On May 16th, the Kansas Ag Statistics Service reported that wheat conditions in the state continued to decline in the previous week.  The last time conditions were as bad was in 1996.   In fact, the USDA has declared 21 KS counties as disaster areas in part due to the ongoing drought.  Southwest Kansas has seen little appreciable rainfall since Summer 2010.  I collected some of my own observations on May 3rd while enroute to the 3I Show in Garden City.   Some fields had areas of yellowing from the long view.  But on closer inspection, plants seemed right on the edge of beginning to wilt from lack of moisture.  One pasture was as brown as one might expect in last summer or fall.

      As a journalist, I cover traffic accidents from time to time. In the cases of serious injuries or fatality, I often wince when it comes to the question of seat belts. Many times the deputy or trooper somberly tells me "seat belts were not in use".  That usually ends up being the last line of the story but, it could easily be moved up to a higher position in the article. I have also had officers tell me that "seat belts saved lives" in the accident being written about.  Depending on the research data you look at, it suggests that the chances of death in a traffic accident is greatly reduced when seat belts were in use.

      That idea was re-impressed on me today as I interviewed a woman whose 16-year-old daughter died in a traffic accident more than two years ago. The pain in her face and voice indicated to me that the memories of that tragic event are still vivid as ever today. It's taken a great toll on the family in their day-to-day lives. But, they have managed to redirect some of that energy to an event this Saturday involving a run and walk. No doubt there will be family, friends and strangers to wrap their arms around them on this day. But, this mother told me that "kids just need to see and be aware of how important they are in our lives and what happens when they are not there anymore".

     If you don't wear your seat belt while driving or riding in a vehicle...what would it take to convince you to do so? This family is hoping the experience of their own tragic loss would be enough.

     KRVN News Story:

     http://www.krvn.com/news/index/6e4cab56-6c13-4e94-9797-986eb6201c18

     The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services has released the list of the Most Frequent Baby Names from births in Nebraska for 2009.  The top five girl's names were Addison, Isabella, Ava, Olivia and Sophia.  The five most frequent boy's names were Alexander, Carter, Noah, William, Ethan and Jacob.


      Going back 50 years ago the most frequent gir's names in 1960 were Mary, Susan, Debra, Lori and Linda.  The most frequent boy's names in 1960 were Michael, David, Mark, James and John.

Photos around Lexington of previous evening's storm damage from high winds.   Thanks to KRVN's Beth Rogers for the pics.

     Twitter wants users to update their personal info

      2/25/10

        SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Twitter is prodding its users to update
their personal settings to create more ways for people to connect
on its communications service.
     The request will pop up when Twitter users log into their
accounts.
     Some accountholders have already seen the information boxes,
labeled ``Be found on Twitter.''
     A Twitter spokeswoman said Friday that the box is coming soon to
all of its estimated 73 million users worldwide.
     The box lists the name, biography and location that individual
users have listed on their page. It also encourages them to allow
other people to find them by e-mail address or mobile phone number.
     Twitter says the e-mail addresses and phone numbers won't be
displayed, even if a user agrees to include them in the service's
search index.