Panhandle Monthly News is a newsletter for Pan-

handle Extension District staff. Its mission is to

share information about staff members and their

accomplishments, honors, awards, and employ-

ment milestones; updates on personnel changes;

news about policies; and messages from Jack and

the administrative team. Panhandle Monthly

News will be attached as a PDF to the Weekly

Happenings once a month, and back issues are

archived on the Staff Resources page of the Pan-

handle Extension website (http://

extension.unl.edu/statewide/panhandle/panhandle

-staff-resources/), where lots of other information

can also be found.

Ah yes, annual evaluation time of the year! It has

been a pleasure to review Activity Insights and read

of the great accomplishments across our District in

2015. Believe it or not, I am really looking forward

to sitting face-to-face with you in the coming weeks.

Jim and I will be scheduling visits to counties soon,

and many of the Specialists’ appointments are al-

ready set. In many ways, annual evaluations are

much like harvest time for a crop. It’s the time to

pause and reflect on all the planning and effort it

took to get the harvest in, and admire the results. It

is also the time to assess what might be done during

the coming year to reap an even greater harvest of

accomplishments. I hope you are approaching this

time with eagerness rather than anxiety. I am. Have

a great month!

Jack

The Panhandle Center has recognized two western

Nebraska residents for their decades of service to

agriculture and Extension in the Panhandle.

The Service to Panhandle Agriculture Award was

presented to Howard Hale of Minatare, who

embarked on a career in broadcasting three decades

ago and still broadcasts ag news to the Panhandle as

well as radio audiences from the Texas Panhandle to

Montana. Two decades of announcing at fair livestock

shows also have made him a familiar voice for local 4

-H families.

The Service to Panhandle Extension Award was

presented to Elaine Pile of Gering. Over the past 15

years she has been a tireless volunteer, leader and

advocate for Extension at the local, state and national

levels, on top of a 36-year career in banking in

western Nebraska.

Continued on page 5 Howard Hale (left) and Elaine Pile.

Spouse/Significant Other: Tim Paisley

Children: Tyson, age 3, loves farming and any-

thing to do with outside, especially riding horses

with Grandma and feeding cows with Grandpa;

Christopher, age 10 months, just starting to walk,

loves to sweep the kitchen floor and any toy that big

brother is playing with.

Background/family: I grew up in St. Libory, NE.

By fourth grade, I was recruited to work in my un-

cle’s produce fields. It started as picking up potatoes

and ended with hoeing crews and selling at the road-

side stand. I have an older brother, Adam, who is a

pharmacist in Lincoln and has just added his third

little girl to the family. My little brother, Andrew,

followed in my footsteps and became a teacher. He is

currently living in Grand Island with his wife and

teaches Social Sciences at Grand Island Senior High.

The baby of the family is my sister, Melanie, who is

currently a grad student at Belmont University in

Nashville working with the volleyball team. I met

my husband, who is an Oshkosh native and currently

works as an Ag Loan Officer at Nebraska State

Bank, when I started my teaching job. We have been

married for five years this coming August and just

recently purchased our first farming ground.

Education/career: I attended UNL for two years

and then received a Natural Sciences Field Endorse-

ment and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction

with an emphasis in Science from Chadron State

College. I taught for seven years as the secondary

science and agricultural education teacher at Garden

County Schools in Oshkosh, where I served as head

varsity volleyball coach and started the FFA pro-

gram. During my time there, I took numerous teams

to compete at State FFA Convention, served on the

Nebraska Vocational Agriculture Foundation Board

to operate the Leadership Center in Aurora, and re-

ceived over $30,000 in grants to build and operate a

below-ground-level greenhouse.

Hobbies/Interests: I like spending time baking

with my kids, scrapbooking, and reading. I love to be

outside working in my flower beds or with cattle. I

also enjoy running when I get the chance to be alone.

Science and working with youth are definitely pas-

sions for me.

OPEN POSITIONS

Panhandle Center: Soil/Nutr ient Management

Specialist: Candidate review under way.

Morrill County: Educator : Applications are

being received.

TRANSITIONS

Word was received in February from former

PHREC faculty member Dr. David Baltensperger,

now of Texas A&M University, that former faculty

member Dr. Juerg Blumenthal passed away.

Juerg had been at Texas A&M AgriLife since

2003 as an Associate Professor and State Sorghum

Cropping Systems Specialist. Prior to that he had

spent six years at the Panhandle Center as an

assistant professor and soil fertility/nutrient

management specialist.

A native of Switzerland, Juerg did his

undergraduate training at the Swiss Federal Institute

of Technology, then earned his Ph.D. in soil science

at the University of Minnesota in 1996.

Spouse/Significant Other: Divorced

Children: No Children

Background/family: I am number two of six kids

(four girls two boys). I went to over 20 schools

growing up. I think that helped make me the person I

am today. I think we were all born in different states.

My family grew up rodeoing.

Highlights of your education/career: I rodeo’d

professionally from 1976 through 1992. I was a

member of the WPRA, and competed at PRCA

rodeos. I qualified for the Great Lakes Circuit Finals

in Louisville, KY, 2 years. I am very proud of my

rodeo accomplishments. I trained and competed on

my own horses. I trained horses throughout my life,

and I helped a lot of 4-Hers with their horses and

lessons. The last 15 years I worked in cattle feed

yards as a pen rider, processor, and doctorer.

Somewhere in there I got my associates degree in

accounting.

Hobbies/Interests: I used to do a ton of beading,

belts, tack etc. Arthritis and bifocals put a pretty big

crunch to that.

Other personal information: I was diagnosed with

triple negative breast cancer last May, and went

through a bilateral mastectomy and chemo. I will

have to be tested for the next 5 years. Right now I

am cancer free. I have learned a lot about cancer

since then; 1 in 7 women will get breast cancer, and

1 in 8 people will develop some kind of cancer. I

never thought cancer would be associated with me.

Spouse/Children: Shelly and her husband of 24

years, Harley, have four children between the two of

them: Desarie is a bank manager in Artesia, New

Mexico; Travis is in the Navy and is stationed in

Hawaii; Brittany is a CNA/med aid in Kearney,

Nebraska; and Chelsea is a vet tech in Curtis,

Nebraska. Shelly and Harley also are the proud

grandparents of 11 grandchildren.

Background/Family: Harley and Shelly

originally moved to the sandhills of Cherry County

in 1992. Shelly was a full time ranch wife, working

with her husband, enjoying her seasonal positions

and being a stay-at-home mom and wife. Shelly

started her home-based quilting business, Shelly’s

Quilt Shack, in 2002. She is passionate about

quilting and interior design and has since mended,

made and sold many of her creations. In 2011,

shortly after her youngest graduated high school,

Harley accepted a position with the Rex Ranch.

The camp with the ranch was located 22 miles

North of Oshkosh in Garden County. Harley and

Shelly have since moved a little closer to

civilization, residing on the Rush Creek Ranch

outside of Oshkosh. She is a member of the Garden

County Garden Club, is active in her church and

loves spending time with family.

“Empty nest syndrome” set in soon after all the kids

had graduated school and moved out. When the

position of temporary office manager at the

Extension Office in Garden County opened up,

Shelly, with the help of her friend, Tanya Storer, put

together a resume. Shelly says, “God has been

preparing me for this position my whole adult life.”

Shelly had previously been a 4-H volunteer for all

the years her children were involved and she

worked closely with Sue Pearman doing sewing and

other workshops. She served on the Grant County 4

-H Council for 8 years. All of this previous

experience truly makes her feel at home in the

Extension Office, where she states that there is

never a dull moment. Finding answers to customers’

questions about gardening or yard problems, helping

a 4-H parent that is not quite sure what’s what,

hosting a workshop, or attending a training are just a

few of the many things that happen in the day-to-

day life in the Extension Office.

Hobbies/Interests: She enjoys learning new

things, meeting new people and being busy. Shelly

explains that her position with Nebraska Extension

Garden County is amazing and she LOVES every

minute of it.

Continued from page 1

The Outstanding Service to Panhandle Agriculture

Award recognizes persons or groups who provide

outstanding service to agriculture in western

Nebraska. Award criteria include value of work

done or cooperation with UNL specialists or

educators; leadership in agriculture; community

service other than agriculture; and level of impact

on Panhandle agriculture.

The Service to Panhandle Extension Award,

initiated in 2015, recognizes persons or groups

whose contributions further Extension activities in

the Panhandle. It will be an annual award, just as the

Service to Agriculture Award.

Both of the 2015 award recipients are natives of

the Panhandle who were raised around agriculture

and have long careers that have kept them in contact

with local ag sectors, as well as 4-H and Extension.

Elaine Pile, a long-standing supporter of

Extension, has served on the Scotts Bluff County

Extension Board member and is active on the state

level in the Nebraska Association of County

Extension Boards (NACEB). She also has been

involved in Extension’s Master Gardener Program

for about 20 years.

For much of the past decade, she has served

Scotts Bluff County Master Gardener as coordinator

of media. In this role, she recruits Master Gardener

volunteers to write and record radio Public Service

Announcements that encourage sound, sustainable

practices in home gardens, lawns and landscapes.

She also coordinates the scheduling to provide

weekly recording sessions for fresh batches of PSAs

during each growing season.

She has served four terms on the Scotts Bluff-

Morrill County Extension Board (two three-year

terms, one term off, followed by two more terms).

Her current term ends at the end of this year. She

has been a valued board member, attending

meetings, participating, holding various board

offices, and giving Extension faculty constructive

feedback and criticism. She has been a member of

the Nebraska Association of County Extension

Boards (NACEB).

Howard Hale has been a longtime supporter of

Extension and 4-H through his work in the

broadcasting industry.

Hale was born in Scottsbluff and raised on a

farm and sheep- and cattle-feeding operation in the

Scottsbluff area, graduating from Scottsbluff High

School. He received an associate degree from

Scottsbluff College (now WNCC) and attended the

University of Colorado in Boulder until joining the

Army Reserves. After a stint on active duty and in

the reserves he returned to farming, feeding cattle

and raising sheep. For years he sold life and health

insurance with the Frank Kleager agency while

farming and feeding livestock part time.

Along with two other partners he built an indoor

arena in 1975 and worked with horses and at the

arena before returning to the Kleager agency. Hale

went into broadcasting in 1985, becoming the Farm

Director at KOLT. He has been a broadcaster since

then. He later worked as a farm broadcaster for

Tracy Broadcasting, and after that at KNEB.

In 1994 he went out on his own with Hale

Broadcasting. He currently produces and airs three

feature programs: The Harvest USA Report, The

Cattleman's Corner and The Horseman's Corner.

Fifteen stations carry at least some of the programs,

from the Texas panhandle to northern North Dakota

and over into central Montana with The Harvest

USA Report carried locally on KNEB. From May

2014 through April 2015 Howard filled in as the

farm director at KNEB as a replacement for Leslie

Smith until the current director, Jeanna Boland,

started.

Hale announced the livestock shows at the

Scotts Bluff County Fair for a number of years. He

has been a member of the National Association of

Farm Broadcasting for 30 years. For 15 years he

was the public address announcer for Cougar

Basketball. Two years ago Howard was inducted

into the U.S. Custom Harvesters Hall of fame. He

also had a minor part in the documentary film The

Great American Wheat Harvest. Howard and his

wife, Pat, have three children.

$1,641 from Snow-Redfern Foundation for a

project entitled Health Rocks Hands On Visuals. Lead

PI Leah Gremm. Term of award Nov. 1, 2015, Dec.

31, 2016.

$57,960 from National 4-H Council for a pro-

ject entitled 4-H Mentoring. Lead PI Kelley Rice.

Term of award Nov. 1, 2015, through Jan. 31, 2017.

$5,000 from Panhandle Partnership for HHS

for a project entitled PPHHS TEAMS Program. lead

PI Jacqueline Guzman, with Leo Sierra. Term of

award is Sept. 1, 2015, through Dec. 30, 2015.

$21,039 from Dept of Agriculture-RD for a pro-

ject entitled Enhancing Online Marketing Strategies

for Rural Business Owners in Nebraska. Lead PI Con-

nie Hancock. Term of award Aug. 7, 2015, through

Aug. 6, 2016.

$3,262 from Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition for a project entitled Efficacy of Nebraska Grazing

Land Coalition Rangeland Monitoring Program. Lead

PI Mitchell Stephenson. Term of award: Sept. 1, 2015,

through Sept. 1, 2016.

$11,143 from Kansas State University for a pro-

ject entitled Development and Management of Canola

in the Great Plains Region. Lead PI Dipak Santra, with

Cody Creech and Gary Hergert. Term of award Sept.

1, 2015, through Aug. 31, 2016.

$15,000 from Nebraska Wheat Board for a pro-

ject entitled Purchasing a No-Till Small Plot Drill for

Wheat for Wheat Variety Testing Under No-till Pro-

duction System in Western Nebraska. Lead PI Dipak

Santra, with Cody Creech and Gary Hergert. Term of

award Dec. 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016.

Specialty Crop Grants from USDA Specialty

Crop Block Grant Program: Several projects at the

Panhandle Center will receive funding for 2016:

$76,642 for researching plant population in

Great Northern and pinto bean production in west-

ern Nebraska (Carlos Urrea, principal investigator).

$29,616 for identifying the best fenugreek culti-

var for organic production in western Nebraska

(Dipak Santra, principal investigator).

$27,000 for determining the impact of fenu-

greek seed on gut health and the effects on obesity

and insulin resistance (Dipak Santra, co-principal in-

vestigator).

Two other grants will fund dry bean research in

the areas of health and nutrition:

$33,837 for developing the processing of dry

edible beans as ready-to-eat snacks to retain a high

concentration of folic acid (principal investigator,

Devin Rose of the Food Science and Technology De-

partment).

$135,804 for increasing education about the nu-

tritional benefits of managing high cholesterol with

Great Northern and pinto beans (principal investigator,

Vicki Schlegel of the Food Science and Technology

Department).

Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel has been

selected as the recipient of the Gamma Sigma Delta

Award for Excellence in Extension. The award was

presented to Cheryl Jan. 31 at the 2015 Initiation

and Awards Banquet on East Campus. Gamma

Sigma Delta is a national honor society that

promotes high scholarship among students and

professionals. Seniors with high scholastic

achievement, graduate students, professional staff,

university faculty and alumni within the College of

Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, the

College of Education and Human Sciences and the

Department of Biological Systems Engineering are

eligible for membership.

New publications:

Bob Harveson et al: “First Repor t of Orobanche

ludoviciana parasitizing Sunflowers,” Plant Health

Progress, Vol. 16, No. 4, 2015 (page 216)

Bob Harveson, Carlos Urrea, Dean Yonts and

Howard F. Schwartz (CSU): “Bacter ial Wilt of

Dry Edible Beans in the Central High Plains of the

U.S.: Past, Present and Future,” Plant Disease,

December 2015 (page 1665)