ServSafe(r) certification training

Posted

By Jim Smith

SUN Columnist

ServSafe(r) is a nationally recognized comprehensive food safety training developed by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.

Food service managers and Cottage Food producers need the highest level of food safety training and certification.

Participants who score 75 percent or higher will receive a ServSafe(r) certificate; it is valid for five years. Training costs are $150 for the ServSafe(r) Manager book and certification exam — $90 for additional business associate includes participation and certification exam, but no book, must accompany a full-price participant. A retail business associate must be employed at same location and by the same employer.

Pre-registration and payment are required by April 15. Training will be held at the CSU Extension office in Durango.

Contact Wendy Rice to register or for more information at 382-6461.

Seed potatoes

The Archuleta County Extension Office is now taking orders for seed potatoes. There will be four kinds available: Sangre (red), Yukon Gold (white), Purple Majesty (blue inside) and Rose (rose inside). Currently, we are charging 50 cents per pound for any of the species.

For those of you who are just starting out and are experimenting, it is our suggestion that you order two to three pounds of each species, instead of ordering a lot of one type. This way, you can experiment and see if you like them, then order more next year.

When orders arrive in mid-May at the Extension Office, each person will be contacted to pick up their order. Please don’t plant them until after Mother’s Day.

If you are interested in ordering seed potatoes, call 264-5931, e-mail coopext_archuleta@mail.colostate.edu, or stop by the Extension Office.

Web-mapping tool

The Colorado State Forest Service has made available an online mapping tool that will help community leaders, professional planners and interested citizens determine wildfire risk and where forest management actions can achieve the greatest impact to reduce that risk.

The Colorado Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal — or CO-WRAP — is a web-mapping tool that provides access to statewide wildfire risk assessment information. Through CO-WRAP, fire mitigation professionals, prevention planners, natural resource professionals and interested citizens can generate maps and download data and reports that describe defined project areas, such as neighborhoods or watersheds. The information in the portal is based on geographic information system (GIS) data layers that allow users to view such themes as the likelihood of an acre burning, potential fire intensity, historic fire occurrence and values at risk from wildfire.

“Wildland fires continue to threaten people, property, drinking water and forest assets across Colorado, and population growth into wildland-urban interface areas presents major challenges to Colorado residents,” said Joe Duda, interim state forester. “Heightened awareness of wildfire risk and the forest management measures necessary to mitigate that risk are becoming increasingly important to ensure public safety.”

CO-WRAP features two levels of access — one for community leaders, planning professionals and forestry professionals, and one for interested citizens. The professional viewer provides access to data and tools for use in creating fire protection or forest stewardship plans, or identifying priority fuels treatment areas. It also allows users to generate detailed risk summary reports for customized land areas — such as neighborhoods, fire protection districts or counties. The public viewer provides a simple-to-use tool that allows users to explore wildfire risk and generate maps for specific locations.

“Whether to increase public awareness about wildfire risk, or to put much-needed information at the fingertips of fire managers, CO-WRAP will be a tremendous asset for Colorado,” said Paul Cooke, director of the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control.

The Colorado State Forest Service continues to be the lead state agency for providing forest stewardship and wildfire mitigation education to private landowners, following legislation in 2012 that transferred responsibility for wildfire command and control from the CSFS to the newly formed Division of Fire Prevention and Control.

To access CO-WRAP, go to www.ColoradoWildfireRisk.com. For more information about protecting homes and communities from wildfire, visit csfs.colostate.edu.

Calendar

April 11 — Colorado Master Gardner, 9 a.m.

April 11 — Mountain View Homemakers, noon.

April 12 — Pathfinders, 6 p.m.

April 13 — 4-H Rocky Mountain Riders Club meeting, 6 p.m.

April 15 — 4-H Food Preservation Program, 4 p.m.

April 15 — Livestock Committee meeting, 6:15 p.m.

April 15 — Back Country Horsemen, 5:30 p.m.

April 16 — 4-H Scrapbooking Project meeting, 4 p.m.

April 16 — 4-H Leader meeting, 5:30 p.m.

April 17 — Mountain High Garden Club, 10 a.m.

April 17 — 4-H Sports Fishing Project meeting, 4 p.m.

April 17 — 4-H Sewing Project meeting, 4 p.m.

April 18 — 4-H Poultry Project meeting, 4 p.m.

April 19 —4-H Wolf Creek Wonders Club meeting, 2 p.m.

April 20 — 4-H Dog Project meeting, 10 a.m.

Check out our webpage at www.archuleta.colostate.edu for calendar events and information.