Fresh Air or Lead Dust?

The Chautauqua County Health Department is urging people to protect children from the hazard of lead paint

MAYVILLE, N.Y.:-

You may be anxious to open the windows and get some fresh spring air, but before you do, Chautauqua County Health Department’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Team suggests using caution.

“Opening and closing old windows can create nearly invisible lead paint dust” explains Lead and Healthy Homes Program Coordinator Anna Powell, “and it takes just a tiny bit of this dust to potentially poison a young child.”

In a typical year, about 80-85 children in Chautauqua County test positive for unsafe levels of lead in their bloodstream. Old windows are one of the most common places kids are exposed to lead.

“It’s so common to see toddlers pulling themselves up by a windowsill, or playing on the floor near windows. They get leadcontaminated dust on their

Agriculture Literacy Comes To Chautauqua Schools

hands and toys, put hands or toys in their mouths, and that’s all it takes to raise their blood lead levels,” explains Powell.

Exposure to even tiny amounts of lead in early childhood can result in loss of IQ points, learning difficulties, and behavior issues. At higher levels, these issues can be more severe, and a child may be physically ill as well. Extreme exposure can result in coma or even death. Damage caused by lead is considered to be irreversible.

Doors, stairs, and porches – considered friction surfaces - are other common sources of exposure to lead dust in area homes. Lead paint was not banned for residential use until 1978, meaning that many homes in the County may be at risk.

“Many people’s first instinct is to start sweeping or vacuuming, but that can spread lead dust further around the home,” says Ms. Powell. “We recommend a wet-wiping method for cleaning lead paint dust. Use wet paper towels to pat down the area, which will pick up the lead-contaminated dust. Dispose of the paper towels as you work – don’t try to re-use them.”

Chautauqua County

Health Department

BY EMILY REYNOLDS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY

JAMESTOWN, NEW YORK (April 13, 2023) illustrator Juana MartinezNeal brings this circle of women to life with vivid detail and warmth. Tomatoes for Neela lovingly affirms how we can connect to other cultures and build communities through food.

172

Ave. Silver Creek, NY

Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program will check any home free of charge in the County for lead where a child under age six spends at least 6 hours per week. The program provides free cleaning supplies and the training and materials to eliminate or control lead paint risks. There may also be grant programs to assist property owners with necessary repairs. Call 716-753-4489 for more information or to schedule a lead risk assessment.

-- Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County’s Agriculture Program is dedicated to providing opportunities for the public to interact with our local agriculture industry. In celebration of National Agriculture Week (March 19th – March 25th), area elementary students were able to participate in the New York Agricultural Literacy Week, locally coordinated by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County.

This year, 2,500 elementary aged students at 15 different locations in Chautauqua County enjoyed listening to a book entitled “Tomatoes for Neela” written by Padma Lakshmi, Illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal. This year students heard the story of tomatoes preservation and sauce making through the experiences of Neela, a young girl who loves cooking with her Amma and writing down the recipes in her notebook. It makes her feel closer to her paati who lives far away in India. On Saturdays, Neela and Amma go to the green market and today they are buying tomatoes to make paati’s famous sauce. But first, Neela needs to learn about all the different kinds of tomatoes they can pick from. And as Neela and Amma cook together, they find a way for paati to share in both the love and the flavors of the day.

Author Padma Lakshmi takes young readers on an intergenerational journey full of delicious flavors and fun food facts that celebrates a family’s treasured recipes, and

Careers and postsecondary education opportunities are abundant in traditional and developing food-centric industries. Agriculture contributes over $37 billion to the New York State economy and ranks in the top ten in the nation for yogurt, apples, grapes, calves, and onions, among other products. These products and industries allow New York producers to explore all varying scales of marketing and selling niche markets, direct to consumer selling, food processing, wholesale, and more.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County coordinated Agricultural Literacy Week across Chautauqua County and regularly extends their services to celebrate and promote agriculture. Local Coordinator and Executive Director Emily Reynolds thanked local volunteers and donors. “Ag Literacy Week is always a highlight of our programming here at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County. We appreciate the opportunity to highlight our incredible agricultural industry, and this program helps to bring together members of our agricultural community. This year was an exciting opportunity to highlight our area farmers and provide opportunities for our county’s young students to interact with a member of the agricultural community while also having the chance to learn more about the safe, wholesome products our local farmers work hard to produce every day.”

Donors that made this event possible were Dave Munch, Sara Toth, Alyssa Porter, Dan Smith, Elizabeth Rankin, Shelly Wells, Farm Credit East- ACA, Jamestown Public Market, Janet Forbes, JM Joy FarmsJim and Rosie Joy, John and Carol Hardenburg, Richard & Janice Jozwiak, Olde Chautauqua Farms, Chautauqua County Farm Bureau, and Novel Destination Book Emporium.

Donations exceed expectations and have allowed for a book to be donated to all twentynine Chautauqua County Elementary School libraries and twenty-seven Community Libraries.

Volunteer readers that shared their agricultural experiences with the area’s students were Alyssa Porter, Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, Brian Northdruft, Carol Hay, Cassadaga Ag Students, Cassandra Skal, Chautauqua Dairy Ambassadors, Cheryl Wahlstrom, Clymer Ag Students, Colton Reynolds, County Executive Wendell, Danielle DeJoy Moss, Edwin Lacen, Emily Reynolds, Ginny Carlberg, Hailey Laramie, Heather Gregory, Heather Woodis, Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist, Jan Schauman, Janet Forbes, Jennifer Phillips-Russo, Jodi Gray, Lauren Sharp, Lindsey Crisanti, Linnea Haskin, Mary Ryder, Matt Overfield, Molly Brown, Randy Henderson, Raylene Kwilos, Sara Toth, Shannon Carpenter, Sharon Reed, Sharon Rhinehart, Shelly Wells, and Wendy Alexander.