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Session 1888 <br />June 2, 2003 <br /> <br />concerning spraying for the West Nile virus this summer. He said that any <br />comments from the public will be taken into consideration by the City Council as <br />they finalize plans for abating mosquitoes as needed this summer. <br /> <br />Mayor Adams opened the public hearing at 7:40 p.m. <br /> <br />Linda Wiggins Kraft, 7275 Creveling Drive, stated that she had observed pools of <br />standing water that constituted potential breeding areas. She left material for <br />Council to the effect that public education was more effective than spraying. <br /> <br />Norma Bonham, 734 Brittany Lane, stressed the need to focus on controlling the <br />mosquito population at the larvae stage rather than spraying adults. Her <br />suggestions were for treatment with pellets and to have all city inspectors identify <br />areas with stagnant water to target for treatment. <br /> <br />Michael Diamond, 7209 Waterman, a professor at Washington University, stated <br />that he was a physician who has treated patients for West Nile Virus. He <br />stressed the importance of public education. He also reported that 5% of the <br />mosquitoes trapped at Forest Park were positive for the virus; spraying reduced <br />the number of human cases. He requested that no spraying occur until evidence <br />of West Nile appears in birds. <br /> <br />Barbara Chicherio, 720 Harvard Avenue, stated her opposition to spraying and <br />recounted negative health effects of the pesticide to be used. <br /> <br />David Kennell, 1332 Purdue Avenue, requested a ban on spraying any pesticide <br />used to spray for West Nile and summarized the material he had provided for <br />Council in his previous appearances. <br /> <br />Mr. Kennel read a statement from Daniel McKeel, M.D., (Director, <br />Neuropathology Corp. and an associate professor of pathology at Washington <br />University) that listed conditions attributed to the chemicals used in the pertinent <br />pesticides. <br /> <br />Mr. Kennel read a statement from Leslie Lihou, 7008 Amherst Avenue, that <br />urged University City to ban spraying of pesticides and maintained that spraying <br />was ineffective. <br /> <br />Tom Bratowski, 1211A Hebert Street, St. Louis, maintained that the issue was <br />that the city be in control of its environment. He encouraged treatment for larvae <br />and targeting breeding grounds and held that spraying could lead to pesticide <br />resistance among mosquitoes. <br /> <br />Page 6 <br /> <br /> <br />