Here is an important announcement from Evangeline Parish Police Jury President Ryan Williams: GOHSEP (Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness) in conjunction with FEMA is coordinating a mosquito abatement flyover for those parishes that have been inundated with mosquitoes due to Hurricanes Laura and Delta. This process will involve a C-130 flying over several parishes, including Evangeline, and using the chemical Naled (Dibrom). This chemical has been used in the past, and has had studies done on it by LSU, EPA and DEQ. This chemical is not harmful to people or animals. The study done by LSU a few years ago was specific to damage it may do to crawfish, and the study concluded that it is NOT harmful to crawfish. Beekeepers in the sprayed areas will be notified before the spraying, however, most of the foraging bees will be on the inside of the hive at the time of spraying and should not be harmed. Evangeline Parish officials are rushing to meet all the requirements needed by the CDC and FEMA to make sure we qualify and meet all criteria for this flyover for the spraying of the mosquitoes. One criteria is getting a surveillance, or mosquito count, from areas around the parish. This requires standing outside for one minute and counting the mosquitoes that "land" on you. We have already tasked personnel to perform this task. Once this and all paperwork is done, the information will be sent to the State, who will in turn send to CDC and FEMA for approval. The state is hoping to have this flyover done as early as this weekend. This will be at no cost to Evangeline Parish Police Jury. Thank you for your patience and understanding on this matter.