Help in answering your home horticulture questions

Throughout the year, the OSU Extension Office receives questions about home gardening, landscaping, tree planting or disease, soil sampling, flower growing, insects, and wildlife control, to name a few. With the Paulding County Master Gardener hotline taking on a different look in 2020, Extension Educator, Sarah Noggle, felt it would be essential to help our homeowners and community members unpack all the different resources available via Ohio State University Extension as well as the State Master Gardener Volunteer website. Noggle wanted a personal touch to help with the questions coming into the county, so she felt a blog would be a great fit. The new blog is located at the website
http://u.osu.edu/pauldingmgv.

“Sometimes it’s hard to find answers to these type questions or where to call. Today we are more tech-savvy than even five years ago, and I know that people take pictures on their phones. Sometimes, it’s as simple as a homeowner not knowing how to get the pictures to me, whether via email or text. Additionally, some of these questions are similar and come in waves. Last week, I had many calls about black spots on Maple Trees,” shared Noggle. “Googling questions doesn’t always yield correct or, unfortunately, accurate answers. The OSU Extension Office is still operating; however, it is by appointment only, so when people want instant answers, they can’t just walk directly in the office and receive service.”

The new blog is accomplishing many things. It brings some of the county’s horticulture and natural resource questions to a quick resource for consumers to find easily via a blog post. Sometimes these are directly written by Noggle, one of the county’s Master Gardener Volunteers, and other times they are coming from a close county educator or one of our State Specialists in Extension. Consumers can choose to subscribe to the blog and receive a weekly email to their inbox. The subscription button is located in the bottom right-hand corner of the website. The blog also has a form to help upload your questions and pictures to better diagnose horticulture problems affecting the consumer. This link is located at https://u.osu.edu/pauldingmgv/mgv-hotline/. Additionally, Noggle is sharing upcoming educational programs that are offered in-person or virtually via the blog.

“Many times, when it comes to home horticulture hotline questions, it is playing phone tag with consumers, because I need more information to help diagnose their questions. The back and forth can sometimes delay the process of getting to the bottom of the problem. Some weeks, I only have a few phone calls, and other weeks I receive over twenty calls. The new form on the blog is user friendly and allows you to upload multiple photos. Sometimes the
voicemail or email I receive is, ‘what is wrong with my tree? There are black spots on the leaves,” shared Noggle.

“I have to start by reaching the person and asking what type of tree it is, how old the tree is, have you done anything different this year to the tree to begin to answer the questions. This process can be streamlined by answering the questions on the form to the best of your ability, first.”

These questions are many times routed to our trained Master Gardener Volunteers in the county. We will still try to answer questions if you don’t answer all the questions on the online form or if you call the office. However, it saves time by answering as many of the questions as possible and uploading pictures on the form. Additionally, the blog posts have a share button via email, Facebook, and Twitter if you want to share the information with your family and
friends.

For more detailed information about Agriculture, Natural Resources, 4-H, SNAP-Ed programming, or Water Quality programs, visit the Paulding County Extension website at www.paulding.osu.edu or the OSU Extension Paulding County Facebook page.

For additional information on any agriculture or horticulture topic, contact Sarah Noggle, Paulding County Extension Educator, Agriculture, and Natural Resources, at noggle.17@osu.edu. Due to COVID-19, individuals cannot walk in the OSU Extension Office at 503 Fairground Drive, Paulding, without an appointment. However, you can still reach any person in the Extension Office by calling 419-399-8225.

Join the OSU Extension Agricultural Safety and Health Program for an at-home screening of the film SILO during the virtual 2020 Farm Science Review.

SILO is the First-Ever Feature Film about a Grain Entrapment. Inspired by actual events, SILO follows a harrowing day in an American farm town. Disaster strikes when teenager Cody Rose is entrapped in a 50-foot-tall grain bin. When the corn turns to quicksand, family, neighbors, and first responders must put aside their differences to rescue Cody from drowning in the crop that has sustained their community for generations. Earlier in the year, I had the opportunity to watch the film SILO during the American Farm Bureau Federation National Meeting. If you are involved in farming or work in agribusiness, this movie is a great watch.

Safety around grain bins is one of the areas of focus I have for Paulding County. Many of our local fire departments have volunteers trained in grain bin rescue and, via grants, have the equipment to use in the county if the need arises to complete a rescue. With Farm Science Review in a virtual, online format, seeing the movie is free. There are specific times to watch, and registration is a must, but please take time for this great opportunity.

Free screenings of the film SILO will be offered as a part of Farm Science Review 2020. It is an excellent opportunity for friends and family to spend an evening together watching a movie from the comfort of their own home. A way to start a dialog around safety for families, FFA chapters, or older 4-H members. Thank you for your support in keeping our farm communities safe this harvest season.

Register here for the Tuesday, September 22 screening at 7:00 p.m. EST.
Register here for the Wednesday, September 23 screening at 7:00 p.m. EST.
Link and flyer to get registered for the event
The trailer of the film SILO

For more detailed information about Agriculture, Natural Resources, 4-H, SNAP-Ed programming, or Water Quality programs, visit the Paulding County Extension website at www.paulding.osu.edu or the OSU Extension Paulding County Facebook page. For additional information on any agriculture or horticulture topic, contact Sarah Noggle, Paulding County Extension Educator, Agriculture, and Natural Resources, at noggle.17@osu.edu. Due to COVID-19, individuals cannot walk in the OSU Extension Office at 503 Fairground Drive, Paulding, without an appointment. However, they call still reach any person in the Extension Office by calling 419-399-8225.

Paulding County – Power2Change is the name for a nonprofit group of Paulding area volunteers trained as Living Free small group facilitators.  Living Free, founded in 1988, is an organization that has created time proven Bible-based curriculums and methodology, for helping individuals overcome “life controlling issues”.  The organization is now represented in more than 104 countries and nearly 1 million people around the world have participated in Living Free small groups.

Each small group is held accountable to strict confidentiality to establish high trust and transparency. Group participants have found the sessions to be “spiritually stirring”.  An additional benefit has been a bonding of Christians together across denominational boundaries.

In a short time, it has become clear that the Living Free Curriculums are helpful to at least 4 different groups of people: 1) those publicly known to be dealing with “life controlling” issues; 2) those who have recovered from these types of issues and now have a passion for helping others do so; 3) many people who are hiding from exposure and help for these issues, due to shame and fear; 4) those associated with others dealing with these problems and are interested in preventing themselves or others from experiencing these problems.

In early 2018, a coalition of local leaders was created to help deal with the present opiate addiction and death crisis in Ohio.  This creation followed two driving events:  stirring presentations by Darryl Strawberry (a recovered drug addict and Major League All-Star baseball player) followed shortly thereafter with a local forum held in May.  Soon after this forum, local members of the community met with Paulding County Common Pleas Judge Tiffany Beckman to learn more about opportunities to complement the local “drug court” program.  This led to a search for a relevant and effective public program to assist those affected by addiction (addicts, their friends, family, coworkers, and anyone else they associate with).

In November that same year, Dr. Daniel Schreck, founder of the Connection Points Living Free ministry in Ft. Wayne, presented at the monthly Paulding coalition meeting.  It was at this presentation where individuals expressed interest to attend an upcoming Living Free Facilitator Training session in Ft Wayne.

In February 2019, fifteen local individuals went through participation, in a series of sessions of an Insight Group, and subsequently formed the local “core team” of a Living Free Community.  In May, the local group registered with the state of Ohio as a nonprofit corporation under the name “Power2Change”.

Since that time, Power2Change has offered various Living Free small group curriculums to individuals within the Paulding County area.  Already, significant positive life changes have been observed in numerous individuals.

Now, Power2Change is arranging for small-group sessions in various locations throughout Paulding County.  Participants from surrounding counties are also welcome.  The organization is open to growth into surrounding counties as resources and demand develop.  All Power2Change members freely volunteer their time. To be a “Power2Change” facilitator one must: 1) go through Living Free Facilitator training, 2) participate in an “Insight Group” and 3) subscribe to the Power2Change set of governing beliefs.

If you would like to know more about the Power2Change program, or help with their work, please look at their website www.P2cpaulding.org or their Facebook page Power2Change.  You can also reach out to Registrar and Vice President Colette Brown alwascmb@gmail.com 419-789-8404 or President Dwight Stoller dstoller@dlfamily.org 419-203-1881

Applications are now available for the Paulding County COVID-19 Crisis Fund grants to assist businesses in Paulding County with relief due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  For the past month, United Way and the Paulding County Area Foundation have marketed a donation relief fund called the Paulding County Ohio Crisis Fund. The fund was established in cooperation with the Paulding Area Foundation and United Way of Paulding County to assist those businesses in need due to the pandemic.  Monies received in this fund will be dispersed through the Paulding County Economic Development Office.

All funds were locally donated with the premise of helping local businesses overcome and survive the statewide shutdown for the COVID-19 pandemic.  In an outreach effort to help as many local businesses as possible, every dollar collected will be dispersed back into the county in the form of grants to Paulding County-based businesses.  This is a 100% grant.  Repayment of the grant is not expected as a grant is defined as a sum of money given by a government or other organization for a particular purpose.

Any business that has been affected by the Ohio statewide shutdown for the COVID-19 pandemic may apply.  Applications can be found on the PC Economic Development website www.pced.net under the “Incentive Programs” tab or picked up at the PCED office at 102 E. Perry Street, Paulding, Ohio 45879.  All grant applications must be filled in completely and must be returned to the office or postmarked by June 30, 2020.  Fund disbursement amounts will be based on the final donation amount collected and the number of eligible applicants.  The intended purpose of this grant is to help offset mortgage, rent, and/or utility bills. Questions about the grant application can be directed to Tim Copsey, PCED Director at (419)399-8282.

Individuals or businesses can still donate to the relief fund, as there is still time.  Please send a donation to the Paulding County Area Foundation, 101 E. Perry Street, Paulding, OH 45879, and indicate Crisis Fund Donation. Questions on the donation fund can be directed to Lisa McClure at (419)399-8296.