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The Millen News, Wednesday, February 18, 2009 — Page 3 Farm & Home Ag Line: Planting Dormant Sod By Wade Parker County Extension Coordinator This is the ideal time of the year to transplant trees and other ornamentals. The root-ball is typically buried deep enough so that low soil temperatures do not stop root growth during cooler months. However, for turfgrass sod where the roots originate at the soil surface, dormant sodding is a more risky endeavor. Many people choose to lay sod in their yard during the winter months. This can be accom plished, but several steps need to be taken to ensure survival. If grasses such as bermuda, centi pede, St. Augustine, and zoysiagrass are going to be es tablished while dormant, good management can improve the chance of success. Let’s start with rootzone prepa ration. Rootzone preparation is critical for success. During site preparation and prior to turfgrass establishment is the best time to take a soil sample. It is easier to adjust the soil pH if lime or sul fur is incorporated into the soil. It is also easier to correct nutri ent deficiencies, like phosphorus and potassium, prior to establish ment. Since soluble nitrogen is mobile in the soil and the grass’s root system is incapable of ac quiring this nutrient, little nitro gen is needed when sodding dor mant grass. The first nitrogen ap plication should be made in the spring once soil temperatures are at the 4-inch depth and are con sistently 65 degrees or higher. Loosen the soil and incorpo rate nutrient amendments by till ing to a minimum depth of 3 to 4 inches. Tilling deeper is always better. After thorough tilling and mixing, the soil should be lev eled, smoothed, and moistened. Remove large rocks, stones, weeds, and other debris before sodding. Also prior to laying sod, the soil should be lightly watered but not saturated. Ruts from foot traffic or equipment can occur when soils are excessively wet. These ruts are more difficult to repair after the sod is laid. Winter annual weeds are com mon for dormant sodded grasses and there is a need to apply preemergence herbicides for control of summer annual grass species, like crabgrass. Research has shown that for dormant sod ded bermudagrass, common postemergence broadleaf herbi cides have no effect on rooting. The herbicides were applied 45 days after sodding. Similarly, preemergence herbicides had no effects on root development when applied at labeled rates 30 days after installation. Always read and follow the label recom mendations before applying any pesticide to newly planted grass. To summarize, winter time planting can be riskier but can be accomplished. If the necessary pre-cautionary steps are taken, you will have a successful lawn at the end of the day! The University of Georgia Co operative Extension offers edu cational programs, assistance and materials to all people with out regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex or disability. Program promotes ground, surface water conservation Acting State Conservationist Barbara Eggers, of the USDA- Natural Resources Conservation Service, announced recently that up to $58.4 million in financial assistance is available to agricul tural producers and entities through the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP.) This is a new program established in the 2008 Farm Bill to promote ground and surface water conser vation and water quality improve ment. USDA is seeking project pro posals from potential partners through this program. A Request for Proposals was published in the Federal Register and proposals must be submitted by Monday, March 2. “I encourage all of Georgia’s conservation-minded farmers to become aware of the new assistance available to them under this and other new conser vation programs,” said Eggers. The AWEP Request for Propos- Jim Hite als can be viewed at the USDA- Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) web site at http:/ /www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/ awep/index.html; web site at www.grants.gov; and at the Fed eral Register. The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of2008, or 2008 Farm Bill, established AWEP as a com ponent of the Environmental Qual ity Incentives Program (EQIP,) USDA’s largest conservation pro gram on working agricultural lands. All EQIP requirements and policies will apply to AWEP. USDA-NRCS administers EQIP, a voluntary conservation program that provides technical assistance and payments to help crop and livestock producers ad dress environmental concerns through conservation improve ments on agricultural and non-in dustrial private forests lands. Farmers and ranchers can use EQIP to farm in an environmen tally friendly manner and still meet their agricultural production goals. In addition, it is designed to pro duce significant environmental benefits to the public, such as im proved soil, water and air quality, and enhanced wildlife habitat. AWEP offer's financial and tech nical assistance to help farmers and ranchers cany out water enhance ment activities that conserve ground and surface water and im prove water quality on agricultural lands such as cropland, pasture, grassland and rangeland. Agricultural water enhancement activities include: water quality or water conservation plan develop ment; water conservation restora tion or enhancement projects, in cluding conversion to the produc tion of less water-intensive agri cultural commodities or dry land farming; water quality or quantity restoration or enhancement projects; irrigation system im provement or irrigation efficiency enhancement; activities designed to reduce drought’s impacts; and other related activities that will help achieve water quality or wa ter conservation benefits on agri cultural land. Under this new program, USDA-NRCS can contract di rectly with agricultural producers who are included in approved part ner proposals. Eligible partners include federally- recognized tribes, states, units of local govern ment, or agricultural or silvicul tural associations. Producers who apply for AWEP assistance must meet EQIP eligi bility requirements. All AWEP funding must go to producers. Like EQIP, contract terns for produc ers under AWEP run from 1 year to 10 years. Agricultural produc ers in selected project areas can ap ply for available AWEP funds at their local USDA service center. For additional information about the AWEP under EQIP, please visit http:// www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/ EQIP or call (706) 546-2272 dur ing business hours. THE PRIMARY ROLE OF A SCHOOL IS EDUCATION HAWK & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Victor C. Hawk Melissa Detchemendy Need Help? Call: 478-982-4226 (day) or 706-294-4447 (night) American Trial Lawyers Association Southern Trial Lawyers Association Georgia Trial Lawyers Association Office located in The Millen News Building 856 E. Cotton Ave., Millen, GA Augusta Dental Center p.c. J. Michael Scott DMD Single Economy Denture $195 Locally Owned • We accept Cash, Visa, MC, Discover, AmEx, GA Medicaid Simple Extraction *35.°° Surgical Extraction $75.00 Partials Starting @ $395. 00 Dentures - Full Economy Set Starting at $350. 00 Porcelain Crowns $495.00 Full Mouth X-Ray $35. 00 f IMMEDIATE 1 DENTURES Open Mon-Fri 7:30 AM No Appointment Necessary 12th & Greene St. Downtown Augusta (across from Greyhound) Fees Valid Thru 2/28/09 • Teeth Extracted • Dentures or Partials immediately • You never go without your teeth • All Surgery & Extractions L done in our office A 706-721-4288 1 in We Can Make It Happen NOW! If you own at have equity in your home, land, mobile home or car, you can gel $1.000, £2,000 or more at Millen Loan and Finance Corporation Call or dome by and discuss your money needs with os today. Monday through Friday 8:30 am.'5:30 p.m. Closed Saturday MILLEN LOAN and FINANCE C0RP. 128 N, Gray Street - Millen 982-5644 Some three years ago, I down loaded an article from the news paper of the city where I lived un til leaving for college. I planned on using it as the basis of a col umn, but the facts it presented seemed a bit preposterous even if true. However, last fall a somewhat similar story from Austin, Texas, made the news and maybe now would be a time for commentary. In the Toledo Blade of Feb. 13, 2006, an article told of various in centives being offered by school systems to entice students to show up at school. Apparently, becom ing a better person, citizen, worker is not enough. And when parents do not make their children do what they should, the school systems are forced to step in. At the base of all the incentives is money. According to No Child Left Behind, when attendance is low, funds are lost. In Chicago, every 1 percent increase in aver age attendance is worth $18 mil lion. Thus, administrators there are offering students up to $500 for groceries or $1,000 for rent or mortgage payments if they attend class every day for the first three months of the school year. In Hartford, Conn., a 9-year-old with perfect attendance won a raffle among the perfect attendees and got to choose between a new car and $10,000. His parents took the money. In Ft. Worth, Texas, students with average attendance get a shot at cars, computers, shop ping trips, and sports tickets. Other schools offer DVD players or iPods. Many examples can be found. Not quite the way it works in the real world! A payoff for just showing up is a rather interesting concept, since in the real world the paycheck comes after the work is done. Of course, there is the exception of professional sports, but that’s another column! Then last November, the Austin American-Statesman of Nov. 21 reported that the Texas Board of Education gave preliminary ap proval to create guidelines for how sports should be taught in public high schools; the new plan would include adding athletics to the fist of electives that count toward graduation. It seems a high school football coach was concerned that stiffer graduation requirements in En glish, math, science, and social studies could squeeze athletics out of the students’ schedule, a prob lem that would be solved if athlet ics became an elective subject. At last report, the debate is con tinuing with one observer noting that coaches would then have to be certified somehow in the sports they coach. I’m not sure if you read this as I do, but it surely seems the tail is wagging the dog here. School is school, a physical lo cation which is to provide young people with an education. While there is debate over what educa tion should entail, whether it should prepare one for fife or for a job, I don’t see how just showing up at school should become a source of treasure! As for the story from Texas, it would seem that the state board would understand that the primary role of a school is edu cation. Extracurricular activities are just that — extra, outside and beyond the basic curriculum of an educational institution. Believe me, as one who lived for Friday nights while in my late grade and high school years and one whose high school coaching career extended from the 1970s through the 80s and 90s, I am not calling for an end to athletics. I know that high school athlet ics is big, far bigger than in the ancient days of my youth. There are high school football teams be ing flown across the country to play in large stadiums and “all- star” games at season’s end. There are basketball teams during the season and individual players dur ing the summer doing the same. College scouts flock to these com petitions while parents dream and hope the participation of their off spring will lead to a financial re turn from their offspring’s athletic endeavors. Maybe you agree to paying youngsters for showing up at school or to giving classroom and thus graduation credit for extracur ricular activities. Or maybe you (as I do) see education in a different way - as its own reward. Possibly, all this may just be a non-story. I guess time will tell! PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE Community Development Block Grant Program [In.- ( iij nl Mittal LiuKiLkrinii jpptjtnp in tbc tiftiijJli Depiifimmt cf( iintmunhy tillin'. (l)C'Al Etir .11 , h mi: 1 ifur, Piii'Chipmern Rlnck Grama i>( up to SVOO.OOO F|it« tinuh must he med In primarily tancrii lovL-iiTminknile inenpje pcnnilS The activiiScn for yvhkh ihctc ftuids way he trod ere in public fiwitiliej, and uconctnie development More specific del ai 15 rtjumliiig v I ij; ib lenctii ilics. plain to msisl diqdimi|KMonq1l iinj I. thu estimated unmuul vt hinds rnipi'-ed lube used li-i .ilUviUlv ;ind (he riMiuu system hi ill he [mrvitded Ha public hearing which hill be held ul rtiHvTi t in Mall, 9191'niteae Avenue tn Milled, Citnryia, oh Thursday I L-bmcri rts. rtHW at 2:3U p.m I he purpose Ul’lhis hewing mil He to [nliimt (ilhi'm him llli: development ol [he iipphcdlitm ;uid Id rvttjifu vili/vrt LHiuiittrm*. AH elliMtr. are mvirud m attend ihi$ heffing nidi mxdi reluimg m Jisa&jiiy LiLnes-n may use the Georgia belay Service hir the U-jniiii unpaired til I-Unh-JSS-ittlVi ur enn I a,: City X-hniacer. 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