Note:  As NYSWDA will be communicating with the network through the website from this point forward, it is important that WAP directors get in the habit of checking the website a couple of times a week.  We will always let you know of new additions to the website through mass email. 

If you have other staff, i.e. Admin. Assistants, Auditors, etc with an email address that you would like to have on NYSWDA's email list, then please fill out the following form.  Click Here for interactive form for this purpose.  It is very important in most agencies to have your Admin. Assistant on the mailing list at minimum.

NYSWDA Elections:

NYSWDA held its Annual Board of Directors' Elections in Alexandria Bay, New York, June 24, 2003.

The newly elected Board is as follows:

President - Ray Yehle
Vice-President - Bryan Bashaw
Treasurer - Marie Montgomery
NYSWDA Liaison - Andrew Stone
NYSCAA Liaison - Maureen Lashlee
Training Chair - Arthur Murray
Membership/Marketing Chair - Staci Biener
Bylaws Chair - Andrew Stone

Congratulations to all!!!

NOTE:  We need your feedback!!!

One of NYSWDA's deliverables for the network is coordinating training.  If we are to deliver trainings that are useful and appropriate, then we need your feedback.  Directors need to survey their staff and fill out our survey form.  If you do not take the 5 minutes to fill out the survey then trainings your staff need may not be offered.  We have identified 5 regional training sites to bring trainings to your area on a regular basis.  This permits you to send staff without the expense of overnights. 

Note: Our bids for the 32 hr EPA Lead training are in and we need to find out the networks need for this training. 

We have the form as an interactive web based form or there is a link to a MS Word document you can print and then fax to us.

CLICK HERE for our training survey

If you do not fill out the survey our training committee members will be following up with a phone call. 

NOTE:  We have had requests for Print Friendly version of our newsletter.  We now have a link in Index for pdf version.  It is not perfect  (page breaks cut of some of the text) plus it does not print all the interactive links in our newsletter, but it is the best we can do at the moment.

 7/14/03  We have received requests to convert the ABWS form Diane sent out in Quatro Pro to MS Excel.  Click Here for Excel version

It seems like only yesterday that the network was gearing up for Weatherization Day 2002 and we are already preparing for Weatherization Day 2003 - How time flies!

The Weatherization Day Committee has begun the work of constructing this year's Public Information Tool Kit and we need your help. On this year's Kit cover, we want to highlight articles from local newspapers that ran last year during Weatherization Day. About four or five articles will be copied to the Kit cover. This is an excellent way to get the well-deserved recognition from your work last year. Please send us any articles you may have in your files from this period and contact your local agencies to have them send in copies of any weatherization related articles they may have. We need originals so that copying can occur at the highest possible resolution. We will return the originals if you wish. The articles should be sent to:

Cathryn Robinson |
D&R International, Inc
1300 Spring Street, Suite 500
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Telephone: 301-588-9387

I thank you in advance for your help in this important matter. Please call if you have any questions.

Robert C. Adams
Director, WAP Services
DC Office - (202) 624-5867
MD Office - (410) 363-9169
Email: radams@sso.org  or rcadams@comcast.net

NOTE:  Bob will be at our fall training sessions on Long Island.
Weatherization Day is right around the corner………October 30^th.  Are you prepared to publicize this important day??  Attendees will learn creative ways to promote their weatherization program utilizing the Public Information Tool Kit along with listening to creative ideas to raise awareness of the numerous benefits that the weatherization program offers within a community. 

Presented by Robert Adams, Director, WAP Services, NASCSP  Also Bob will be doing a second presentation, details will follow soon.

We will be holding the "Stump the Auditor" session @ Affordable Comfort N.E. (ACNE) again this year. Eric Beaton of the Boston Regional Office is gathering the panelists. I need the case studies!

This is how it will work:  Subgrantee auditors may submit electronic pictures and a written description of unusual/difficult audit situations encountered in the field to me by email - tgill@mainehousing.org  - prior to Sept 26.  At the session the case studies will be presented to the panel of auditors selected by Eric. The panel will discuss what they think should be done. Comments from the audience will be welcome.

Any auditor submitting a case study may attend the session to describe what (s)he found and what was done if (s)he desires. At the end of the session we will ask the audience to vote for the most unusual situation and the most creative solution - not necessarily from the same case study. A prize - hopefully donated by a vendor as they were last year - will be awarded in each category. Thanks for your help getting the word out to your subgrantees.

Tony Gill

Click Here for Mobil Home Survey being done by BPI which is developing the BPI Mobile Home Certification.

Mathew D. Anderson
Technical Support Specialist
Building Performance Institute, Inc.
Saratoga Technology + Energy Park
10 Hermes Rd
Malta, NY 12020
p (518) 899 2727
f (518) 899 1622
manderson@bpi.org

NYSWDA has helped coordinate the trial run for the BPI Mobile Home Certification.  Staff from 4 agencies are here in Syracuse for training, testing, and to provide input into the new certification level.  Trainers from Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development COAD in Ohio are doing the training including blowing a trailer belly.  We should have more information in the near future on this certification availability.

Sept Professional Training - NYSWDA heads to Long Island.  We are planning a great training schedule for the network. 

The Bacharach Training that was so popular in Alex Bay will be repeated plus you can bring your CO Testers to the training to be calibrated - $60 and you do not have to ship your CO Tester back to the company..  CLICK HERE for info. 

Innovative Air Sealing Methodology for Low and High-rise Buildings CLICK HERE for information on training that will be conducted by ZERODRAFT

If you would like further information, please contact Randi@NYSWDA.org
 

Thanks to Paula and Sue at BOCES we have a short update for the network.  Next months newsletter has a planned survey on the networks needs for BOCES training in preparation for your crew BPI Certifications.

Click Here for BOCES update. (ms word format)

 NEWS:  7/9/03 Post-Standard article on lead lawsuits.  Peter Danziger, lawyer from Albany, is has two suits in Onondaga County totaling $40M dollars.  The suits are against landlords and the county government.   In both cases, children were damaged and have learning disabilities, claims the suits.

Earl has gathered information on LCD  Usage  Click Here for printable information
 

Lead NID update

After NYSWDA's meeting with our lead consultants (ATC), we have decided to make some minor changes to the Lead Log Forms.  The changes include removing "Lead" from the title of the forms, removing EPA Certified Supervisor from the sign off section (now the crew supervisor signs) and adding a second set of forms that allow agencies to just use a check off form rather

than a hand written form.  Agencies can choose which forms they find appropriate - handwritten is best but crews will probably have a better record of completion of the forms with the quick check off forms.

We have begun collecting new lead dust data for the 03 – 04 Lead NID and it’s looking really good.  So far all results are significantly below the Action Level (30ug/m3).  This year we are making sure that all the samples are collected and analyzed uniformly so that OSHA can see a greater level of consistency in the results.  We are using EMSL as our testing lab. EMSL is charging $6/sample so if any agency is collecting air samples make sure you use EMSL.  The Chain of Custody form and mailing instruction are at COC.  If you have any data, or need help collecting air samples, or are interested in contributing to this current NID, e-mail earl@nyswda.org.  We will post the data on the NYSWDA website beginning next month.

   The

The process of eliminating the use of the respirators is a little more complicated than we first thought.  It is not a matter of just doing the air monitoring for the OSHA side of the issue.  We will have to also ask the DOL for an amendment to the current waiver.  ATC staff thought this would be a straight forward process though and that our waiver cannot be taken away.

We will keep the network informed of our progress but in the meantime if you print our waiver, keep a copy on all vehicles, and train staff in the engineering controls, you should be in compliance.  Again here is the link to the waiver page.  CLICK HERE

Safety Tip of the Week
is courtesy of Pat Renouf, assistant lab manager, Wah Chang Analytical Laboratory, Albany, Ore., who writes,  "Remember that when you hire new employees, it is important to  explain why you have a safety rule. New employees are anxious to  please, and if they think they see an easier or faster way to  accomplish a task, they might put themselves at risk. If you just  say, do this or don't do that, and the reason is not apparent, the  importance of compliance and potential severity of the accident can  be missed. Inexperience with a  task also means inexperience with the risks."

 We also have a page with Respirator information.  Click Here for information on the proper Respirator use and testing process. 

Weatherization Director Receives NYSCAA Leadership Award 

Barbara Allen, Weatherization and Energy Assistance Director has served the community action mission for 23 years.  She is a highly dedicated and energetic individual.  Her leadership efforts have greatly enhanced the services to low-income persons in rural Essex County.  Through her long and dedicated career, she has been involved in improving the energy efficiency and health and safety of over 2000 homes.  Congratulations Barb, well deserved...

1. Procurement - we now have the entire statewide bid on the website in both xls and pdf format for printing. 
   CLICK HERE for the new Procurement Page
2. Training Needs Survey for the coming year.  We need your support as mentioned above.  Again here is the link CLICK HERE for our training survey

TIP 1 From Kim Komando's Tips Website

WHEN PASTING FROM THE WEB GOES BAD

Formatting can be a real problem in stuff you copy from the Web.  When you're ready to paste it into a Word document, select Edit.  Rather than selecting Paste, pick Paste Special. Click Unformatted Text and OK. You can get rid of this formatting in an existing Word document, too. From Word's Format menu select Styles and Formatting and then, Clear Formatting. It's that easy.

TIP 2 
ARE YOU USING QUICK LAUNCH? YOU SHOULD BE!

If you have a few programs you use everyday, put their shortcuts into the Quick Launch area. That is the spot to the right of the Start button. Drag the shortcut from the desktop into that area.  If that doesn't work, you probably need to enable Quick Launch. Right-click the taskbar (the bar at the bottom). Click Properties. On the Taskbar tab, select Show Quick Launch. The beauty of Quick Launch is that you need click only once to open the program. Regular shortcuts require a double-click. Also, if you keep the taskbar visible all the time, you'll be able to open the programs in Quick Launch no matter what else is on your monitor. To keep the taskbar visible, right click it, select Properties and check "Keep the taskbar on top of other windows.

Coming next month, complete information on protecting your computer with a firewall

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