Thursday, October 5, 2000 Older Editions

Spray or nay? Mosquito debate for Special Town Meeting

By Rebecca Piro

Whether Andover should spray to kill mosquitoes, build a youth center and alter its zoning bylaw are among the decisions residents will make at Special Town Meeting.

Signed Monday night by the selectmen, the Special Town Meeting warrant closed last Friday afternoon with 14 articles.

Besides the debate over whether Andover should let a private group build a youth center behind West Andover fire station, the topic most likely to draw emotional discussion is whether Andover should sign a three-year contract for mosquito spraying.

The town has not agreed to any kind of contract for mosquito pesticides in years, said Selectmen Chairman Major, and he acknowledged a great need for citizen input on the issue.

"I have no idea whether I'm going to support this article or not," he said. "If you spray... what kind of other negative impact could that have? People are concerned about their kids, pets and wildlife."