Meade County Conservation District develops Web site By KAREN KENNEDY The Meade County Conservation District held its monthly meeting on Nov. 27. Present were chairman John Bruington and supervisors Joe Barger, Henry Pike, Jack King, Jim Scott, and Nathan Beavin, as well as employees Charlotte Lawson, Liz Hawkins, Calvin Bohannon, and B.J. Stith. Board member Fred L. Sipes was absent. It was announced that Liz Hawkins will need to take a medical leave of absence for about two months. Jim Scott made a motion to approve Hawkins’ leave of absence, which was seconded by Jack King with all voting in favor. Two forage cost-shares have been paid for and another one is currently being reviewed. The Conservation District’s winter banquet will be held in February at Stuart Pepper Middle School. New banquet entertainment will soon be selected and individuals considered for the annual Master Conservationist award. Nathan Beavin and Fred L. Sipes both received honor awards from the state for their five years of service on the board. Liz Hawkins shared that Jessica Blankenship from the Fayette County Conservation District office traveled to Meade County in order to help Hawkins set up a Web site for Meade County Conservation District. Hawkins suggested a small token of appreciation might be sent to Blankenship given the four hours of travel time she incurred. Joe Barger made a motion to send a check for $50 to Blankenship. The motion was seconded by Jack King, with all voting in favor. Hawkins advised that the address for the new Web site is www.meadecd.org. She asked the board to review the site and provide her with input. For the month of October, there were seven dead animal pickups with five of the seven customers paid in full. This year’s dead animal pickup numbers are down quite a bit, and the board is contemplating the reason. Calvin Bohannon stated that a man named Mike Hubbs is the new state conservationist and that he comes to Kentucky from the Washington, D.C., office. B.J. Stith reported 42 EQIP applications so far this year and that he’d like to receive a few more before year’s end. He also stated that as far as the application approval process goes, the emphasis tends to focus on need more than it does want. Nathan Beavin expressed his disappointment that employee B.J. Stith – headquartered in Breckinridge County but working three out of five days a week in Meade County – has to drive to Breckinridge County to pick up his work vehicle before coming to work in Brandenburg, thus spending a good deal of his work hours driving. Beavin said he contacted the Division of Conservation and let the head individual know his thoughts. “Sometimes you just have to bug the heck out of people,” said Beavin. “Everyone knows if you make a lot of noise, it gets things done.” Beavin also mentioned that the 2007 Ag Field Day is already in the works. It will be held on the farm of Steve Beavin and in conjunction with Greg Beavin.
|
