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W EDNESDAY , J UNE 21, 2017
‘Perfect storm’ of mosquitoes likely
ZACH URNESS
STATESMAN JOURNAL
Time to stock up on mosquito repel-
lant.
A “perfect storm” of wet conditions
and hot summer temperatures could
mean a big year for mosquitoes in Ore-
gon, officials said.
Multiple counties have already re-
ported substantial mosquito activity, and
that could continue late into the summer,
said Emilio DeBess, state public health
veterinarian.
“Will it be a big bug year? At this
point, I’d say probably so,” DeBess said.
“They’re certainly active already, and
it’s pretty early.”
The two conditions that drive mosqui-
to populations are the amount of water
and temperature, DeBess said.
Oregon’s wet winter and spring —
plus a robust snowpack — mean the state
is overflowing with H2O. That’s a good
thing for mosquitoes.
“The more standing water — and run-
ning water to an extent — the easier it is
for the female to lay eggs, hatch them
and move on to get another blood meal
and lay more eggs,” DeBess said. “So,
based on the amount of water available,
there is higher probability that there
would be a lot of mosquitoes.”
The big question is how warm the
summer will be. Hot temperatures could
mean what DeBess called a “perfect
storm” of conditions for mosquitoes.
And that’s exactly what long-term
forecasts are predicting.
Oregon has a 60 to 70 percent chance
of a hotter-than-normal July, August, and
September, according to the National
Weather Service’s climate prediction
service.
“Warmer temperatures — especially
above 80 degrees — basically allows the
female to be more active in biting to get a
blood meal, which helps them lay eggs,”
DeBess said. “They don’t just get blood
by biting humans, they get it by biting
dogs, cats, deer, mice, birds, really any
animal.”
The last time Oregon had a “big bug
year” was 2013, DeBess said. Lots of rain
Brewfest taps into Pacific
Northwest’s love of beer
plus a hot summer led to high mosquito
activity. The last two summers have
been hot but fairly dry, he said, leading to
more normal mosquito populations.
The Oregon Health Authority does
testing each year for diseases such as
West Nile Virus, carried by mosquitoes,
DeBess said. He said most West Nile
cases occur in eastern and southern Ore-
gon.
“But obviously, if there’s more mos-
quitoes there’s a higher likelihood of
more West Nile infections,” he said.
“That’s why we always encourage people
to protect themselves. Most mosquito
and tick-borne illnesses are preventable.
See BUGS, Page 3A
Ninja
Turtles
heading to
Mt. Angel
DirectLink announces plans
for ‘Summer Celebration’
JUSTIN MUCH
APPEAL TRIBUNE
PHOTOS BY MOLLY J. SMITH/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Morry Jones serves up a pint at the Oregon Garden Brewfest on Saturdayin Silverton.
Hundreds attend 13th annual event at Oregon Garden
LAUREN E HERNANDEZ
STATESMAN JOURNAL
Courtney Christensen, left, and Stephanie Llewellyn decide
which beer tastes to choose at the Oregon Garden Brewfest on
Saturday.
Hundreds of people sipped from perspiring glasses un-
der a towering canopy of trees in the Rediscovery Forest
as part of the 13th Annual Oregon Garden Brewfest Sat-
urday.
The Father’s Day weekend event brought 120 beers, ci-
ders and mead from 60 different vendors from the Pacific
Northwest for a celebration of brew in the outdoors.
“One of the main reasons we moved it to the forest
from the pavilion is because we wanted people to take
their beer explore all of the beautiful garden,” said Sara
Hammond, the regional marketing manager at the Ore-
gon Garden and Resort.
Hammond said more activities were added to the
Brewfest program this year including an artisan vendor
market selling handmade goods and opened 150 camp-
sites for visitors eager to experience the garden under the
stars.
Charlotte Soulds, of Bend, returned to Brewfest for the
third time in the past few years with her husband Morgan
and her daughter Savannah, 2 and a half, to celebrate Fa-
ther’s Day.
“This year we decided to camp instead of just getting a
State health officials
have lifted a health advi-
sory on Detroit Lake as
levels of blue-green al-
gae toxins have de-
creased.
Still, officials from the
Oregon Health Authority
recommend that visitors
to the lake be cautious
with pets, because they
are susceptible to much
lower levels of the toxin
than humans.
The toxic bloom was
located in the Heater
Creek arm of the reser-
voir when testing was
conducted on May 31. Ex-
posure to toxins can pro-
duce a variety of symp-
toms including numb-
ness, tingling and dizzi-
ness that can lead to
difficulty breathing or
heart problems, and re-
quire immediate medical
attention, OHA said.
Online at SilvertonAppeal.com
NEWS UPDATES
PHOTOS
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See MT. ANGEL, Page 3A
NICKELODEON
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Leonardo and
Donatello.
See BREWFEST, Page 3A
Detroit Lake health advisory lifted
APPEAL TRIBUNE
Communication services customers
in the Mt. Angel area will be appreciat-
ed a couple of months early this year.
Moreover, Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles will help with that appreciation.
DirectLink announced that “Sum-
mer Celebration” will take place from 3
to 7 p.m. Saturday, June 23, as a two-
part festivity. DirectLink Marketing
Manager Amy Russ said this festivity
will be held in lieu of the Mt. Angel Tele-
phone Customer Appreciation Day, tra-
ditionally held in August, as well as the
Community Concert and Root Beer
Float evening that normally occurs in
July.
Activities normally connected with
the former event will take place from 3
to 6 p.m. at the DirectLink office, inter-
section of Garfield and College streets,
followed by free floats and music at
Saalfeld Park from 6 to 7 p.m. Russ said
Marion County Citizen’s Band will
“perform an enchanting selection of
Americana big band sounds,” and she
recommends that people bring their
lawn chairs.
Russ noted that the traditional Cus-
tomer Appreciation Day was held the
3rd Friday in August for the past 19
years (1998), and the traditional Root
Beer Float and Community Concert
ANNA REED/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Detroit Lake, seen from the North Santiam Highway bridge
in Detroit, tested for high levels of blue-green algae toxins
on May 31.
INSIDE
Church directory.................2A
Life in the Valley.................4A
Obituaries.............................2A
Sports......................................1B
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