Carson Valley Middle School student Ayden Strange from Gardnerville placed first in the 2020 ÁùºÏ±¦µä Radon Poster Contest with his poster, “The Invisible Reaper.”
conducts the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Radon Poster Contest each year to educate students and their families on the dangers of radon in the home, and to encourage ÁùºÏ±¦µäns to test their homes for radon, a radioactive, colorless, odorless and tasteless gas that comes from the ground. Radon can accumulate in homes and can increase the risk of developing lung cancer.
For placing first, Strange will receive a $75 gift card of his choice. His teacher, Jennifer Celio, will receive a $50 gift card for classroom supplies. Strange will receive his award after a radon presentation 6 p.m., Jan. 30, at the CVIC Hall, 1604 Esmeralda Ave. in Minden. Mason Diers from Cornerstone Christian Academy in Las Vegas, who placed second, will receive a $60 gift card and his teacher, Alan Surbaugh, will receive a gift card for $35. Diers will receive his award after a radon presentation 6 p.m., Jan. 28, at the Summerlin Library, 1771 Inner Circle Drive in Las Vegas. The third-place winner, Dakota Butler from Odyssey Charter School in Las Vegas, will receive a $45 gift card and her teacher, Gail Nelson, will receive a $20 gift card. Butler and Nelson will both receive their awards after a radon presentation 2 p.m., Jan. 26, at the Sahara West Library, 9600 W. Sahara Ave. in Las Vegas.
In addition to the gift card awards, each winner will also receive a certificate and radon giveaways.
This is the 11th year that the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Radon Education Program has held the contest, which is open to children ages 9 to 14. The contest is sponsored by the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Radon Education Program; Extension; the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Division of Public and Behavioral Health, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
This year’s ÁùºÏ±¦µä Radon Poster Contest had 61 entries. Posters were judged on information accuracy, visual communication of the topic, reproducibility and originality. Winning posters were chosen by Facebook likes; votes from program partners and volunteers; and votes from personnel from the state Radiation Control Program; ÁùºÏ±¦µä’s radon industry; Extension; the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources; and the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Radon Education Program.
The ÁùºÏ±¦µä Radon Education Program is a program of and is funded by the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Division of Public and Behavioral Health through Grant Number K1-96963520-0 from the EPA. Since the program began in 2007, more than 30,000 homes have been tested in ÁùºÏ±¦µä.
Free test kits are available at Extension offices and partner locations throughout the state until the end of February.
For more information, call the Radon Hotline at 1-888-RADON10 (1-888-723-6610) or visit the at . Extension, the EPA and the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Division of Public and Behavioral Health urge all ÁùºÏ±¦µäns to test their homes for radon.
