Mold discovered at the Las Animas elementary school means classes won’t start until Sept. 3.

Recently, Superintendent Elsie Goines, elementary school Principal Lana Gardner and community members listened to a report about the status of the building. CEO of Rocky Mountain Construction Company, Greg Daviscourt, gave three factors for why moisture was making its way into the building:

Goines said that the first factor given by Daviscourt was the wind damage to the roof, which was fixed this past spring. “There was extensive roof damage in the areas located near and around the kitchen and cafeteria area.”

The second factor given was water seeping up underneath the foundation. This, according to Daviscourt, was due to a higher than average water table. The last factor given was that areas of the block walls were holding water, thus creating wet walls.

“Daviscourt reported that having undetected areas of contamination is not uncommon with the type of wallpaper that was present in the elementary,” she said.

She went on to say that the heavy vinyl wallpaper used in the school is great for teachers and students. However, it doesn’t allow the walls to breathe, making it impossible to notice if walls were wet.

Goines said the Colorado School Districts Self Insurance Pool has been onsite with its engineering team to investigate the issues and develop a remediation plan to waterproof the building. When asked about whether these issues are a result of poor construction or extreme weather patterns, the engineers told Goines to wait on their report.

She went on to say that once the report has been released, there will be a special board meeting to review the findings and to discuss the scope of work with the board, she added that community members were welcomed to attend.

“In the meantime, students kindergarten through sixth grade will be temporarily located at the secondary campus,” she said. “Jumpstart, the early preschool program, will be located at the Bent County Department of Social Services building.”

Grades 4-8 will be located in the junior high building. Grades K-3 will be in the high school.

Registration is scheduled to take place from 7:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, and the first day of school is scheduled for Sept. 3.

jconlan@ljtdmail.com

source https://www.lajuntatribunedemocrat.com/news/20190829/mold-found-at-las-animas-elementary-school-classes-delayed

(Newswire.net — August 28, 2019) — Oakland, CA — Home Services USA has launched an updated mold removal service throughout Oakland. Customers can get in touch for fast, reliable mold remediation in the home or office.

Home Services USA has launched a new mold removal and emergency restoration service for Oakland, California homeowners and businesses. Based in Alameda, the remediation specialist is now offering an updated range of mold remediation solutions for clients throughout the surrounding area.

More information can be found at: https://homeservicesusa.co/mold-remova/

The site explains that Home Services USA is a leader in the restoration industry and prides itself on high quality service. The expert team is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure local customers are well catered for.

This means that whether clients need emergency water damage services or mold removal and remediation, Home Services USA can help. The team’s fast, reliable and affordable service can get customers’ homes looking and feeling their best again.

For commercial customers, these services are just as important because the property’s appearance speaks volumes to clients. Mold or water damage in a business is likely to turn away buyers, so it’s important to get in touch with an expert quickly.

Home Services USA is trained and experienced in all aspects of water damage restoration, mold damage removal and mold remediation. Each specialist understands the science behind mold and mold growth, and is equipped to tackle it.

It’s impossible to completely remove all mold 100% in any situation, because microscopic spores exist naturally everywhere. However, with the right remediation services, it’s possible to get mold levels back to normal.

The team states: “Mold in your home or business is not only unsightly, but it can cause structural damage and pose a health risk if not addressed. Our experienced mold remediation specialists treat for both moisture and mold so you only have to go through mold removal once.”

It’s a simple process to get the best mold remediation in Oakland. Customers just have to get in touch with Home Services USA, who will then come out to inspect the mold damage.

From there, the team can provide mold containment, air filtration, and mold removal solutions. Then it’s time to clean the contents of the property and the customer’s belongings, before restoring the damaged area.

Full details of the services provided can be found on the URL above.

source https://newswire.net/newsroom/pr/00112338-https-homeservicesusa-co.html

Three weeks after a boy suffered burns to 90% of his body in an apartment fire, tenants of his building are demanding that the owner and manager make repairs, and they’re pointing to a federal inspection report that gave the building a failing grade, in terms of conditions there.

Residents at the Indian Trails Apartments at 221 East 121st Place in Chicago’s West Pullman neighborhood say they’ve been living too long with water damage, mold, expired safety inspections, and electrical and rodent issues.  They say they’ve been trying for a year now to meet with the building manager and the owner of the complex, who, they say, does not live in the Chicago area.

NBC5 reached out to the building’s manager, The Habitat Company, which has not responded to requests for comments.

 “I cannot even have my kids live here because of the unsafe and unhealthy conditions,” said Tanisha Jones, who is leading the West Pullman Tenants Association, a group formed to lobby for improvements. 

A December 13, 2016 inspection by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development gave Indian Trails Apartments a score of 31 out of 100, with 60 points needed to pass, according to a HUD inspection database maintained by the independent journalism organization ProPublica.  HUD inspectors take off points if they find “such problems as mold, infestation, broken doors and windows, tripping hazards and graffiti,” according to ProPublica. (The average HUD inspection score for buildings in Illinois is 85.2.)

On August 9th, a fire broke out inside a second-floor apartment at the building, engulfing a 13-year-old boy who was rushed to University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital with second- and third-degree burns to 90% of his body.  One witness told NBC5 that she saw the boy run out of the apartment covered in “flames [from] head to toe.” A baby, a ten-year-old, their mother and a firefighter were also taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The boy has since had multiple surgeries, and may spend the next year in the hospital, according to representatives of the tenants’ group.

“While we do not know the cause of the fire, we do know that conditions at Indian Trails Apartments are deplorable,” said Jones in a press conference at the apartment complex today.

In a statement, the Chicago Fire Department said its investigation into the fire “could only determine the cause as open flame ignition, however it did not determine building infrastructure or electrical issues as a factor in the fire.”

According to ProPublica records, the conditions at Indian Trails Apartments have declined steadily over the past few years.  A HUD inspection in August of 2013 scored the apartment complex at 59 — one point below passing. An inspection in January of 2015 lowered the score to 50, and an April, 2016 inspection lowered the score again, to 35, before the 31 score in December of 2016.  

Tenant activists say that HUD has promised to re-inspect the property.  “The tenants hope HUD will use its powers to force the owners and management to make repairs,” according to an association spokesman.

NBC5 Investigates has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to see details of the December, 2016 inspection, which was released in January of 2017.

source https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/tenants-demand-change-after-west-pullman-fire-injures-boy-558734031.html

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Be prepared when cleaning up after a flood — The Vicksburg Post  Vicksburg Post

Every approach to cleaning a house after a flood has its pitfalls. Homeowners who opt for the “do-it-yourself” route face the risk of serious illness if they are not …

source https://www.vicksburgpost.com/2019/08/29/be-prepared-when-cleaning-up-after-a-flood/

BUENA VISTA, MI — A motel that has been declared dangerous and unsafe is planned for demolition before the year is over.

On Tuesday, Aug. 27, the Saginaw County Board of Commissioners approved a brownfield plan for four parcels at the former Welcome Inn & Suites, 3425 E. Holland, and 1180 S. Outer Drive.

A brownfield plan allows a developer to come in and clean it up and build on it because of the environmental contamination or obsolescence.

Buena Vista seeks demolition of motel unless property owner improves facility

More than 100 alleged defects were listed in the complaint, including structure damage, mold and mice.

Buena Vista Township took steps to declare the hotel dangerous and got court permission to access the property to demolish the structures, according to a document submitted to the board of commissioners.

Latrice Goodwine, community development officer for Buena Vista, said the demolition is estimated to cost about $400,000. The township got a loan of $200,000 through the Local Site Remediation Fund to assist with demolition and other eligible activities, according to the document.

“Down by the end of the year, that’s our goal,” said Goodwine of the motel site.

She said after the township receives the loan documentation, the next step is to start looking for bids for the demolition.

The property is owned by Jitendra “Jeet” Patel. In March, Patel was ordered to vacate the premises of the motel after an arbitrator ruled that the building was dangerous and unsafe and violated Michigan housing laws. The conditions opened the door to the township razing the motel.

According to Patel, he purchased the building for $625,000 in 2009 shortly after relocating to the U.S. from India, where he was into real estate and developing.

Motel owner says Buena Vista officials not giving him fair chance

The motel was deemed a dangerous and unsafe building.

Goodwine said the cost of the razing will be tacked onto Patel’s tax bill.

Patel said he owes $400,000 on his mortgage, a cost that will soar after the razing.

There is no specific redevelopment plans for the site at this time. However, the township could recapture its costs once development occurs, according to the document.

source https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2019/08/dangerous-buena-vista-motel-set-for-razing-by-end-of-the-year.html

Recent reports show high corn earworm populations in certain grain corn fields.

In Ohio, it is typically considered a pest of sweet corn rather than field corn, but this past week substantial populations have been found in certain field corn sites. Corn earworm is a pest with many hosts including corn, tomatoes and certain legumes.

Corn earworm moths are most attracted to fields in the early green silk stage as a place to lay their eggs. These eggs hatch into the caterpillars that cause ear-feeding damage, open the ear to molds and attract birds.

Trouble abound

With a wide range of planting dates this year, different fields may be at greater risk at different times. It is open to debate how well corn earworm can overwinter in most parts of Ohio. The majority of our population probably migrates each summer from more southern states.

Weather fronts from the south can help carry influxes of moths our way. Compounding the problem, many of these southern moths are resistant to some of the Bt hybrids used against them in the past.

Celeste Welty, OSU vegetable entomologist, maintains a trapping network for corn earworm in sweet corn which can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10gh3rHahdxLKkXQapGyEPxWsjHYRmgsezOoFHnwtyEo/edit#gid=0

Hard to find

Corn earworms are damaging as caterpillars laid by moths in the silks near the developing ear tip and are all but impossible to find by scouting. They vary quite a bit in color – with individuals that are dark brown, brown, tan, green or even pinkish.

Typically only one caterpillar is found per ear, but in heavy infestations more may be found. They enter corn ears at the tips where the majority of feeding occurs.

This also opens the corn ear up to the potential development of ear rots. Unlike western bean cutworm caterpillars, corn earworm caterpillars do not spend any time out on the plant surface before migrating to the ears.

They are protected in the ear structure from the beginning, so insecticide application does little good against the caterpillars.

Scouting help

When corn earworm moths are migrating, sweet corn growers rely on frequent sprays to kill adult moths, which is not economical in field corn.

The Bt protein Vip3A (in Viptera) is still deemed effective against corn earworm.

For a current infestation in field corn, because chemical control is ineffective, the scouting emphasis should be on assessing mold and disease levels in infested corn.

Feeding sites or exit holes when the caterpillar matures and leaves the ear leave holes in the corn husk, which provide a potential entry wound for pathogens like Fusarium and Gibberella.

Types of molds

Some of these organisms can then be a further source for mycotoxins, including Fumonisins and deoxynivalenol, also known as vomitoxin. In some cases, damaged kernels will likely be colonized by opportunistic molds, meaning that the mold-causing fungi are just there because they gain easy access to the grain.

However, in other cases, damaged ears may be colonized by fungi such as Fusarium, Gibberella and Aspergillus that produce harmful mycotoxins.

Some molds that are associated with mycotoxins are easy to detect based on the color of the damaged areas. For instance reddish or pinkish molds are often cause by Gibberella zeae, a fungus know to be associated with several toxins, including vomitoxin.

On the other hand, greenish molds may be caused by Aspergillus, which is known to be associated with aflatoxins, but not all green molds are caused by Aspergillus.

The same can be said for whitish mold growth. Some, but not all, are caused by mycotoxin-producing fungi.

Don’t feed it

So, since it is not always easy to tell which mold is associated with which fungus or which fungus produces mycotoxins, the safe thing to do is to avoid feeding moldy grain to livestock.

Mycotoxins are harmful to animals. Some animals are more sensitive to vomitoxin, while others are more sensitive to Fumonisins, but it is quite possible for multiple toxins to be present in those damaged ears.

If you have damaged ears and moldy grain, get it tested for mycotoxins before feeding to livestock. If you absolutely have to use moldy grain, make sure it does not make up more than the recommended limit for the toxin detected and the animal being fed.

These links provide more information on ear molds and mycotoxin contamination and identification: https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2018-28/ear-rots-corn-telling-them-apart https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/plpath-cer-04

source https://www.farmanddairy.com/news/watch-for-molds-corn-earworm/570793.html

ORANGE, Texas — Southeast Texas has struggled to rebuild in the two years since Harvey, something one Orange County family knows all too well. 

The rebuild for Sherry Young in Orange remains at a standstill. 

Harvey destroyed nearly everything the Young family owned, including their car.

The home they were renting in Orange’s Greenway One neighborhood was also destroyed.  

«It got to the point where we were all sitting on top of the table because that was the only way to stay out of the floodwaters,» Young said.

Two years on August 28, Young and her family fought to stay above water.

She said the wrath of Harvey came without warning. 

RELATED: Senator Ted Cruz to mark Harvey anniversary in Port Arthur

RELATED: Beaumont woman recalls rescuing driver from flooded underpass during Harvey

«We were excited when the water started receding and I’m like ‘we’re in the clear, this is going to be it,'» said Young. «Little did we know within a couple of days, we would be having a boat pull up to our front door.»

Her family evacuated to Lake Charles and were only given 14 days to gather what was left of their belongings and find a new place to live once they returned. 

Months later she bought a home along Elm Road, a few miles north of where she used to live. The new home also saw damage from Harvey, and Young is saving to make the needed repairs nearly two years after the storm. 

«The shingles blew up and water came in through the roof so it ran down the walls,» said Young. «It’s basically gutting in reverse from our old house.»

Broken fans, floorboards that have failed and an AC that barely works are some of the problems Young hopes to fix.

RELATED: Vidor man still living in FEMA trailer two years after Harvey

RELATED: Beaumont to receive $9M federal grant for Harvey recovery through Robert T. Stafford Act

Young adds that the walls and ceiling in the front of her house will also have to be torn out.

Yet before any of those projects can begin, she will need to finish paying off the home.

Since Young didn’t own the house she’s living in now during Harvey, she says help isn’t coming her way. 

«It’s definitely a struggle because we don’t qualify for most of the homeowner things because we didn’t own this at the time of Harvey,» Young said. 

She said the mold building up inside the home is another issue. 

“We’re going to cross our fingers and hope we don’t get terribly sick before we’re able to start mold remediation,” Young said .

Despite having to balance funds from her own pocket, Young said that she is grateful to have a roof over her head and her family by her side. 

She understands others have it much worse.

«There’s so many people that are still in dire circumstances,» Young said. «Those people, I mean it breaks my heart because that was us but we got through it.»

Young says it will take about three years before she can save up enough money to begin rebuilding her home.

source https://www.12newsnow.com/article/weather/hurricane/harvey/family-living-in-harvey-damaged-home-still-waiting-to-rebuild-in-orange/502-0fb8cf4b-ba5c-4b34-861d-ba89d3e922ca

source https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/08/28/wall-township-classroom-trailers-central-elementary-school-mold/

NANTICOKE — Repair work to fix mold and water damage to the Educational Conference Center on Luzerne County Community College’s main campus will continue through December and cost an additional $834,631, officials said

Tuesday at a board of trustees meeting.

The facility has been closed since Nov. 1 after air-quality testing was conducted in response to musty odors and the appearance of mold on pipe insulation in the mechanical room.

In June, the board of trustees approved contracts totaling $784,730 to repair water infiltration damage, and officials then expected the building to reopen before the start of the fall semester Sept. 3.

But over the summer, workers discovered more damage to exterior sheathing. The board on Tuesday approved a change order with Champion Builders to replace most of the building’s exterior.

The repair work will now cost more than $1.6 million. At Tuesday’s meeting, architect Brian Doran and college Vice President of Operation Don Nelson defended the step-by-step approach to try to repair the water infiltration damage.

“You don’t take a sledgehammer to kill the fly,” Doran said.

The cost to repair the building will still be much less the $6 million estimate to replace the building with a new one, Nelson said. The building opened in 1982 on the Nanticoke campus and has two auditoriums, several multi-functional classrooms and a full-service dining room.

Doran is with the Scranton firm hemmler + camayd architects. The firm worked with Cocciardi and Associates Inc. to prepare bid documents for renovations from January through March. Cocciardi and Associates Inc. will prepare air-quality testing as the project moves forward.

Contact the writer:

mbuffer@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2073; @cvmikebuffer

source http://www.citizensvoice.com/news/lccc-mold-problem-causes-delay-additional-expense-1.2525634

WALL TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – The Wall Township Board of Education will hold a meeting Tuesday night to brief parents on results of air testing on trailers that had been used for classes at Central Elementary School.

CBS2 first reported that parents were outraged over classroom trailers with rotting wood and water damage. CBS2 has since learned about an insect infestation.

Outcry from parents caused officials to move fifth grade classes inside the main building for the upcoming school year.

The trailers were placed in the back of the school in 2007. They were meant to be temporary to deal with overcrowding. They’ve been there ever since and used for the fifth grade. They were supposed to be repaired this summer in time for the start of school.

It turns out, there were delays. The damage was worse than previously thought and included an ant infestation.

The report from Palmer Engineering shows high levels of mold spores detected in two of the four trailers.

Angry parents confronted the board, including the superintendent, who wouldn’t speak with CBS2 on camera last week about the state of the trailers.

“If Ms. Dyer had such a great plan in place, she would’ve been running out to CBS news yesterday to tell them about it. She wouldn’t have been hiding behind a double door,” one resident said.

The schools superintendent denied CBS2’s Alice Gainer’s request for an interview again Tuesday. However, the newly sworn-in Board of Ed president Ralph Addonzio – a volunteer spoke to Gainer while at his full-time job. He said the board was never alerted about the full extent of the damage.

“It’s a little disheartening sometimes to find out from social media,” he said. “Exactly who knew what when, we’re really not sure about right now, still in the process of gathering all the information to still find out exactly what’s going on.”

Since the start of last week’s meeting, three Board of Education members have resigned. Addonzio insists it’s unrelated to fallout from the trailers.

Last week, air testing was done on the trailers. According to the report, elevated levels of mold and fungus were found.

Among the recommendations: “A further inspection of the interior sections of the walls should be completed to ensure there is not a hidden fungal reservoir.”

The results are the subject of the special meeting Tuesday night.

source https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/08/27/wall-township-classroom-trailers/