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Family Fights For Pesticides to Stop Mosquitoes

by KREX News Room
by Amanda Brandeis

Story Created: Jul 9, 2012 at 12:16 AM MDT

Story Updated: Jul 9, 2012 at 7:48 AM MDT

DELTA COUNTY, Colo.- After dealing firsthand with the West Nile virus, Georgia and Jim Hopper say they can't let it happen again. The two have lived in their house in Delta County for over 40 years.

"My only purpose is to protect my family. We have family, we have grandkids here, we are raising an autistic granddaughter," said retired farmer Jim Hopper.

Georgia became extremely ill from the West Nile virus in 2006. She said, "I was in ICU for six days and in the hospital for another 12 days. And I remember nothing of it."

Georgia says the virus still affects her today. "I've been lost in a Wal-Mart and I didn't even know I was in Wal-Mart. It affects the mind."

"I haven't even used pesticides until the West Nile came to our end of the country," said Jim.

Jim sprays his lawn to prevent against the mosquitoes.

In 2010 his neighbors, Gordon MacAlpine and Rosemary Bilchak, took him and his wife to court in an effort to get them to stop their spraying. MacAlpine and Bilchak cited several reasons, including the fact that they owned at organic farm that could be harmed by pesticides.

However, Jim Hopper says that's not the case. "They claim they are organic. They have never been organic," he said.

Lawyers for the Hoppers point out that although Gordon MacAlpine and Rosemary Bilchak may have thought they had organic status, they never actually have. The Colorado Department of Agriculture has never granted them organic certification.

"They sold their produce to a man in Paonia who claims to be the largest organic dealer in Colorado," said Georgia.

The judge made a ruling. Jim can still spray but there are some regulations.

"We have a swampy area that we can spray over there, but we can't spray this area," Georgia said.

Since they do have some spraying privileges, the Hoppers see the ruling as a victory.

NewsChannel 5 spoke with Gordon MacAlpine and Rosemary Bilchak on Sunday. They said, "In the state of Colorado, you can be an organic farm even if you are not certified. We have sold crops as an organic farm and we are actively seeking certification. Every time Mr. Hopper sprays and gets drift onto our property, he delays our certification by three years."

The Hoppers cannot use the pesticide within 150 feet of the farm.

The judge also ordered the Hoppers to only use the pesticide when winds will not cause it to drift to their neighbors' farm. They have a farming tool that allows them to know when the winds are favorable for spraying.

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RBH said on Tuesday, Jul 10 at 10:51 AM

I do not know where you live, but West Nile is huge in this valley. Several people have been affected by West Nile Virus. I know personally how it affects people due to she is my grandmother. My autistic sister who is 27 years old has been autistic since birth. That has nothing to do from the pesticides. We still at this point do not know the exact cause of autism we have many different reasoning’s, but still unknown. As far as spraying they're smart about it. They don't go spray and let any of the grandchildren or my sister out as there doing it. They know their limits their not incompetent. Its disgusting to know how far people will go with things like this. This has been an incredibly difficult time for my grandparents. The amount of stress it has put on both of them is far unexplainable. Nothing fishy facts are all there. They're doing this to help prevent west nile within our family due to its debilitating affects!!!

Randy said on Monday, Jul 9 at 1:04 PM

Gordon MacAlpine and Rosemary Bilchak are a couple of liberal hippies that run around suing people because they are so unhappy in their oun lives. They have been known to move from place to place creating lawsuits and lying every step of the way. Hoppers congratulations on your victory!

Georgia said on Monday, Jul 9 at 11:22 AM

Our granddaughter is 28 years old. We have lived for over 40 years without any problems. Six years ago the macalpine/bilchack's moved in. If it was so important for them to have an organic garden, wouldn't you think that they could have asked about weather people sprayed? Instead they move in and want us to change our way of life to meet their wants. All we want is to be able to enjoy sitting in our front yard without worry from mosquitoes or west Nile.

PhD? said on Monday, Jul 9 at 9:20 AM

What on earth have you been studing? West Nile knows no boundries. And if you ever looked at where these infections actually take place you would know better than to make the comments above. You probably look at the Hoppers as limiting their neighbors use of private property. In reality, it is the organic farm that is limiting the use of the Hoppers private property. PhD = Phoney, Hooey, Diatribe.

K. Jean Cottam, PhD said on Monday, Jul 9 at 5:38 AM

I find all this very fishy. I have never heard of a West Nile virus affecting country people. It is usually an urban problem in areas where there is undesirable moisture, e.g. standing water in homeowners' backyards. Interestingly, these people are raising an autistic granddaugher, whose age is not mentioned. Have they been told that autism is now linked to pesticide exposures? They may well be advised to cease spraying, or at least limit their spraying of pesticides, for the sake of the health of their young granddaughter. Using pesticides to stay healthy usually turns out to have unintended consequences, as pesticides are toxic poisons and exposure to them should be avoided, especially where it can impact the vulnerable younger generation. The Hoppers would be well-advised to cease, or at least limit their spraying of pesticides for the sake of the health of their granddaughter. Are they aware of the pesticide danger to their granddaughter? If not, they should inform themselves!

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