can look past the many challenges you have experienced this year and focus on the positive. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from The Cottonwood Extension District!
Donna Krug is the Family & Consumer Science Agent with K-State Research and Extension – Cottonwood District. Contact her at 620-793-1910 or dkrug@ksu.edu.
