Exclusives packet for week ending March 28, 2003
NOTE: We will send individual exclusives to program area mailing lists on a permanent basis since county agents favor receiving their exclusives in this matter. We also will send the complete packet to the exclusives mailing list as an agent back up and archive.
Please do not delete this message. It is the only complete copy your office will receive of exclusives for Agricultural and Natural Resources, Family and Consumer Sciences and
4-H/Youth Development.
AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Safety Tips for Lightning, Thunderstorms
FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES
Egg Safety at Spring Observances
4-H/YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
4-H Summer Resident Camps
Are Educational and Fun
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Safety Tips for Lightning, Thunderstorms
Sources: Tom Priddy, National Weather Service, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, other land-grant universities
Did you ever wonder why we have more thunderstorms during the spring and summer?
It’s because weather patterns are more active as they move through Kentucky during these seasons, especially in the afternoon and evening. The weather conditions also increase the potential for lightning to strike people at work or play outdoors and possibly while they’re inside a building. Although thunderstorms are more common during the spring and summer, they can take place all year long and at all hours.
All thunderstorms produce lightning. Sometimes called “nature’s fireworks,” lightning is produced by the buildup and discharge of electrical energy between negatively and positively charged areas. An average lightning charge can provide enough energy to keep a 100-watt light bulb burning for more than three months.
Other dangers associated with thunderstorms are heavy rains that lead to flash floods, strong winds, hail and tornadoes. These weather conditions can injure or kill people and pets, as well as cause billions of dollars in crop and property damage.
Thunder results from a shock wave caused by rapid heating and cooling of air near the lightning channel.
Do you know how to estimate the miles between yourself and a lightning flash?
Simply count seconds between lightning and thunder and divide this time by five. Sound travels about a mile every five seconds. So if you count 30 seconds between lightning and thunder, lightning has flashed within six miles of you. This puts you within lightning striking distance, according to scientific research.
What is the most important thunderstorm safety precaution?
Be aware of an approaching thunderstorm and move to a safe shelter before the storm arrives in your area. If you see lightning, hear thunder, observe dark clouds, or your hair stands on end, immediately go inside a sturdy, completely enclosed building, home, or a hard-top vehicle with closed windows. Avoid picnic shelters, sports dugouts, covered patios, carports and open garages. Small wooden, vinyl or metal sheds provide little if any protection.
Since metal conducts lightning, don’t touch metal inside or outdoors; drop metal backpacks; release golf clubs, tennis rackets, fishing gear and tools, and get off bicycles and motorcycles.
Lightning can strike water and travel a long distance in it. So standing in water, even in rubber boots, isn’t safe during a thunderstorm; neither are swimming, wading, snorkeling and scuba diving. If you’re in a small boat during a storm, crouch in the middle and stay away from metal substances.
Crouch down in an open, exposed area and stay away from tall objects, such as trees. Remember to stay away from clothes lines, fences, exposed sheds and other elevated items that can conduct lightning.
If you’re indoors, remember lightning can enter buildings as a direct strike, through pipes and wires extending outside, or through the ground. Telephone use is a leading cause of indoor lightning injuries in America because the charges can travel a long way in telephone and electrical wires, especially in rural areas.
Windows and doors provide a direct path for lightning to enter a building; so avoid them. During a thunderstorm, stay away from laundry appliances because they are connected to plumbing and electrical systems. Dryer vents offer a direct electrical pathway outdoors.
Remember pet safety. Lightning can easily strike animals chained to a tree or wire runner. Doghouses generally aren’t protected against lightning strikes.
For more information, contact your (CountyName) Cooperative Extension Service.
Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability or national origin.
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Egg Safety at Spring Observances
Sources: Sandra Bastin, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, United States Department of Agriculture, and Linda Sleichter, KansasStateUniversity Research and Extension
Sometimes eggs are decorated to use as symbols or decorations at various springtime observances such as Easter and the Passover Seder Meal among others. Below are some safety tips for eggs to make spring celebration happy ones.
To hard-cook eggs, the USDA recommends putting them in a single layer in a saucepan with enough tap water to come at least one inch above the eggs. Cover the pan and heat on high until the water boils; then turn off the heat and remove the pan from the burner, if necessary to prevent further boiling.
Let large eggs remain in hot water for 15 minutes. For each size larger or smaller, adjust the time up or down about three minutes per size. Immediately after hard-cooking the eggs, thoroughly cool them in cold water; then decorate the eggs within two hours and return to the refrigerator until it’s time to use them.
Before dyeing eggs, wash them in a mild detergent solution. This produces a light oil coating that helps color eggs more evenly. If the eggs are to be eaten, use a food-safe dye, such as a commercial egg-decorating dye, or food coloring in a water-vinegar mix. Consider organic dyes for a different decorating touch. Tea or coffee provides a tan or brownish shade; beet or cranberry juice, red; water from cooked spinach leaves, green; and blueberry juice, blue.
Other egg-decorating options for eggs that won’t be eaten include magic markers, paint, glitter, and even sequins.
It’s important to carefully prepare eggs for a hunt to prevent cracked shells through which bacteria could enter to contaminate the inside. Hide eggs in places protected from dirt, pets and other sources of bacteria. To prevent bacterial growth at non-refrigerated time, the eggs should be hidden and hunted within two hours. Be sure the “found” eggs are re-refrigerated until they’re eaten, which should be three days.
Hard-cooked eggs spoil faster than fresh eggs because cooking washes away the protective mineral oil coating, leaving bare pores in the shell for bacteria to enter and contaminate the egg.
Put hard-cooked eggs out just before the Passover Seder plate is set on the table.
Use caution when blowing out eggshells to hollow the shell for decorating, such as Ukranian Easter eggs, because some raw eggs may contain Salmonella. Only use eggs that have uncracked shells and have remained refrigerated. To destroy possible bacteria on the eggshell surface, wash the egg in hot water and rinse in a solution of one teaspoon of chlorine bleach per one-half cup of water.
After blowing out the eggshell, refrigerate the content and use within two to four days, being sure to thoroughly cook before eating it.
A hard-cooked egg is among the symbolic foods for the Passover Seder Meal. This Baytzah is symbolic of the festival sacrifice brought in Temple times.
Legends abound about the origin of Easter eggs. Some state that this tradition dates back centuries, possibly before Christ, when Persians and Egyptians gave eggs dyed in spring colors to friends to symbolize renewed life. To some people, the Easter egg symbolizes the rebirth of Christ, with the shell symbolizing the tomb and the chick born from the egg representing Christ rising from the dead. People also believe the egg symbolizes the rebirth of nature with the coming of spring.
The amount of decorations or the way eggs were decorated depended on peoples’ beliefs. Many of the decorated eggs were given as gifts. Perhaps the most famous were the exquisite jeweled Imperial Easter Eggs created by Faberge’ workshops for Tzar Aleksandr III and Tzar Nikolai II to give as gifts to members of their Romanov families.
The traditional Easter Egg Roll at the White House was begun by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878. It occurs the Monday after Easter. Previously, it took place on the Congressional grounds.
For more information on food safety topics, contact (CountyName) Cooperative Extension Service.
Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability or national origin.
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4-H Summer Resident Camps
Are Educational and Fun
Source: Donna M. Fox
Nearly 10,000 youth, ages nine through 14, will attend 4-H resident camps this summer at one of four camping sites across Kentucky. Participation in these camps places 4-H members in new environments that are conducive to fun and learning.
Varied residentcamping experiences help Aeducate boys and girls on the art of living@, a primary objective of Kentucky=s 4-H/Youth Development program.
Campers gain educational learning experiences that create positive changes in their knowledge, skills and attitudes. The well-planned programs include fun activities designed to help 4-Hers meet personal development needs by enhancing their physical, moral, social and economic growth.
Each camp has a manager and paid program staff who develop and administer various activities including recreation, nature, riflery, archery, swimming, crafts, canoeing and obstacle courses such as low- and high-rope challenges.
Group activities might include an early morning polar bear swim, night hike, carnival, or swim and field games.
For their youth attending a resident camp, counties also might offer activities such as specialty nature classes like birds of prey, tree identification, entomology, fishing and stream watching. Other classes might include tie-dying, outdoor cooking, breads, Polymer clay and scrapbook.
Resident camps have teenage and adult volunteer leaders to help supervise campers. Each camp provides a certified Emergency Medical Technician to provide necessary care for campers.
Kentucky=s 120 counties are served by these camps: Western Kentucky 4-H Center, a 450-acre facility serving 36 counties, at Dawson Springs; Lake Cumberland 4-H Center, a 1,500-acre facility serving 22 counties, near Jabez; North Central 4-H Center, which serves 33 counties on 344 acres near Carlisle; and J.M. Feltner Memorial 4-H Center, a 182-acre facility near London, serving 28 counties.
These resident camps are just one part of our 4-H mission to help young people become self-directing, productive, contributing members of society.
For more information on the many educational opportunities available through Kentucky 4-H/Youth Development, contact your (CountyName) Cooperative Extension Service.
Educational programs of the Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability or national origin.
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