| Today's Feature
Best Defense Against
West Nile Virus is to Remove Breeding Habitat for
Mosquitoes.
University Outreach and
Extension offices statewide are getting telephone
calls every day from people wanting to know how
they can protect their family from mosquitoes and
West Nile Virus.
"The best method of
protection is to eliminate breeding sites for
mosquitoes," said Anastasia Becker, research
and outreach coordinator, University of Missouri
Outreach and Extension.
Missouri is home to about 50
species of mosquitoes, several of which are
capable of transmitting viruses that cause
diseases in humans. Common breeding places for
mosquitoes include floodwaters, woodland pools,
edges of slow-moving streams, ditches, around the
edges of lakes, rain barrels, birdbaths, wading
pools, old tires, tin cans, guttering or in
anything else that can hold water for at least a
few days.
According to Becker, these are
a few of the ways to eliminate mosquito-breeding
sites:
1. Destroy or dispose of tin
cans, old tires or any other unnecessary water
containers.
2. Make weekly inspections of
the water in flowerpots and plant containers. If
mosquito larvae are seen, change the water.
3. Change the water in
birdbaths once or twice a week.
4. Turn wading pools upside
down when not in use.
5. Stock garden and lily ponds
with top-feeding minnows.
6. Keep rain gutters unclogged
and flat roofs dry.
7. Drain and fill stagnant
pools, puddles, ditches, or swampy places near
the home.
8. Keep the margins of small
ponds clear of vegetation.
9. Place tight covers over
cisterns, septic tanks, rain barrels and tubs.
10. Remove tree stumps that may
hold water.
West Nile Virus is transmitted
by the bite of infected mosquitoes. It presents a
threat to public, equine, and animal health, and
can cause fatal encephalitis (inflammation of the
brain) in humans and horses.
Commentary
Martin
"Bubs" Hohulin
State Representative, District 126
It looks like we had a pretty
good voter turnout for a primary election. My
congratulations go out to the winners and my
thanks to the losers for participating in the
electoral process. When I ran the first time, the
gentleman I was running against commented to me
that everyone should run for something at least
once in their life. I still believe that today.
Now the campaigns for the fall elections will be
getting into high gear. Watch for another round
of political signs and commercials.
This will probably be one of
the last columns that I write. As someone that
did not win on Tuesday, it is time for me to get
out of the way and let the new folks have their
time. That is not to say I won’t be
available to help with your problems and
concerns. Officially, I am on duty as the
representative for the 126th district until Dec.
31, 2002. I will be glad to still help with
whatever problems and concerns arise.
I don’t know if you
realized it or not, but you saw history in the
making on Tuesday. That is the first election
cycle that term limits had a major impact on.
Last election cycle there were about a dozen
House Members and a couple of Senators that
couldn’t run for reelection. This time it
was about half the House and a fourth of the
Senate. Throw in some voluntary retirements and
the inevitable defeats of some incumbents and
about half of the Legislature will be new. As
near as I can tell, there was only one incumbent
House member defeated in Tuesday’s primary,
but there are usually a handful that get beat in
the November general election.
I really appreciate the entire
readership from this column during the past
twelve years. My first week in office we were
given a pre-written press release to send to our
local media. I dutifully sent it to my local
newspapers only to discover that the person that
had the district next to me sent the same release
to the same newspapers! In the next edition,
there they were, identical columns, side by side,
with different names on them. It was at that
point I decided to write my own columns. With the
increased availability of first faxes and then
email, it has become easier and easier to reach
the public. When I first started this column it
only went to the media and we sent it out by
letter. When we got our first fax machine in the
office we thought it couldn’t get any better
than this! Now with email we send to literally
hundreds of people. Not a week goes by that at
least some of you don’t write back with
comments, and I appreciate that you took the time
to do that. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as
I have. Thanks again and I wish you all the best.
As usual, I can be reached at
House Post Office, State Capitol, Jefferson City,
MO 65101, or 1-800-878-7126, or
mhohulin@services.state.mo.us for your questions,
comments, or advice.
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