Monthly Featured News Articles for Cass County Residence 

Helping children cope with a parent's job loss (Week 3/22-28)
Nina Chen, University of Missouri Extension Human Development Specialist

A change in financial status due to the loss of a job is a difficult crisis for families to experience. How parents handle the situation can influence their children so it is important to communicate with them in an age-appropriate way, said a University of Missouri Extension human development specialist.

“Although parents don't need to tell children all the details about the layoff, they need to be open about the change,” said Dr. Nina Chen. “In the absence of information, children's imaginations can take over, which may cause behavioral problems.” Parents may want to wait until the job change happens to tell children unless the company's impending layoffs are announced in the media. Offer a truthful message, for instance, "My company is telling some workers to leave their jobs. This may happen to me. I will let you know as soon as I hear anything." Children under 7 years old don't need a lot of information: "I don't have a job anymore because my company doesn’t need as many workers."

Optimism and reassurance are important messages that children need to hear from their parents. Let children know that you have plans to meet with a career counselor or conduct a job search. Communicate what to expect, for instance, "We will need to make some changes in our expenses and lives, but we will be together and we will keep you safe." This message can help children feel secure and hopeful. Although appropriate for parents to share their negative feelings, avoid burdening children or making promises.

Another important message that parents should send to their children is that mom or dad haven't made a mistake. Children are likely to assume that a parent did something wrong to lose a job. Older children may blame their parents for the loss: "You lost a job and I have to stop taking piano lessons.” “Layoffs may influence children's attitudes toward the job market and shake their confidence,” said Chen. “Parents need to talk about these issues with their children and encourage them to share their fears.”

Give children opportunities to be part of the decision-making process for making changes and cutting expenses. This involvement can help children feel a sense of control over the outcome and feel they are contributing. For instance, if finances are tight, parents can ask children to make the choice between piano and skating lessons. This process teaches children how to cope when things go wrong and gives parents an opportunity to model resiliency.

A job layoff can be painful for some families, although most cope well with the emergency. “Crisis can mean opportunity or danger, depending on how people view the situation and deal with the crisis," said Chen. “Parents need to demonstrate a positive attitude. Communicate what you have not lost, such as your family's love, your skills, your health, your hope and your sense of humor. Exhibiting an angry and unhealthy response to the job loss may have negative consequences for the children.”

Zinc Lozenges Can Reduce Severity of Cold (Week 2/22 - 2/28)
Susan Mills-Gray, University of Missouri Extension Nutrition and Health Education Specialist

 Research shows that zinc can keep the cold virus from replicating, reducing severity of your illness by nearly 50 percent. “The catch is you must begin a dose of at least 13.3 mg up to eight times daily for the first couple of days after symptoms appear,” said a University of Missouri Extension nutrition/health education specialist. 

Zinc is best taken as a throat lozenge or nasal gel. “These mediums let the zinc come into full contact with the back of the throat, allowing the supplement to reduce cold virus replication,” said Susan Mills-Gray. 

When shopping for a zinc product, make sure the supplement is made from zinc gluconate or zinc acetate. Avoid flavorings made from citric acid and tartaric acid – these interfere with zinc’s antiviral action. 

The safe, upper-limit intake is 40 mg daily. This is why packaging for most zinc supplements recommends only using up to three lozenges, for a total of 39.9 mg, per day. Research indicates using the larger dose (106 mg) daily is considered safe for a couple of days. “Continue such a high dose of zinc for longer than a couple of days only if your health care provider has prescribed this level,” said Mills-Gray. 

Side effects of a short-term, high dose regimen of zinc include stomach upset, an unpleasant taste in the mouth, interference with copper absorption and impaired absorption of some antibiotics. Longterm dosages of 100+ mg daily may lower levels of good cholesterol, suppress immune function and actually increase the risk of prostate cancer. “Zinc nasal gels may cause temporary to permanent loss of smell and some people experience pain in the nose immediately after use,” said Mills-Gray.

Re-evaluate your 2009 nitrogen fertility program (Week 1/18 - 1/24)
Julie Abendroth, University of Missouri Extension Agronomy Specialist

Traditionally, corn growers apply nitrogen at excessive rates to accommodate for loss due to adverse weather conditions and excessive moisture. Nitrogen rates are generally based on the desired yield goal, but this is only one factor to consider. The optimum nitrogen rate varies from field to field and year to year, influenced by soil type and weather conditions.  

During the growing season, weather conditions affect the rate of crop growth, rate of nitrogen uptake, amount of available soil nitrogen and the degree to which nitrogen is leached from the soil profile. Attempting to determine the appropriate rate before the season begins can be a challenging and frustrating experience for many growers. As a result, growers have often employed a strategy of applying “more than enough nitrogen,” as a form of cheap insurance. From economic and environmental perspectives, this tactic is no longer feasible.

 Corn producers need to re-evaluate their nitrogen fertility program for the 2009 cropping season. They need to determine whether to adjust the rate, material or timing of nitrogen applications. Even small adjustments in their strategies can equal large monetary returns.

 The maximum nitrogen uptake for corn occurs when corn is hip-high to nearly tasseling. However, the majority of nitrogen applications in West Central and Central Missouri are made during the fall and spring months. The objective should be to apply fertilizer as close as possible to the period of rapid crop uptake. This can be done by side-dressing nitrogen during the growing season.

 Rather than applying nitrogen at a rate determined prior to the growing season, technology is now available to determine the appropriate rate based on crop color. This appears to be the most reliable indicator of how much nitrogen is needed. To read the crop’s color, sensors can be mounted either on tractor-based or high-clearance, side-dressing equipment to control application rates.  University of Missouri fertility specialists have teamed with local producers to investigate this application method in on-farm trials, which are showing promising results.

 For more information, contact Julie Abendroth, MU Extension agronomy specialist, at abendrothj@missouri.edu, youro local MU Extension office or extension.missouri.edu.

Midwestern Disasters May Result in Tax Benefits (Week 1/11 - 1/17)
Carole G. Bozworth, Family Financial Education Specialist

Last year’s violent weather resulted in a great deal of property damage in Cass County.  Because of the quantity and severity of damage, Cass County was one of 27 Missouri counties declared a part of the Midwestern Disaster Area (MWDA).  Citizens of these counties who suffered financial lossesas a result of severe storms, tornadoes, or flooding between May 20, 2008 and July 31, 2008 may be eligible for some tax relief.  While the 1040 tax form instruction booklet and IRS Publication 17 hint at tax relief being available for individuals involved in these MWDAs, you will need to check Publication 4492-b to get detail about whether you might qualify for the relief available. Unfortunately Publication 4492-b has not yet been published but it is expected to be available soon.  Following is a summary of the type of relief that will be available to those who qualify:

1.        The limits for certain personal casualty losses have been suspended.  If you suffered qualifying losses of personal-use property, the losses may not be subject to the $100 or 10% of adjusted gross income limitation.  The losses must be attributable to the storms or tornadoes. If your losses were reimbursed by insurance or other source then you cannot declare the losses on your tax return but the suspension of limits means that if you were not reimbursed for your losses then you can deduct a larger dollar amount on your tax return.  Further, if you have non-reimbursed losses, you can deduct the net disaster loss even if you do not itemize your deductions.  Do this by completing Form 4684 and entering your net disaster loss on line 6 of the Standard Deduction Worksheet—Line 40 in the Form 1040 instructions. 

2.       If you made a charitable contribution for relief efforts related to the storms, tornadoes, or flooding occurring in the designated time period in Cass County , you may be able to use a higher standard mileage rate in figuring any out-of-pocket expenses you had in giving services.  You may also be able to exclude any mileage reimbursements from income.  Finally you may be able to claim a deduction in excess of the usual limits on charitable contributions made for relief efforts.

3.       If you provided housing to a person displaced by the Midwestern storms, tornadoes, or flooding, you may be able to take an additional exemption amount.  There will be special rules for time and support tests for people who were temporarily relocated because of the Midwestern disasters.

4.       If you suffered a loss during the Midwestern disasters, you may be able to use your 2007 earned income to figure your 2008 EIC and additional child tax credit.  This would be especially helpful to working individuals whose income may have suffered because of the disaster.

5.       There will be special rules for withdrawals and loans from IRAs and other qualified retirement plans for victims of the disasters.

6.       Students who attended a qualifying post-secondary institution in a Midwestern disaster area may be able to receive a higher Hope or Lifetime Learning tax credit this year.  The student does have to file the form 8863 to receive the credit but limits for the credit have been raised for students attending qualifying schools.

There are additional tax benefits that may be available to taxpayers who suffered financial losses because of the storms, tornadoes or flooding of last summer but information about these benefits is so sketchy, that it would be better to wait until Publication 4492-b is available and consult it to take full advantage of all tax benefits.  Given that the information about all benefits is not yet available, if you did suffer a financial loss as a result of any of the disasters, it might be wise to wait awhile to file your taxes until complete information is available on all of the tax benefits for which you might qualify.