There’s a very good chance this program could help you. Individuals in Oklahoma who are engaged in livestock, crop or forest production whose land use includes cropland, rangeland, pasture and private non-industrial forestland are eligible to apply for the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP). The deadline for applying in the current fiscal year is Jan. 7, 2022.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced an investment of nearly $25 million for 50 grants supporting Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FSRAN) State Department of Agriculture projects. The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry was awarded $500,000 to allocate to our state partners.

The Iris Garden Club of Hugo met Nov. 22 at Burnside Estates community room.

Hugo Elementary School announces it has received a $3,690 Classroom Enhancement grant from the Carolyn Watson Rural Oklahoma Community Foundation administered by the Oklahoma City Community Foundation. The grant will be used to assist in funding our music program with a Soprano Glockenspiel, Alto Glockenspiel, several variations of xylophones, and two different metallophones, which will allow Hugo Elementary School to provide educational opportunities that will expand its students’ horizons.

Viruses mutate all the time, including the one, SARS-CoV-2, that’s caused the COVID-19 pandemic. Although most genetic changes are innocuous, some can make the mutant more adept at infecting cells, for example, or evading antibodies. Such “fitter” variants can outcompete other strains, so that they become the predominant source of infections. A succession of more-transmissible variants has emerged over the past year, each harboring a constellation of mutations. The most worrisome so far is the so-called delta variant. It’s become dominant in much of the world since its discovery in India in October 2020, leading to surges in cases and hospitalizations, especially in places where less than half the adult population has been fully immunized.

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW — U.S. President Joe Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday the West is concerned Russia will invade Ukraine and warned of “strong economic and other measures” as punishment should Moscow start a military conflict, the White House said.