PBS KIDS kicks off Block Party Live at N.C. A&T Jordan Howse EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (March 27, 2019) – Some fan favorite PBS KIDS characters will kick off the channel’s new Block Party LIVE college series Saturday at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Rootle, PBS KIDS’ 24/7 Channel, moves from the screen to the scene—kicking off its new Block Party LIVE—College Edition series—Saturday, March 30, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at the North Carolina A&T’s Alumni-Foundation Event Center. The Block Party will have free, hands-on fun for fans of all ages, including meet and greets with UNC-TV’s own Read-a-roo and some of the most popular PBS KIDS stars from Dinosaur Train, Nature Cat and Sesame Street. Rootle’s Block Party LIVE at N.C. A&T is part of the Remake Learning Days Across America, a family-friendly festival this spring that features hundreds of fun and exciting learning events designed for kids of all ages. This initiative of Remake Learning, PBS KIDS and Digital Promise, with national sponsorship from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Schmidt Futures and The Grable Foundation, helps create innovative and engaging learning experiences for all youth and families. Rootle offers families a haven for intentional, educational and entertaining viewing, in addition to free resources and experiences for families and beyond.
Small Farms Task Force to Tackle Issues, Strengthen Communities Dan Nonte EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (March 27, 2019) – Limited-resource and minority small farmers seeking new strategies to keep their farms viable have a new resource – the Small Farms Task Force – announced Tuesday by Cooperative Extension at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. The task force, which is comprised of 13 individuals – county officials, Extension personnel, farmers and retired farmers – is designed to promote and encourage the use of Extension resources, and strengthen rural communities and their families, within targeted areas of the state. “Small farmers are the backbone of our state’s $87 billion agriculture industry,” said Rosalind Dale, Ed.D., Cooperative Extension administrator and associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences. “More than 80 percent of our state’s 50,000 farms are small. With the creation of this task force, we are seeking to improve their quality of life and their farms’ sustainability.” The group, which held its first meeting Monday, will solicit and review data from small farmers to help improve their profitability; discuss issues directly affecting rural communities; study food alliances and cooperatives for ways they can help small farmers boost marketing efforts; serve as a liaison between small farmers and community leaders; and identify ways to improve existing Cooperative Extension programs. The announcement comes during N.C. A&T’s annual Small Farms Week, a week of tours, education, honors and workshops centering on small farming. The event, now in its 33rd year, kicked off Monday in Duplin County, home of Ronald Simmons of Master Blend Family Farms. Simmons is A&T’s 2018 Small Farmer of the Year.
Members of the Small Farms Task Force are: Carl Bonds of Windsor, a retired farmer and member of the State Farm Bureau board Beverly Bowens of Whitsett, a farmer Kyle Cashwell of Garland, a farmer Henry Crews of Henderson, a farmer Joyce Holloway of Greenville, a farmer and 4-H volunteer Byron Horton of Williamston, a farmer Victor Hunt of Middleburg, a farmer and county commissioner Eliza MacLean of Graham, a farmer Moses Matthews of Williamston, a farmer Kelly Olsen of Greensboro, a farmer James Peele of Powellsville, a retired Extension agent David Rouson, Jr. of Plymouth, a farmer Cecil Sumner of Ahoskie, a retired Extension technician Ex- officio members are Fletcher Barber Jr., Ph.D., small farms recruiter; James Oliver, Ph.D., small farms coordinator; Fitzroy Beckford, Ph.D., program leader for agriculture and natural resources for Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T.