WestNileVirus-L: Merrill's Monday Morning Memo

From: Robin S. Dollaway <rsn2_at_cornell.edu>
Date: April 24 2000

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Merrillâs Monday Morning Memo 
April 24, 2000 
 
Dear Colleagues: 
 
What a wet and dreary weekend!  On the other hand, it could have
been snow·.  In any case, I hope everyone stayed warm and dry. When
the sun broke through the haze this morning, it was a spectacular, Ithaca
sunrise here on East Hill.  Hopefully the same was true where you
are.   I trust that those of you, for whom Easter/Passover was
a special holiday, found it to be a time of real joy and
celebration.  
 
Letâs take a look at what is happening in CCE this week: 
  
1.  Registration for CCE 2000 System Conference  - Itâs
happening!  Within the first 48 hours of operation, 25 people had
registered at the conference web site for Renewing Our Commitment to
New Yorkers. Donât be the last person to select workshops and ãFun
Nightä activities. (You may find that you are the first person to come
along after someone else took the last slot!)  Log on now at
<a href="http://www.cce.cornell.edu/cce2000/" eudora="autourl">www.cce.cornell.edu/cce2000/</a>
to reserve your place.  Since there are other conferences in Ithaca during that week, I strongly advise you to reserve your hotel rooms as early as possible--like right now. Consult the web site for overnight lodging facilities that are offering special CCE 2000 System Conference rates. (It goes without saying--though that obviously isnât stopping me from saying it--that the best values will be gone first.) 
  
2. West Nile Virus Update  - WNV is again in the news because of clean-up efforts designed to prevent recurrence of the disease.  Lois Levitan (Senior Extension Associate, Center for the Environment) who is coordinating our CCE response, reminds us that no new West Nile Virus activity has been reported in 2000.  If it does recur this season, Lois suggests, there is little risk of an outbreak during the spring.  We should, however, encourage full public cooperation in working with local mosquito control agencies to eliminate Culex pipien (Northern House Mosquito) breeding sites (buckets, flowerpots, clogged rain gutters, etc.). 
 
On April 14, New York City released its Comprehensive Arthropod-borne Disease Surveillance and Control Plan 2000 and on April 18 the NYC Board of Health passed a resolution declaring standing water to be a ãpublic nuisance.ä  This resolution empowers City agencies to eliminate the problem without delay.  People are encouraged to report standing water or dead birds in NYC.  In the City and in some of the downstate counties, Lois indicates, potential breeding sites (particularly drainage catch-basins) will be treated over the next few weeks with larvicide (pesticides used to control immature stages of the mosquito life cycle) to prevent emergence and widespread build-up and dispersal of adult mosquitoes. Both prevention and larval control are widely accepted components of an IPM approach to mosquito control and risk reduction. The larvicides used will either be methoprene, an insect growth regulator, or one of several forms of a bacterial biological control.  The choice of larvicide
for any specific application is based on efficacy, impact, and economic considerations. 
 
For more information or to participate in a discussion of WNV-related issues, join the WESTNILEVIRUS-L listserv (contact Kathy Langendoerfer kl38@cornell.edu, and/or go to the Environmental Risk Analysis Program web site at:  www.cfe.cornell.edu/risk. 
 
3.  Community and Economic Vitality Tools - What is social capital?  What techniques foster citizen participation?  How do you stimulate community visioning, build career pathways, or design small business programs in your local community? Last week, over 30 CCE and USDA Rural Development field staff gathered at Ithaca's Ramada Inn to explore these issues at CaRDIâs three-day in-service, Community Development and Economic Vitality Programming Tools.  Campus faculty teamed up with field extension directors and educators to share experiences with programs aimed at building community capacity in these areas. If you missed it, you can see the agenda at: http://www.cardi.cornell.edu/conf/cdit2/schedule.htm.  Since CaRDI is committed to provide learning opportunities, it welcomes comments and suggestions so e-mail the team with your thoughts at: cardi@cornell.edu or check their web site: http://www.cardi.cornell.edu/index.html. 
 
In his capnote address, Dr. Greg Crosby (National Community Development Program Leader with CSREES) spoke about how the federal government can work with educational institutions to support activities that empower communities and energize democracy. He was delighted to see USDA-Rural Development staff at the training and suggested that the kind of partnership (between Cornell and a federal agency) that he was seeing here might be viewed as a model for other Extension systems.  To the CaRDI team, let me offer a resounding, ãWell done!ä 
 
4.  I Donât Get It - Sometimes, I look back at my Monday Memos and feel that I complain too much but this week I realized once again that I just donât understand New York or New Yorkers.  Glenn Applebee, Carol Anderson, and I took David Smith out for lunch to recognize and thank him for his years of faithful service as CCE Associate Director.  Before we had even ordered, Glenn and Dave were exchanging stories about their weekend and summer projects on their cottages in the Adirondacks -- repairing sagging timbers and fixing leaky roofs, chopping wood, pouring a new basement, clearing brush, rewiring the kitchen, replacing water pipes, going out on the lake to look (often futilely) for dinner, etc.  They told me about mosquitoes the size of birds, swarms of black flies that make it impossible to stay outside for more than a few minutes at a time, and a black bear that has stalked Glenn on the walk between the lake and his cottage.  The look on their faces during this conversati
on (and this is the part that I donât get) was comparable to what I see when Nancy Fey tells Ken Hillary that Sammy Sosa has just hit a home run to beat the Mets in the 11th.  (Granted that hasnât happened very often of late; the Cubs were actually  ãsweptä by the Mets over the weekend.) 
 
Anyway, I finally couldnât stand it anymore so asked Carol to explain to me what makes New Yorkers flee to the Adirondacks for weekends and summers.  (She comes from Wisconsin so understands why I find this kind of behavior so puzzling.  Having lived in New York longer than I, she often has insights about this place that I, as a relative newcomer, lack.)  She explained that it is precisely the challenge of sagging timbers, leaky roofs, pesky mosquitoes, biting black flies, and marauding bears--not to mention the joy of chopping wood, cutting brush, searching for food, keeping electricity running--that draws people like David and Glenn to the mountains.  ãYou got that right!,ä Dave replied. Glenn agreed. 
 
You know something?  This pretty much explains why my grandma and grandpa left the old country.  Here, however, people call it ãvacation.ä  
 
5.  The State Budget  - What can I say?  We were practically there but the legislature couldnât get it done before the Passover/Easter break.  We now expect the Governor and the Legislature to resume work on the state budget during the first week of May.  They have agreed to add $500,000 (above last year) to 224 funding. We expect it to remain in the final enacted budget. Senator Kenneth LaValle (a big supporter of Extension) from Suffolk County is the influential chair of the Senate Higher Education budget subcommittee.  It looks as if we could soon be doing some more community and economic vitality work·. 
 
6.  The Fruits of Collaboration: The Skaneateles Watershed Award - Last week, I noted the Skaneateles watershed teamâs good work that led to yet another award, this one from EPA.  The team wanted me to make it very clear that their campus colleagues had played an absolutely critical role in their success.  Specifically, they noted the help they had received from the staff of CIT, Ann Lemley (Chair, Textiles and Apparel), Deb Grantham (Senior Extension Associate, Crop and Soil science), Rebecca Schneider (Assistant Professor, Natural Resources), Peter Smallidge (Senior Extension Associate, Natural Resources), and Harold Van Es (Associate Professor, Soil and Crop Science).  Dave Gross (Senior Extension Associate and Program Leader for Natural Resources) helped draw the attention of DEC (in Albany) to what our colleagues were accomplishing in the watershed.  Here we have another wonderful example of productive collaboration between field educators and campus faculty and staff.&nb
sp; 
 
7.  I Donât Get It: Part II - Remember how I said that the Adirondacks is infested with black flies? I know that itâs none of my business but Glenn gave Dave some flies as a gift. Thatâs right--flies.  (Glenn modestly announced that he had made them himself--as if they don't have enough of them in the Adirondacks.)  Anyway, Dave was thrilled.  I would have understood if it had been bottle of Off, a can of Raid, or even an IPM manual.  Giving flies to someone who lives in the Adirondacks is like presenting a Chicago Cub fan with a book called, Learning to Live With Disappointment. 
 
8. A Suffolk County Partnership - In its largest public/private partnerships the Suffolk Association has signed a two-year contract, worth nearly $300.000 per year, with the new Atlantis Aquarium in Riverhead. Through this agreement, CCE Suffolk County will provide ten educators to deliver all the educational programming (at the aquarium and on the educational boat connected to the aquarium) that explores aquatic life on the Peconic Estuary.  Under CCE leadership last year, over 9200 people participated in the educational experience on the boat. The boat is already booked for the first 3 months of this year. The Aquarium expects more than a half-million visitors to the Aquarium in this first year. (The opening date is Memorial Day Weekend.) Participants in Suffolkâs September "Thriving " Conference will be treated to a boat ride, tour, and dinner at the aquarium. (Itâs on my calendar!)  This is another excellent model of ways through which we can build public/private partnerships t
hat draw on Extensionâs educational expertise. 
 
9.  Being Careful - Sometimes, itâs helpful to reflect just a bit about how our constituents might perceive the decisions that we make.  During this past week, we had some conversations with a local leader in one county who felt that a particular venue was an inappropriate site for an extension event.  The campus-based planners had not perceived this as a potential problem.  Whatever the merits of the case, it was a timely reminder for us to think carefully about things that could be misunderstood by the citizens who fund our programs.  Since conversations with county-based staff might reveal some local sensitivities, I would ask that as a courtesy, those planning extension events in county locations consult with their association colleagues.  Our county-based staff have no desire to be gatekeepers but they would like to avoid being surprised; they can also be tremendously helpful in promoting an event locally. 
 
10.  The week Ahead - Last week I mentioned that it looked like a quiet week coming up.  That was not very smart.  It turned into being anything but·.  This afternoon, the expanded Directorâs Council (I talked about this last week) will hold the first of our bimonthly meetings to address some of the issues facing our system.  Hope you have a great week! 
 
Merrill 
 
P.S.  Donât get me wrong; vacations are important and I plan to take one myself over the summer.  I might even make some modifications to my vacation home.  (Move the angle of the TV set in my room at the Holiday Inn.)  I will search for food for my family.  (Look for a Taco Bell, a McDonaldâs, an IHOP, or a Bennigans.)  I might go out on the water.  (Assuming itâs at least 80 degrees and that they didnât put in too much chlorine.)  Iâm likely to encounter danger as well.  (But being patient, however, I know that Bruce Willis, Nicholas Cage, or Chuck Norris will eventually come along and drive away the forces of evil.) 
 
 
D. Merrill Ewert, Director and Associate Dean 
Cornell Cooperative Extension 
364 Roberts Hall 
Ithaca, NY 14853-4203 
Phone:(607) 255-2237 
Fax: (607) 255-2473 
E-mail: cedir@cce.cornell.edu 
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Received on Mon Apr 24 10:28:26 2000