[unable to retrieve full-text content]Nebraska eyes county facility to treat juvenile offenders NTV
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lancaster County officials and the state of Nebraska are discussing a way to provide intensive behavioral health services to juvenile …
source https://nebraska.tv/news/local/nebraska-eyes-county-facility-to-treat-juvenile-offenders
According to the National Fire Protection Agency, every 24 seconds a fire department responds to a fire in the United States and as recently as 2017, there were 499,000 structure fires in the country. The cost of this property damage averages in the billions each year and for 2017, was estimated at a staggering $23 billion.
While the majority of structure fires take place in homes (72% in 2017), they also cause damage to countless schools, hospitals and other institutional, commercial and industrial facilities. Even a small fire in a single structure or multi-tenant building can be devastating, including in areas not directly touched by flames. This damage is often due to smoke and water that can cause issues throughout a home or building.
Smoke can easily infiltrate an entire structure leaving behind residues that damage surfaces and equipment, cause odors and other indoor air quality (IAQ) problems. Water damage from sprinklers and fire suppression efforts, which can be clearly visible at times or can also occur out of sight behind walls, ceilings and under floors, is also a major concern after most fires. Moisture that remains for more than 48 hours often results in the growth of mold. Once mold begins to grow, even when it grows in areas that are not visible, it can impact the IAQ of the building and damage materials. Exposure to elevated levels of mold can trigger asthma in some people with the condition; result in allergies and respiratory issues; and some types of mold can even result in opportunistic infections in people with a weakened or suppressed immune system.
“If smoke, residues, water damage and mold aren’t enough, many buildings in Puerto Rico and throughout the Caribbean still contain materials with asbestos and lead-based paints,” said Harry Pena, President of Zimmetry Environmental. “After the fire, during demolition, repair and rebuilding efforts, these materials can be easily aerosolize if the proper safety precautions are not taken.”
Helping building owners, managers and tenants in these types of situations are the building science and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) professionals at Zimmetry Environmental. Their experts provide post-fire environmental testing and inspections. These critical services identify smoke and water damage, mold growth, lead-based paints, asbestos-containing materials and other potential hazards to protect workers and building occupants, and to keep companies and institutions in regulatory compliance.
To learn more about Zimmetry Environmental and their building science, indoor air quality, environmental, and compliance testing and consulting services, please visit www.zimmetry.com, call (787) 995.0005 or email info@zimmetry.com .
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Since 2002, Zimmetry Environmental has been providing environmental consulting services to building owners and managers, architects, engineers, EHS professionals and Fortune 500 companies. The company is based in Puerto Rico and provides services across the Caribbean and Central America. The professionals at Zimmetry offer environmental compliance, indoor air quality, asbestos, lead-based paint, Phase I ESAs and general environmental consulting services.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lancaster County officials and the state of Nebraska are discussing a way to provide intensive behavioral health services to juvenile offenders who need the help, the head of the state Health and Human Services Department said.
Department CEO Danette Smith made the pronouncement at a Lincoln news conference Monday while discussing her department’s efforts to better serve the teenage girls sent to the Geneva center that she emptied last week. Two dozen female juvenile offenders were moved to the boys center in Kearney after department officials learned the girls’ buildings in Geneva had fire hazards, holes in walls and mold and water damage.
Staffers are discussing leasing a 20-bed portion at the Lancaster County Youth Services Center, Smith said. Discussions with the county are still preliminary, but she said the center could house the youths there, providing education, case management, probation and therapeutic recreation and transition services.
The department is talking to various groups about addressing the needs of juvenile offenders, Smith said.
«The department has an obligation to the youth we serve, and we are committed to making the necessary changes to provide an environment that is safe, supportive and gives youth the opportunity to thrive as they make the transition into adulthood,» she said.
Regarding the troubled Geneva center, Smith said work has begun to fix the LaFlesche Cottage, a building that has been awaiting sewer line repairs since spring, and to assess what could be done to the other three residential buildings to make them usable.
The campus in rural, central Nebraska serves as a rehabilitation center for girls ages 14-18 who have broken the law and been rejected by other private treatment facilities. The problems came to a head two weeks ago, when one girl damaged the sprinkler system in one of the four residential cottages.
The girls moved to the boys center in Kearney have mental health services and case management support available there, as well as physicians who can manage medications, Smith said.
source https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/State-eyes-county-facility-to-treat-juvenile-14381479.php
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The head of the state Health and Human Services Department says a Lancaster County facility could be a good place to provide intensive behavioral health services to male and female juvenile offenders.
Department CEO Danette Smith made the pronouncement Monday while discussing her department’s efforts to better serve the teenage girls sent to the Geneva center that she emptied last week. The female juvenile offenders were moved to the boys center in Kearney after department officials learned the girls’ buildings in Geneva had fire hazards, holes in walls and mold and water damage.
Smith says staffers are discussing leasing a 20-bed portion at the Lancaster County Youth Services Center. Discussions with the county are still preliminary, but she says the center could house the youths there, providing education, case management, probation and therapeutic recreation and transition services.
Insects infest Wall Township’s Central School trailers Ryan Ross, Dan Radel and Joe Strupp, Asbury Park Press
WALL — Air quality testing of two damaged and bug-infested portable trailers at Central Elementary School found higher than usual traces of mold and fungus, according to an independent report that will be the subject of a special Board of Education meeting Tuesday night.
Board President Ralph Addonizio said he had not reviewed the report from Partner Engineering and Science Inc. that was submitted on Friday and posted on the district website. He said he wanted to wait for a formal presentation so he could ask questions.
“As president I polled the board members and we have decided that having a public meeting was the best idea,” he said Monday. “We are reserving judgement until we hear from the professionals.”
But a review of the report found that it indicated higher than usual samples of cladosporium, chaetomium and stachbotrys/memnoniella. Each are labeled as common fungi or mold, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The cladospurim levels were nearly three times the average outdoor concentration, while the chaetomium and stachbotrys/memnoniella levels, which are usually non-detectable outdoors, registered at higher than normal levels inside the trailers.
The report did not state if the higher levels were dangerous or if the fungus and mold were believed to have been present when children occupied the trailers last spring.
Officials from Partner Engineering and Science Inc. did not respond to a request for comment. But the report indicated the presence of a «musty odor.»
The report also recommended:
The board last week halted repairs to the portable classrooms after concerns were raised that fixing the damaged trailers — which also had an ant infestation — would not be enough to ensure they could be used again.
The board voted unanimously at the Aug. 20 meeting to stop repairs that began weeks ago and await the air quality testing before deciding how to proceed. The tests cost $1,200.
The trailer repairs have drawn criticism in recent weeks after they were delayed and an ant infestation was found in at least one of the portables. Addonizio said at last week’s board meeting that it may be time to replace the trailers or even build a permanent addition to the school.
“Sometimes things like this, they overstay their usefulness,” he said about the temporary classrooms. “That is a concern I have. I looked at it, I saw what was going on. I never knew the extent of what it was. Knowing all this, would it be better for us to scrap these and get maybe one unit out there to fulfill some of what is possibly proposed to go out there?”
More: Wall Township school board halts repair work on bug-infested portable classrooms
More: Wall Township schools face backlash from damaged and ant-infested portable classrooms
Work on the trailers began July 10 with plans to initially replace some siding. But further damage was eventually found and officials estimated the “worst-case scenario” to be $60,000 worth of repairs.
School safety and student health remain a top issue for parents and residents. Keep up with what your district is doing, or not doing, through a subscription to APP.com.
District Business Administrator Brian Smyth said the contractor chose not to continue and the district requested new repair proposals, receiving three bids from contractors. A new firm was chosen, but weather and scheduling delays pushed back the repairs until Aug. 16, when they were continued.
Around the same time, photos of the trailers indicating damage, holes and even insect infestation were posted online by residents and circulated among the media.
On Aug. 19, Superintendent Cheryl Dyer told parents in an email that the fifth-grade classes set to be held in the trailers would be moved into the main school building for the 2019-2020 school year and the repairs would continue to make the trailers available for other “instructional uses.”
But Addonizio said Monday he did not believe any student-related activities would be held in the trailers during the upcoming school year. “They will not be used for instructional space anytime coming up,” he said. “We don’t anticipate that. The feeling on the board was that they shouldn’t be used for that.”
Smyth has said the district had already spent $33,000 on the portable classroom repairs and would likely spend up to $40,000 or $50,000 to complete the work. He had no estimates on what new portable classrooms would cost, but said the current trailers cost $340,000 when they were purchased 12 years ago.
Dyer said last week the district could “get by without the trailers this year, adding that “it certainly is going to inconvenience some of the staff and people who are not used to sharing instructional spaces will have to share instructional spaces.”
She also said if the district chose to replace the trailers with new portable classrooms, it would have to obtained approval from the state Department of Education.
Addonizio did not hint at what action, if any, might be taken at Tuesday’s meeting, noting he would have to see what the testing indicated.
Addonizio added that he would like to wait until after the upcoming Sept. 24 regular board meeting to make any long-term decisions because two new board members are expected to be appointed at that meeting. They will fill two open seats left by the recent resignations of former board members Robin Zawaniack and Dori Molloy.
The special board meeting is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Wall Intermediate School, 2801 Allaire Road.
Joe Strupp is an award-winning journalist with 30 years’ experience who covers education and Monmouth County for APP.com and the Asbury Park Press. He is also the author of two books, including Killing Journalism on the state of the news media. Reach him at jstrupp@gannettnj.com and at 732-643-4277. Follow him on Twitter at @joestrupp
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Control houses a series of optional bosses that can be tough to take on if you come at them without certain skills. In this Control boss guide, we’ll talk you through how to best tackle them.
You first encounter this boss in the optional fridge quest in the Panopticon. Once you’ve met Dylan Faden, head back to the man staring at the fridge, follow the steps, and you’ll be transferred to another dimension where there’s a big eye bastard called the Former.
Like all of the bosses, this guy hates telekinesis. You can pull up random debris and launch it into his eye, but the best way to damage him is to use the few black cubes dotted around – these do big damage. Keep your Service Weapon in its original pistol form, as this is handy to quickly shoot any black orbs he fires at you. One shot on each is all it takes to stop them from hitting you.
Once you’ve done a certain amount of damage, he’ll duck away and pop back up somewhere else. Now he’s going to start stamping his spindly legs at you. This presents two dangers: one, it hurts; and two, it creates holes in the floor that you can fall down and die instantly. The best tactic is to float in the air when he raises a limb and use an air dash to get away. Not only does this negate damage, it allows you to pick out a safe landing spot where you won’t fall into oblivion. Keep lobbing stuff at his eye while shooting orbs to protect yourself.
Again, he’ll duck away. When he comes back, he’ll pretty much relentlessly attack with his legs. It’s pretty brutal and can easily (and fairly cheaply) kill you. The best thing to do is to float into the air and just go mad with telekinesis. Just try to hurt him as much as possible as quickly as you can and you should be able to take him down before he kills you, which he inevitably will if you go on the defensive.
It really helps to have your push power maxed out here – it does silly damage when it is. I’d also spec your character upgrade slots around mods that give you more energy – this means you can throw more stuff at him more quickly in that final phase.
Just like Former, Mold-1 is best tackled with aggression. This time, just run or float in circles around the arena. Make sure to float when he pulls down the explosive spores from the ceiling. Speaking of which, throw them at his head before he does that. Like the cubes with Former, these explosives do big damage. Just be relentless and keep launching stuff at his head while running in circles, using the raised cover to block the homing shots he fires.
This boss fires a big energy beam onto the four platforms in the arena and it can kill you in one if you’re unlucky. This one is a test of whether you’ve mastered levitation or not, since the drop will kill you as often as that beam.
While the boss is shifting, it’s invulnerable. At this point, you should be standing on the edge of whatever platform you’re on, with a clock ready to fling at its exposed core. The big clocks do more damage. Figure out the timing between shots and levitate just before it’s about to fire. Float up between two platforms, a safe space, and just hang there with your clock. If you can get a shot on the core from this angle, fling the clock at it when it locks on, then float dash to the platform it is not firing at.
When enemies appear, focus on them while keeping an eye that you’re on a safe place, or floating. If you’re coming up short while floating to a new platform, dash.
If you can’t get a clear throw at the Anchor’s core, you can still damage it on its hide when it’s firing if you fire charge shots. This is a good way to finish it off in the final phase.
Essej has three different forms of increasing difficulty, but the tactics are the same to defeat each. Don’t give in to the temptation to hang back – get right up in her grill and strafe while flinging objects at her and firing charge shots. Charge shots only do scratch damage, but it keeps the pressure on while your energy recharges. Keeping close to her pretty much guarantees she can’t avoid your projectiles.
When she appears on the stairs in phase two, she will start throwing objects of her own. This is a great time to do big damage as she’s stationary, so just throw everything you have at her as soon as she appears. Done right, it’ll put her right into phase three. If she still has some fight left in phase two, be sure to use your shield whenever she throws something at you and immediately throw something back once it hits.
Between phases, run to where you damaged her and scoop up the health.
In phase three, she starts floating. Rather than panicking, float up to meet her in the air and fling stuff from close range. You’ll beat her in no time.
This boss is pretty straightforward, since you can’t damage it outright. You need to trap it in the room with the large shutter. First, get the two power blocks into position. Then, simply draw it in as far as you can, throw something at it to delay it, then run out past it and quickly push the button.
Need more help with Control? We have a guide to entering Black Rock Processing, how to solve the tricky punch card and mirror puzzles, and where to find the Alan Wake easter egg.
source https://www.vg247.com/2019/08/27/control-boss-guide-former-anchor-essej-mold-1/
Greetings to all the livestock producers in Ohio reading this article. My name is Matthew Nussbaum and I began working with the Wayne County Extension office this June as an ANR program assistant. Part of my role includes sending a monthly update to small ruminant and beef producer mailing lists (contact our office if you would like to be added to either) as well as occasional articles here.
Growing up and living on a small dairy farm in Wayne County as well as graduating from OSU ATI has given me a great appreciation and respect for everyone involved in agriculture. It certainly is a tough but rewarding business. This year’s extreme weather has been testing our resolve to continue in the business we love. Remember, the good years and why you do what you do … then, press on!
Continual rain and few consecutive days of drying have made haymaking a high-stakes game of chance with real money on the line. Odds are you or the people you purchase hay from have had to «make-do» when it comes to baling. Often the hay is not quite at or below the desired moisture content for dry hay (15%-20%) and small amounts of mold can even grow within that range. While small amounts of mold are often present in good hay, when the «dust» (spores) are clearly visible, additional management decisions need to be considered.
While horses are known for being the most sensitive to moldy hay, cattle and small ruminants can also experience negative effects. Palatability and nutritional values are decreased from rainfall alone and additionally from mold-growth. Visit http://go.osu.edu/C5An to read Rory Lewandowski’s article about rain damage to hay.
Not all mold is dangerous for livestock, especially in small quantities. However, a University of Nebraska publication by Dr. Bruce Anderson notes certain types of mold which produce mycotoxins can lead to cattle abortions when fed in excess. These toxins also can affect the nervous, immune and digestive systems of livestock. Respiratory issues in all types of livestock should be considered and monitored for onset. Consider testing questionable hay to determine mold severity and for the presence of mycotoxins. Anderson’s PDF can be viewed at http://go.osu.edu/C5Aq
Extensive mold also may decrease your livestock’s intake of feed. Do not force your livestock to consume extremely poor quality hay. Look for signs of feed rejection or limited intake and supplement accordingly or discard unfit hay. Moldy feeds may «reduce energy content by 5% for ruminants» say the authors of a 2016 Penn State article titled Mold and Mycotoxin Problems in Livestock Feeding (http://go.osu.edu/C5As).
This extremely thorough article covers nutrition, symptoms of feeding moldy feeds to various types of livestock, and forage sampling tips. Knowing your forage values is important to reach your desired ration with proper supplements.
Some management practices suggested in the 2018 Penn State Extension article, Mold and Mycotoxins in Horse Hay (http://go.osu.edu/C5Av) include good ventilation in housing areas, feeding moldy hay outside and/or at ground level and soaking hay prior to feeding to prevent mold spores from going airborne are all ways to minimize health risks to livestock. This article also notes hay dried to desired levels but that has been rained on in the field between mowing and baling is subject to mold.
The risks are not limited to our livestock. Farmers need to consider their own health and well-being. (Who else is going to feed your critters?) OSHA recommends respiratory protection and wetting moldy feedstuffs when handling to prevent lung disease and illness. Provide these safeguards to all individuals working with moldy or even dusty materials. Time and money are precious commodities lost due to poor health. Your health matters! Finally, keep your chin up and watch for sunshine.
For our tech-savvy farmers, here is a list of potentially useful apps:
• «Farm Service Manager» — keep your service and maintenance history in one place.
• «FieldCheck» by FieldWatch — locate nearby honeybee populations before pesticide application.
• «Xarvio Scouting» — identifies weeds, diseases and percent defoliation using your phone’s camera.
• «Agrellus» — online agricultural marketplace for buyers and sellers of inputs and commodities.
• «Canopeo» — determines percentage of canopy cover in all green, growing crops.
• «Midwest Cover Crops Field Scout» — based on Purdue’s Cover Crop Field Guide.
For a list of locations to have your forage tested, including mold burden, call our office at 330-264-8722 and ask for Matthew.
— Matthew Nussbaum is an OSU Extension Agriculture & Natural Resources Program Assistant and may be reached at 330-264-8722.
source https://www.dispatch.com/business/20190827/managing-mold-in-hay-can-be-challenge
Upcoming Events
• Sept. 9: Sorghum Field Day, 5 p.m., Mike Baker Farm near Trenton
• Sept. 10-12: Husker Harvest Days
• Nov. 26: York County Corn Grower Annual Meeting, Chances R, York
• Dec. 16: CSI for Youth: Soil sample results, 5 p.m., jrees2@unl.edu
Crop updates
An increase in disease pressure has been the theme the past few weeks. Sudden death syndrome is increasing in soybeans, but there’s also brown stem rot (BSR) and frogeye leaf spot in some fields. The foliar discoloration is the same for SDS and BSR with the yellow/brown discoloration between leaf veins. You can tell the difference by pulling a plant out of the ground. SDS is usually easy to pull as the taproot is rotted. Splitting the stem open, the root will show rot at the soil line but the stem pith will be white and healthy. With brown stem rot, the pith will have brown discoloration. The addition of stem borer can make it more difficult to tell the difference sometimes. Unfortunately there’s nothing one can do for SDS or brown stem rot now as both are caused by soil borne fungi. I would recommend taking soil samples for soybean cyst nematode (SCN) in areas currently impacted by SDS as the combination of diseases is synergistic in impacting yield loss. You only need 0-8” samples and they can be taken during soil fertility samples if you don’t want to take them now. The samples are free via your checkoff dollars and they can be sent to the Plant and Pest Diagnostic Lab at UNL in Lincoln.
In corn, foliar disease is increasing in mid-canopies. Most concerning are the number of stalk rot samples/situations I was called to the past week. They all appear to be bacterial stalk rot thus far. Symptoms include watersoaked nodes and below the nodes with plants breaking off/falling over. Damaged nodes are from the soil line to upper canopy. The bacteria disintegrates these stalks creating a stringy appearance within them where the nodes break and when slitting open stalks. It also has a distinct foul smell. This is more of a problem in wet years such as this and hybrid susceptibility varies. The bacteria doesn’t typically transfer from plant to plant. I have photos of what I’m seeing on my blog at https://jenreesources.com.
There have been multiple late-season hail events in the area. For those fields hit by the August 6th storm, the rainy, cool conditions have allowed for increase in mold on the hail damaged side since many of those damaged ears were at milk stage. However, I’m also seeing mold damage on some back-side of ears in hybrids with tighter husks. The white/pink fluffy growth on the hail damaged side is caused by Fusarium/Gibberella fungi. The presence of these fungi does not automatically mean mycotoxins are present; they do have the potential to produce mycotoxins. The green fungal growth in ears are caused by secondary and minor fungal pathogens that don’t produce mycotoxins. The white fungus overtaking ears on some tight-husked hybrids is diplodia which can cause for light test weight but does not produce a mycotoxin. It will be important to continue to watch grain quality over time prior to harvest.
Wild and Burcucumber on Trees has also been a huge question. Do Not apply 2,4-D to trees for
Thanks to Randy Pryor for demonstrating how easy these are to pull while we were on a field call together!
control as that has been the most common question! The simplest way to kill wild and burcucumber is pull or hoe the plant at its base below the tree. There’s not much to the plant root and the vines will then die on the tree!
Nebraska State Fair
It’s been a hard year for our growers and livestock producers with continued challenges. Seeking to end this column on a positive note, this year is the 10th year of the Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island and the 150th Fairabration. I’m grateful for the focus on agriculture, families and youth! And, it’s encouraging to me to see youth learning life skills whether competing in public speaking, working with and showing livestock, or studying and competing in contests such as weed and grass ID at the State Fair. 4-H is where I got my start and it’s exciting for me to wonder at the futures these 4-H and FFA youth have ahead of them as they continue to work hard and put into practice the life skills they are learning! Hope you can make it out to the State Fair at some point!
Commercial marijuana products in Colorado will soon be subject to further testing for dangerous fungus, according to the state Marijuana Enforcement Division. In a bulletin recently sent to the state’s marijuana industry, the MED announced that mycotoxins will be added to the microbial testing requirements for concentrates by September 15.
A toxic metabolite produced by fungi, mycotoxins colonize crops and can be found in various forms of mold. Symptoms that appear after consuming mycotoxins include coughing, wheezing, nose stuffiness and irritated eyes and skin — but mycotoxins can also cause severe respiratory damage, and are capable of giving animals and humans chronic, deadly diseases if consumed at high levels for long periods of time.
The new requirements will only be mandatory for batches of concentrate produced from marijuana plant material that already failed microbial testing.
If present in marijuana plant material during extraction, marijuana microbials and pesticides become exponentially more concentrated and dangerous. MED regulations allow a quarantine period for marijuana plant material that fails containment testings, and will permit the product to be sold or extracted if the mold, yeast or pesticide levels decrease to an acceptable parts-per-million level.
The mycotoxin requirement comes from a 2018 law that overhauled several marijuana business regulations. Currently, most state marijuana testing labs only look for e. coli and salmonella in marijuana concentrates that are extracted from previously quarantined plant material, with just one facility conducting mycotoxin testing over the past few months, according to MED spokewoman Shannon Gray. Now that the rest of the state’s licensed marijuana labs have caught up, however, the state is ready to implement the mycotoxin testing requirement.
Commercial marijuana recalls over mold concerns have dramatically increased since 2017, going from virtually nonexistent to the leading cause for marijuana recalls over the past two years, surpassing banned pesticide use. In 2018, around 15 percent of Colorado’s marijuana flower and trim failed microbial testing — up from approximately 10 percent in 2017.
source https://www.westword.com/marijuana/colorado-adds-marijuana-fungus-testing-requirements-11461417
ADAMS COUNTY, Neb.- Due to the recent storm and the subsequent damages caused by this storm, Adams County is Declaring a State of Emergency.
What this means is that significant damage has been caused by the storm on the morning of August 23rd, 2019. Although our assessments are only preliminary at this time, we feel that a State Disaster MAY be declared. If that is the case, Adams County wants to ensure that our County, our Residents, and any of the businesses that may have been affected by this storm have an opportunity to receive Disaster Declared benefits to help with the costs incurred to clean up, repair or replace items.
If citizens or businesses within Adams County have damage they would like to report, they can send a detailed list to: rpughes@acema.org, or contact our office at (402) 461-2360.
There is not a guarantee that funds will be made available, or that the State of Nebraska will Declare a Disaster for this most recent storm. In the event that a State Disaster is declared, then the process would begin and analyze if Individual Assistance or Public Assistance would become available.
At this time, it is important to take pictures prior to completing any demolition or repairs, keep copies of receipts for expenses and contact your insurance company to make a claim.
If there is mold or you suspect mold in your home, you can contact the South Heartland Health Department for Mold Remediation and Containment information at (402) 462-6211.
Please continue to be mindful of barricades within the County Roads System, and there are damages to roads and culverts throughout Central Adams County.
Soft roads and shoulders could pose hazards to motorists. Slow down on gravel roads and do not cross barricades.
source https://www.ksnblocal4.com/content/news/Adams-County-declares-State-of-Emergency-558341301.html
Damage Mold 