HERMANN — The Gasconade County Extension Center is being encouraged by county officials to apply for a share of opioid settlement money to help finance its 4-H program, which was cited as a vehicle for educating students about the dangers of opioid addiction.

That encouragement was offered Thursday morning by the members of the County Commission during the Extension Center’s annual budget request presentation. The Center is asking for $76,046 in county funds for 2026. That money will help the Center pay for personnel and operating costs.

The budget request was outlined by the Center’s Extension and Engagement Specialist Brandi Richardson. She was joined by Tanner Adkins, 4-H youth specialist, and Rachel O’Halloran, the Center’s field specialist in nutrition and health.

This year, the Extension Center received $69,931. In 2024, the Center received $53,355, only about $2,000 more than it was appropriated in 2023. The size of the increase being requested for 2026 reflects increased payroll costs for Center clerical staff and an increase in the hours that will be worked by the Center’s 4-H associate, which will be going from 30 hours a week to 40. The Center’s total funding also includes money allocated by the University of Missouri.

As part of the Center’s budget request, the staffers presented the Commission with a detailed account of the various programs and activities of this year.

Regarding the funding of the 4-H program, Richardson told the Commission that the Extension Centers in Phelps and Pulaski counties were approved for opioid settlement money. She made the argument that those programs provide awareness of and education about opioid addiction as part of their curriculum. The same thing could be done in Gasconade County’s 4-H program, as well, she said.

Presiding Commissioner Tim Schulte, R-Hermann, said, “I would highly, highly” suggest the Center apply for funding through the county’s Opioid Settlement Committee. “I would bet you would probably get approved for it,” he added.

Opioid funding, if approved, would come at a time when the 4-H programs across the county are growing in popularity.

“We’re getting more kids involved in the Community Club programs,” said Adkins, noting that about 300 students are taking part in 4-H clubs throughout the county. Gasconade County R-1 and R-2 school districts also are partnering with 4-H, he said, pointing out that the Center has a 4-H after-school program in the R-2 District.

As for the nutrition and health programs, O’Halloran told the Commission that the Center is going to be focusing more on how to deal with the Alpha-Gal Syndrome. Alpha-Gal is the condition that results in some people from tick bites that make them allergic to certain foods, primarily red meat. While the number of people affected by Alpha-Gal is increasing, there still is not a lot known about the condition, O’Halloran said.

“It’s a condition that’s still being researched,” she said, noting that the first death attributed directly to the Alpha-Gal Syndrome was recorded earlier this year in the state of Washington.

Many of the county officials at the meeting said they knew someone with the condition. Indeed, County Clerk Lesa Lietzow said that she has been diagnosed as having the condition. “I knew something was wrong with that tick bite. But I have zero symptoms. I have never had a reaction,” she said.

O’Halloran said understanding why some people develop symptoms and others don’t remains a mystery. “As far as understanding (Alpha-Gal as) a medical condition, yes, it’s pretty new,” she said.

Related to this issue, O’Halloran said the health programs in the coming year will focus on the tick problem in the county. “We’re also educating about tick prevention,” she said.

The Center’s budget request will be taken up during the upcoming work by the Commission on the 2026 operating budget.