Wayne County

The Wayne County Communities  page will continue to add links to each municipality and school district in the county and the stories that come from those locations. We are always eager to print community news. Send your community news to editor@thelakeshorenews.com.

Scouts Lend a Helping Hand
WAYNE COUNTY - On the beautiful morning of Saturday, July 16, local Boy Scouts, their troop leaders, and volunteers took to the waters of Maxwell Bay to “hand pull” the invasive aquatic plant Trapa natans, commonly known as water chestnut. Water chestnut is an annual plant that has the potential to reproduce rapidly and cause significant ecological and recreational effects. T. natans forms a dense, canopy cover mat that excludes more beneficial plant species, increases water temperatures, lowers dissolved oxygen that fish and aquatic insects use, and restricts water flow causing sediment deposition.

A recommended control method for water chestnuts is to hand-pull them. This is very easily done by simply grabbing the water chestnut stem and pulling its root mass out of the sediment or snapping the stem completely. Pulled plants are then disposed of on land away from any water bodies. Boy Scout troops from Rose, North Rose and Wolcott filled their canoes with heaping piles of water chestnuts as many as three times.

Wayne County Soil & Water Conservation District had a mechanical aquatic plant harvester on site that the scouts filled twice. Each load of wet plant material on the harvester is estimated to weigh two tons. For their efforts, the hard working scouts were provided cold refreshing drinks and sheet pizzas for lunch.

The District would like to thank the following individuals:  Rose Troop 108 - Jackson Sehm, Allen Walker; North Rose Troop 109 - Dakota Anderson, Jordan Curtis, Bryan Walker, Alan Walker; and Wolcott Troop 115 - Michael Putman, Cody Andrus, Philip E. Andrus, Ray Conrow.

Alewife Fishkill on Sodus Bay

On Wednesday, Aug. 3, Wayne County Soil and Water Conservation District Weed Harvesting Crew reported a fishkill on Sodus Bay. After an assessment across the bay, NYS DEC Region 8 Bureau of Fisheries was contacted for further inspection. It was reported to the District that, “DEC staff investigated this occurrence on Wednesday, Aug. 3 and Thursday, Aug. 4. The fish die off in young-of-year alewives is somewhat a normal annual occurrence. It is likely related to warm water temperatures stressing the young fish. With the large number of them, it could possibly be due to a good spawn producing a lot of young of year fish.
In accordance with DEC protocol, fresh specimens were collected and sent to Cornell University for diagnosis. Preliminary diagnosis from Cornell is that it appears to be related to a naturally occurring fungal infection of the gills. Warm water temperatures favors growth of this fungus. There is no human health concern with this fungus.”

Coupons for Seniors Available
August 17, 2011 - LYONS - Farmers Market coupon booklets are still available on a first-come, first-served basis from the Department of Aging and Youth office located on the second floor at 1519 Nye Road, Suite 300, Lyons. One booklet is allowed per household.  
The eligible senior must sign for their own coupon booklet.  
The office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Questions or concerns can be addressed by contacting the office at 946-5624.

The Farmers Market Nutrition Program, sponsored by NYS Dept. of Agriculture and Markets, NYS Dept. of Health, NYS Office for the Aging, Cornell Cooperative Extension and USDA Food and Nutrition Services, began as a means to help low income senior citizens take advantage of locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables thus improving their nutrient intake.

This coupon program is for the low income senior population, 60 years of age or over, living in Wayne County. The qualifying Low Income guidelines are:
*$1,678/month for a one -person household,
*$2,267/month for a two-person household,
*$2,856/month for a three-person household;
Or if the senior is currently receiving or eligible to receive SSI, food stamps, public assistance or is residing in Section 8 (subsidized) housing.