NEW JERSEY MOSQUITO CONTROL ASSOCIATION, INC. NEWSLETTER

VOL. XIV NUMBER 2 MAY, 2002

President's Message

The annual meeting in Atlantic City was very successful. It was the result of significant effort on the part of all the committees who arranged for the various aspects of the meeting, the speakers who gave presentations and the vendors who provided mosquito control agencies with information on essential equipment and supplies. Thank you to everyone who helped make this meeting so informative and productive.

Now we have all moved on to the active mosquito breeding season. Unprecedented drought conditions have impacted the normal breeding activity in many areas of the state but that could change any day. We can only be prepared for whatever comes our way. In addition to the normal activities, everyone in mosquito control in New Jersey is working to comply with the recently adopted changes in the pesticide regulations. The following website http://www.state.nj.us/dep/enforcement/pcp/pcp-regs.htm has the text of the current regulations with new text in red. Compliance with these regulations should be pursued with diligence and care.

Public education is a critical component of an Integrated Pest Management Program. Several initiatives recognized and/or sponsored by the NJMCA that can be participated in to include: 

1. NJMCA Poster Contest: Information packets were distributed earlier in 2002 to all counties and participation is encouraged. Even if you reach out to just one class in one school, the educational benefits of this project can impact your county. The current rules plus past winners can be found on the Internet at www.rci.rutgers.edu/~insects/mospost.htm. If you were not able to participate in 2002, consider this NJMCA sponsored activity for the future.

2. 4th Annual Washington Day Spring Conference: Sponsored by the American Mosquito Control Association this conference held April 30- May 2, 2002 was an organized visit to speak to legislators on Capitol Hill to educate them about mosquito control concerns. It is also an opportunity for interaction with representatives from federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (Office of Pesticide Programs), US Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Park Service*. These representatives gave informative and timely presentations to the attendees. Information and position papers related to this conference are available at www.mosquito.org/WashDay02/IndexWashDay02.html . Overall participation included 55 individuals from 15 states. New Jersey representation included Judy Hansen (Cape May County MEC Supt., AMCA Past President & AMCA North Atlantic Regional Director), Christine Musa (Warren County MEC Supt. & NJMCA President), Bill Zawicki (AMCA Past President & NJMCA 1st Vice President, Roderic Schmidt (Middlesex County MEC Supt. and NJMCA Past President), Martin Chomsky (Monmouth County MEC Supt. & AMCA Business Manager) Doug Guthrie (Monmouth County MEC Asst. Supt. & Supt as of May 1) and Michael Hajek (Cape May County MEC Commissioner). See http://www-rci.rutgers.edu/~insects/washday.htm . Consideration should be give for participation next year and for including funds in your 2003 budget to do so.

3. Mosquito Control Awareness Week: As established by the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA), is set for June 23-29th 2002 and participation is encouraged at the county level to educate the public on what we do in a positive, proactive manner. To view the AMCA resolution that can be adopted in your county, visit http://www.mosquito.org/MosqWeek/MosqWk2002.html .

Considerable effort was put into establishing the committees for this year with a focus on encouraging input from retired members, individuals who have served in mosquito control for a while but may not have been involved on a committee and other members who have just joined the ranks of mosquito control professionals. At the same time, we rely on the knowledge and expertise of those who have served on some of these committees for many years and continue to do so. Most individuals were placed on committees that they expressed an interest in, which hopefully will enhance involvement. At times some individuals were named to as many as 8-10 committees. Now, with the involvement of more members, most individuals are on one or two committees, allowing for a focus of energy to those areas of interest while at the same time fulfilling the requirements of full time jobs.

The committee member list, committee charges, Association Bylaws, a list of Officers and Trustees in addition to future meeting information are all included in the Association handbook which has been printed and distributed to all currently paid members of the Association. These items are intended to give members a better understanding of the Association and to encourage input and communication. Please keep your copy on hand for reference.

A few particular goals that will be pursued this year include but are not limited to: 1. Acquiring status with the IRS as a nonprofit organization is warranted and will also exempt the Association from state sales tax. This is appropriate based on the nature and goals of our Association. 2. Build on the comprehensive membership database developed by Membership Committee Chair Jack Nunemaker to include all Association contacts and make the database readily available to committees that need to use it such as for meeting registration, newsletter, etc. 3.Organize/catalog the formal actions taken by the NJMCA for easy reference when a question arises regarding a policy or a previous decision by the Trustees, membership, etc. This initiative should facilitate the functioning of the Association in future years.

Every year is different. As this year unfolds, I wonder what it has in store for us but as the Irish proverb goes: "May the wind be always at your back." 

Christine Musa, President

* At the Washington Conference I got a business card from Carol DiSalvo, Integrated Pest Management Coordinator for the NPS. I wanted to share a very apropos statement printed on the back of her card: 

If you think you are too small to make a difference, You've never had a mosquito in your tent!

Executive Committee Meeting 4/24/02- Headlee Labs, New Brunswick

Submitted by Christine Musa, President

Committee Chairs named for 2002 were provided with a list of committee members, the committee charge (with proposed charges) and a copy of the approved budget for input prior to the Executive Committee meeting.

Committee charges were reviewed. Some proposed changes were accepted, others not and some new wording was added. The modified charges were approved by the Executive Committee and incorporated into the 2002-3 NJMCA handbook.

Possible financial support of NJ representation/participation at the AMCA Washington Spring Conference was considered. Using proceeds from the Annual Meeting was suggested and will be taken into consideration during the development of the NJMCA 2003 budget. No budget modifications were made for calendar year 2002.

Cancellation policies for annual meeting registrants and exhibitors were established and will be spelled out on the registration materials that are developed for future annual meetings.

The request from the Northeast Mosquito Control Association (NMCA) to host a joint meeting for their 50th year in December 2004 (most likely in Mystic, Connecticut) was discussed. President Musa and the Convention Arrangements Committee in addition to Bob Kent will communicate with the NMCA to get more details and bring a recommendation to the Board of Trustees. If this joint meeting took place, a regular NJMCA meeting would be held early in 2004 and a shortened meeting would be scheduled for early 2005 to accommodate at least the annual business meeting and the training session. A summary of the Executive Committee and Board of Trustee Meetings will be provided in the NJMCA newsletters to help keep the membership informed as to what is taking place in the association. Consideration is being given to provide this information on the Association website also to provide it in a timely manner.

Looking ahead to get a location and dates established for the 2004 (and possibly the shortened 2005) NJMCA annual meeting, the Trump Marina in Atlantic City was proposed and will be approached. This hotel was well received as the location for the 2002 meeting and this is the location established for the 2003 meeting.

Discussion took place regarding the AMCA Central Office and the affiliation with Rutgers University now that the office is in Monmouth County. Support of the initiative to have the Central Office housed in the White House (Rutgers property) was given by the Executive Committee. The University Liaison Committee will pursue this initiative. Financial support of the Central Office is to be recommended to the NJMCA Board of Trustees.

A media training session was discussed pursuant to the suggestion of an individual to provide this training that funds are available for in the Public Relations budget. The Professional Training Committee will pursue this training session

NEW JERSEY MOSQUITO CONTROL ASSOCIATION, INC.

2002-2003 OFFICERS:

TRUSTEES:

COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS

2002-2003 Standing Committees

Ad Hoc Committees

Annual Meeting: 

Other:

Editor: G.Hamilton,  Proceedings Distribution Manager: L.Dickson

2002 Annual Meeting Awards and Certificates New Jersey Mosquito Control Association Awards

Bunny Hajek Award - Martin Chomsky received the Bunny Hajek Award for his outstanding service to the mosquito control community. Marty works diligently to improve communications, enhance public relations, address legislative issues, as well as being a driving force in the NJMCA as well as the AMCA. NJMCA Achievement Award - William Sandy McPherson received this award for his work in mosquito control. 25 Year Service Award - Michael Hajek Jr. received this award for his service to the mosquito control community.

NJAES Certificate for Proficiency in Mosquito Identification and Habitat Recognition: The following people received this certificate for demonstrating proficiency in mosquito identification and habitat recognition: Sean Devaney of Union County , Karen Fogg of Salem County MEC, Sara May of the Warren County MEC, Gary Donato of Hunterdon County Vector Control, Sean McManus and Steve Csorgo of the N.J. Office of Mosquito Control Coordination.

Associated Executives of Mosquito Control Work in New Jersey Award

Jesse B Leslie Award - Eddie Bresnitz received this award from the Associated Executives of Mosquito Control Work in N.J. for his "outstanding service" to mosquito control work in N.J.

Continuing Education Programs For Mosquito Control Professionals At Rutgers University

In 2001, the university made good on its promise to add a training component to the Mosquito Control Program housed in the Department of Entomology's Mosquito Research & Control Unit. This new position was helped to address the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) mandates outlined in the New Jersey health statues Title 26 Chapter 9.

Since many mosquito control workers may not be familiar with OCPE I'll provide some background information and discuss where we plan to go with our training efforts from here.

The OCPE office was established in 1906 by Dr. E. B. Voorhees. It is housed in Cook College and our Director reports to the Dean of Outreach within NJAES, Zane Helsel. Since the office is part of the land grant university we too have an ongoing public service mission.

Utilizing available resources, we work closely with Cooperative Extension, University faculty & staff, private industry, local, regional, & national organizations developing training & certification programs that serve the ever-changing needs of the state. OCPE annually serves about 15,000 students.

In 1998 the University, with the support of the counties, made the decision to invest in training and had started moving in this direction just prior to the invasion of a new exotic virus transmitted by mosquitoes in 1999 which has grabbed the public's attention like no other in recent memory. (At least for us younger mosquito control workers). 

The mosquito training program at Rutgers hit the Ground running in January of 2001, which is extremely fast from a University standpoint. We offered a formal 17 week classroom style Mosquito Biology, Ecology, Surveillance & Laboratory Identification course by March; Organized several ½ day training sessions also in March; provided hands on demonstration training in both the field and lab throughout the remainder of the season; provided some software and presentation skill training in November and again this past March for NJMCA; included instructional talks in other Health related disciplines also throughout the year. Finally we customized a days training covering a variety of topics for one of the county mosquito control programs experiencing some welcomed growing pains. 

Some of our Future Plans Include: Offering the Mosquito Identification & Habitat Recognition course as a three part series; Biology & Control, Habitat Recognition, and Identification. Eventually we hope to be able to bring at least a portion of this instruction on the road to our neighboring states as needed.

Management Series Instruction: 

• Offer Plans & Estimates, Annual Report, and PESP workshops
• "Handling the Media" training course Open house series - take "new" directors around the state to "premiere" programs 
• PowerPoint sessions for Program Staff planning on making public presentations 

Hands on Operational Training: 

• ULV droplet size determination & calibration workshops 
• Series of mosquito surveillance basics 
• NJ Light Trap ID short courses for seasonal staff 

General Training: 

• Planning to offer a series of risk assessment / risk communication training sessions for mosquito control operations 
• Develop Web Based Courses 
• Working with AMCA, OCE, and E-College developing a distance learning curricula for mosquito control professionals around the country. We are hoping this will prove to be a very affordable and accessible method of getting the information into the hands of the people who need it.

As always we will remain open to new ideas as needs change. Monies generated from these training initiatives, when fees are charged, will be utilized to maintain and improve upon the training courses offered through the office. Currently we are moving on adding newer microscopes, digital video equipment and cameras to our teaching supplies, which will greatly improve our instructional capabilities. Should you have any comments regarding this article or wish to discuss training needs please feel free to contact me at the office. I do spend the majority of my time at the lab location thus you may want to try that number first.

Contact Information: 

• Scott C. Crans 
• Senior Program Coordinator 
• Office of Continuing Professional Education 
• 102 Ryders Lane 
• New Brunswick, NJ 08901 
• Office Phone 732.932.9271 
• voice mail box Lab Phone 732.932.9565 
• E-mail scrans@aesop.rutgers.edu 
• OCPE Web site http://aesop.rutgers.edu/~ocpe .

People and Places

Carolyn Vollero is currently heading up the Union County Bureau of Mosquito Control as Acting Bureau Chief until July 1, 2002 when she will become Bureau Chief.

Dennis Mahony is Director of the Salem County Mosquito Commission following Bill Fisher's retirement.

Larry Furchak is heading up the Essex County Mosquito Control.

Doug Guthrie has been named to replace Martin Chomsky as Director of Monmouth County Mosquito Commission as of May 1st following Marty's retirement .

Larry Kase of Summit Chemical died suddenly following a series of operations on April 9th.

UPCOMING EVENTS 

• Society of Vector Ecology Annual Meeting Sept. 15-18, 2002 , Hyatt Regency Hotel, Albuquerqie, N.M. 
• Northeastern Mosquito Control Assoc. Meeting, Dec. 2 - 4, 2002, Mystic, Ct. 
• NJMCA Annual Meeting, March 11-14, 2003, Trump Marina, Atlantic City.

Application for Membership to the New Jersey Mosquito Control Association, Inc.

The undersigned hereby sponsor the named applicant for regular membership to the NJMCA:

I would like to receive NJMCA Newsletters via: Home Mail ___ Work Mail___ Home E-mail___ Work E-mail___

Please send this application and dues of $30.00 Payable to the New Jersey Mosquito Control Association Inc. to the following address: