Penn State Cooperative Extension has long been a source of information for questions on home horticulture, food preparation and storage, insects, and a variety of other topics of interest to the residents of Butler County. How often, though, do these questions come up at times when you can pick up the phone and contact the extension office?

Gone are the days when you needed an answer to a weekend gardening question and had to wait until Monday morning to speak to an expert. Or you found yourself unsure of how to remove a mustard stain or thaw a turkey safely. Penn State Cooperative Extension is now ready to answer your questions "24/7." The Solution Source is a service of the Penn State Cooperative Extension and offers Pennsylvania residents access to convenient research-based information via the telephone at any time of the day. The pre-recorded voice messages are accessible to all residents of the commonwealth through a toll-free phone number. Topics include agriculture, household issues, child development, insects, nutrition, gardening, wildlife, and much more.

This new system is just one more method of outreach that the Cooperative Extension is employing to bring the research from the University out to the public in a timely manner.

The Solution Source can be reached by calling, toll free, 800-617-2950. A limited supply of a free 23 page brochure listing all of the topics is available. To receive a copy of the brochure, contact the Butler County Extension Office at 724-287-4761.

A list of the topics is also available online at http://www.extension.psu.edu/nwregion/solutionsource.htm.

This material is submitted by Donna Zang, Extension director, and the staff of the Penn State Extension office at the Sunnyview Nursing Home complex.