Conservation District votes in favor of hiring 50-50 cost share employee By KAREN KENNEDY The Meade County Conservation District held its monthly meeting on Jan. 22, with board members John Bruington, Jack King, Henry Pike, Jim Scott, Nathan Beavin, Joe Barger, and Fred L. Sipes present. Also in attendance were employees Calvin Bohannon, B.J. Stith, and Charlotte Lawson. B.J. Stith reported 85 percent of EQIP applications approved for this past year. 72 applications were submitted and 56 of them were funded. For this year, Stith says he has received 68 applications and expects another four or five to come in before the deadline. He said he’ll know who has been approved come March. As for the state cost-share, Stith stated 37 people are on the call list and expects at least that many more to be submitted. Stith noted there’s a lot of field work ahead for 2007 and that’s the one area where the district is falling down. Said chairman John Bruington, “This is where a 50-50 cost-share employee would be beneficial. We still have a gap in our hands-on, technical field work. B.J. is overworked, and we’ve got to be able to get the work done and keep up with the volume in order to keep our programs alive…We’re headed toward a third of the program if we don’t step up to the plate.” Last month the board began serious discussions about whether or not to hire a new employee under the state’s 50-50 cost-share program, opting to wait for further discussion and a possible decision when the full board could be present. Since all board members were at the January meeting, the board took the opportunity to engage in serious discussion. As the pros and cons of hiring a 50-50 cost-share employee were batted around, Nathan Beavin stated “We’ve got to have the manpower in the field. The state will pay half. It’ll pay for itself tenfold.” District representative Kelly Shouse was present at the meeting with some less than pleasant news to share with the board which made the cost-share employee decision even harder. Shouse told the board there’s a strong possibility the district will need to start picking up a portion of the rent beginning in April and that this is affecting not only Meade County but all conservation district offices. However, said Shouse, House Bill 136, which concerns equipment loans, might provide some funding that would help with the rent. Shouse urged everyone to contact legislators in support of HB 136. The money might be available in July if the bill passes, stated Shouse. Nathan Beavin made a motion, seconded by Fred L. Sipes, to pursue hiring a 50-50 cost-share employee. The motion passed unanimously. In other business, four individuals were selected as possibilities for this year’s Master Conservationist award. Out of these four, two individuals were selected to win this year’s awards; however, the names of the individuals will not be made public until the awards banquet to be held at Stuart Pepper Middle School in March.
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