Latest news with #Cloyd
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Kansas ash trees under attack from returning pest
MANHATTAN, Kan. (KSNW) — A pest that last made a major appearance in Kansas nearly a decade ago is back — and it's feasting on ash trees across the state. Kansas State University entomologist Raymond Cloyd said the brownheaded ash sawfly is once again active, and residents are starting to take notice. 'We've had a number of inquiries regarding these caterpillar-looking insects,' said Cloyd, a professor in K-State's Department of Entomology. 'And they're not caterpillars — they're sawflies. It's important to make the distinction because certain insecticides will work on caterpillars but not sawflies.' The insect's larvae — yellow-green with white and green stripes and a brown head — feed on the leaves of green ash trees, leaving behind shot holes before consuming entire leaves, often sparing only the veins. 'They feed with chewing mouthparts,' Cloyd said, 'and can compromise the aesthetic quality of the plant.' This year marks the first widespread return of the brownheaded ash sawfly since 2016. The insect is specific to green ash trees and typically only produces one generation per year in Kansas. Skull of one-ton ground sloth found in Kansas Cloyd noted that while the sawfly is not as destructive as the emerald ash borer, it can still leave trees severely defoliated. 'If they continue to feed, your tree won't have any leaves on it, and that's the issue,' he said. Fortunately, there are a few simple ways to manage the problem. 'Heavy rainfall will wash them off,' Cloyd explained. 'You can use a high-pressure water spray to dislodge them, handpick them if feasible, or just let them go and know it will eventually stop.' If the insects have already moved to the base of the tree, Cloyd suggests collecting them in a bag for disposal. 'At this point, it's almost getting too late to apply some type of insecticide,' he said. 'It's either live with it, handpick, or remove the ones that have migrated to the base of the trees.' He also emphasized the importance of correct identification: 'Sawflies have prolegs—appendages on every section of the abdomen—while caterpillars typically don't. The feet of a caterpillar also have hairs or crochets, which sawflies lack.' In most cases, Cloyd recommends avoiding insecticides unless the damage is extensive. 'If populations are causing significant aesthetic damage, contact insecticides can be applied, but thorough coverage of the canopy, especially the leaf undersides, is important,' he said. For more details on identifying and managing the pest, K-State offers a free publication, Brownheaded Ash Sawfly. Residents can also reach out to their local Extension office with questions. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Family gets closure after body of man missing during Hurricane Helene recovered months later in Tennessee
Two hundred and sixteen. That's how many days passed before crews in East Tennessee found the body of a man who was swept away in raging floodwaters caused by Hurricane Helene, bringing his family much-needed closure after months of searching. Steven Cloyd and his dog went missing on September 27 while trying to escape fast-rising water coming from the Nolichucky River near his home, some 500 miles north of where Helene, a one-time Category 4 monster, made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region. Cloyd's goldendoodle, Orion, was found alive 3 miles down the road, but Cloyd remained missing, a painful wound the family described as 'numb confusion.' A crew tasked with debris removal found human remains on May 1 along the Nolichucky River about 4 miles from where Cloyd was last seen. Two days later, Washington County Sheriff Keith Sexton announced they received confirmation from the medical examiner that the remains were Cloyd. 'With heavy hearts, we the family of Steve Cloyd announce that our husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend was found,' his widow Keli said in a Facebook post. 'We have the patriarch of our family again…He is in the light, he is at peace and he is free and he is perfect,' she added. At least 250 people died from Hurricane Helene across six states, making it the deadliest hurricane to hit the US mainland since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a March report. In Tennessee, 19 people died, the state emergency management agency spokeswoman said in an update to CNN Tuesday. With Cloyd's remains having been found, that leaves one person still missing in Washington County, the county sheriff's office said. Steven and his dog, Orion. - From Matthew Cloyd Holding onto hope Two weeks after Cloyd went missing, his son Matthew said he lost hope in finding his dad alive. But he never fully lost hope that he would be found. 'I'd say, the hope of finding him, I think, I always still held on to a little bit of hope that we would find him. I don't think I completely lost that,' he said. 'You just don't want him to be out there. And you see the debris and the stuff, and you don't want him to be out there,' an emotional Matthew said. Matthew went on to say that whenever the family was close to losing hope, someone with the Washington Sheriff's Office or emergency management would talk with them and help restore it. A roller-coaster ride In the interview with CNN, Matthew shared the past few months of searching for his father have felt like a 'roller-coaster ride.' 'There's a lot of emotions that run through your mind,' he said. 'You wonder, are people looking? Do people care? Is he going to be one of the ones that's forgotten about?' He and his family tried to stay calm and let the search process take its course, but then 'panic starts to set in.' 'Especially once you get into one month, two months, three months, four months and five months …you start thinking, is he really not going to be found?' Mat thew said he would fluctuate between feeling like he was not doing enough, to feeling like he was doing too much and burdening search teams. 'You feel like you're causing unwanted stress,' he said. Matthew, based in Illinois, said he would split his time between searching for his dad in East Tennessee and being back home with his two kids and girlfriend. He would spend weeks searching through mud and debris, sometimes with search personnel, other times just with his younger brother. Piles of debris and mud left after the flooding were overwhelming and made search efforts feel almost impossible, he said. Matthew said one day, when he was out searching with his brother, they were standing on debris the size of a football field. 'It kind of felt like the ground was beneath you, but it wasn't - you were six, seven feet in the air,' he said. A picture of flood victim Steven Cloyd. - From Matthew Cloyd Steven Cloyd's remains were pulled from under six feet of debris, according to Matthew. Two men tasked with debris removal told his mother that a flash of light caught their eye. It turned out to be Cloyd's wedding band. That's when they called in the authorities, he said. Matthew said he cannot thank those two men enough. 'They could've said screw it, we're just gonna scoop this whole pile and throw it in the back of a truck,' he said. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Yahoo
Body of missing Tennessee man who died in Hurricane Helene found near the Nolichucky River
The body of one of the final two missing people who died during Hurricane Helene was found and identified last week. The body of Steve Cloyd was found in a debris pile along the Nolichucky River in Washington County. 'Crews clearing debris located the remains, and our investigators worked with the medical examiner to identify Steve,' said Washington County Sheriff Keith Sexton said in a statement. 'WCSO continues to pray for the Cloyd family and we hope this brings them some closure.' Eighteen people died in East Tennessee, almost all due to raging floodwaters from streams and rivers, like the Nolichucky, that exploded past previous highs when Tennessee and North Carolina were saturated with rain Sept. 27. It was one of the worst natural disasters in the region's history. The body of Nancy Tucker, also of Washington County, has not been found. The state already included Cloyd and Tucker in its death total. This is where people died in the East Tennessee's Helene floods: Two in Cocke County One in Greene County One in Knox County One in Johnson County Nine in Unicoi County Four in Washington County Tyler Whetstone is an investigative reporter focused on accountability journalism. Connect with Tyler by emailing him at Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tyler_whetstone. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Body of missing Tennessee man who died in Hurricane Helene was found
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Body of man reported missing after Hurricane Helene flooding recovered
JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (WJHL) — The remains of a man reported missing after Hurricane Helene in September have been found in Tennessee, authorities confirmed. Human remains were found along the Nolichucky River in rural Washington County, about 90 miles east of Knoxville, on Thursday. On Saturday, the Washington County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the remains are those of Steven Cloyd. 'Crews clearing debris located the remains, and our Investigators worked with the medical examiner to identify Steve,' said Sheriff Keith Sexton. 'WCSO continues to pray for the Cloyd family, and we know this brings them some closure.' 'A miracle': Cat survives fall in Utah national park that killed two hikers Cloyd was one of two individuals reported missing in Washington County following the flooding brought on by Hurricane Helene. While the storm made landfall as a Category 4 storm in Florida, it had weakened to a tropical storm and then a post-tropical cyclone as it moved through the Southeastern U.S. The storm was still strong enough to bring widespread flooding to the region, including in Tennessee. Authorities said Cloyd, as well as Nancy Tucker, had not been seen since the catastrophic flooding in late September. They both lived in the Jackson Island area near the Jackson Bridge, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said. Cloyd's body was found just a few miles from Jackson Island. He had texted his brother, Gary Cloyd, that 'water was coming in the house' as Helene swept through the area. Gary told Nexstar's WJHL that he tried to drive to his brother, but was blocked off by rising water. 2 people, a dog dead after small plane crashes in Los Angeles-area neighborhood Steven Cloyd's car was later found less than half a mile away from where he was last seen. Tucker, meanwhile, remains missing. Her husband, Jimmy Tucker, was found dead a few days after the storm moved through. Their home had been swept away by the floodwaters while they were both inside, WJHL previously learned. Two of their three dogs were found alive and turned over to Nancy's son. 'Nancy had packed dog food and stuff like that for the animals in the car,' her nephew, Johnny Horton, told WJHL in November. 'I guess they were doing that as the water was rising.' Last month, another body was recovered from the Nolichucky River; authorities said it was not believed to be related to Helene. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Lexington sets the stage for an epic clash of robots, highlighting STEM education
LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — Science, technology, engineering, and math, also known as STEM education, can take a lot of different forms. All of these factors were combined in the Robot Gladiator League state championship. Students from all over the state got together to spotlight their tech skills and what they've learned in this competition. The students built and programmed bots to compete with other teams' bots in a battle of technology. This league is hosted by a non-profit called Newton's Attic, an organization all about empowering STEM education. Dawn Cloyd is the director of community outreach for Newton's Attic. Lexington sets the stage for an epic clash of robots, highlighting STEM education Men accused of sexual assault on UK campus appear in court Bourbon County double homicide case to be presented to grand jury 'They actually design and build things, so there's a lot of advanced manufacturing skills. These students are starting from scratch; they're building weapons systems, they're building defense systems, and they are having to go through the engineering process,' Cloyd said. They learn a lot along the way. Some students came from more rural areas, like the Jackson Independent Schools, where Wayne Sizemore is superintendent. 'It's incredible. When we talk about Robot Gladiator League, what an awesome opportunity for our students to be part of the project-based learning experience. We talk a lot about that in education, but you're going to see it full force right now,' Sizemore said. On top of the competition and the energy, competitors like Bryan Israel from the Black Males Working Academy and Carolina Keeton from Morgan County High School said the best part is taking these skills with them through life. Study: Kentucky is the toughest state to own an EV in Study: It costs over $200K to raise a child over 18 years in Kentucky These Kentucky small towns make USA Today's '10 Best' 'It's fascinating just seeing all of the wild imaginations spending hours and a lot of things like that. It's just fun to see everybody coming up with their ideas for their bots and going out and competing,' Israel said. 'The biggest thing I want to take away is how hard everyone worked, seeing the dedication, and really just seeing, like, how collaborative we can really be. It's been really exciting watching our robots progress throughout the year,' Keeton added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
