Tag: July20

Information as of December 2021

General Details

• Employees who are at a higher risk for COVID-19 based on risk factors identified by the CDC should discuss their concerns with their supervisor. If additional accommodation is needed, they should discuss these concerns and possible accommodations with the University’s ADA coordinator.
• Whenever possible, meetings should continue to be virtual. When meetings must be in-person, designate a space for such purpose.
• Continue physical distancing and use of protective equipment.
• Continue closure of areas where people congregate.
• Face coverings are not required in University facilities, but remain strongly encouraged in instructional areas (classrooms, instructional labs) and research labs.
• Anyone who wants to wear a face-covering regardless of their vaccination status is welcome to do so.
• No quarantine following known exposure for fully vaccinated individuals.
• Current recommendations for physical distancing in University facilities remain in place.
  Events and large gatherings must continue to go through University protocols for approval.

Extension Offices

• Notify county government partners that the facility has reopened to the public.
• Transfer main office lines back to office phones.
• Post public health notices on all publicly accessible entrances.
• Prepare sampling areas to mitigate personal contact with the public.
• Create physical separation between all publicly accessible areas of the office and those intended to be accessed by staff only.
• Make hand sanitizer available at all entrances.
• Make supplies including, but not limited to, disinfectant wipes, disposable towels, disinfectant solution, etc. available in all commonly used areas of the office facility.
• Update sampling information on county websites and social media outlets only after the office has been deemed safely accessible to the public.
• Consider maintaining a long-term soil drop-off-only process that limits in-office interactions with the public.
• Consider delineating physical separation with marks on the floor in open spaces accessible to the public.

Extension Volunteers

Clemson Extension volunteers may return to in-person service in Stage – Yellow provided ALL the following conditions are met:

• The program-leading Extension Agent and any applicable third party or property have approved the volunteer activity.
• The volunteer follows appropriate CDC guidelines.
• Adults that have routine interaction with youth must abide by Clemson University Youth Protection Policy and Operating Standards.
• General guidance for returning to in-person volunteer service includes:
• Remain at home if you or anyone in your household is not feeling well or has a fever.
• High-risk individuals and those with significant underlying medical conditions are strongly encouraged to stay at home and take measures to limit exposure.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Try to work independently, keeping 6 feet or more apart from others.
• Frequently clean high‐touch surfaces including your cellphone/tablet, door handles, restroom surfaces, handrails, tools, etc.
• Refrain from using shared office equipment when possible. If it is necessary to use other’s equipment, sanitize between each user.

Guidance for Outdoor Service

• People should be spaced apart 6 feet or more.
• Individuals may work independently, keeping 6 feet or more apart from others in the garden.
• When possible, use your own gardening tools and equipment; shared tools and equipment should be cleaned after each use.

Communication Regarding Attendance at Educational Events

• Advise participants in advance that if they have any symptoms or feel unwell, they should not attend.

Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or family status and is an equal opportunity employer.

My name is Kristi Bussell and I’m a mental health educator for student health services. My office recently started an online program called Wellness Wednesdays (WW). The purpose of WW is to provide students, faculty, and staff information on how to take care of their wellbeing during COVID-19. Additionally, it provides an opportunity for folks to come together – vital during this season of social distancing.

What: Weekly Wellness series where we’ll discuss how to take care of our well-being during COVID-19
When: Wednesdays, 10am – 10:30am
Where: https://clemson.zoom.us/j/345660746
Password: email Kristi Bussell at kbussel@clemson.edu to get the password!

Also, follow @TigersTogether_ and @clemsonhealthycampus on IG for regular updates!
—
Kristi E. Bussell, MPH
Assistant Director for Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Initiatives
Student Health Services
Clemson University
864-656-2038

EMERGENCY/IN CRISIS/AFTER-HOURS CARE
If you or someone you know is at immediate risk of harm to self or others, contact emergency services and get help – call 911 or the Clemson University Police Department at 864-656-2222.

To reach Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) during business hours, call 864-656-2451.

For after-hours psychological emergencies, a CAPS on-call counselor can be reached through CUPD at 864-656-2222.

For help that can be accessed anywhere, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Zoom Information

Zoom is now licensed for all Clemson employees.
To access a licensed account, login in through clemson.zoom.us

Learn more about Zoom meeting best practices and tips.
https://blogs.clemson.edu/online/2020/04/03/zoom-meeting-best-practices-and-tips/

List of IT Resources

Information about all of the tools for working remotely have been compiled for employees.
https://ccit.clemson.edu/working-remotely/

Scanning Tool

If you do not have access to a scanner, you can scan from home with the Adobe Scan app to share paper documents with others. The Adobe Scan app easily captures documents and converts them to PDF right in your phone. It is included with our Adobe license. Just download the app and sign in.

Option 1: Scan documents using Adobe Scan on your phone (easiest option)

1. Download Adobe Scan from your device’s app store.
2. Launch the application and at the bottom of the screen, click “Sign In or Sign Up”.
3. Type in Clemson email address and it should take you to Single Sign On for Clemson.
4. Allow access to your phone’s camera.
5. The software will begin to detect the edges of the page, which you can adjust with your finger.
6. Take picture when ready and then tap the image it saves.
   • To eliminate shadows, make sure your light source is in front of you and your phone, not directly above or behind (think of how the sun creates shadows).
7. You can crop, rotate, or make other visual adjustments.
8. Give the file a relevant name by clicking the pencil icon and then click save.
   • Adobe Scan automatically recognizes the text in the image to make it text searchable.

If you need any assistance with IT needs, please contact your statewide District IT consultant or the helpdesk: ithelp@clemson.edu, 864.656.3494.

In April 2019, the Food Crop Horticulture Program Team created a blog for fruit and vegetable news, titled “The South Carolina Grower” (scgrower.com). The idea was to create a platform for sharing field updates, pest alerts, upcoming events, and new production information with produce growers and other interested parties. The ultimate goal for the blog was to facilitate better communication between the food crop agents and keep growers up to date with what is going on around South Carolina.

The most notable feature of the blog is the weekly field update. Horticulture agents send weekly field observations and photos from their respective areas to be included in the updates, which are compiled and posted each Monday morning. These updates provide a summary of what is being planted and picked, the pests or diseases that are active, and the weather conditions from around the state. Participation from the whole team has been instrumental in making the weekly field updates a success.

Other features of the blog include research updates and Clemson Extension publication highlights, a schedule of upcoming produce-related events, information about each horticulture agent, and links to important resources.

The audience and site traffic have grown steadily since the launch. Currently, there are 190 subscribers and the blog has received over 9,600 views, including viewers from 68 countries. The weekly field updates have been a hit as growers and agribusiness professionals routinely comment on how they look forward to reading them each week. Growers also stated they enjoy reading about what other farmers are experiencing nearby, as well as in other areas.

The blog has also been successful in accomplishing the goal of improving communication among Horticulture Program Team members. Agents have gained more awareness of what is happening in other areas of the state and are more familiar with what fellow agents are working on. This has been particularly valuable during the COVID-19 restrictions since growers, agents, specialists, and industry leaders have fewer opportunities to interact in person.

Submitted by: Cory Tanner, Horticulture Program Team Leader & Justin Ballew, Commercial Horticulture Agent

It seems like it is Groundhog Day all over again for the last four months. We take one step forward and three steps backward. We are on day 118 of the COVID-19 Modified Operating Procedure for Extension. Some of the most recent news from the Provost last week included the announcement that no out-of-state overnight travel will be allowed through January 1 at this time. No one wants us to return to normal schedules more than I do; however, SC DHEC’s data clearly indicates that we must stay the course and follow our Return to Work Framework Plan. We have created a trademark for Extension by providing unbiased, research-based information. We must follow the guidance provided by science. We have all heard the rumblings about Clemson’s main campus opening and K-12 schools getting ready to ramp back up to begin the school year. Remember that we in Extension are not under the same pressures to get back to working in our previous capacity due to the significant dedication all of you have put into adapting and keeping programs going strong during COVID-19.

We carefully devised a GREAT reentry plan, and we will keep following the plan. From the beginning, I have always said our plan for this pandemic must be fluid, and now I think we can all understand why. One month ago, our plan was moving forward. We had hoped that we would have all counties in Phase 3 by July 1. However, summer vacations started up with people visiting our state, as well as our citizens visiting other locales. Many did not take masks and social distancing seriously, thus causing another surge in infections. Please, do not contribute to the spread. We must all follow safety protocols, including mask usage, social distancing, and frequent handwashing.

I want to remind you, again and again, to use this time wisely and continue to evaluate your programming. Look around at what others are doing in Extension or outside of Extension within your networks. Look for best practices. Have you been reading the program team spotlights every week in this newsletter? There are many success stories that you may be able to apply to your work. Ask your colleagues what new approaches they are impressed with.

Take the time to write down the following questions and answer them. Show your answers to others for their input. Encourage your team members to do the same.

1. Is this program the best it can be?
2. How can this program have a more significant impact?
3. How can I measure impact more accurately?
4. How can we reach a larger audience?
5. How can I get a jump-start on my program once we are out of the pandemic?
6. How can I be a better team member?

I understand your frustrations and eagerness to get back to in-person programming. But, let’s take the time we have now to make our programs more accessible to others who may not have otherwise been engaged. We could grow our stakeholder audiences during this time. Extension has been through many challenging situations, and we have always come out better from the experience. I realize that when we are going through an experience like COVID-19, the future seems a little dim. Looking forward, I can tell you that I am more excited about beginning a new year than I have ever been. There have been many lessons learned over the past four months.  We will be more ‘seasoned’ in the new year. We were caught unprepared back in March, but now look how far we have come.

Please do your part to keep yourself and those around you safe. I urge you not to waver in continuing to follow the recommended safety protocols to inhibit the possibility of additional COVID-19 cases. As always, please take good care of yourselves and your families, and thank you for what you do for Clemson Extension.

The Agribusiness Program Team and Extension Associate Wilder Ferreira have been working to strengthen agribusiness in rural areas through farmers markets and direct marketing. One such success story is from the town of Calhoun Falls. Calhoun Falls is in the Freshwater Coast region. It is a town of 1,700 in Abbeville County and is surrounded by great outdoor areas and the Calhoun Falls State Park. Through the help of a committee, chaired by Wilder Ferreira, the town recently celebrated the grand opening of their new farmers market pavilion.

Since 2017, the town has been utilizing the downtown area for their farmers market as there was no facility. Wilder and the committee were able to secure nearly $70,000 in donations and grants in order to build the pavilion. The pavilion was built to grow agriculture in the region. It is a 45-foot square metal structure that allows enough space for eight vendors. Mayor Chris Cowan and Wilder started the fundraising and advisory committee meetings to make it a reality.

They were able to raise money from the following contributors:

• Municipal Association of South Carolina $25,000.00
• Dominion Energy $25,000.00
• HopeSouth Credit Union $5,000.00
• James M. Collins Foundation $4,000.00
• Abbeville First Bank $2,000.00
• Harvest Christian Ministries $2,000.00
• Faye Crocker $1,000.00
• Wes McAllister $1,000.00
• Pettigrew Hardware $1,000.00
• WCTEL $1,000.00
• Robert and Lynn Hester $500.00
• Harris Funeral Home $200.00
• Lee and Eleanor Logan $100.00
• Stephen Pettigrew $100.00
• Abbeville Chiropractic Center $100.00
• Candace Tax Service – Mayor and Mrs. Cowan $100.00
• CF Garden Club $46.00

Previously the market only had two producers who came every Thursday from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. from May through September. Since the pavilion’s opening day on July 2, there have been four producers in attendance. Over the past week, two other growers have been in contact about selling produce. In past years, nearly 300 people shopped at the farmers market, and attendance is expected to increase to 400 people this season.
 

Submitted by: Dr. Nathan Smith, Agribusiness Program Team Director and Wilder Ferreira, Regional Economic Development Extension Associate