Briefs

Used cooking oil can be recycled at Springs Preserve

In addition to accepting Christmas trees for recycling at the Springs Preserve, this year valley residents can recycle used cooking oil.

The Clark County Water Reclamation District has designated the Preserve as its holiday drop site for used cooking oil that will eventually be processed into biofuel. Oil can be dropped off between 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily through Jan. 15.

It's easy to recycle cooking oil. Just use a funnel to carefully pour the used oil back into its original container, seal it and then bring it to the Preserve's south ticketing parking lot where a special collection receptacle will be available.

The holiday cooking oil recycling program is a component of the Reclamation District's "Don't be a Pain in the Drain" campaign. To learn more about how you can keep sewers free of blockages and overflows caused by fat, oil, grease and grit, visit paininthedrain.com.

Cannon seventh-grader wins state radon poster contest

Angelagrace Borro, a seventh-grade student at Cannon Junior High in Las Vegas, is the winner of the 2012 Nevada State Radon Poster Contest sponsored by University of Nevada Cooperative Extension's Radon Education Program.

Taking second place, was sixth-grade student Leah Yim from Hyde Park Middle School in Las Vegas and the third-place winner was Carolena McGrapth, a sixth-grade student at Hunsberger Elementary in Reno.

The first- and second-place Nevada poster contest winners will be presented award checks during a ceremony Jan. 10 at 4:30 p.m. at the UNCE office, 8050 Paradise Road. The public is invited to attend this ceremony.

This is the third year the Nevada Radon Education Program has offered the contest to children ages 9 to 14. The goal of the poster contest is to raise awareness of the harmful effects radon gas in home.

This year's contest had 12 entries from students in Washoe and Clark counties. Entrants chose from five poster topics: What is radon? Where does radon come from? How does radon get into our homes? Radon can cause lung cancer and Test your home for radon.

Radon is formed by the natural radioactive decay of uranium in rock, soil and water. It is colorless, odorless and tasteless. Once produced, radon moves through the ground to the air where it can enter homes, increasing the risk of lung cancer. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that radon causes about 21,000 deaths from lung cancer each year in the United States. The top three Nevada posters were also entered into the national poster contest, sponsored by Kansas State University and the EPA. This year, 1,440 posters were submitted from 30 different states and tribal nations. The first-, second- and third-place national contest winners, as well as a special online winner, will receive cash prizes.