Tag Archives: el paso county

EL PASO, Texas – The City of El Paso Department of Public Health announced today that the first West Nile Virus case of the season has been confirmed.

The patient is a man in his mid-40’s who had no reported travel outside of El Paso. The man lives in the East El Paso area and has underlying medical conditions. A total of six West Nile Virus cases were reported last season with the most recent case confirmed in the middle of January.

The City of El Paso Environmental Services Department continues its fogging efforts in order to control adult mosquitoes and will continue treating affected areas as the season continues.

“We want to remind residents that mosquitoes are not just a nuisance but are carriers for some serious diseases,” said Fernando Gonzalez, Lead Epidemiologist. “We need to be doing everything we can on a personal level to prevent mosquito bites and related disease such as West Nile, Zika, and Chikungunya.”

The best way to avoid exposure to mosquito-borne diseases is to practice the “four Ds”:

DEET – Use insect repellents when you go outdoors. Repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, and some oil of lemon eucalyptus and para-menthane-diol products provide longer-lasting protection. To optimize safety and effectiveness, repellents should be used according to the label
instructions.

DRESS – When weather permits, wear long sleeves, long pants, and socks when outdoors. Mosquitoes may bite through thin clothing, so spraying clothes with repellent containing permethrin or another EPA-registered repellent will give extra protection. Don’t apply repellents containing permethrin directly to skin. Rather, spray permethrin-containing products only on clothing.

DUSK and DAWN – Although mosquitoes associated with Zika can be active throughout the day, residents should take extra care during peak mosquito biting hours (from dusk to dawn) or consider avoiding outdoor activities during these times.

DRAIN – Help reduce the number of mosquitoes around and outside your home by emptying standing water from flowerpots, gutters, buckets, pool covers, pet water dishes, discarded tires, and birdbaths on a regular basis.

You can also mosquito-proof your home by installing or repairing screens on windows and doors to keep mosquitoes out. To report standing water or mosquito breeding, please call 3-1-1.

Education

In effort to increase awareness about the disease and ways the public can protect themselves, the Department of Public Health has added a West Nile Virus session to the list of presentations offered by the Speakers Bureau. Local civic and community organizations can schedule a presentation that will include background on the disease, prevention methods, as well as what people can look out for in regards to signs and symptoms of infection. Presentations can be scheduled by visiting www.EPHealth.com and clicking on “Special Projects.”

For more information on the programs and services we provide, please dial 2-1-1 or visit www.EPHealth.com

On Thursday, Workforce Solutions Borderplex (WSB), along with partners from the Borderplex Alliance, El Paso County, the City of El Paso, the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce, launched three youth employment initiatives for 2017; Hire El Paso Youth Summer Work Program, Summer Earn & Learn, and The Texas Internship Challenge.

The Hire El Paso Summer Work Program will subsidize 100 percent of a paid work experience for 122 youth between the ages of 16-24 for 20-40 hours a week and for up to 12 weeks.

Summer Earn & Learn will subsidize 100 percent of the paid work experience for 78 youth with disabilities between the ages of 14-22 for 30 hours a week and for up to 7 weeks.

The Texas Internship Challenge, a partnership between the Texas Workforce Commission, Texas Education Agency and The Higher Education Coordinating Board, is aimed to increase and promote paid internships for students with Texas employers.  In this case, the employers will commit to covering the costs for internships.

“Together we, and our partners, understand the value that summer work experience offers the future workforce. Hiring youth not only helps them gain important workplace training but also builds self-esteem while earning money for themselves and their families. In return, employers can expect to get productive employees,” said Joyce Wilson, CEO of Workforce Solutions Borderplex.

Employers who participate in the programs will benefit from hiring motivated young adults in their workplaces, while providing crucial career building opportunities. Employers participating in the Summer Earn & Learn Program will receive insights and recommendations as to how to best serve customers with disabilities and learn how to easily adapt workplaces to employ persons with disabilities.

In total, WSB has committed to subsidizing 200 summer jobs at 100 percent (zero cost to employers). Youth who participate in the program will attend a Dynamic Futures  foundational skills boot camp to better prepare them prior to starting at their worksites.

Last year just in El Paso County, Child Protective Services investigated over 4,800 reports of child abuse or neglect. Of those cases, 6 resulted in the death of a child due to abuse or extreme neglect.

On Wednesday April 5, 2017, the El Paso County Attorney’s Office will be hosting the 7th Annual Child Welfare Law (CLE.) The yearly event provides attorneys, case workers, counselors and foster parents training to better help troubled youth and child victims of abuse and neglect.

The legal seminar will take place on Wednesday April 5, 2017, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Centennial Banquet and Conference Center.

This year’s key-note speaker is Michael C. Weber, an investigator with the Tarrant County D.A.’s Office who specializes in medical child abuse investigations. In October 2009, Weber arrested Hope Ybarra, a woman who for several years faked having cancer and got her children severely sick to gain favor and attention from the community.

The chilling details of the extreme child abuse case where exposed by several Dallas media outlets including the Fort Worth Star Telegram. (Video / News Article).

For more information about the conference, please visit the website or call Martha Alvarado at (915) 546-8160.

WHO: El Paso County Attorney’s Office

WHAT: 7 th Annual Child Welfare Law CLE

WHEN: Wednesday April 5, 2017, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

WHERE: Centennial Banquet and Conference Center – Ft. Bliss

The University of Texas at El Paso and The County of El Paso have announced collaboration on the new MIRO cSETR Technology Research and Innovation Acceleration Park (tRIAc) in Fabens, Texas, adjacent to the existing Fabens Airport.

The partnership will increase regional economic prosperity via the new facility, where academic talents from UTEP will meet industry leaders who have been brought to the location to work on tomorrow’s innovations and create new jobs for the area to improve the economy of Fabens and El Paso County as a whole.

“This partnership marks a giant leap forward not only for research opportunities available to the University’s students, but also for economic development that benefits our whole region,” said UTEP President Diana Natalicio.

“We are proud to be collaborating with the County of El Paso to realize this tremendous opportunity for our region to be seen as a major player within the aerospace industry,” said Ahsan Choudhuri, Ph.D., chair of UTEP’s mechanical engineering department and director of the University’s Center for Space Exploration Technology Research (cSETR).

The County is contributing acreage and structural support while promoting the area as a strong economic bolster while the University’s cSETR will lend federal funding and student talent to attract industry leaders to the Fabens site as part of its continued commitment to meet the demand for engineers in aerospace and federal labs, particularly in combustion and propulsion. Current cSETR partners, including NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy, Lockheed Martin, and the Missile Defense Agency, will have projects housed at tRIAc.

cSETR’s mission also addresses the underrepresentation of Hispanics in this sector and has a strong track record of graduating students from the UTEP Mechanical Engineering program at a higher rate than the state and national average.

“The last 100 years of UTEP’s history were about giving tools to students to be successful. But then graduates, especially in engineering, leave town because that’s where the employers are. For UTEP’s next hundred years, our goal is to keep graduates here at home. Efforts like tRIAc are essential to achieve that goal,” Choudhuri added.

The 10-year timeline of tRIAc’s development will encompass construction, grant funding, and the implementation of projects by the previously mentioned entities.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Explorer Post 2005 is preparing for national competition and are currently training on Emergency First Aid.

Explorers are learning CPR and what to do if presented with a medical emergency. The training will allow for the Sheriff’s Office Explorers to successfully handle various situations safely and professionally. The  training will also provide the Explorers with principals and skills that can be used in various law enforcement situations.

The Sheriff’s Office Explorer Post training is being held at the Region VIII Academy this Saturday, April 23, 2016.

Explorers and Advisors will continue to hold training sessions as they prepare for National Competition in Flagstaff, AZ, later this year.