3RD QUARTER 2016

WESTERN NEW YORKSERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 2006 3RD QUARTER 2016

Summer is Here and mowing grass becomes a necessary responsibility. Lawn mowers are a very powerful and helpful tool to maintain our property. But they are also a very dangerous tool if not used properly. Many thousands of people suffer deep cuts, loss of fingers and toes, crushed and broken bones, burns and other injuries due to improper or careless use of lawn mowers.A large amount of partial or complete amputa-tions are caused by lawn mowers. The energy transferred by a typical lawn mower blade is equivalent to being shot in the hand with a .357 Magnum pistol. The speed of the blade can send dirt and bacteria deep into a wound, creating high risk for severe infection. A lawn mower can eject a piece of metal or wood up to 100 miles per hour.Lawn mower injuries can be prevented if you concentrate and use common sense. Keep your mower in good working order and do not remove safety devices, shields or guards on switches. Be sure the motor is off before inspecting or repair-ing your equipment. Never use your hands or feet to remove debris from your mower even if the engine is off. Never leave a running mower unattended. Stay away from the cowling as it can become very hot and burn unprotected flesh.Use caution by wearing substantial shoes, long pants, and close-fitting clothes. Never mow barefoot or in sandals or flip flops. Eye and hear-ing protection are always a smart move. Operate your mower in daylight and never while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.Never give children a ride on a riding mower, even if the cutting blade if off. Riding lawn mowers are designed to be operated by only one person. Teach children to stay away from all running lawn mowers. Children should be at least 12 years old before operating a push lawn mower, and age 16 to operate a riding lawn mow-er and should not be operated by young people who are not physically or developmentally ready

to assume the responsibility of operating these powerful machines.Watch the terrain. Keep away from drop offs and other hazards such as water. Watch for holes, ruts, bumps, rocks, sticks or other hidden objects. Uneven terrain could overturn the ma-chine and objects in the lawn can become projec-tiles. Be alert, stop mowing and turn off engine around children and pets. Do not cut wet grass as the mower can slip a lot easier on wet grass.

LAWN MOWER SAFETYPat Jakubowski

3RD QUARTER 2016

2ND ANNUAL TRAINING EVENT: RICKY RILEY

The West Seneca Of-fice of Disaster Pre-paredness is pleased to present a Ricky Riley Training Event on Saturday, October 1st. Training will run from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM

and will be held at the West Seneca East High School.Cost for the training event is $10 per person. Proceeds will benefit the Fireman’s Memorial Exhibit Center in West Seneca. Register online at www.wscert.net or www.fmecwny.orgThis 2nd Annual Training event will include a 4-hour interactive multi-media presentation that will discuss the presence and effects of compla-cency in the fire service along with how and why we must combat it. He will also discuss proven tips and techniques along with readiness of atti-tude and equipment on the fire scene.Food trucks will be on hand for attendees to pur-chase food and drinks.Ricky Riley is a 32 year member of the fire ser-vice and is currently the Operations Chief for the City of Clearwater, FL. As president of Tradi-tions Training he lectures across the country on a number of fire service topics.Training event is sponsored by Bill Wirth Roof-ing and Siding, West Herr Auto, 716 PPE Con-sultants, and Clear Choice Cleaning Services.

WEST SENECA LEADER SPEAKS AT HOMELAND SECURITY CONFERENCE.CERT Leader and West Seneca Office of Disas-ter Preparedness C o o r d i n a t o r John Gullo was in Tampa Florida on June 29th to present two lec-tures at the Na-tional Homeland Security Confer-ence.

CONSIDER JOININGAs a resident of Orchard Park and living through November 2014 (Snowvember), I thought; what would have helped the Town and residents in this time of need? A Community Emergency Re-sponse Team (CERT) could have assisted with warming shelters or answering town phones to alleviate some of the burden placed on the Town employees. Having said that, the Town did an outstanding job during this crisis; however, when the first responders were spread thin (Fire Department, EMS and Police), trained CERT Members could have helped relieve some of the operational duties. Of course, CERT Members do not take over duties of the professionals; they augment the professionals in time of need with limited responsibilities. Having been to several CERT meetings in the Towns of West Seneca and Elma, I’ve grown to realize the importance of educating the public on safety and preparedness in the event of an emer-gency. Their CERT programs educate teams about disasters that may impact their community and train them in basic response skills such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team orga-nization and disaster medical operations. Using these skills, members can assist during a disaster to ease some of the burden of first responders. I am a big proponent of the CERT program (FEMA approved), which teaches ordinary cit-izens to be prepared for disasters in their own homes/community. It’s also a good way to get to know your neighbors by joining a CERT Team and learning from the meetings/drills es-tablished by the CERT leadership. Anyone can join, it doesn’t cost a dime and it benefits you, your family and your neighbors! It’s like having a “Neighborhood Watch Program” throughout your community! Consider joining a team – be a part of the solu-tion! Gary A. MaciejewskiOrchard Park Resident

3RD QUARTER 2016

GARDENING SEMINAR HELD IN ELMAOn Tuesday, April 26th Elma CERT, Inc., with the help of Empact America, held a gardening seminar at the Elma Senior Center on Bowen Road. The event focused on how to attract bees and butterflies in your garden. Speakers from three local businesses explained why the planet needs pollinators, the benefits of them, and what can be done to help these dying populations. Mike Masterson and his daughter Erin presented from Masterson’s Garden Center in East Aurora. They spoke on the benefits of honey bees, what plants attract them, and how to help the bee pop-ulation. They sell beekeeping equipment at their store on Olean Road and also hold seminars. Dave O’Donnell from Eastern Monarch But-terfly Farm in Clarence discussed how planting milkweed attracts the caterpillar that turns into a monarch butterfly. His humorous and infor-mational presentation shed light on how we can contribute to the health of our planet by planting milkweed to increase numbers of the monarch. He sold milkweed seeds and explained how to grow them. Kristy Schmitt from Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens spoke about different types of butterflies and various plants that attract them. The Botanical Gardens hold many events and seminars to help educate the public on these top-ics. The presenters engaged the audience with their passion and knowledge. Lively discussions oc-curred on how necessary these pollinators are to maintain our food supply and what we all can do to help this population. A few lucky winners also went home with gardening and/or preparedness themed prizes

DO YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO IN AN EMERGENCY?This September CERT and Emergency Pre-paredness Classes will be held in West Seneca at the Emergency Operations Center on Tues-day and Thursday evenings starting Septem-ber 13th. Classes will start at 6:30 PM and run approximately until 9:30 pm.WHY TAKE THE CERT TRAINING?Well, it’s like paying for car insurance. You might never need it, in fact you hope you won’t. But if the occasion arises, having the CERT train-ing, just like having car insurance, means you’re as ready as you can be to help yourself, your family and your neighborhood in an emergency situation.CERT members are trained in basic disaster re-sponse skills such as Fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations. You will learn how to prepare for emergencies, what supplies you should NOW have in your house, how much food, how much water but most importantly, how to protect your family in an emergency!When you are trained, you are far more equipped to deal with your circumstances without needing aid from outside sources.Register online at www.wscert.net

SELF DEFENSE FOR WEST SENECA CERTIn June the West Seneca CERT participated in Self Defense Training at Horizon Martial Arts. Datu Tim Hartman and his staff showed members how to get out of situations, pressure points and the importance of self-awareness.

3RD QUARTER 2016

CELEBRATING 10West Seneca CERT celebrated a 10 Year Anniversary in April. Event speakers included As-semblyman Michael Kearns, Chief Dan Denz. The group received proclamations for lo-cal and state governments.Anniversary Certificates, pins were presented to members. Thank you to our sponsors.

TRAININGJuly11 Elma CERT meetingAugust2 National Night Out

Various Towns6 Tackl’n the Basics: Free

Fishing Clinic- Chestnut Ridge Park

11 Elma CERT MeetingSeptember13 CERT & Emergency Pre-

paredness Training - West Seneca

14 Elma CERT Meeting19 West Seneca CERT DrillOctober1 Training Event: Ricky Riley

Emergency Combat Ready12 Elma CERT Meeting17 West Seneca CERT Drill

Sign up for Code Red to be notified of emergency situ-ations or critical community alerts.

ELMA Sign up for Elma Code Red : www.elmanewyork.comWEST SENECAwww.westseneca.net, wscert.net and facebook page

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

MEETINGS - 7:00 PM3rd Monday of the monthTraining and meetings: West Seneca Central School Ebenezer Building900 Mill RoadWest Seneca, NY 14224Watch website and Facebook for training and meeting locations. Web: www.wscert.netFacebook: West Seneca Cert

ELMAMEETINGS - 7:00 PM2nd Wednesday of MonthTraining and meetings are at the Elma Senior Center unless noted.

Elma Senior Center 3007 Bowen RoadElma, NY 14059

Web: www.elmacert.org Facebook: Elma Community Emergency Response Team, Inc.

Check websites for more events and trainings.