MULLICA TO NOT SPRAY GYPSY MOTH

With the deadline for signing up for gypsy moth spraying being February 8th...and no Town Meeting between now and that time line...it seems clear that Mullica will not be participating in the State sponsored aerial eradication spraying for gypsy moth. The Headline in the Hammonton News last week for Hammonton was; "Town OKs gypsy month spraying". The cost in Hammonton will be over $90,000 and in Mullica it would have been over $60,000...some State offset might occur.

The process of the decision making is what troubles ... the issue did not make the agenda of the January Town Meetings ... and ended up being decided apparently in the back room. While there was some discussion of the spraying question from the public during the last Town Meeting in January...the suggestion by larry THE PEDANTIC MISANTHROPIC S.O.B. angel that if the Town were to sign up for spraying it could pull out at the last minute with no financial loss...and in the iterim it might be helpful to have an expert from the State, or local college, to address the pros and cons of spraying ... was ignored.

So far there is no sign that the newly elected Democrats intend to be any more open, or public friendly than their predecesors. It was interesting to hear the Mayor, bill THE INVERTEBRATE GARRULOUS kennedy when challenged at the January meeting as to the shut the public out operations so far of his administration...his response was that in terms of accommodating public input ... he intended to be 'worse' than the previous administration. HUH?