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| This Week's Titles: |
| Southwest
Georgia County Reversing Economic Slump |
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Univesity Lab Helps Relieve
Bug Anxiety |
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| Golf
And Gardening In Richmond County |
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| Radon
Awareness In January |
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| Federal
Rule Passed To Reduce Lead Poisoning |
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| Southwest
Georgia County Reversing Economic Slump |
1:55 |
A Southwest Georgia county
is meeting the challenge to reverse an economic slump. |
Many rural counties in South
Georgia are facing tough economic issues. These include factories
closing, and farmers struggling to stay in business. Four years
ago, county leaders in Baker County, along with state and federal
agencies began working to help the agricultural community stage
a comeback. Lanier Jordan, a county extension agent in Baker
County says the plan would allow farmers to increase farm income
after crops come out of the fields. "Hopefully work together
to increase the net farm income on our farm products. Products
being mostly peanuts, cotton, corn and maybe some vegetable
production, to own that crop past the farmgate either in a buying
point of further processing scheme and work together to retain
ownership a little further down the line and hopefully retain
more profits." Lanier Jordan with the University of Georgia's
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Six farmers
in Baker County bought a four-thousand ton peanut warehouse,
and received around two-hundred thousand dollars a year to handle
and store their own peanuts. Another group of farmers received
a USDA grant to develop a poultry litter compost cooperative.
This cooperation among government agencies has the potential
to increase the net farm income in Baker, and other rural counties
across Georgia. John Harrell, University of Georgia College
of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| University
Lab Helps Relieve Bug Anxiety |
1:30 |
Many Georgian's get help from
a lab on the University of Georgia's Griffin Campus, when they
are bugged by a creepy crawler. |
A lot of people scream and
run for the hills when they have an encounter with a strange,
dangerous looking insect. Lisa Ames, who works at the University
of Georgia's Homeowner Insect and Weed Diagnostic Lab, on the
Griffin Campus, says many people want to know about spiders,
termites, and moth samples. She adds people also assume insects
in a group are plotting an attack on them or their plants. But
most of these insects are really our friends. "What you call
beneficial predatory bugs. And they often get together in groups
when they hunt when they're smaller. And people automatically
assume that these groups of insects on their plants were harmful
when actually they're predatory bugs which eat things like caterpillars
and crickets and other bugs." Lisa Ames with the University
of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences,
who adds the number of insect samples received has been down
this year, because of drought conditions throughout the state.
In addition to insect samples, the lab also identifies around
fifty weed samples per year, mainly during April and July. John
Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Golf
And Gardening In Richmond County |
1:29 |
You won't learn about driving
and putting in the Golf Hall of Fame's Botanical Gardens in
East Central Georgia. |
When you talk about golf
in Augusta, you think about the Masters Golf Tournament that
tees off every April. In 1999, an eight-acre botanical garden
was installed in Richmond County that hosts a lot of events,
especially the week the Masters is scheduled. But the Golf Hall
of Fame's Botanical gardens has also addressed many critical
issues. Sid Mullis a county extension agent in Richmond County
says an educational department was developed at the gardens
for children and adults. "School kids and garden clubs, just
any individual groups will come down there and tour the gardens.
They also have a roots of gardening series what they call it
that run really from spring through fall where one evening a
month they will have a guest lecturer there ." Sid Mullis with
the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences, who adds around 150,000 guests have visited the Golf
Hall of Fame's Botanical Gardens in Richmond County. The irrigation
system used was developed to address several critical water
quality issues at the gardens. John Harrell, University of Georgia
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting
from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Radon
Awareness In January |
1:52 |
A silent home invader could
sneak inside and cause people to become very sick, or die. |
Radon is a naturally occurring
radioactive gas released from the natural decay of uranium in
rock soil, and water. You can't see, smell, or taste the gas,
but an elevated level of radon in a home can cause a lot of
harm. There is also no safe level, since the gas is radioactive.
Ginger Bennett, a radon educator with the University of Georgia's
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences says exposure
to radon causes lung cancer, in both non-smokers and smokers.
" And it doesn't cause any symptoms, until you've got lung cancer
developing. The main one is lung cancer. It is the second leading
cause of lung cancer in the U.S. after smoking. And if you smoke
and have radon coming into your home, it's not twice as likely
that you'll get lung cancer, it's ten to twenty times as likely."
Ginger Bennett with the College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences, who adds January is National Radon Action Month. Testing
a home for radon is as simple as opening a package. Then place
a radon test device in a designated area. After a set number
of days, send the device to a lab for analysis. The lab will
inform you of the radon test results in a few days. Radon test
kits can be picked up at local county extension offices. John
Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Federal
Rule Passed To Reduce Lead Poisoning |
1:42 |
A federal regulation was passed
to help reduce the number of people getting sick from lead poisoning. |
Beginning in 1978, lead-based
paint products were banned from use in new homes under construction.
Prior to this ban, many homes built before 1978 were painted
with products that contained lead. Gina Peek, a housing program
assistant with the University of Georgia's College of Family
and Consumer Sciences says the effects of lead poisoning can
be quite serious. "In children it can cause brain damage, development
problems, problems with growth. In adults it can cause nerve
problems, difficulties during pregnancies, and memory problems.
There are an estimated 17,500 children in Georgia with elevated
blood lead levels." Gina Peek with the College of Family and
Consumer Sciences. To help reduce the chances of lead poisoning,
the Lead-Based Paint Pre-Renovation Education Rule was passed.
The purpose of this regulation is to educate painters, plumbers,
carpenters, electricians, and others that help perform renovations
for compensation in residential houses that may contain lead-based
paint. The rule applies to houses and apartments built before
1978. John Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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