Perfect Produce
LOOKING INSIDE FRUIT with X-rays helps prevent damaged fruit from reaching markets. Using a medical x-ray machine, Bill Tollner, above, can grade produce and help farmers and distributors learn which fruits are already damaged and will deteriorate in storage. When radiation and food products come in contact, many shoppers voice safety concerns at first. Tollner said the radiation levels used in this process are lower than the levels used in dental X-rays. “The canning industry uses X-rays to detect metal fragments to insure safety,” he said. “With this process, I’m using them to improve the quality and safety of food before consumers buy it.” “It occurs in Red Delicious apples. If you eat the apple right away, it has a delicious taste,” he said. “You just can’t store them, which creates a big problem for apple processors.” Water-core apples develop dots near the veins. Over time, the dots turn brown. Tollner found the X-ray equipment can easily detect water core in apples. It can “see” many other defects in carrots, onions and celery, too. “For example, some onion diseases cause air gaps between the rings,” he said. “The X-rays clearly show these gaps well before the onion shows visible signs of disease.” “One of our food scientists had been working on water core problems in apples,” he said. “He asked me to use the X-ray equipment on them.” Water core is a condition that causes apples’ internal moisture to increase. Why use X-rays? S. Omahen, UGA CAES “With apples, bruises are a big problem,” Tollner said. “We can detect old bruises before they can be seen by the human eye.” An engineer with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Tollner was using X-rays to study soil layers when a colleague suggested he try it with food products. Research proves its safety Using medical X-ray machines, Bill Tollner can detect imperfections in fruits and vegetables before anyone can see them.
You search for the best apples, handle them with kid gloves and still throw out half when the hidden bruises show up a few days later. You’d need X-ray vision to pick only the perfect apples. That’s exactly what University of Georgia researchers concluded. So they developed a new grading system to make sure the bad apples never reach supermarket shelves. How Scientists See Inside Fruit The fruit industry wants the systems “They’ve developed an optical grader. We’d like to combine the two machines,” he said. “Eventually, we’d like to see apples and other food items come through the sorter where the X-rays will find the internal defects and the optical viewer the surface defects.” Mechanical grading systems like these could help food processors deal with labor shortages. “We’re coming to a point in our country where labor to inspect food products just isn’t there,” Tollner said. “People feel they have more stimulating things to do than inspect food for minimum wage.” This method helps the fruit industry. S. Omahen, UGA CAES This new grading method could be especially useful for apple and onion processors who commonly store their products. “The whole goal is to keep the product on the shelf longer,” Tollner said. “Using this equipment, processors can pull out bad fruit before storing it side by side with good fruit.” The new X-ray grading system has received good reviews from apple processors in New York and West Virginia. “I plan to present the new process to Georgia’s Vidalia onion growers this month at an upcoming conference,” he said. Tollner is also working with U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers at the USDA Fruit Research Station in West Virginia. CHECKING THE DATA on fruit in an X-ray machine allows Bill Tollner, above, to look inside the fruit without cutting into it. This equipment is the same as used for medical x-rays. 
By Faith PeppersUniversity of Georgia Most Americans now know better than to eat raw eggs. If you eat raw cookie dough or lick beaters slathered with cake batter, it’s the same as slurping down a raw egg. Don’t do it, University of Georgia food safety experts warn.“Several years ago, my son begged me to buy a roll of chocolate chip cookie dough he could eat as a snack,” said Martha Partridge, a UGA Cooperative Extension agent in Lincoln County. “My instincts told me not to take a chance. If the package says to ‘cook before eating,’ you shouldn’t stray from the directions.”Recall, reminderA recent recall of a national gourmet ice cream store’s cake batter ice cream should serve as a reminder. During an investigation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration confirmed that the sweet cream base of the ice cream was pasteurized but the dry cake mix that was added to the base was labeled a baking mix by the manufacturer.“The dry cake mix was labeled to indicate that it should be baked before using,” said Elizabeth Andress, an extension food safety expert for the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences.Massachusetts, Virginia, Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Ohio, Michigan and California all had confirmed cases of Salmonella typhimurium illnesses from the ice cream. A case in Illinois was confirmed but is counted in Virginia, since that’s where the person ate the ice cream.No other flavors of ice cream have been associated with illness to date.Read the labelThe cake batter ice cream was prepared in the ice cream shop. The preparation involved adding a dry cake mix to a pasteurized sweet cream base, and the combination did not undergo further processing before freezing.“FDA wants to increase awareness that Salmonella is known to occasionally be present in flour and other ingredients that may be listed on the dry cake mix label,” Andress said. “The bacteria may also be in other nonanimal foods such as barley, cereal powders and yeast.”“Dry cake mix is a product designed to be rehydrated and then cooked,” Partridge added. “It should not be considered a ready-to-eat food because it hasn’t been processed to ensure that pathogens have been destroyed or reduced in numbers to an acceptable level.”Follow directionsReady-to-eat foods are typically processed to ensure that they’re safe to eat without further cooking. Similar products, such as cookie dough ice creams and cake mix milk shakes, could also pose a serious food safety risk if they’re prepared with ingredients that are intended to be cooked, the FDA ruling said. “The FDA is informing the retail and food service industries that incorporating an ingredient that’s intended to be cooked into a ready-to-eat food that will not be cooked or otherwise treated to eliminate microorganisms of public health concern can pose a serious food safety risk,” Partridge said.A report on the recall says that the FDA is also asking food service operations to review their menus for these types of products. They should either work with their suppliers to ensure that all ingredients are intended to be ready-to-eat or to process their final products. “While you’re considering whether your recipes call for dry mixes to be added to an uncooked product, remember to think about other hazardous ingredients, also,” Andress said. “Remember that temptation to lick the cookie or cake batter beaters?” she asked. “Raw, unpasteurized eggs are another source of Salmonella bacteria. Unless you use pasteurized eggs, resist that temptation. Wait until the cookies or cakes have been baked to indulge, or you risk getting sick.” Cook completelyThis also means your scrambled, fried or boiled eggs should also be cooked completely.“If you choose to eat over-easy or runny eggs, you’re taking a risk on getting salmonellosis,” Andress said. “Restaurants in Georgia are required to warn customers that eating certain undercooked or raw foods, including eggs, poses a health risk.”When you’re cooking in your kitchen, take routine precautionary measures, too, to prevent cross-contamination from raw products and surfaces that haven’t been adequately cleaned and sanitized.“So, if you are wondering if it’s safe to let your kids lick the bowl,” Partridge asked, “the answer is: Who wants to take a chance?”If you have further questions, contact the Retail Food Protection Program, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, at 301-436-2440 or 301-436-2438.
The summer of 2011 was one of the hottest on record for Georgia. Atmospheric scientists, climatologists and meteorologists define summer as the months of June, July and August. Based on the average mean temperature, Alma, Athens, Augusta, Columbus and Savannah, as well as Tallahassee, Fla., all experienced the hottest summer on record. Atmospheric scientists define the “mean” temperature as high temperature plus the low temperature for a day divided by two. For example, if the high temperature was 90 F and the low temperature was 70 F, the mean temperature for a day would be 80 F. The “average mean temperature” is simply the average of the daily mean temperatures for period of time.<.p>The second hottest summer on record was experienced in Macon and Chattanooga, Tenn., while Atlanta experienced the third-warmest summer.Other than the average mean temperature, average high temperature or the average low temperature can also be used to gauge the heat of summertime. Temperatures and rainfall rankings for Georgia and its border cities with at least 60 years of climatological data shows that all locations were ranked in the top three summers for temperature using average mean or average high temperatures. Precipitation rankings ranged from the driest on record at Tallahassee to the 26th driest at Columbus.The following data analysis is based on preliminary data. Results may change slightly as the data is checked for accuracy.For Alma, with 63 years of data, 2011 was the warmest summer on record, with an average mean temperature of 84 F (3.2 F above average). The previous record was 83.1 F set in 2010. Based on the average high temperature, it was also the warmest summer on record with an average high temperature of 96.2 F (5 F above average), breaking the previous record of 95.1 F set in 1954. The summer rainfall for Alma was 12.18 inches (4.82 inches below average), making it the 11th driest summer on record.For Athens, with 108 years of data, 2011 was the warmest summer on record, with an average mean temperature of 82.2 F (4.1 F above average). The previous record was 1931 with an average of 82 F. Based on the average high temperature, 2011 was the second-warmest summer with an average high temperature of 94.7 F (6.1 F above average) with 1925 being the warmest on record at 95.8 F. The summer rainfall for Athens was 6.34 inches (5.79 inches below average) making it the 8th driest summer on record.For Atlanta, with 133 years of data, 2011 was the third-warmest summer on record, with an average mean temperature of 82.3 F (3.6 F above average). Only the summers of 1980 and 1993 were warmer with average mean temperatures of 82.7 F and 82.3 F, respectively. The 1993 average mean temperature was 0.01 warmer than 2011. Based on the average high temperature, it was also the third-warmest summer on record with an average high temperature of 92.5 F (4.5 F above average) with 1980 (92.9 F) and 1993 (92.5 F) being warmer. The average high temperature in 1993 was 0.02 F warmer than 2011. The summer rainfall for Atlanta was 6.38 inches (6.04 inches below average), making it the 9th driest summer on record.For Augusta, with 138 years of data, 2011 was the warmest summer on record, with an average mean temperature of 83.7 F (4.5 F above average). The previous record was 1993 (83.4 F) followed by 2010 (82.9 F). Based on the average high temperature, 2011 was the warmest summer on record with an average high temperature of 97.1 F (6.5 F above average) with the previous record being 1993 (96.5 F) followed by 2010 (94.7 F). The summer rainfall for Augusta was 7.22 inches (5.52 inches below average) making it the 11th driest summer on record.For Columbus, with 64 years of data, 2011 was the warmest summer on record, with an average mean temperature of 84.6 F (3.8 F above average). The previous warmest summer was 2010 with an average mean of 84.4 F. Based on the average high temperature, it was also the warmest summer on record with an average high temperature of 95.2 F (4.5 F above average), beating the old record set in 2010 of 94.3 F. The average low temperature was 74.0 F (3.2 F above average) just behind the 2010 record of 74.1 F. The summer rainfall for Columbus was 11.68 inches (0.65 inches below average), making it the 26th driest summer on record. Columbus was the only major city in the state to have near-normal summer rainfall.For Macon, with 81 years of data, 2011 was the second-warmest summer on record, with an average mean temperature of 83.4 F (3.8 F above average). Only the summer of 1954 was warmer with an average mean temperature of 83.5 F. Based on the average high temperature, 2011 was also the second-warmest summer with an average high temperature of 95.8 F (5.2 F above average) with 1954 being the record with an average high temperature of 96.3 F. The summer rainfall for Macon was 8.33 inches (3.32 inches below average), making it the 11th driest summer on record.For Savannah, with 138 years of data, 2011 was the warmest summer on record, with an average mean temperature of 84.0 F (3.4 F above average). The previous record summer was 2010 with an average mean temperature of 83.9 F. Based on the average high temperature, 2011 was also the warmest summer on record with an average high temperature of 94.6 F (3.8 F above average). The previous record was 1993 with an average high temperature of 94 F. The summer rainfall for Savannah was 13.77 inches (4.77 inches below average,) making it the 22nd driest summer on record.For Chattanooga, with 84 years of data, 2011 was the second-warmest summer on record, with an average mean temperature of 82.1 F (4.1 F above average). Only the summer of 2010 was warmer with an average mean temperature of 83 F. Based on the average high temperature, it was also the third-warmest summer with an average high temperature of 93.2 F (5 F above average). The summers of 1993 and 1952 were warmer with average high temperatures of 93.9 F and 93.3 F, respectively. The summer rainfall for Chattanooga was 7.83 inches (4.48 inches below average), which is a tie for the 12th driest summer on record.For Tallahassee, with 115 years of data, 2011 was the warmest summer on record, with an average mean temperature of 84.3 F (2.7 F above average). The previous record was set in 1998 at 84.3 F. The summer of 2011 was 0.09 F warmer than 1998. Based on the average high temperature, it was also the warmest summer on record with an average high temperature of 95.8 F (4.3 F above average), eclipsing the previous record of 95.1 F set in 1998. The summer rainfall for Tallahassee was 10.90 inches (11.09 inches below average), making it the driest summer on record. The previous record-dry summer in Tallahassee was 1918, which had only 11.44 inches of rain.Up-to-date information on dry conditions across Georgia can be found at www.georgiadrought.org. Updated weather conditions can be found at www.georgiaweather.net.
While the beginning of December has felt more like spring, Georgia experienced colder and much drier than normal conditions during November. Average temperatures ranged from 1 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit below normal, while rainfall was uniformly more than 1.8 inches below normal. Most of the state received less than 50 percent of the usual November precipitation, particularly the counties along the Florida border and southern coast. In Atlanta the monthly average temperature was 52.8 degrees (1.2 degrees below normal); in Athens the average was 51.4 degrees (2.4 below normal); in Columbus the average was 55.7 degrees (1.6 below normal); in Macon the average was 52.4 degrees (3.5 below normal); in Savannah the average was 55 degrees (4.3 below normal); in Brunswick the average was 58.7 degrees (3.1 below normal); in Alma the average was 56 degrees (3.9 below normal); and in Augusta the average was 50.9 degrees (4.3 below normal). It was the 10th coldest November in both Savannah and Augusta in the 142 years those cities have been keeping records. While Columbus tied a daily record high of 86 degrees on November 3, Augusta broke a record for the lowest, high temperature on November 7 with observation of 49 degrees as the high. The previous record was set in 1959 with a high temperature of 51 degrees. The highest monthly total precipitation reported by a National Weather Service station was 1.67 inches in Atlanta (2.43 inches below normal) and the lowest was in Brunswick at 0.23 inches (1.80 below normal). Macon received 1.38 inches (1.94 inches below normal), Athens received 0.96 inches (2.86 below normal), Savannah received 0.48 inches (1.89 below normal), Columbus received 1.13 inches (2.97 below normal), Alma received 0.67 inches (1.81 below normal) and Augusta received 1.10 inches (1.72 below normal). It was the 10th driest November for Athens in 156 years of record and the eighth driest for Columbus in 65 years of record. One daily precipitation record was set in November in Atlanta, where the airport received 1.25 inches on November 6. The previous record, set in 1995, was for 1.1 inches of rain. The highest, single-day rainfall reported by a Community Collaborative Rain Hail and Snow network station was 2.97 inches near Martinez in Columbia County on November 15. Another observer near Evans in Columbia County received 2.76 inches on the same day. An observer in Douglasville in Douglas County received 2.35 inches on November 7. The same three observers also reported the highest monthly totals, with the Martinez observer collecting 3.24 inches, the Douglasville observer collecting 3.19 inches and the Evans observer collecting 3.10 inches for the month. There was no severe weather reported in November in Georgia. A CoCoRaHS reporter in Cobb County observed pea-sized hail on the morning of November 7, but no damage was observed.Due to the lack of rainfall, drought expanded across the entire state in November. By the end of the month, 96 percent of the state was abnormally dry or in drought. The area in drought expanded from 53 to 87 percent of the state. The worst-hit areas were in central Georgia, where farm ponds dried up and large swings in daily temperatures have been observed due to the very dry conditions. Due to the lack of rainfall, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers altered their reservoir releases in accordance with their drought plans. At the beginning of November, the Savannah River basin entered Drought Stage 3, which reduced releases to 3,100 cubic feet per second after 10 days. Lake Hartwell reached a low of 646 feet above sea level in late November, the lowest it has been since Feb. 28, 2009, at the tail end of the last drought. The COE reservoir managers also reduced flows from Lake Lanier in response to dropping lake levels there. Lake Lanier dropped almost 4.5 feet in November, the largest one-month decline in more than five years. The last time it was this low was March 2009. Marina owners reported that they are losing slots due to the low water and are having to relocate patrons’ boats. The effects of the dry conditions on Georgia’s agriculture were mixed. The lack of rain allowed the harvest of cotton and peanuts to proceed at a good pace, and farmers reported excellent yields. However, the dry soil inhibited the germination of wheat and small grain seeds and also stressed pastures. Many farmers reported feeding more hay than usual due to the poor winter grazing conditions.
Because of the increased heat over the past week, risk of sunburn for watermelons in the field has been high. If watermelons do scald, they may not be marketable, which may reduce farmers’ normal timeframe for selling their crop.Last week’s temperatures in south Georgia were recorded in the upper 90s. Temperatures on the UGA Tifton Campus reached as high as 97.5 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday, June 17, according to UGA’s Georgia Automated Environmental Monitoring Network. At the grounds of the Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition in Moultrie, Georgia, a high of 98 degrees F was recorded the same day.“With the near-100 degree heat we’re seeing, the intense sunlight, it’s just really hard to keep those melons from getting burned,” Coolong said. When watermelons burn, the rind can appear yellowed, which negatively affects the fruit’s appearance. The result is an unmarketable melon.“As a homeowner, if you had watermelons that were a little sunburned, they would taste OK,” Coolong said. “Sometimes, if they get a little sunburned, they’ll mature early. You also may get a melon that doesn’t have the size on it that you would expect.”Coolong said most farmers aim to sell their watermelons in the pre-July Fourth market, which is when demand for watermelons is highest. Typically, some farmers still harvest watermelons a week or two after the Independence Day holiday. However, as the heat adversely affects more watermelons, Coolong believes many producers’ crops may be finished by the end of June.Coolong said farmers are applying different types of sprays to their watermelons to help shield them from the sun. Many of the products are calcium or kaolin-clay based.“People have been spraying them very regularly this year. Typically, after that first pick, a large number of growers will spray some shade on their remaining melon crop. This year, it’s even more critical. If the vines are beat up, and it’s 100 degrees, it’s hard for a plant to come back after that,” Coolong said.Coolong joined the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences two years ago to work on Georgia-grown vegetables, especially those with the most acreage in the state — watermelons, peppers, beans, cucumbers and onions. High summer temperatures and intense sun could reduce Georgia’s end-of-season watermelon production this year, according to University of Georgia Cooperative Extension vegetable specialist Tim Coolong. 
The word on the street (I’ve always wanted to say that) is that the Dutch iris is a short-lived perennial. Tell that to ‘Romano,’ an incredible, showy bloomer that we have in the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens that was planted in the late 1990s. I’ve led a life comparable to a house flipper, so my personal experience with the longevity of perennials has been by word-of-mouth or reference book to say the least, but it seems to me anything approaching 20 years would rate as awesome.The Dutch iris has been relatively trouble-free here in Savannah, Georgia, and our Telstar variety, which is blooming now, is bringing out the cameras. It has been in the ground for three years and is naturalizing wonderfully well. Most years our Dutch irises bloom from late March through April; yours may bloom in May and June. They are so beautiful and easy to grow, I told Stan Gray of Gray’s Iris Garden fame that, in addition to all of the thousands of Louisiana irises he is planting, we need every Dutch iris we can get our hands on.That is when my eyes were opened to the complexity of this group. First off, when I typed it in my favorite search engine, it asked if I meant “Dutch Irish.” Holy ancestry! Then, when I convinced the search engine that I was talking about plants, I quickly came to realize this is the most famous iris that florists use in cut flowers. Then I typed in “Iris hollandica” and “Iris x hollandica,” the names on our tags, and nope, even those are not officially recognized.To cut to the chase, the Dutch iris is a group that has beginnings in Spain, Morocco, Portugal and other Mediterranean countries with the Iris xiphium. The resulting hybrids with I. tingitana, I. latifolia and I. lusitanica have resulted in garden bulbs that bloom with both rare beauty and structure.As mentioned above, the Dutch iris is a bulb as opposed to a rhizome. Most references suggest a cold hardiness of zones 6 through 9, but it’s not hard to see gardeners touting a return in zone 5 when a protective layer of mulch has been added. They need plenty of sun to bloom their best, though a little afternoon shade would be tolerated.The soil should be fertile and very well drained. It stands to reason, if I am raving about the beautiful blooms now, that fall is the best time to plant. It is possible that you may find container-grown plants this spring, in which case take advantage and get them established in your landscape. Otherwise, you will want to plant bulbs 3 to 5 inches deep. Almost every reference suggests planting them 3 to 5 inches apart, or up to 12 bulbs per square foot. In Savannah our plants are vigorous, reaching 36 inches, so a wider spacing of 8 to 12 inches makes me a little more comfortable. Massing your planting definitely gives the best show. Leave the foliage until it dies after the bloom, much like you would with daffodils. This ensures sufficient energy for next year’s blooms.If the dying foliage is problematic for your display, plan for their disguise. For instance, if you look at our blooming Telstar iris now, you see a blooming loropetalum and the blue-fruited mahonia. What you don’t see are the perennials that will come up, screening the old iris foliage. One of my friends in Mississippi created quite a showy display with the exquisite Wedgewood Dutch iris, Louisiana phlox and daffodils. It’s really simple – just plan for a rotation of color through the seasons.At the gardens, we have Louisiana irises, tall-bearded irises, spuria irises, pseudata irises, native irises and Japanese roof irises. But I can tell you, when the Dutch irises are blooming, they will compete for camera time. I hope you will give them a try in your landscape too!Follow me on Twitter @CGBGgardenguru. Learn more about UGA’s coastal garden at www.coastalgeorgiabg.org/.
Savannah, Georgia, lost hundreds of trees when Hurricane Matthew hit in October 2016, followed less than a year later by Hurricane Irma in September 2017.University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant is helping restore lost green space to decrease flood risk and to beautify barren spaces while training Savannah residents in landscape design and infrastructure improvements.The “Green Infrastructure to Green Jobs” initiative, funded by the Southeast Sustainable Communities Fund, will create urban tree nurseries in the city’s low-lying, flood-prone neighborhoods.“We’ve been looking at how much Savannah’s urban tree nursery had been lost over the decades,” says Nick Deffley, sustainability director for the city of Savannah and lead on the project. “We were losing a lot of trees to development, some were just getting old, and we had two hurricanes in the last three years that took a toll as well.”The hurricanes caused significant damage to Savannah’s tree canopy, with Hurricane Matthew costing over $13 million in tree debris removal and unknown losses in water storage from mature trees. The city of Savannah owns more than 350 flood-prone Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) lots that are underutilized community assets. As coastal Georgia experiences extremes in weather, municipal governments are looking to green infrastructure, such as tree canopies, to improve their resilience to major storm events.Deffley is working with a team of experts, including land-use and resiliency specialists at UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, to engage community members in the project, helping them to understand the risks they face and recognize the benefits of implementing green infrastructure, such as tree canopies.Over the course of the project, more than 500 trees will be planted by trainees in the Landscape Management Apprenticeship Program, an innovative workforce-development program that trains residents in arbor care, plant identification, installation and maintenance.Twelve employees are currently in the training program, all recruited through two events hosted by the city of Savannah and WorkSource Coastal, a federally funded program designed to assist coastal residents in job training and career placement.“I’ve always stayed in a box as far as administrative work, and I just wanted to branch out,” said Ni’Aisha Banks, 27, a mother of three who is expecting her fourth child.Banks is studying business administration at Savannah Technical College and plans to own her own business one day. She decided to sign up for the landscape-management program because she wanted to try something new. After two months in the program, she was able to help her peers install an irrigation system at a planting site in downtown Savannah.In December, participants attended a four-day training modeled after the Georgia Certified Landscape Professional (GCLP) program, developed by UGA Cooperative Extension’s Center for Urban Agriculture in Griffin, Georgia. They heard from experts in green infrastructure and landscaping and took a field trip to the UGA Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens, where they practiced planting trees and installing irrigation systems.UGA Extension specialists taught participants fundamental landscaping skills, including plant identification, planting practices and maintenance.The experience exposed them to green industry careers and helped show the pathway to employment and advancement through skill development and professional certification.During the year-long program, Deffley will guide participants through more than 200 hours of hands-on training in landscape maintenance. They’ll also learn how to set up an email account, build a resume and create business cards, all tools that will help them get ready to enter the job market.“The whole intent is to not only introduce all of these folks to potential employers in this field, but to do everything we can to get them placed in jobs that are much more sustaining,” says Deffley.All of the programs’ trainees live in neighborhoods where plantings will take place. While gaining new skills that are vital to implementing green infrastructure in Savannah, they are also educating other community members about the project.“We’re out here three days a week, and every day people ask, ‘What are you guys doing?’ ” said Robert Hartwell, one of 12 participants in the program. “People need to know about this stuff, you know? It starts with the community.”Like Banks, 24-year-old Hartwell wants to own his own business. He plans to apply his new landscaping skills in his uncle’s backyard, helping him raise his walkway and put in a flower bed, before tackling his own lawn.“I’m building my portfolio,” he says. “You’ve got to start somewhere, right?”Additional project partners include the Savannah Tree Foundation, Victory Gardens, Work Source Georgia and the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission. The Kendeda Fund is also providing support for the initiative.
For the first time since direct broadcast satellite came to Vermont, “Vermont This Week,” “Outdoor Journal,” “R.F.D.,” “Profile” and other productions of Vermont Public Television (VPT), along with a full schedule of PBS programs, are beaming their way to satellite viewers.EchoStar’s DISH Network began offering local TV channels to its subscribers in Vermont and bordering areas on July 24.The new local service will be available within the boundaries of the Burlington-Plattsburgh Nielsen market, which includes most of Vermont andmany bordering counties of New Hampshire and New York. Bennington and Windham counties will not have access to Vermont stations at this time.VPT general manager Dan Harvey had praise for the move. “This is great news for Vermonters,” he said. “Satellite subscribers have been asking for years to get VPT and other local stations. This breakthrough will bring VPT to thousands of new viewers across VPT’s viewing area.” John King, VPT’s president and CEO, added praise for the work of U.S. SenatorPatrick Leahy: “Senator Leahy and his staff have led the way to make local stations available to dish subscribers, and Vermont is one of the first markets to benefit from his work. We’re very grateful for what he has done and is continuing to do.”DISH Network serves about a third of the satellite subscribers in Vermont.
BURLINGTON — The Vermont Family Business Initiative (VFBI), a program that has been assisting family and privately owned businesses in Vermont since 1998, announces its 2004-2005 forum series schedule as well as an addition to the Board of Advisors. The Vermont Family Business Initiative presents its own version of “Breakfast Theater.” This one-act play and ensuing discussion about a father and a son and the company they keep offers a fly-on-the-wall perspective about a business family facing many challenging issues. This event will take place on November 9 at the Inn at Essex in Essex, Vermont. A recent survey of family owned businesses by the Mass Mutual Financial Group discovered an unprecedented 39% of family owned businesses will experience leadership shifts in the next five years as CEOs retire. Of those businesses, only 37% of family businesses report having a strategic plan, while slightly more than half report knowing of the senior generations share-transfer intentions.The Vermont Family Business Initiative and Gravel and Shea are pleased to announce the addition of Margi Montgomery to the VFBI Board of Advisors, a seat previously occupied by Steve Magowan. Ms. Montgomerys areas of expertise include corporate and business law and planning, business entity formation, financing, leveraged buy-outs and mergers and acquisitions. Gravel and Shea is very excited about the forum series for the coming year. While all businesses are important to the local and national economy, family owned businesses represent a critical link to local control and economic development. The legal and financial challenges are daunting. The more we can foster healthy communication amongst the businesses and between generations, the greater our chances are of helping these businesses to succeed and remain locally owned, comments Ms. Montgomery. Family businesses account for 50% of gross domestic output and employ half of the U.S. workforce. As well, over one-third of Fortune 500 firms are controlled by families. However, many businesses do not endure as family businesses: 70% fail to make the transition to the second generation; 90% do not make it to the third. The goal of the Vermont Family Business Initiative is to give Vermont businesses the tools and support they need to compete in both the local and global arenas through a series of statewide forums and the free exchange of ideas.For more information, or to arrange for commentary on the challenges facing family businesses, please contact Daniel Van Der Vliet at 656-5897.
Northern Benefits – Burlington VermontNorthern Benefits has added the services of Duncan A. Winton-CLTC, to assist individuals in preparing for Medicare Benefits. This new service includes Medicare Supplement programs, prescription drug plans and eligibility requirements for Medicare. Please contact Duncan thru Northern Benefits to assist you with preparing for your Medicare benefits. Duncan is on the Chittenden County Alzheimer’s Committee, member of Burlington Rotary and an Ambassador for the Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce. His focus in on assisting “Baby Boomers” as they approach retirement and seniors currently retired.