San Benito requests help for mosquitoes

SAN BENITO - City workers fixing a 9-foot sinkhole near Hicks and Austin streets Tuesday morning didn't work alone: they had a swarm of hungry mosquitoes watching their every move.

Although the city continues to spray for mosquitoes, City Manager Victor Treviño said San Benito is asking government officials for help.

City officials have been in contact with state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, and U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, Treviño said.

After Hurricane Beulah in 1967, Mayor Joe Hernandez recalled that federal or state officials initiated a major mosquito-spraying program across the Rio Grande Valley. The city manager said he hoped other Cameron County cities would request the same help, which will increase the odds of a major spraying.

"It is a big problem," he said of mosquitoes.

According to previous reports, Cameron County hired cropdusters in 1967 to get rid of mosquitoes that hatched after Beulah. In 2003, Treviño said hiring a cropduster would cost about $10,000 and would last only two days.

Until the city hears about a massive spraying campaign, Treviño said the city will continue spraying for mosquitoes.

Along with ridding the area of mosquitoes, the city is working to remove the dry brush and storm debris that now lines residential streets.

Last week, the City Commission approved hiring Ceres Environmental Services to assist the city's contracted trash company, Allied Waste, with the cleanup.

The two companies will divide the work in half, Treviño said, but the city is waiting for certification to ensure the city can be reimbursed for the work by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That certification should be received within two days, he said.

This gives residents a chance to push all their brush to the curb, he said. In two weeks, the city anticipates having cleared all the streets.

City staff is surveying damage where water went into homes, Treviño said.

"We're looking to see how many (homes) flooded to determine if the city can add improvements to drainage systems," he said.