Area residents returning to homes damaged by flooding can protect themselves by following some simple safety precautions.

NY EDEN, has assembled flood preparation, response, recovery and mitigation resources from a national network of experts, which are available here: http://emergencypreparedness.cce.cornell.edu/disasters/Pages/Floods.aspx

Experts advise that it’s best to return home in daylight for best visibility and to be aware of any unsafe power sources. Do not use lanterns or torches until after the premises are safe from gas leaks. Let no one re-enter your home while flooded unless the main electrical switch has been turned off.

Beware of displaced pets or wildlife that may take shelter in flood-damaged buildings. Seek immediate treatment if bitten or injured.

Wear shoes in post-flood areas to reduce the chances of punctures or cuts from nails and other sharp contaminated objects.

Standing water after floods is a breeding place for mosquitoes. Drain all standing water and empty water from outdoor items such as old tires, cans and flower pot bases. Protect yourself with an appropriate insect repellent.

Download more info.

A Consumer's Guide to Food Safety: Severe Storms and Hurricanes:

Check out the Agriculture & Horticulture program page for timely information concerning hurricane and flooding aftermath.

After assessing the damage to the Cooperative Extension building at Fonda Fair, Cooperative Extension staff and volunteers worked steadily today to clean and prepare the building in time for exhibition.

While damage to the building and a shortened fair time schedule will curtail some activites normally enjoyed by the public and 4-H members, staff is doing all that is possible to present learning activities in a variety of ways. Although further constricted by reduced funding and therefore reduced staff, Extension still regards the Fonda Fair experience as a time to teach timely, useful information as well as an opportunity to connect with residents.

While to some the Fonda Fair is the unofficial end of the summer, to many 4-H members it is their opportunity to be evaluated on what they have learned during the current 4-H year, whether it is a dairy or beef cow, a rabbit, vegetable garden's bounty or cultural exploration.

Serious flooding conditions exist in the Fonda-Fultonville area and the Fonda fairgrounds sadly is experiencing the flooding. There will be no 4-H or Cooperative Extension work on the fairgrounds today. Fair officials will assess the situation and make decisions about the future. Please do not travel to the fairgrounds today. We will post information as it becomes available.

The Cornell Cooperative Extension office in Canajoharie will be closed today, Monday, August 29, 2011. A State of Emergency exists in Montgomery County at this time and people are urged to comply with emergency management officials' requests to not travel within the county. The office is expected to re-open on Tuesday.

According to posts on the Fonda Fair's website and Facebook page, Fair Board President Richard Kennedy announced that the fair will open at 5 p.m. Thursday, September 1st. Kennedy has appealed to volunteers and exhibitors to "stop by the fairgrounds when it is safe to do so" and clean up their own departments. Clean up is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. Entries will be allowed on the ground on Thursday morning, according to a post.

Tropical Storm Irene continues to cause problems for many residents and public services thoughout the region. We hope you have remained safe wherever you are and have sought shelter when needed.

CCEFM, including its 4-H families, is in the midst of Fonda Fair preparations, both on and off the fairgrounds. Rising and unsettled waters continue to make the status of these preparations quite fluid. Information will be posted here and on our Facebook page as we receive it. We apologize if the posts include short notification, but during such times we encourage you to remain flexible and positive, which will aid in producing an amicable experience for all of us.

After six years of providing consumer and financial education to residents in Fulton and Montgomery Counties, Community Educator Craig Clark is leaving the Cornell University Cooperative Extension system.

As a result, some programs – such as CCEFM’s popular home energy conservation presentations and financial management workshops – will be placed on hold for the foreseeable future.  

Clark will be moving on to a new position with Capital Region BOCES beginning Tuesday, August 23. At BOCES, Clark will be working as a communications specialist with the Watervliet City School District.

Clark joined CCEFM in September 2005 after the local association completed a community needs survey that indicated financial education opportunities were lacking in the area. In 2004, CCEFM formed a committee comprised of local financial professionals, economic development specialists, agencies officials and others to look at the need and possible opportunities to provide local, research-based, unbiased financial education. The committee recommended the hiring of a financial educator.

Over the last six years, Clark taught hundreds of free workshops for the general public and special audiences on basic budgeting, credit and debt management and residential energy conservation. The consumer and financial programs reached thousands of local adults, 4-H participants and local school children.

Though they were long thought extinct in New York, a participant in Cornell University’s Lost Ladybug Project has found a nine-spotted Ladybug on Long Island.

While none of the rare beetles have been seen in the Fulton and Montgomery County area yet, this summer CCEFM 4-H educators visited recreation sites and libraries teaching youth about Ladybugs and the Lost Ladybug Project.

The rare nine-spotted Ladybug (Coccinella novemnotata) is the official state insect of New York. While once very common, few have been seen in the Northeast over the last 20 years.  

On July 30, Peter Priolo of the Agricultural Stewardship Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County found a rare nine-spotted ladybug on a sunflower at Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett. Priolo was participating in a Lost Ladybug Project ladybug hunt when he made the discovery at the organic farm.

The last of the local Lost Ladybugs lessons wrapped up August 17 at the Gloversville Public Library.