In response to the latest round of flooding in southern West Virginia, the West Virginia University Extension Service is encouraging WVU employees to contribute to local organizations conducting relief efforts to help their fellow citizens.

“We’re urging University departments and individual employees to combine their efforts with those of community agencies, businesses and faith-based groups in Morgantown and throughout the state that are conducting drives for funds and supplies,”said Larry Cote, associate provost for Extension and Public Service.

“Our Extension faculty and staff in the affected areas report that the greatest needs are for cleaning supplies, drinking water, personal hygiene items, diapers and baby formula,”Cote added.”Members of the University community should continue to check media reports for information about collection sites and other opportunities to help.”

As they did after last summer’s floods, Extension personnel in southern and central West Virginia are working with other agency representatives in the massive cleanup and recovery efforts.

McDowell County, the hardest-hit area this time, is receiving the greatest attention. Six AmeriCorps members recently were assigned by the West Virginia Commission for National Community Service to assist with WVU ’s flood recovery effort.

The first AmeriCorps project was”mucking out”the McDowell County Long-Term Recovery Board building in Welch. They’re also working on getting warehouses fit to accept donated supplies, a project that will help a large number of county residents.

Extension faculty and staff will help train the AmeriCorps members in all stages of disaster recovery from basic cleanup to case management. As project leaders, the members will direct the work of volunteer teams. They will work with the McDowell County Long-Term Recovery Board to survey and assess damage of homes and businesses.

Following the flooding in July 2001, Extension received a $94,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conduct the West Virginia Flood Recovery Special-Needs Project.

“Because of the grant, we already had hired a flood recovery coordinator to work with Extension agents Glenn Runions and Marcus Wilkes to help citizens of McDowell and Wyoming counties deal with various problems stemming from the 2001 flooding,”Cote said. The coordinator, Gerald Hawkins, has been working in the counties since mid-March.

“With the experience we gained last summer and with Jerry in place, Extension is in a stronger position to deal with the aftermath of this month’s floods,”Cote said.

Now that the focus is again on providing immediate relief, Hawkins is working closely with Ray Cardwell, coordinator of the AmeriCorps members’efforts. An AmeriCorps”blitz”is planned for next weekend, when a special team of 100 disaster relief AmeriCorps members from the Washington, D.C., area will work in McDowell County.

Extension’s flood recovery program and AmeriCorps will help facilitate their work, including arranging housing, meals, placements, etc. They will perform a similar role throughout the summer, when many volunteer groups from throughout the country will be going to southern

West Virginia to help with flood recovery efforts.

To provide timely and factual information to flood victims and relief workers, Extension again is providing links to flood relief resources through the opening page of its Internet site (www.ext.wvu.edu/~exten/).