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James Getchell on roadside spraying: Stop the insanity! Without the anger many would feel, James Getchell, tells, from long personal experience, his concern about the wholesale use of pesticides at all levels. Even when his neatly maintained frontage was sprayed in spite of the signs posted, he has no animosity toward the government road workers who did it. He recalls experiences of the aftermath of spreading flea and tick pellets around his house, the sadness surrounding visits his Vietnam Veteran friend from Burkesville, KY, who can no longer do the outdoor activities he loved because of Agent Orange - 'In Vietnam they told him Agent Orange was safe.' he writes. And, in a summation, writes 'In the end the collateral damage is never cheap. Please stop the insanity. Click on headline for complete story. Article inspired by: Eulogy for a Peach Tree , by Joyce Coomer. By James Getchell Personal commentary All in all I think our Adair County road crews do a good job. I live on the north end of Greenbriar Road in southern Adair County and my property has a lot of road frontage. I try to keep my frontage clean and the brush trimmed back. The county workers with whom I have spoken have told me I do a good job, and they pass right by when using the mowers or chopper on the tractor arm. As a reminder I have posted signs "No trimming, no chopping, no chemical spraying". They even sprayed the signs While away from the house recently, apparently the county sprayed herbicide to kill the vegetation along a portion of my property. They even sprayed my signs. I think a reasonable person would concede that the vegetation they sprayed was well beyond interfering with the road, since I purposely keep it trimmed. Although I am annoyed that now my frontage looks terrible, the bigger offense is that the county is using herbicides at all, especially where it was not even needed. US Forest Service, over 25 years, almost totally eliminated the use of herbicides I worked for the US Forest Service for 25 years and was pleased to see, during my career, they almost totally eliminated the use of herbicides because studies have shown they do a lot more harm than good. It is cheap and easy to apply, but it is bad for the environment and harmful to the workers that handle the chemicals. Son's experience with use flea and tick granules My son - when he was young - loved to catch lizards, skinks, toads, crawdads and lots of other outdoor critters around our house. One year he got the idea to spread flea and tick granules around the house. When I found out, I explained to him the collateral damage he was doing. When he realized, that summer, that the number of toads, lizards and all his other outdoor critters were greatly diminished around the house, he was heartbroken. The critters made a recovery, but it was a painful lesson for a boy that loved to play with them. There is a difference between herbicides and pesticides, but they both use powerful, environmentally offensive chemicals. Look around you: - Do you still have the number of song birds you remember in years past?We have all heard about their mysterious (?) decline. I wish the county worker had passed by my property that day without spraying, but I feel bad for him more than myself. Visiting Burkesville friend at Thomas Hood Veterans Center in Wilmore, KY I have a friend E.W. True; he used to live in Burksville. Now he lives at the Thomas Hood Veteran Center in Wilmore, KY. When I visit him, he tells me stories about his hunting, fishing and four wheeler adventures, but I come away crying when we visit, because he can't do those things any more. In Vietnam they told him Agent Orange was safe. It was just a harmless herbicide the army needed. Monsanto made money, and E.W. paid the price with his health. You the taxpayer pay to take care of him now. I'll bet Monsanto and many others have told the county workers that handle the herbicides that it is perfectly safe. Yeah, right, that is what Monsanto and the army told my friend. In the end the collateral damage is never cheap. Please stop the insanity. - James Getchell This story was posted on 2017-08-14 04:03:48
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