Four K-State students spending part of holiday break helping farmers and ranchers in Louisiana

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Source: Brian Reuwee, 636-449-5090, reuwee@alphazeta.org

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

FOUR K-STATE STUDENTS SPENDING PART OF HOLIDAY BREAK HELPING FARMERS AND RANCHERS IN LOUISIANA

MANHATTAN -- Four members of Kansas State University's chapter of Alpha Zeta, a professional honor society for students in agriculture, are part of a group of Alpha Zeta members nationwide heading to Louisiana Dec. 17-22 to help farmers, ranchers and rural communities still reeling from hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The students are Lexie Hayes, senior in animal sciences and industry, Eureka; Scott Dooley, senior in agronomy, Jewell; Casey Weber, senior in food science and industry, Mound City; and Larissa Rice, junior in agricultural education, Norton.

They are part of a 30-member group of Alpha Zeta members who are going to Vermilion Parish in south central Louisiana for the five-day volunteer project. They will be mending fences, rebuilding barns and clearing brush and debris.

More than a year after hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast region, normalcy has yet to return, according to Scott Bickham, field service representative for the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation.

"Debris and trees may be cleared, but lots of people are still living in tents and trailers, many schools haven't reopened and few services are available," Bickham said.

The Farm Bureau is helping to place the Alpha Zeta crew in locations with the greatest need. In Vermilion Parish, cattle and grain-farming operations were hit hard by the hurricanes. The Farm Bureau also will provide lodging for the students, while the Alpha Zeta Foundation will supply transportation from St. Louis, Mo., to Louisiana and back.

Other students participating are from schools in California, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New York and Ohio.

More information about Alpha Zeta is available online at http://www.alphazeta.org