The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

For all you Extension junkies, get ready for a very different and very special Extension agent in the Fort Benton office.

Janell Barber is her name and teaching people how to get by is one of her largest jobs in that busy extension office.

Janell is most recently from the Bozeman/Belgrade area but she is a farm and ranch girl who grew up in the Stanford area.

Janell went to MSU and majored in Family and Consumer Science.

"I decided not to go into the teaching aspect of Family and Consumer Science but instead to help people with many of their consumer needs," said Janell. "How to be a smart buyer and shopper and how to be educated about a product and identity theft is even a part of it. Everything from credit card debt to how to cook from scratch is a part of what I do."

Janell chose that path when she realized that home economics classes were becoming a thing of the past and what she had learned in 4 H had really helped her.

"I really never looked at anything else," said Janell.

Janell knows that if home economics were still being taught in many schools, it would help the community. If parents do not teach their children how to get by in life by doing things like being able to balance a checkbook, cooking, getting loans, all that, it is sad.

"And we are finding that is the case. Kids are simply not learning those things about surviving in the world like they should be learning," said Janell. "I am going to be conducting workshops and classes on those subjects and helping out when I can.

Janell said she worked in human recourses for thirteen years and most recently she managed discrimination policies for MSU Bozeman. She said that her life lessons in other jobs have prepared her for this job.

So, how does she go about teaching people how to do everything from boiling water to balancing the check book?

"That is the hard part," said Janell. "The more I can get my name out there and find people to help, the easier my job will be. I need to let people know I am there and can help in making their lives less complicated. I will be doing a lot with workshops and putting up booths when something is going on and making myself known to many local people teaching how much easier is it financially to prepare simple meals at home than to order out to eat and have it delivered."

To help out in this mighty effort to contact and help those who need help, "The Mountaineer" will start this week carrying a column by Janell simply called "Getting By".

It will be a column devoted to helping people get through their lives more easily and more happily by learning how to get by.

What is so important about getting by, some may ask? It is simple. First you get by, then you prevail and your life becomes yours to manage the way you want it managed.

But, first there is the trying. That leads to getting by and from there many doors open to lives that need doors to be opened.

So, look for Janell's column this week and many other weeks as she shows us all how to be better at simply being people.

It is called empowerment!