Identity Theft Program

Friends-

 We would appreciate your help in spreading the word about this important program.

 

A United States Secret Service Agent will be educating participants on protecting themselves from becoming a victim of identity theft. We will be serving a hamburger supper beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Pesticide Applicator 5 Hr. CEU Program

All TDA Pesticide Applicator license holders who need to obtain CEU’s for their Applicator license need to be at the Decatur Civic Center, Tuesday, December 11, 2012.  Participants will receive 5 hours of CEU’s consisting of 1 hour of Laws and Regulations, 2 hour of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and 2 hours of general.  The program will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will run until 3:00 p.m.

The registration fee for the program will be $35, due no later than December 7, 2011.  Refreshments and lunch will be included.  Checks need to be payable to: Extension Livestock Committee and sent to Texas AgriLife Extension Service, 206 S. State Street, Decatur, 76234. 

For more information call the Extension Office at 940-627-3341.  The event is sponsored by the Texas Agrilife Extension and Wise County Extension Forage and Livestock Committee.

Festive Foods Can Fit in Diabetic Menu Plans

Special occasions are made more special by the foods served. For those persons with diabetes, making wise menu choices can be a challenge and sometimes keep you from enjoying these festive occasions. Healthy eating can be part of party menus too.  For those who want to find out more about being able to enjoy those special-occasion meals while keeping blood glucose levels in check, please join me for a presentation on ‘Diabetic Nutrition during the Holidays’ at the November 16 meeting of Aging Wisely. The hour long seminar will be held at 2 p.m. at the Weatherford College, Wise County Campus located at 5180 Highway 380 between Decatur and Bridgeport.

The Aging Wisely monthly series is offered to Wise County citizens courtesy of Weatherford College, AHEC, and First Texas Home Health. They have teamed up to create an educational series to empower not only the aging population, but those who love and care for our aging community members. The topics range includes nutrition, safety in the home, long term care insurance, mental and the list goes on.

            The following recipe will make a great contribution to any holiday meal as well as fitting into the meal plan of a person with diabetes.

Healthy Holidays Layered Salad

1 bag salad greens

1 16 oz. bag of frozen green peas

2 large tomatoes

½ cup red onion (chopped)

1 bunch of broccoli (coarsely chopped into salad size pieces)

2 cups grated cheese

1 small can of sliced black olives

Dressing:

¾ cup light mayonnaise

½ cup low fat sour cream

1 tsp. lemon juice

2 packets artificial sweetener

Mix all the ingredients for the dressing. Chill while assembling the salad. Thaw the green peas under hot water in a colander. To assemble the salad, arrange the greens in an oblong dish. Layer the peas evenly over the salad. Spread the salad dressing over the peas like icing on a cake. Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the salad dressing. Top this with the onion, broccoli, tomatoes and olives. Cover tightly with plastic wrap until serving.  Makes 10 servings.

Nutrients per serving: Calories: 197; sodium: 275 mg; carbohydrates: 20 grams; protein: 9 grams; fat: 10 grams

For more information on cooking with diabetes or the Aging Wisely program call the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service at 940/627-3341.

Let's talk Turkey

Great information from USDA

Note to all Wise County residents, did you realize that Thanksgiving is just around the corner?  It’s time to give thanks and feast on turkey with family and friends.  Texas AgriLife Extension, Wise County wants to make sure that the turkey you serve produces only compliments, and not complaints, by encouraging you to follow four simple steps to food safety: clean, separate, cook, and chill.

Before you begin working with poultry, or any potentially hazardous food item, one of the primary rules of food safety is to keep everything CLEAN by washing hands with warm/hot soapy water before preparing food, and after your hands have come in contact with raw turkey.

After purchasing, take your turkey home and store it in the freezer or the refrigerator.  Never store the turkey on the counter top, or any other place where the temperature reaches above 40 degrees F.

More great information from USDA

The safest place to thaw a turkey is in the refrigerator.  Depending upon the size of your turkey, it may take up to 2-5 days to thaw in the refrigerator.  Place your turkey on a tray in the refrigerator to prevent its juices from dripping on other foods.   

As a rule of thumb, it takes approximately 24 hours to thaw every 5 pounds of turkey in the refrigerator.  If the turkey is thawed in the microwave, it should be cooked immediately because areas of the turkey may become warm and begin to cook.  Follow the instructions on the package for thawing.

A turkey that is 8-12 pounds will take approximately 3 hours to cook.  12-14 pounds will take 3 to 3.75 hours, 14-18 pounds will take 3.75 to 4.25 hours, 18-20 pounds will take 4.25 to 4.5 hours, and 20-24 pounds will take 4.5 to 5 hours to cook.

To safely cook the thawed turkey, tuck the wing tips under the shoulders of the turkey and place in a roasting pan with ½ cup water.  For safety, stuffing should be cooked separate from the turkey.  A tent of foil can be loosely laid over the turkey for the first 1 to 1.5 hours and removed for browning.  Place the turkey in an oven set no lower than 325 degrees F.

Turkey meat will be safely cooked when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F; however, the meat may still be slightly pink. Some people prefer cooking turkey to a higher temperature (whole turkey to 180°F in the innermost part of the thigh; turkey breasts to 170 degrees F in the thickest part). For quality, let the turkey stand for 20 minutes before carving.

If you are stumped on the best way to thaw, prepare or cook a turkey, concerned about food safety, you can call the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline toll free at 1-888-674-6854 or send an Email to: mphotline.fsis@usda.gov web page link for Hotline.

Identity Theft

Identity theft has become the fastest growing crime in the entire world.  Unfortunately, Wise County isn’t immune to such a crime.  Financial institutions in our county agree that “identity theft” is growing and is seen right here where we live daily.  The Wise County Leadership Advisory Board with Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service, Wise County has put together a program for Wise County citizens to learn more on how to protect themselves from identity theft.

            Representatives from the Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) will be at the Weatherford College Wise County Campus on Tuesday, November 27^th starting at 5:30 p.m. to educate us more on identity theft and how you can keep it from happening to you.

            Long before the internet (or Google for that Matter) was around, identity thieves could steal your identity by going through your trash to find personally identifying information on papers and documents you had thrown out like bills and other documents.  Moreover, thieves could also use phone scams to find out your personally identifying information.  The thief could then use this information to do harm in many ways.  The rapid growth of identity theft is due to multiple ways in which we live our lives and the process of information. 

            The Internet has made transmission of our personally identifying information quick and easy, and quite often less secure. We can access bank and credit card accounts online, pay bills online, and shop and make credit card transactions online.  All of these advancements make things quicker and more convenient, but they also pose risks to our personal information and personal credit.

            Many examples of identity theft are: credit card ID theft, bank fraud ID theft, internet ID theft, stolen ID theft (via the mail), phishing ID theft and skimming ID theft.  This program will provide information and examples of all kinds of identity theft.

            This program should be very valuable to everyone who attends.  Registration for the meeting will start at 5:30 p.m. at the Weatherford College Wise County campus located on Highway 380 between Decatur and Bridgeport.  We will have a hamburger supper provided from 5:30-6:00 p.m.  The informational program will start at 6:00 p.m. and conclude around 7:30 p.m.  Cost of the program will be $5 per person.  Please contact the Wise County, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service located at 206 S. State St., Decatur, or call at (940) 627-3341 to pre-register by November 26^th.

Book & Game Drive

If you look on the Texas 4-H Website you will find a statement that says “4-H is a community of young people across America who are learning leadership, citizenship and life skills.” For a lot of 4-H members, 4-H has taught them responsibility, leadership, team work, and the importance of giving back to their communities. For their One Day community service project the County Council, a collection of 4-H members from across Wise County, wanted to make a difference in a life of another child.

The County Council is hosting a Game and Book Drive for their annual community service project. 4-Her’s will be collecting new games and books to donate to Cooks Children’s Hospital in Ft. Worth. The Council set a goal of collecting 250 items to donate to the hospital. 

Games include: board games, travel games, card games, puzzles, handheld electronic games, etc. Board games are ways to use and develop thinking skills while spending quality time with families or new friends. Books include: board books, picture books, chapter books, “I Spy” books, game/puzzle books, coloring books etc. Patients and families spend time waiting for appointments or between medical tests and these items help make the time more bearable. All items must be new due to the compromised immunity systems of some of the patients at the hospital. More items can be found at http://www.cookchildrens.org/Giving/WishLists/.

Please help these 4-Her’s make a difference in another child’s life. Items can be donated between 8am and 5pm Monday through Friday at the Extension Office at 206 South State Street in Decatur. For more information about this Community Service opportunity, please contact the Extension Office at 940-627-3341.