County Extension Offices are checking their supplies and stocking up on flood-related fact sheets, Extension Extras, and bulletins on a wide range of subjects including sandbagging, sterilizing water, food safety, chemical hazards, human stress and helping children cope. The spring of 1995, another year of flooding and late planting, also generated a lot of new educational materials that are still on hand in County Extension Offices. Theses offices are staffed with people trained in agriculture, family and consumer sciences, and 4-H and youth development. But also they are a good referral agency, knowing who to go to for what among local and state agencies plus charities and others who help in disasters. County Extension Offices nicely complement other disaster agencies like County Emergency Management Offices that are more physically involved in flood management, Tidemann and Moss said.
Information is available on coping with mud in feedlots and building mounds.
Agents have been told that Conservation Reserve Acres are free to use for calving areas to get calving cows to a safe area. Youth specialists may come into play in helping youngsters through the total stress of the situation, Tidemann said. In a disaster, sometimes its best for children to go on and live as they normally would, and this can come through our 4-H people out there. Darlene Moss, program leader, Family and Consumer Sciences, told of some of the topics FCS agents have at their fingertips. They include safe water, cleaning carpets and floors, playing it safe with food, filing insurance claims, restoring mechanical equipment, and helping children cope with the flood.