Trailer to help train volunteers for disasters

Kansas Emergency Management has a new van to help train Community Emergency Response Teams.

The teams are made up of volunteer citizens who are trained to provide needed assistance for up to 72 hours after an emergency in case emergency response providers are unavailable.

Kansas has received $480,000 in federal funds since 2002 and has trained 180 volunteers since 1996. Members of a team in Olathe helped with cleanup after the May tornadoes in the Kansas City area.

Members receive 20 hours of training from certified personnel. The van is filled with training tools such as dummies, medical kits, gas meters and fire extinguishers.

For more information on the teams, call Anne Allen, state training officer for Kansas Emergency Management, at (785) 274-1413.

Lawrence housing authority receives grant

The Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority will receive a $32,366 grant from the national Department of Housing and Urban Development to help increase employment.

The grant is part of a $47 million dollar initiative to give low-income citizens job training and placement. Kansas will receive $376,953.

Participants in the job program sign a contract that the head of household will get a job and the family will be self-sufficient in five years. One-third of the family’s income is set aside in an interest-bearing escrow account, and if the contract is fulfilled, the family can keep those funds.

For more information on the department and its programs, visit www.hud.gov.

Sunflower board to discuss environment

Clearview City — The Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant’s Restoration Advisory Board is scheduled to review the defunct plant’s ongoing environmental remediation process at its next meeting.

The board includes members from the U.S. Army, Environmental Protection Agency, Kansas Department of Health and Environment and community members.

The meeting, which is open to the public, will be at 6 p.m. Nov. 5 at the Clearview City administration building, 123 Main St. in Clearview City.

The Sunflower plant is in De Soto.