Plant Clinic During University
Outreach and Extension Week.

news release

On Wednesday, May 22, University Outreach and Extension will have an educational booth on the south side of the Carthage Square from 8:00 a.m. until noon in conjunction with the Farmers’ Market. The booth will include free educational information and a plant clinic. Local residents are encouraged to bring samples of lawn and garden problems, such as insects or diseased plants. Some area Master Gardeners and extension specialists will be available to identify problems and provide information on how to deal with them. In addition, specialists at the University of Missouri in Columbia will be available to discuss problems over the telephone and/or review digital photos through the University’s on-line computer system. In case of rain, the educational information and plant clinic will be available in the local extension center, located in the basement of the Jasper County Courthouse.

This event is in recognition of University Outreach and Extension Week, which is being celebrated across Missouri May 19-25. The theme for this year’s celebration is "Improving People’s Lives," following a proclamation by Gov. Bob Holden. The theme was chosen because research-based information from University Outreach and Extension helps Missourians improve their quality of life.

For anyone not able to visit the booth on Wednesday, Master Gardeners are available on Monday and Thursday mornings through the summer to answer horticultural-related questions. Anyone needing help can contact the Jasper County University Outreach and Extension Center in the basement of the Jasper County Courthouse, 417/358-2158, or email us by sending a message to jasperco@missouri.edu.

University Outreach and Extension improves people’s lives with education and research from the four campuses of the University of Missouri System and Lincoln University that focuses on high-priority needs of people throughout the state. Each County Extension Center, with oversight by locally elected and appointed citizens, is your local link to these unbiased resources.

Commentary

Martin "Bubs" Hohulin
State Representative, District 126

As I write this, I must admit to a touch of sadness. This is the last day of the last Session I will have as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives. I would like to take at least a part of this column to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude for allowing me to be your representative for the last 12 years. It has been an honor and one of the greatest experiences of my life.

Thirteen years ago I decided to run just to prove a point and give the people a choice. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would win. Even after winning that first election, I figured it would be just for one term. I figured I was too out spoken, didn’t have a college education, and wasn’t slick or polished enough to get reelected. Twelve years later I still find it amazing that you continued to trust me with your seat in state government. In that time I have seen one son go from being in diapers to being at the verge of his teen years and another son go from not even being a gleam in my eye to being ready to enter middle school. My wife has remained a steadfast supporter through it all, keeping things running at home, on the farm, and our various business ventures so that I could make the weekly trip to Jefferson City five months a year. We had been married all of two years when I decided to run the first time. Since we were married in February, she has put up with 12 years of anniversaries being celebrated over the phone.

I can’t help but marvel at all the changes that have taken place up here. My first year I had a typewriter that didn’t work. If we wanted to write a letter, we had to borrow a typewriter from the office next to ours. When we finally got a computer for the office, (an IBM 386), we thought we had really entered the space age. Incidentally, that first computer cost almost twice as much as the ones we are using now. When we got our first fax machine over on our side of the building, I thought I was witnessing a modern miracle. Next we were given a demonstration of something they called the internet, but at the time was considered too expensive to be practical. I think it cost something like $6.00 per hour to use. It also came with something called email. I remember thinking that it seemed neat but that it would probably never catch on with the general public. Now we get about ten times as many emails as we do phone calls and letters combined.

I never intended this column to turn into something sappy. That is usually not my style. I wanted to find some way to say thanks for allowing me to be a part of this experience for the last twelve years and it wound up being longer than I thought it would be. I guess that is typical for a politician, we always end up talking too much!

Even though Session will be over, I will continue to write this column at least for a while as we sort out what did and didn’t pass in the final hours of Session.

As usual, I can be reached at House Post Office, State Capitol, Jefferson City, MO 65101, or 1-800-87807126, or mhohulin@services.state.mo.us for your questions, comments or advice.

The rain is startin’ to take its toll. Folks are just tired of it. The occasional few hours of sunshine do help, but like most, I find myself tryin’ to get started on those spring projects that have been delayed.

I did manage to get rid of a couple a gallons of paint over the weekend. Unfortunately it was at the end of a roller. Fortunately, the painted area was out of range of the rain that came back ‘bout the time I was finishin’ up.

The downpours have also pointed out the unfinished winter chores. The downspouts aren’t nearly as clean as I was hopin’. On top a that, the small twigs off the trees are becomin’ a nuisance. On the couple days when mowin’ was feasible, most of the time was spent clearin’ out the timber layin’ on the ground. My rain barrel is definitely full.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

McCune- Brooks Hospital

Health Notes

by Judith Sheldon

A GENE TEST FOR LUNG CANCER? Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have made an important breakthrough in the study of who might be most vulnerable for developing lung cancer. The clue may be found in mutations, or alterations, in the genes of a specific chromosome.

"Based on these findings," said Dr. Adi Gazdar, professor of pathology at UT Southwestern, "we may eventually be able to develop a test that would predict who will develop lung cancer."

The study showed that in the earliest stages of lung cancer, genetic alterations involving deletions had developed in a region of this chromosome.

As Dr. Gazdar said, "Our findings provide considerable support for the `field cancerization’ theory (which) suggests the entire upper respiratory tract is compromised when exposed to carcinogens like those found in cigarette smoke. This raises the possibility that cancer may develop in multiple sections of the lung."

Gazdar noted that, "Nearly 90 percent of the people diagnosed with lung cancer will die from the disease." The importance of these findings, therefore, gives doctors a chance to detect lung cancer at an early age when treatment is most effective.