CALDWELL PARISH, LA. (KNOE 8 News) - To stop West Nile in its tracks in Caldwell Parish, spray rained down on mosquitoes from the sky Thursday night.
The parish sent the planes up around 7:00 p.m. thanks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Hurricane Isaac funding, taking care of 75% of the cost.
"They'll be spraying approximately 45,000 acres and our cost is going to run around between $18,000 and $20,000," Secretary-Treasurer of Caldwell Parish, Wanda Stowe, said.
Parish leaders said the spraying was badly needed after one elderly person died from West Nile earlier this year.
"We had one death due to West Nile this year," Stowe confirmed. "There's been, I think, four confirmed cases."
But parish leaders said at that time their hands were tied and they just couldn't afford an aerial spray.
"Small parishes just don't have the funding," Stowe said. "You're looking between $75,000 and $100,000 and you just can't do it. We could not have done it had it not been for the assistance from FEMA."
Now officials hope those tens of thousands of acres will be both mosquito and West Nile-free.
If the plane flew over your neighborhood, parish leaders said there's no need to worry.
They said the spray was not harmful to anything but mosquitoes.
Tuesday, May 21 2013 10:10 AM EDT2013-05-21 14:10:14 GMT
MOORE, Ok. (KNOE 8 News) - President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster in Oklahoma as the state recovers from a massive tornado that ripped through the Oklahoma City suburbs
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Friday, May 17 2013 12:09 PM EDT2013-05-17 16:09:18 GMT
FARMERVILLE, La. (KNOE 8 News) - The family of a Farmerville teen who died at football practice last week says it is overwhelmed by the community's gratitude.
FARMERVILLE, La. (KNOE 8 News) - The family of a Farmerville teen who died at football practice last week says it is overwhelmed by the community's gratitude.
