Friday, January 16, 2026
Home Blog Page 96

Wimpy and the Woodchuck

By
Steve Gilliland
-
0

As a kid growing up in the farm country of central Ohio, my summer income came from the same source as all other farm boys near and far; baling hay! I know I’m aging myself here, but we’re talking pre-round bale days; we’re talking wagon load after wagon load of at least 100 square bales apiece, loaded on wagons pulled behind the baler, taken to the barn, unloaded onto an elevator and stacked into the loft. The farm boys in our neighborhood were the usual ornery, free-spirited lot, but we all knew how to work hard, and come hayin’ time each year we became a necessary commodity to most local farmers. Such was the case with Chester Campbell. “Chet” as he was known, lived across the road from me, and for reasons unknown, didn’t seem to care much for us neighborhood boys. I think the feelings were mutual, but like I said, once his hay was down, his opinion of us changed dramatically.

Ohio has groundhogs like Kansas has coyotes; wherever there is ground there are groundhogs. Groundhogs, best known as woodchucks, look like overgrown prairie dogs, short stumpy tail and all, and can easily grow to weigh ten pounds or more. They have two sharp incisor teeth in the front of their mouth, much like a beaver, and eat all types of green plant life. They dig their burrows in fence rows and woodlots where they can easily sneak out into fields of young growing crops and wreak havoc. Like mini combines they choose a row of tender young soybean plants, straddle the row and eat every plant off to the ground for several feet.

We had a dog named “Silly” who was a groundhog slayin’ machine. Silly knew just how and where to grab them, and would shake them till their teeth rattled. One day we heard a huge ruckus coming from the cornfield by the house. Upon investigation, it was Silly who had caught a groundhog, probably sneaking through the cornfield on its way back to the safety of its den. When the fight was over, Silly was victorious as usual, the groundhog was dead and a patch of corn the size of a pickup was flattened from the fray.

Now old man Campbell also had a dog, sort of a cross between a Beagle and a Bassett, named Wimpy. As I remember Wimpy was a good old dog, just not the “sharpest knife in the drawer,” if you know what I mean. One particular day, about this time of the year, Campbell’s hay was ready to bale, and, as usual, three of us neighbor boys suddenly became handier to him than sliced bread! The hay field was bordered by a creek on one side and by woods on one end, and those borders were riddled with woodchuck dens.

Empty wagons were pulled behind the baler, and when one was loaded, we stopped long enough to unhook the loaded one, hook up to the empty behind us and go again. In the middle of one such exchange, we heard the most awful wailing, screeching and thrashing imaginable coming from the nearby field edge. The three of us ran to investigate and found Wimpy in the weeds with a big groundhog fastened securely to the end of his snout! Around and around they went, the woodchuck showing no intentions of letting go. We all knew better than to try and interrupt the festivities barehanded, so we scrambled to find something to end the brawl and save Wimpy’s snout. The back of all the hay wagons had metal “pockets” welded to them into which wooden racks could be inserted to provide something solid to stack the back row of hay bales against. One wagon happened

to have just single 2×4’s in those pockets, so someone grabbed one and ran back to the brawl. After taking careful aim amidst the ball of thrashing fur, a well placed wallop across the groundhogs back dropped it to the ground and sent it diving for its burrow minus Wimpy, who raced shrieking toward the house. So ended Wimpy’s close encounter with the woodchuck, and I sincerely doubt he ever saw one that close again.

Although I’ve not heard of groundhogs in my neck of the woods, they are in Eastern KS and will probably someday make their way here much like the armadillos have. Each time I go to Hutchinson I marvel at the prairie dog “city” there around the mall, and I think to myself that if our commercial food supply is ever cut off and I want something different than fish or venison, I’ll simply head to the mall with a pellet gun and fill my freezer; I’m sure prairie dog tastes just like chicken…Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors.

Steve can be contacted by email at [email protected].

Breaking the Silence: Ending the Stigma Around Addiction and Mental Health

By
Guest Columnist
-
0

In South Dakota and across the whole United States, addiction and mental health struggles touch every community. Yet far too often, people suffer in silence—not because help isn’t available, but because stigma keeps them from reaching for it.

Stigma shows up in many forms. Its the harmful comments we hear about people who use substances. Its the judgment directed at those struggling with depression, anxiety or trauma. Its even the quiet self-blame people carry, believing they should be able to “ out of it” or that asking for help makes them weak.

Social stigma is deeply embedded in our systems and culture. It can show up in the way medical professionals talk about patients, in media portrayals that dehumanize or in policies that punish rather than support. When people internalize these messages, they may avoid seeking care altogether—also known as label avoidance. They fear being labeled as “” or “” and would rather struggle alone than face the shame and judgment that too often follows disclosure.

This silence can be and is deadly. Addiction is a treatable health condition. Mental health challenges are human, not moral failings. But when stigma gets in the way, it cuts people off from connection, care and healing.

So how do we fight it?

We lead with compassion. We create spaces where people are met with dignity, not dismissal. We challenge our own biases and educate ourselves on the realities of addiction and mental health. We tell the truth: recovery is possible, and people are so much more than their struggles.

At the University of South Dakota, the Department of Addiction Counseling & Prevention is committed to changing the narrative. Our students and faculty work to educate, advocate and care for people across the region—whether in treatment settings, prevention programs or community outreach efforts.

To help make that shift, faculty members in the department are using a grant to provide prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery services for those individuals with substance use disorders who are involved with the courts. The $2 million grant will integrate:

· Integrated Peer Support Services: The grant funds peer support specialists to work directly with Drug Court participants, offering lived experience guidance, accountability and recovery support.

· Wraparound Care Model: Emphasizes coordinated care—connecting participants to medical, behavioral health, housing and employment resources.

· Focus on Sustainability: Aims to increase the number of billable services and set up systems for long-term sustainability beyond the grant period.

· Data-Driven Outcomes: Includes metrics for reducing recidivism, increasing treatment engagement and improving participant stability.

We believe that no one should be ashamed to ask for help. Everyone deserves access to care, and everyone deserves to be treated with humanity.

Ending stigma wont happen overnight, but it starts with all of us. We can speak up when we hear harmful language. We can be a listening ear. We can make room for people to show up exactly as they are—and meet them with respect.

Lets be a community where no one has to hide their pain. Lets create a South Dakota where people feel safe to heal.

Melissa Dittberner, or “ Mo” as she is known to her students, is a professor in the Addiction Counseling & Prevention Department at the University of South Dakota. She has a Ph.D. in counseling and psychology in education, masters degree in addiction studies and a bachelors degree in health sciences. She does research on college students substance use, pedagogy, addiction and harm reduction. Not only is she very passionate about drug and alcohol prevention, helping skills and Telehealth technology, she has also worked on many grants surrounding substance use disorders. Dr. Mo is also a certified prevention specialist. In addition to her work at USD, she’s also worked with communities across the state to create addiction prevention programs like Straight Up Care Telehealth and Midwest Street Medicine. Follow The Prairie Doc® at www.prairiedoc.orgYouTube, and Threads. Prairie Doc Programming includes On Call with the Prairie Doc®, a medical Q&A show (most Thursdays at 7pm streaming on Facebook), 2 podcasts, and a Radio program (on SDPB), providing health information based on science, built on trust.

Popcorn People

By
Milo Yield
-
0
Thayne Cozart
Milo Yield

After the sale concluded, two middle-aged ranchers were chewing the fat in the livestock auction cafe. They knew each other, but hadn’t had the opportunity to really have a relaxed confab for years.

The extraordinary cattle prices were the first topic. The weather was a natural second topic. Crop status had to be covered. And, finally, their conversation came down to discussing their families — and both cattlemen had sizable families — with all their offspring on the own life trajectories.

As they sipped their iced teas, each began telling the stories of his children and how they arrived at their current careers, where they lived, their marital status and grand-children produced.

After they’d completed their respective family rundowns, one rancher sighs and says, “One of the mysteries of life to me is how all my children took different life paths, were raised the same way, and still ended up in a close-knit family.”

The other rancher sagely replied, “Perhaps our kids are like kernels of popcorn. They have the same parents and grew up the same way. And, they are all prepared in the same pot, in the same heat, in the same oil. But, the kernels do not all pop at the same time. Some early. Some late. Every kernel is different. Yet, the vast majority turn out just like expected. There are few duds. So, it doesn’t make sense to compare your children to one another. They each got to where they are in their own personal way.”

I think there’s an important moral to that story.

***

An elderly farm wife went to a big city with her bowling team. She drove alone on the trip. Her only companion was her fluffy little pet dog.

She checked into her motel and decided to take “Fluffy” outdoors to answer a nature call. On the way into the lobby she’d seen the sign that the motel had a designated “Doggie Lawn,” and that motel patrons were welcome to take their dogs to the area, but were also expected to pick up after them.

So, the lady put Fluffy on his leash, grabbed her purse, and headed to the “Doggie Lawn.” In short order, Fluffy used the facility and the pair headed back to the lobby,

But, as she was crossing the driveway, a punk kid stepped out from behind a car, grabbed her purse, and ran off with a laugh.

A witness to the purse snatching ran over and asked if the lady was okay.

She laughed loudly and said, “It’s no big deal. I always carry a ratty old purse to put my Fluffy’s do-do in until I get home. I hope the kid enjoys his heist.”

***

My good Missouri buddy, Willie Jay, continues sending me his personal humorous stories that are worthy of retelling.

Willie is in his 90s and his old hands, like so many of us oldsters, just don’t work as well as they used to. This is a story about Willie and his arthritic hands.

He says his fingers just aren’t nimble enuf anymore to efficiently find the pull-tab on the zipper of his overalls or jeans. To solve that problem, he bored a tiny hole in a penny then wired the penny to the zipper-tab tightly. His old fingers can fine the penny just fine.

Well, he said he wuz at a swap meet, when an observant lady discretely asked him, “Sir, what’s with the penny?”

Without missing such a straight line, Willie replied, “Why, ma’am, that’s a penny for your thought.”

That abruptly ended their conversation.

***

Willie has a knack for solving simple little life problems in novel ways.

After reading about my practical joke herding houseflies, Willie emailed me that he recently had a spate with nuisance flies and gnats in his kitchen.

Here’s how he solved that problem: He put a mixture of a little molasses, wine, lemon and grape juice in a saucer. Then he put the saucer into his microwave and left the door open.

He watched and waited until a lot of flies and gnats were sipping from the saucer and then he slammed the microwave door shut. He said it takes less than five seconds to nuke the flying pests to death. And, he said it’s easy to clean up because the dead are in the saucer and he just dumps it outdoors.

***

Willie also said, with tongue in cheek, that his dad killed flies even simpler. He put some of his homemade wine in a saucer with some sand. He said the flies got drunk and stoned themselves to death.

***

Readers might be ready to stone me after that fantasy joke. I’ve got a casualty report from my ongoing masked bandit war. The first sweet-corn robbing raccoon caught itself in a live trap. But, it was a live traps for only a short time.

Nevah and I froze for the winter sweet corn and peaches we bought. We’ve also canned green bean and tomato juice and whole tomatoes. Plus, we’ve given away a lot of zucchinis and potatoes.

***

Words of wisdom for the week: “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only option you have!”

Have a good ‘un.

KU News: Techniques honed by Kansas nuclear physicists helped detect creation of gold in Large Hadron Collider collisions

By
Guest Columnist
-
0

 

From the Office of Public Affairs | https://www.news.ku.edu

 

Headlines

 

 

Techniques honed by Kansas nuclear physicists helped detect creation of gold in Large Hadron Collider collisions

LAWRENCE — Nuclear physicists working at the Large Hadron Collider recently made headlines by achieving the centuries-old dream of alchemists (and nightmare of precious-metals investors): They transformed lead into gold, at least for a fraction of a second. It was scientists from the University of Kansas, working on the ALICE experiment, who developed the technique that tracked “ultra-peripheral” collisions between protons and ions that made gold in the LHC.

 

KU Libraries select FOLIO as new library services platform

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Libraries signed an agreement to implement FOLIO, hosted and supported by EBSCO Information Services, as its new library services platform, managing library operations such as acquisitions, cataloging, circulation and electronic resource management. The flexible, open-source solution will support academic research, discovery and innovation across the university’s programs and services. Services are scheduled to go live July 1, 2026.

 

 

Full stories below.

 

————————————————————————

 

Contact: Brendan Lynch, KU News Service, 785-864-8855, [email protected]
Techniques honed by Kansas nuclear physicists helped detect creation of gold in Large Hadron Collider collisions

 

LAWRENCE — Nuclear physicists working at the Large Hadron Collider recently made headlines by achieving the centuries-old dream of alchemists (and nightmare of precious-metals investors): They transformed lead into gold.

At least for a fraction of a second. The scientists reported their results in Physical Reviews.

The accomplishment at the Large Hadron Collider, the 17-mile particle accelerator buried under the French-Swiss border, happened within a sophisticated and sensitive detector called ALICE, a scientific instrument roughly the size of a McMansion.

It was scientists from the University of Kansas, working on the ALICE experiment, who developed the technique that tracked “ultra-peripheral” collisions between protons and ions that made gold in the LHC.

“Usually in collider experiments, we make the particles crash into each other to produce lots of debris,” said Daniel Tapia Takaki, professor of physics and leader of KU’s group at ALICE. “But in ultra-peripheral collisions, we’re interested in what happens when the particles don’t hit each other. These are near misses. The ions pass close enough to interact — but without touching. There’s no physical overlap.”

The ions racing around the LHC tunnel are heavy nuclei with many protons, each generating powerful electric fields. When accelerated, these charged ions emit photons — they shine light.

“When you accelerate an electric charge to near light speeds, it starts shining,” Tapia Takaki said. “One ion can shine light that essentially takes a picture of the other. When that light is energetic enough, it can probe deep inside the other nucleus, like a high-energy flashbulb.”

The KU researcher said during these UPC “flashes” surprising interactions can occur, including the rate event that sparked worldwide attention.

“Sometimes, the photons from both ions interact with each other — what we call photon-photon collisions,” he said. “These events are incredibly clean, with almost nothing else produced. They contrast with typical collisions where we see sprays of particles flying everywhere.”

However, the ALICE detector and the LHC were designed to collect data on head-on collisions that result in messy sprays of particles.

“These clean interactions were hard to detect with earlier setups,” Tapia Takaki said. “Our group at KU pioneered new techniques to study them. We built up this expertise years ago when it was not a popular subject.”

These methods allowed for the news-making discovery that the LHC team transmuted lead into gold momentarily via ultra-peripheral collisions where lead ions lose three protons (turning the speck of lead into a gold speck) for a fraction of a second.

Tapia Takaki’s KU co-authors on the paper are graduate student Anna Binoy; graduate student Amrit Gautam; postdoctoral researcher Tommaso Isidori; postdoctoral research assistant Anisa Khatun; and research scientist Nicola Minafra.

The KU team at the LHC ALICE experiment plans to continue studying the ultra-peripheral collisions. Tapia Takaki said that while the creation of gold fascinated the public, the potential of understanding the interactions goes deeper.

“This light is so energetic, it can knock protons out of the nucleus,” he said. “Sometimes one, sometimes two, three or even four protons. We can see these ejected protons directly with our detectors.”

Each proton removed changes the elements: One gives thallium, two gives mercury, three gives gold.

“These new nuclei are very short-lived,” he said. “They decay quickly, but not always immediately. Sometimes they travel along the beamline and hit parts of the collider — triggering safety systems.”

That’s why this research matters beyond the headlines.

“With proposals for future colliders even larger than the LHC — some up to 100 kilometers in Europe and China — you need to understand these nuclear byproducts,” Tapia Takaki said. “This ‘alchemy’ may be crucial for designing the next generation of machines.”

This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Physics.

-30-

————————————————————————

KU provides fire, rescue and law enforcement training across Kansas.

 

https://ku.edu/distinction

————————————————————————

 

Contact: Kevin McCarty, KU Libraries, 785-864-6428, [email protected]
KU Libraries select FOLIO as new library services platform

 

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Libraries signed an agreement to implement FOLIO, hosted and supported by EBSCO Information Services, as its new library services platform (LSP). With this transition, KU Libraries are embracing a flexible, open-source solution that supports academic research, discovery and innovation across the university’s programs and services.

The decision to adopt FOLIO as its LSP — the core system used to manage library operations such as acquisitions, cataloging, circulation and electronic resource management — reflects the libraries’ commitment to modernizing their infrastructure with a platform that aligns with open standards and academic values. As one of the nation’s leading public research institutions, KU is advancing a vision of openness, scalability and long-term sustainability.

FOLIO (short for the Future of Libraries is Open) will be implemented across all three of KU’s major library divisions: the Lawrence campus libraries, KU’s Wheat Law Library and the A.R. Dykes Library at University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. FOLIO’s multi-tenant architecture will enable the libraries to maintain local workflows and leadership structures while benefiting from a shared platform that simplifies operations across the system.

With support from EBSCO’s FOLIO implementation team, training and database migration will begin in September and conclude with a go-live date of July 1, 2026.

“The migration to FOLIO will enable the libraries to move to a modern, flexible and scalable platform that will offer improved workflows and efficiencies for staff and ultimately an enhanced experience for end users,” said Mary Roach, KU Libraries executive associate dean. “This effort aligns with the libraries’ priority to upgrade and maximize its core technology platforms and to implement workflows and processes to manage and streamline significant library initiatives.”

Since 1998, KU Libraries have used the client-based Voyager system, which will no longer be supported by its vendor, Ex Libris. For KU Libraries, the upgrade represents the next iteration in a continuing evolution of library technology. Prior to Voyager, KU developed its own online public access catalog, among a long lineage of iterative library technologies.

KU Libraries Dean Carol Smith said the move is an investment in long-term flexibility and alignment with the institution’s mission.

“Implementing FOLIO allows us to move away from traditional, siloed systems and toward a more open, interoperable infrastructure that better supports research, teaching and learning,” Smith said. “We’re excited to partner with EBSCO and the FOLIO community to shape a future-ready library platform. I’m grateful to all involved with empowering a vital transformation of fundamental library functions.”

Peter Zeimet, EBSCO director of SaaS Innovation, said that the University of Kansas contributes to the growing number of academic libraries charting a path toward open infrastructure.

“The University of Kansas brings both vision and leadership to the FOLIO community,” Zeimet said. “Their decision to implement FOLIO demonstrates how academic institutions can take control of their technology stack and design systems around evolving user needs — not vendor limitations.”

KU joins a group of ARL institutions partnering with EBSCO to implement FOLIO. The growing coalition shares a mission to improve interoperability, encourage innovation and support academic excellence in research library systems.

-30-

————————————————————————

 

KU News Service

1450 Jayhawk Blvd.

Lawrence KS 66045

[email protected]

https://www.news.ku.edu

 

Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]

 

Today’s News is a free service from the Office of Public Affairs

Kansas gets four more months of nighttime coyote hunting under new regulation

By
Guest Columnist
-
0

Kansas hunters using night vision or thermal imaging devices could have more than twice as long a hunting season for coyotes.

Kansas currently allows daytime coyote hunting year-round and nighttime hunting in January, February and March. But the start of nighttime coyote hunting season could be pushed back to September under a proposed regulation.

The Kansas Wildlife and Parks Commission will vote on the proposed change in regulation on Aug. 14, and Kansas Wildlife and Parks wildlife division director Jake George said the commission was amenable to the change at a Kansas Administrative Rules and Regulations meeting on Aug. 1.

The commission itself brought the idea of an expanded coyote season forward. Kansas hunters have been allowed to use night vision and thermal imaging to hunt coyotes at night since 2021, but earlier this year, the commission sought input on expanding the season.

1...959697...4,776Page 96 of 4,776

Kansas News, Auctions & Classifieds

Trending

Categories

© Rural Messenger