The process to fill four seats on the Buchanan County Extension Council will begin shortly.
The council, like the hundreds of other extension councils across the country, is the grass roots governing body for the nation's Cooperative Extension System. Candidates for the council will appear on the general election ballot in November.
In Iowa, extension programming is a cooperative effort involving local citizens, Iowa State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ISU Extension has 105 field offices, providing local access to extension programs in all 99 counties.
"If you would like to help with Buchanan County's extension program, we're beginning the nomination process soon," says Bruce Bearinger. The duties of a council member include hiring county staff, managing the county extension budget and helping select programming.
The first step in the nomination process is the appointment of a four-member nominating committee. By law, the current council appoints two men and two women to the committee and it cannot include any current members of the council. The committee must be appointed by Aug. 7, 2006.
The committee is charged with nominating candidates for the council, and geographic distribution of the nominees is one factor that they consider. After nominees have been selected, each nominee must turn in to the county elections commissioner, Cindy Witt, a petition signed by at least 25 qualified voters in early August. Individuals also may be placed on the ballot through a self-nomination process by turning in a petition signed by 25 qualified voters. Petitions are available from the county auditor and at the Buchanan County extension office.
Newly-elected council members will take office in January 2009. Carry-over council members whose terms expire at the end of 2008 are: Dan Cohen, Hazleton; Steve Copenhaver, Independence; Michelle Mangrich, Independence; Diane Shonka, Independence
The Cooperative Extension Service provides informal educational opportunities on a variety of topics to the people of Iowa. For more information on becoming a council member, contact Bruce Bearinger, Buchanan County Extension Education Director at 319-334-7171.
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