Mosquito fish hurt wildlife

7/14/2009

One of the things I love about living in Lucas County is that we have the Toledo Area Sanitary District to spray for mosquitoes. They do a great job and I appreciate it.

What I don't like is that they distribute exotic fish as mosquito control in ponds. Gambusia, the so-called mosquito fish, are not native to Ohio or Michigan. They are aggressive, live-bearing fish that enjoy eating native baby fish and amphibians as much as mosquitoes. With all the economic impact and damage to native wildlife caused by exotic invaders such as zebra mussels and round gobies, why are we deliberately introducing another? I know they are meant only to be used in ponds, but even if nobody deliberately released them into the wild, one flood in the wrong place is all it takes. They are already beginning to show up in our rivers.

We have so many wonderful native species of fish, I'm sure there are several that would perform great mosquito control without having the potential adverse impact of an exotic species.

Susan Chambers

Sylvania Township

Several months ago, I went to the emergency room at a local hospital. I thought the care was excellent. When I left, I was given three pills for nausea. Now the bill has come. Whew! For those three pills, I was charged $478.20. Neither my medical insurance nor my prescription insurance (which I pay for after losing my insurance from the corporation I worked 40 years for) want to pay the bill.

I talked to a local pharmacy and the cost quoted from them was $26.79. What a difference. A closer look at the hospital bill revealed my insurance company had paid $172.20 for the one nausea pill I had taken at the hospital. After complaining, the hospital has lowered the cost to me to $272 for three pills. At a local pharmacy I could get 3 pills for $26.79.

Is that why our medical expenses are so high? Aren't we being robbed? So far, this case has not been resolved.

Harry Jacobs

Kathy Lane

I had not seen anything for a while and was assuming that the new interim dean for the University of Toledo's Judith Herb College of Education coming "from outside the community" was a done deal. On June 20 it was confirmed.

Well, we certainly would not want an educator to lead the college. "Those who can " and all that. Now, I know that Tom Brady is a great person, very smart, and very successful, so maybe this "from outside the community" idea has merit.

In fact, I have a suggestion for when the deanship of the College of Health Science and Human Service comes due. Lloyd Jacobs could do well by choosing any chairman of any high school mathematics department in the area. These educators are eminently qualified. They have administrative and budget experience; they know how to work with people of all ages, and they are well-versed in mathematics, the basis of all science including medicine. And best of all, some probably hung around drugstores as youngsters and really know the medical field.

Of course, it would be a cold day in Hades when Dr. Jacobs would consider these well-qualified candidates. What? They're not medical doctors? Oh, well.

Raymond A. Heitger

Darlington Road