Vilsack on Fires & Master Gardeners Helping Schools

Vilsack on Fires & Master Gardeners Helping Schools plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack is speaking out in support of the nations fire fighters who have been struggling with a number of major fires in Idaho, Oregon, Washington and California. He says we need to take a different approach. VILSACK: We need to begin treating fires and firefighting in the same way that we treat hurricanes and tornadoes. Historically the funding for these fires has come out of the general budget which means that you are always prioritizing between fire suppression and fire prevention. The reality is that you don't have to do that in many other natural disaster situations and that's why we're going to continue to work with Congress and members of Congress who are concerned about this to establish a larger and more significant commitment to fire suppression. School gardens across Idaho will get some expert help from 11 University of Idaho Extension Master Gardener volunteers who will serve as mentors this growing season.The Master Gardener mentors will guide schools in managing their own gardens by providing technical expertise and assisting garden leadership teams with horticultural issues. Idaho Master Gardener mentors will be paired with schools that received a $2,000 grant for a school garden from the Idaho Department of Education's Child Nutrition Program. An Idaho Department of Education child nutrition grant planted the seeds for the cooperative effort. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. They say all things in moderation is the key to happiness. And this would include our digital lifestyles. I'm not one to carry a cell phone. Having grown up in a time when the only lines of communication were hardwired landline telephones, letter writing, and direct in-person contact I have never felt the need to have instant and immediate accessibility. If we weren't home when the phone rang, the person calling had to call back until we were. If the person ringing the front doorbell found no one at home they came back later. No harm, no foul, that was just the way it was. Now days we're conditioned to respond immediately to any form of digital contact, whether it be through cell phone, texting, or e-mail. If we don't, we feel a sense of guilt, or I should say some feel guilt, I personally don't have a problem with being "disconnected" or momentarily inaccessible. One of the other downsides of the constantly connected mindset is the inability to focus on any one thing for more than just brief interludes. Many find themselves unable to even sit through a two hour movie without checking their mobile devices several times. A complete disconnect is probably not the answer, but striving to maintain a healthy balance of on-line and off-line time is. Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.