JULY -AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2013

ELMA / WEST SENECA

ELMAEdward R. Sauer Emergency Manager(716) 652-7635oem@elmanewyork.com

MEETINGS - 7:00 PM2nd Wednesday of the Month• July 10th - Town Hall• August 14th - Town Hall• September 11th

Training and meetings are held at the Elma Senior Center unless noted. Elma Senior Center * Town Hall 3007 Bowen Rd. 1600 Bowen Rd. Elma, NY 14059 Elma, NY 14059

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES• National Night Out - Aug 6th

• Pumpkin FestivalCheck here for updates www.elmanewyork.com/oem/ECert.htm

WEST SENECAJohn GulloEmergency Manager(716) 558-3238jgullo@twsny.org

MEETINGS - 7:00 PM3rd Monday of the month• JULY - No Meeting• August 6th - National Night Out• September 16 th

Unless noted Training and Meetings are Held : Vigilant Fire Hall 666 Main Street West Seneca, NY

ACTIVITIES• National Night Out - Aug 6th

• Critical Infrastructure Survey• CPR Class coming

Check here for updates www.wscert.net

SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 2006 JULY -AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2013

TheWest Seneca Office of Disaster Pre-paredness, organized by Michael Kerl and John Gullo, who both felt that empowering community members in emergency train-ingwouldbenefit individualsandthecom-munity as a whole. Training began in 2006 on a small scale, as a test to see if there was interest in the community. The program was very well received by the public. The concern was how the emergency service providers in town would embrace the team. The program continued to grow and has been accepted by emergency personnel as a valuable resource for the community. The WestSenecaCERTTeamwasofficiallyor-ganized on January 1, 2007.The West Seneca CERT team has conduct-ed various emergency and non-emergency drills over the years. It has been a valuable experience meeting individuals that want to assist their community. We have facilitated 25 classes with hundreds of people being trained by the program. Beyond the basic training, a large effort has been underway to have half of the team obtain their Ama-teur Radio License for communications. Communications is a huge component that is used on a weekly basis now. Most of the team has a current CPR card and the continuing training is done monthly. The team boasts 87 members which is a great number of volunteers. We have two team leaders and 6 unit leaders along with a few other critical leaders as the scribe, social media and communications. John Morrow and Howard Marien have been instrumental as leaders in this organization, along with other valuable leaders.

There is no dedicated funding for the CERT team; we operate on donations or grants. Two years ago we raised funds for a trailer to carry shelter supplies. Most notably in 2012, the West Seneca Chamber of Com-merce recognized the West Seneca CERT team as Community Service Organization of the Year. This honor was bestowed upon us for the service we provide to the West Seneca Community. YouwillfindtheWestSenecaCERTteamrepresented at the Civic & Patriotic events, The Ride for Roswell & National Night Out. OurTeamwasutilizedduringtheDecember2010snowstorm&theH1N1PointofDis-tribution center management. Look for The West Seneca CERT Team at other community outreach events. We en-courage you to see if CERT is something that you would like to participate in.

IN THIS ISSUE

• About West Seneca CERT• Water Hydration• Free Basic Fishing Clinic• HAM Radio Exam• Elma CERT Events• About Rabies• Move Over Law• Training and Events

WEST SENECA CERT GROUP HISTORY

JULY -AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2013

WATER HYDRATIONStaying hydrated is especially necessary in the summer heat. Water makes up about 70% of a human’s body weight. Wa-ter makes up 83% of our blood, 70% of our brain, and 90% of our lungs An interesting fact is that 75% of Ameri-cans are chronically dehydrated because they simply don’t drink enough water. Drinking enough water is especially im-portant for the health of children and older people. In hot weather, water needs can double. Under no circumstances should a person drink less than one quart of water each day.A mere 2% drop in body water can trig-ger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basicmath,anddifficulty focusingonthecomputer screen or on a printed page. Mental performance deteriorates progres-sively as the degree of dehydration in-creases. A lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.There is strong evidence that drinking enough water is important for your health. People who maintain good levels of hydra-tion had reduced levels of certain cancers such as colorectal, urinary tract or breast cancer. One theory linking mild dehy-dration to obesity suggests that low fluidintake may stimulate a preference for a high fat diet. Replacing water for sugary drinks can help with weight control. Obe-sity in childhood is a risk factor for other serious diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and increases the chance of being overweight or obese as an adult. Dehydrationcanalsocontributetohealthproblems such as urine infections, consti-pation, and dental disease.Being well hydrated can even help your looks. Water keeps your skin healthy and young looking. The skin acts as a water reservoir and participates in fluid regula-tion for the entire body. Mild dehydration causes skin to appear flushed, dry andloose, with a loss of elasticity which makes it look older than it is.Drinkingwaterisessentialtogoodhydra-tion. Carbonated beverages do not meet drinking water requirements. Caffeinated drinks and alcohol dehydrate the body which increases the need for drinking wa-ter. Coffee and caffeinated drinks act as a stimulant to the nervous system, and while its mild action may help to prevent a feeling of fatigue, it also is a weak diuretic. This means that it makes the body pro-

duce more urine, which in turn can lead to dehydration. Since the process of drink-ing has been shown to alleviate the feeling of thirst, consumption of caffeine can also reduce the desire to drink.As the summer season approaches be suretostayhydrated.Drinkmorewater.

TACKL’N THE BASICS: FREE BASIC FISHING CLINICCome learn tofish for free–No license,gear or experience requiredEMPactAmerica,withhelpfromNYSDe-partment of Environmental Conservation (DEC), is hosting its 1stAnnual “Tackl’n-the-basics”, free fishing event on Satur-day, August 10th, at Chestnut Ridge Park Pond, Pavilion #10, 6121 Chestnut Ridge Rd., Orchard Park, NY.Comecatchourfreefishingdemonstrationclinics, and you’ll be hooked for life. This event is open to the public, but space is limited. Anyone (age 3 and up) may reg-ister. All children under 16 must be ac-companied by an adult. A limited amount of fishing gear and supplies (rods, reels,tackle & bait) will be available courtesy of NYSDEC(availableonafirstcome,firstserve basis, and subject to time limits as needed to help ensure everyone gets a chancetofish).Youarefreetobringyourowngear(rod,reel,tackle&bait).Allfish-ingwillbefromtheshore/dock–noboatswillbeused.Thiswillbea“catchandre-lease” event.This free event is designed to teach begin-nersofallageshowtofish,andencour-age them to put their new skills to work. The beautiful Chestnut Ridge Park Pond has been stocked and features a large fishing deck with guard rails, making iteasy for children to catch fish. So, firsttime anglers, as well as those who have drifted away from the sport, should take advantage of this opportunity to see how muchfunfishingcanbeinWNY.Event activities include:Come meet Jeff ‘Right-Tackle’ Maxon, de-signerofthe‘Wingman’fishinglureFishing clinic demonstrations on: casting instruction and practice, knot tying and ba-sic tackle techniques, baiting hooks, fishidentification,fishethicsandhandling,andbasic information on cleaning and cooking. TherewillbehoursofFREEfishing(Since

JULY -AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2013

this is a DEC sponsored “Free FishingEvent” where no fishing license is re-quired, it is the perfect time to take a friend orrelativefishing.)‘Firstfish’photos-Prizes-Refreshmentswill be provided by Steuben Foods Incor-poratedParticipants will go home with simple reci-pes for frying, baking or grilling their future catches (no fish may be taken from theevent).This event is free but registration is re-quired at www.FishWNY. comFor more information, call Michelle Mc-Culloch, Special Events Administrator with EMPact America at (716) 435-7873.

EMPACT AMERICA & STARS HOSTING

HAM RADIO EXAMEMPact America and South Towns Ama-teur Radio Society (STARS) is winding down the current General Class session and will be holding the final exam onThursday, July 25th at 7:00 pm. Anyone needing to take the Amateur Radio exam on any level is invited to attend. Please contact Michelle McCulloch at 716-435-7873 for more information.

2ND ANNUAL ZOMBIE PREPAREDNESS & FAMILY SAFETY FAIREMPact America is organizing its 2nd An-nual Zombie Preparedness and Safety Fair. They are now accepting vendor reg-istrations. to register contact Michelle Mc-Culloch, Special Events Administrator with EMPact America at (716) 435-7873.Visit www.WNYZombie.com for details.

BATS AND RABIES FACTS AND WHAT TO DO

FACTS• BATS, raccoons, skunks & foxes are

the 4 warm blooded animals that are presumed to have rabies and must be avoided. Other warm-blooded mam-mals can carry rabies.

• About 4% of all BATS submitted for testing have RABIES.

• RABIES is nearly 100% fatal once symptoms occur & 100% preventable with rabies shots.

• Laboratory testing of the suspect ra-bid animal can be done to determine if the animal is infected with RABIES.

• RABIES shots can be avoided if the animal can be tested and tests nega-tive.

WHEN TO CATCH THEM• If you or your pet are bitten by a BAT,

orifinfectiousmaterial(saliva,“braintissue”) from a BAT gets into your eyes, nose, mouth or a wound.

• IfyouwakeupandfindaBATinyourroom.

• If you see a BAT in the room of a child or near a mentally impaired or intoxi-cated person.

• If you are not sure if there has been contact with a person or pet.

WHEN TO LET THEM GO• Only after you have contacted the erie

county department of health’s rabies specialist and been advised to do so.

HOW CAN I SAFELY CAPTURE A BAT IN MY HOME?• You will need a coffee can or similar

hard- sided container, a piece of card-board and tape.

• Whenthebatlandsonaflatsurface,move toward it slowly. Ideally while wearing thick gloves, put the contain-er or coffee can over the bat

• Then, slide the cardboard under the container to trap the bat inside

• Tape the lid to the container, and punch holes in the lid to allow the bat to breathe.

• Donotattempttokillorcrushthebat.The skull of the bat must be intact for testing.

• If the bat was killed by trauma the bat should be placed in the freezer in a sealed plastic bag or a small plastic container.

• Donotusetowelsorblanketstocap-ture bats individuals have been bitten through the fabric doing this.

Contact the Erie County Department ofHealth at: 961-6800 during business hours or 961-7898 after hours. A rabies specialist will determine if the bat should be tested.

ELMA CERT, INC. PARTICIPATES IN LOCAL EVENTSTeam Members manned a informational table at the Elma Car ShowthefirstweekendinJune.The team also supported the annual American Cancer Relay for Life at the Iroquois High School in June. Members also donated a basket for the Relay Auction. The group also held a50/50DrawingtoraisedonationstotheAmericanCancerSociety.Pictured left: Mettie Wagner, Pat Jakubowski, Sharon Winkler, Treasurer Debbie Wannamacher, Roger Larkin, President Lisa Gee and Dan Thompson.

JULY -AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2013

ELMA CODE RED NOTIFICATIONIn Elma sign-up for Code Red to be no-tifiedbyyourlocalemergencyresponseteam in the event of emergency situa-tions or critical community alerts. Sign-up for Code Red by visiting the town website at: www.elmanewyork.com

WEST SENECA NIXLE NOTIFICATIONSign up for emergency and non-emer-gency alerts for up-to-date information during an incident or anytime from the officeofDisasterPreparedness.Nixlewill provide the same EAS message to every one who signs up. To register visit www.nixle.com

Pleasestopbeinga “me”personon theroad and think a little of others. As im-portant as you may be, sometimes other people’sneedsmustcomefirst. Protectthose who protect you.Spring and summer are the seasons for most of the construction in Western New York. More people are on the roads due to the better weather and vacations, but many of us have lost our extra caution when driving that is required by our infa-mous winters and should be used year round. Speed limits and road signs are not optional. Summer is the time for road and other construction projects. Drivers must usedue care when approaching law enforce-ment officers, fire and emergency work-ers, tow and service vehicle operators and other maintenance workers stopped along the roadways while performing their duties. The move over law states that on all roads and highways, drivers must re-duce speed. On roads with multiple lanes when approaching a vehicle that displays red and/or white emergency lighting or a hazardvehicledisplayingflashingamberlighting, drivers MUST move from the lane immediately adjacent to the emergency or hazardunlesstrafficorotherhazardsex-

ist to prevent doing so safely.Remember these people are risking their lives to protect us. They are responding to an emergency or accident, repairing the roads or water lines, helping a broken downvehicle,directingtraffic,oranyotherpurposeforsomeone’sbenefit.Theyde-serve a measure of safety that your fol-lowing of the law will allow. In the 17 year period from 1993-2009, an average of onepoliceofficeramonthwasstruckandkilled on the side of the road. From 1995 -2000, there were 509 fatalities of con-struction workers at road side with slightly more than 18% of these while directing or flaggingtraffic.New York’s Move over law has been in ef-fect since January 1, 2012. Violations of this law are considered a moving violation.

CHANGES IN NEW YORK STATE’S MOVE OVER LAW

UPCOMING TRAINING & EVENTS CALENDAR

July17 SMART - Terrorism Awareness / Ac-

tive Shooter Events20 SMART - Terrorism Awareness / Ac-

tive Shooter Events20 Batavia HAMfest - 716-404-9256

August6 National Night Out Elma -

Elma Town Park6 National Night Out West Seneca -

Southgate Plaza10 EMPact America - Tackl’n the Basics

How to Fish - www.FishWNY.com

September18 SMARTClinicalDataManagement

System(CDMS)Training/Review21SMARTClinicalDataManagement

System(CDMS)Training/Review CERT Training Class - Coming Soon

Check facebook pages for dates

October2 SMART New Member Orientation10 SMART Winter SkyWarn Training16 SMART’s Role in Mass Fatality19 SMART’s Role in Mass Fatality 2nd Annual Zombie Preparedness &

SafetyFair-DatesTBD

Anone interested in training provided by SMART must pre-register. SMART’s web-site is: www2.erie.gov/smart. Some train-ings may have prerequisites.