December 2020
Praying for a Good 2021 Horace McQueen See page 3
An Embarrassing Column Baxter Black See page 5
Close Calls Luke Clayton See page 8
Area girl racing to rodeo stardom By Shelli Parker
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Athens Daily Review
s the National Finals Rodeo makes its way to Texas for the first time since 1985, the rodeo buzz is hopping. However, we have so much local Rodeo talent around here, with many being under 18 years old, it is common to get a great show in our own backyard. One up and coming starlet in the rodeo kingdom is Dallie Caite Scott. At a whopping three feet tall and 5 years old, she is quickly racing her way up the barrel racing sector as a force to be reckoned with. She eats, sleeps and breathes barrel racing. The faster she goes the bigger she smiles. Dallie Cate and her Brothers Hunter and Atlee were raised by Taylae and Austin Scott. They grew up in rodeo themselves and decided that was the life they wanted for their own children if they chose it. So they made the country and rodeo lifestyle available to them. “She has been in a saddle since she could sit up,” Taylae said. “We knew what life we wanted for our children and then gave them the choice. It is our way of life.” Hunter, her older brother has been riding mini bulls for years and she has been around the events since birth. She started in lead line on her horse Hope, a twenty year old blue Roan, at age 4, and won her first See RODEO on Page 3
AgriLife Extension offers Health Literacy Program Staff Reports
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ach Wednesday of February 2021, a team of Bosque, Leon, and Johnson County Extension Agents will be presenting the “Health Literacy for Older Adults” program. It will be open to the surrounding region and will be hosted online via the Zoom platform at 10:30 a.m. each week. The program includes four sessions, which cover topics such as making healthy lifestyle choices, understanding Medicare benefits, communicating well with your doctor, managing medications, and finding reliable information on the internet. Adults over age 65, family members and caregivers of older adults, and health care professionals are encouraged to attend. The ability to obtain, understand, and act upon health information, health literacy, is key to making the right health decisions. Evidence shows that people with higher health literacy are more likely to seek preventive care, follow treatment plans, and experience decreased rates of hospitalization and emergency services, along with shorter hospital stays.
Dawson FFA
Students, teachers work hard for success By Megan Hempel
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Corsicana Daily Sun
hroughout the state, students competed in Texas FFA’s State Leadership Career Development Dec. 1 through 5. Dawson FFA’s Public Relations Team qualified for the state competition by finishing first in one of the state’s 66 district competitions and first in one of 12 area competitions. The team placed 10th in the Public Relations Contest out of 297 teams statewide. Team members included Bodey Martinez, Jaedyn Stapleton, Alison Vizcarra, and Ty Williams. Dawson FFA’s all-senior team had its share of successes this year, placing in the top three at three invitational contests prior to district, after overcoming numerous obstacles. According to Michelle Sammon, Ag. Science
Teacher, all four students are heavily involved in other extracurricular activities from sports to other student organizations and dual credit coursework. Committed to success, they spent whatever free time available after practices, part-time jobs, and weekends preparing for this competition. One member even had surgery the day before a contest and spent the weekend preparing a younger sibling to fill in for her. Despite the last minute substitution, the team finished third out of 16 teams. “In a year where it would be easy to lessen their efforts with everything going on around them, this team only pushed harder to succeed and it was truly inspiring to me as a teacher” Sammon stated. Aside from the Public Relations team, Dawson FFA had 10 other leadership teams compete at the district level in various events. See FFA on Page 3
There is now an emphasis on patient-clinician collaboration and shared responsibility, said Andy Crocker, Senior Extension Program Specialist. “An older adult’s health literacy can vary depending on changes in one’s medical issues, provider, or system providing the care,” he said. “No matter the context, we all want to feel confident about our decisions and understand that we’re getting cost-effective, safe, high quality health care.” Paula Butler, AgriLife Extension Regional Program Leader, says that the benefits of health literacy in older adults extends beyond their own improved health care decisions and improved health status. “Ultimately, health literacy should result in cost savings to the health care system and improved patient-provider satisfaction,” Butler said. “We want to help empower older adults to take an active role in their health care, which will not only benefit them personally, but the larger community too.” If interested, you can easily register for the class by going to the following website: https://tinyurl.com/healthliteracytamu. Through the application of science-based knowledge, AgriLife Extension creates high-quality, relevant continuing education that encourages lasting and effective change.
Courtesy Photo
Dawson FFA placed 10th in the Public Relations Contest out of 297 teams statewide. Team members included Bodey Martinez, Jaedyn Stapleton, Alison Vizcarra, and Ty Williams.