Another round of aerial spraying for mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus is scheduled tonight for the Dallas area.
Last night’s spray was successful after storms interrupted aerial spraying last Thursday and Friday. Rainfall Saturday also pushed back the schedule.
So weather permitting, aerial spraying for mosquitoes is “on” for tonight and tomorrow. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins says the goal is to have a second application of spray on all the target areas by the end of tomorrow’s flights.
Over the weekend, Jenkins said the state requested a team from the Centers for Disease Control to study the outbreak of West Nile virus and the response.
Health officials yesterday said preliminary tests found fewer mosquitoes in sprayed portions of Dallas County. But Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings warned against making too much of the early results.
The Environmental Protection Agency has said that the insecticide used in the spraying, Duet, poses no significant threat to humans or animals.
Symptoms of the West Nile virus include headache, high fever, neck stiffness, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis.
KERA
West Nile numbers:
Dallas County: 242 cases, 10 deaths
Tarrant County: 205 cases, 2 deaths
Denton County: 96 cases, 1 death
Collin County: 35 cases, no deaths
Aerial Spray Map Revised 08/20/12
Tarrant Reports New West Nile Deaths
Tarrant County is reporting two more deaths from West Nile virus, bringing the total to four out of more than 200 cases.
Health officials the victims were a man in Fort Worth and a woman in North Richland Hills. Both were in their 80’s with underlying medical conditions.
People age 50 and older, and those with compromised immune systems, are at a higher risk of developing the severe West Nile virus that affects the nervous system and can lead to coma, encephalitis, meningitis, and paralysis.
Officials urge everyone to protect against mosquito bites by wearing repellant, long sleeves and long pants, and drain all standing water where mosquitoes may breed.
BJ Austin, KERA News
DNA Test Clears Tarrant County Man
The Tarrant County District Attorney’s office says David Lee Wiggins did not commit a 1988 sexual assault and should be released from prison.
Officials say a series of DNA tests found Wiggins is not the source of genetic evidence found on a 14 year old girl’s clothes.
Wiggins was identified by the girl. Her face was covered with a towel but she managed to get a look at her attacker three times. Wiggins was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
A hearing is set for Friday morning in Tarrant County. Wiggins is expected to be released on bond pending a final decision from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
He would be the second Tarrant County defendant cleared by post conviction DNA testing.
BJ Austin, KERA News
Body of Dallas fisherman recovered from creek
Searchers have recovered the body of a Dallas fisherman swept away in a creek that that rose during heavy rain.
Dallas Fire-Rescue officials say the body of 38-year-old Baron Dangerfield was located Monday on a sandbar of White Rock Creek.
Dangerfield had been missing since Saturday night and the Dallas area had storms with several inches of rain.
Searchers on Sunday afternoon located a body in a Fort Worth creek where a man disappeared Saturday night. Authorities say a witness reported seeing a man swept away after he stepped into the water to try to cool off.
The name of that victim was not immediately released.
AP
Judge mulls ammo charge against Dallas trucker
The attorney for a Dallas trucker who claims he made a wrong turn into Mexico with a truckload of ammunition says a judge will soon decide whether to reduce charges.
Jabin Bogan's attorney said Monday that a judge in Juarez, Mexico, will rule early this week on an appeal that seeks to change the ammunition trafficking charge to possession. Attorney Emilio de la Rosa says that would reduce the prison term from 30 years to no more than six years.
Bogan was arrested in April after crossing his 18-wheeler from Texas into Juarez.
The judge is considering testimony from Mexican customs agents that contradicted prosecutors' claim that Bogan hid 268,000 bullets under floorboards. Agents say Bogan was trying to make a U-turn into the U.S. when they found the ammunition.
AP
Perry: US immigration plan doesn't alter state law
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has written to state agencies calling a new Obama administration immigration policy "a slap in the face to the rule of law."
In a letter sent Monday, Perry said the White House's "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" program doesn't change Texas policies.
Last week, young illegal immigrants around the state and nation formed long lines to begin applying for work permits under the policy.
It defers deportations for that group if they meet certain criteria, including arrival in the United States before they turned 16 and no convictions for certain crimes.
Perry wrote that the policy confers "absolutely no legal status whatsoever to any alien."
He said it "does not undermine or change our state laws" and that he expects all agencies to keep enforcing them.
AP
Record number of turtles hatched on South Padre
A group that cares for and releases endangered sea turtle hatchlings into the Gulf of Mexico says it had a record 6,000 babies born this year.
Supporters say the total indicates the Kemp's ridley species is on the road to recovery.
Sea Turtle Inc. executive director Jeff George told the Valley Morning Star that the turtles hatched from 69 nests recovered by the organization.
The group informs visitors to look out for nests and mother turtles, and then patrols and collects the nests to incubate them in a special facility. Members then release the hatchlings into the Gulf.
Kemp's ridleys are the most endangered species of sea turtle. Similar work is done in other parts of the Texas coast and in Mexico.
AP