Another Award for Fort Lewis

(I Corps release) – Fort Lewis has been recognized with another Department of Army mark of excellence.

The Child and Youth Services facilities passed the U.S. Army Environmental Command’s inspection and received star certification from the Integrated Pest Management Institute of North America.

“This means they went beyond compliance to protect the children under their care,” said Jim Harrison, master consultant in entomology, U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine-West.

“This is an Army-wide volunteer program,” he said. “So far, out of more than 100 installations, Fort Lewis is the seventh Army post to become IPM star certified.”

Dr. Tom Green, president of the IPM Institute of North America, Madison, Wis., presented the certificates March 6 to Barbara Sporcic, CYS division chief, and her directors of the Fort Lewis child development and youth centers.

Deborah Johnson, installation Pest Management coordinator, and Tom Sager, Willie Stubbs, Raymond Johnson, and David Campbell, pest controllers at the Public Works Pest Control shop, received special recognition for their efforts.

“The CYS facilities at Fort Lewis were already in good shape,” Harrison said. “It was not like they were starting from scratch because they always were practicing things like good sanitation.”

Harrison said he established a program around the principles that they had in place, and then formalized it by writing plans and documentation.

“Because of the success of this program, all child development centers Army-wide will be required to seek certification by 2008,” Harrison said. “Fort Lewis is my post and it’s my home, so every chance I get I try to make Fort Lewis a better place to live.”

During the certification process, Sporcic said the education part of it was the most enlightening, like learning not to grab for a can of spray every time they see a bug.

“It’s critical for everyone to know that whenever they are trying to control pests anywhere on post, they should always choose a non-chemical method first,” Johnson said.

By choosing less-toxic alternatives, such as ant bait stations or mousetraps, people can keep poisons out of the child development centers.

“The main reason for this program is to reduce the children’s exposure to pesticides and pests,” Harrison said. “We want to minimize both.”

When Harrison approached Sporcic with the idea, she said it sounded like something they could use for the sake of the children.

“We wanted to be ahead of the game, and Jim Harrison made it really easy for us to do,” Sporcic said. “He worked so closely with our staff that we couldn’t fail.”