Blogs
By Cary Ammons, Antlers Public School Superintendent
Antlers Public School Calendar Committee is currently exploring a couple of different options for the 2012-2013 School Year. Administration will be sending home surveys to gather input from our parents, students and community. The survey will be placed with their Report Cards and will be mailed January 11, 2012. We are asking for the completed surveys back at school on January 17, 2012.
By OSU Extension Service
As the temperature begins to dip below the freezing mark across the state, many Oklahomans are finding themselves turning up the heat in their homes so they can be more comfortable.
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As you make changes to keep yourself warmer, pet owners should be doing the same for their pets, said Dr. Carolynn MacAllister, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension veterinarian.
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By OSU Extension Service
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We have all heard the warnings and seen the clips of Christmas trees bursting into flames and ruining someone’s holiday season.
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Oklahoma State University foresters have come together to shed some light on the difference between fact and fiction.
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“Christmas trees are safe,” said Craig McKinley, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension forestry expert. “A Christmas tree cannot cause a fire any more than your sofa, or your couch, or your waste basket can.”
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By OSU Extension Services
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Just because the sky can be drab and dreary in the fall and winter months does not mean the landscaping around your home must be, too.
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David Hillock, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension consumer horticulturist, said planting pansies along with your spring flower bulbs not only adds to the spring display, but can provide some bright, vibrant color to what otherwise would be a gray landscape during those cold winter months.
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By Cary Ammons
Antlers Public Schools, along with many other school districts, are preparing for the last few weeks of the first semester. With Thanksgiving Break over, students are being prepared for holiday festivities, practicing Christmas musicals and songs, playing basketball, and studying for semester tests.
By OSU Extension Services
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The Griswold’s understood the significance of picking out the family Christmas tree, as do many Oklahomans about this time of year. Visiting one of Oklahoma’s “choose-and-cut” tree farms is a good way to jumpstart the Christmas spirit.
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“Choose-and-cut is a family experience,” said Craig McKinley, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension forestry specialist. “The choose-and-cut operation is selling an experience as much as they are selling a Christmas tree. It’s fun.”
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The countdown to the holidays is on, bringing with it the challenge of how to serve a large gathering fast and easy. Fear not! There's a simple solution. Forego the traditional, full-service, sit-down meal and opt instead for a buffet-style serving. Follow these three steps and yours will be a gathering remembered with fondness by both your guests and you.
Economics Favor The Highest Quality Paint
n times of economic stress, we all look for ways to cut back on expenses. But if you’re thinking about having a contractor apply a cheap paint to the exterior of your home, you may want to reconsider. A careful analysis shows that in the long run, it’s actually less expensive to apply the very best quality paint, despite its higher initial cost.
Debbie Zimmer, spokesperson for the Paint Quality Institute, explains: “Most of the cost
of exterior painting goes for labor, not for paint. Paying somewhat more for top quality
Let’s face it. Few of us are spending money the way we used to. But our homes are still
our castles, and we want them to be as attractive as possible. In fact, the lackluster economy is all the more reason to create a comfortable,welcoming cocoon where we can ride out the economic storm.
How to reconcile the desire to beautify a home with the need to economize? One possibility is to
add fresh color to the indoor environment with a new interior paint scheme.
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The Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Service recently kicked off the third year of OrganWise Guys, a highly interactive nutrition education program for elementary school kids, and announced the initiative has expanded by about 20 schools across the state for the 2011-12 school year.
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The Oct. 19 kickoff and orientation at OSU-OKC drew a mix of teachers, 4-H educators and family and consumer sciences educators, including several who were getting their first taste of the educational program.
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