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Written by Mike Epler
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Wednesday, 10 March 2010 08:00 |
It seems the promise of warmer temperatures has finally come to fruition. Now that we can work outside, it will be amazing how much we can find to do around the yard. February and March are prime times to prune trees in Kansas, so K-State will be offering a tree pruning school right here in Miami County. 
The class will start at 1:30 p.m. March 24, and will be taught by Dr. Bill Reid, who is the pecan and nut production specialist for Kansas State University’s Horticulture Department. Dr. Reid will use live pecan trees as his “subjects” for the class, and will gear the class primarily toward pruning and training nut producing trees. The fundamentals of pruning nut trees can be applied to about any deciduous trees though, so all are encouraged to attend. This pruning school is free to attend, and will be at Brad and Lila Carter’s farm at 11469 W. 335th St., Paola, KS 66071. The farm is about 1.5 miles west of U.S. Highway 69 on 335th St. Call the Miami County Extension office if you have any questions about the class.
While we’re on the subject of finding things to do outside now that the weather is beginning to improve, I want to discuss fertilizing pastures and hay fields with nitrogen. Now is the time to put nitrogen on pasture or hay ground. Anytime in February would have worked too, but that really wasn’t an option due to the weather. The good news is that you still have all of March (and early April) to apply nitrogen.
I always encourage everyone to take a soil test every two or three years to know exactly what their field needs, but if you haven’t sampled, there is still one sure bet: Your grass pastures and hay fields need nitrogen on an annual basis for optimum grass growth.
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Written by Jesse Trimble
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Wednesday, 10 March 2010 08:00 |
I’m going to be honest here: Getting engaged is a happy time in a couple’s life together. The clouds seem to part for a couple of weeks, and some may walk around with a constant glow about them. Birds chirp, and it seems nothing can get you in a funk. But this isn’t a Disney film, folks. Once the proposal takes place and family members and friends are informed of the news, planning must begin. 
I’ll admit, when I was growing up I watched Ariel in “The Little Mermaid,” Princess Aurora in “Sleeping Beauty” and countless more Disney heroines get hitched without so much as batting their long eyelashes. I’m so envious.
I’m sure a few others out there may be in the same boat. After watching movies like that, we are lead to believe that getting married is definitely a piece of the proverbial cake. Boy, did that Disney guy have us fooled.
After having a phone conversation with my mom, I knew I had to get to work quickly. So the “decision talks” with the groom-elect began, as did the calling of local wedding vendors, as I think Miami County is a perfect place to have the wedding and reception. Not just because of what’s offered here and the beautiful trees in the fall, but also because it rests smack between my parents and Andrew’s mom in Manhattan. Local business owners have been very accommodating, as well as getting some help from staff members here at the newspaper. Colors suddenly become a very important topic, although what girl hasn’t been thinking about what two colors to pair together for her special day since she was old enough to walk? Browsing online for dresses and inspiration for centerpieces and invitations have been filling my evenings into the early hours of the morning. Bridesmaid gifts, guest lists, save-the-date invitations (which I wasn’t entirely sure what the difference between those and regular invitations was until a few days ago), have left my mind boggled and me scrambling for sanity.
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Written by Editorial Board
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Wednesday, 10 March 2010 08:00 |
Since discussion of the 2010-2011 Louisburg USD 416 budget began in earnest several weeks ago, it has been apparent that no cuts — should the district be forced to make them — would come easy.
Board of Education member John Cleek said it best during a previous board meeting, when he said there was no fat left to be cut away. Every suspension to programs and staff they would make moving forward as the result of dramatically reduced state funding would be felt in the bones and sinew of the district.
It has long been our opinion that district officials needed to do whatever they had to do in order to protect the teachers. Louisburg schools enjoy a sterling reputation academically, as they do in other areas, and so much of that can be attributed to the quality of those educating the youngest minds of the city.
Like most in town with a vested interest in the schools, we at the Herald have seen the list of recommended cuts and potential new revenue sources distributed by the district. It’s a list that represents many tough decisions, not the least of which is the possibility of 15 licensed staff positions and another 10 classified staff.
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Written by Mike Epler
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Wednesday, 03 March 2010 08:00 |
It looks like we might be slowly turning the corner and escaping the icy grasp of winter, but the warm temperatures the future holds won’t come without consequence. While the warm weather will come eventually, it unfortunately will not come alone, because increased temperatures signal the return of our favorite little visitors: ANTS!
It all starts with a few “scout” ants that come looking for food. Once they find something they like, they go back to the colony, but as they travel, they lay down a trail of chemicals for the other ants to follow back to your kitchen. Before you know it, the whole colony has a freeway set up from your kitchen back to their nest.
If you find their nest (which rarely happens), you can spray the colony with a labeled insecticide and kill it. Finding where the ants get in and sealing cracks with caulking can work, but typically isn’t feasible because you need to be an ant to find most of the entry points. Disrupting the ant trail can be a temporary solution, but usually doesn’t work in the long term.
It turns out the best use of insecticides against ants may be to lay down a “barrier” of insecticide around your house foundation. Insecticides that contain Carbaryl (shelf name is Sevin) usually work the best for this. Keep in mind that if this works, the results will still be temporary.
In the end, we are usually relegated to sanitation of food scraps and spills and using ant baits that contain insecticide. If you clean up all other food sources and put out ant baits, the ants will normally go to the bait and start carrying the poison back to their colony. It can be a slow process, so don’t expect results overnight. You may feel like you’ve lost control of the situation when you put ant bait out, because the numbers of ants continue to grow, but this is a sign that it is working. Hopefully, over time, the ant colony is destroyed by using these poisoned baits.
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Written by Aaron Cedeño
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Wednesday, 03 March 2010 08:00 |
I think I’ve hit my breaking point with winter. 
I mean, I’m a Kansan. I know our weather is famously unpredictable and, as I’m constantly telling my wife, I’m someone who takes great pleasure in the changing of the seasons. I love brisk fall days and snowy, gray December skies.
But some days it feels as if the streets of Louisburg will never be completely free from snow. I’m starting to wonder if come July I’ll still be donning a coat and gloves for my short walk to Louisburg City Hall for council meetings.
One aspect of this winter I will miss, however, is the Olympic Games. I’m a bit of an addict where the Olympics are concerned. Two years ago during the summer Olympics in Beijing, I was glued to the television every night — like so many other Americans — watching the drama unfold. I planned my evenings around Michael Phelps’ events in the pool, cheered the successes of Nastia Liuken and Shawn Johnson in gymnastics, and marveled at the sheer power and speed of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.
I’m a big sports fan, one of the types who lives and dies with his teams; in particular, the Kansas Jayhawks. But there’s nothing quite like the passion and energy of global competition. The personalities and the passion all seem larger than life, which I expect is only natural. It’s not the Chiefs versus the Broncos I’m watching. The competitors aren’t representing themselves, or a team, or even a city. They carry with them the hopes and dreams of their respective countries, and the weight that responsibility carries is evident in every frame of video footage.
Work has kept me busy this year, so I haven’t been able to watch as much of the Vancouver Winter Olympics as I might have liked. But even my limited viewing time has been packed with raw emotion. I watched Shaun White continue to dominate the snowboarding events, the heroics of Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso in women’s skiing, and Apolo Ohno winning his seventh medal in speed skating.
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