Mosquito Abatement

We are receiving multiple reports of strange health symptoms that residents believe to be associated with toxic abatement chemicals. Unexplained summertime sicknesses involving chronic respiratory symptoms, bloody noses, eye watering, rashes and vomiting. Gem County was fogged over 60 times this summer! But now they say we have West Nile - weren't their methods effective? Now they are planning to spray aerial Dibrom and are actively denying review of exclusion requests until September! Shouldn't they be asking us for permission and not the other way around?

August 19, 2025 GCMAD: audio-only recording, no footage available. Manager Cody Johns reported two recent altercations with property owners in which law enforcement was called - one of which involved a shotgun. Is anyone surprised? What are residents to do when their wishes are routinely ignored by GCMAD, its rogue trustees, the "no authority" County Commissioners and every. other. state. agency? Ultimately, Johns and Co. simple don't understand that property rights predate and supersede the abatement district. "Shine A Light Gem County" has received multiple tips this season alleging repeated trespass by GCMAD staff and techs. (One commenter reported that after calling the Sheriff's office in the past, she was given the brush off. The deputy falsely stated that "those sprays are organic" and in the end, she received no help in securing her rights.) Residents are making calls and sending emails asking Johns to keep out! But those requests have been ignored when not submitted via his extensive, over-reaching exclusion form which many refuse to sign on principle. Should we really be compelled to sign some of our rights away in order to secure others? Johns would do well to remember he is a public servant who should seek permission from the people - not the other way around. Additional comments from the meeting included reports that even after opt out, clouds of chemicals were still being dispersed too closely as well as others who came to express concern over the lack of safety studies and the upcoming aerial spray.

With property rights on the brink and no help from county or state authorities, the situation in Gem County is becoming a pressure cooker. One resident reported that after calling the sheriff's office in the past, she received the brush off and was told that all the chemicals "are organic." Another reported that she did not want to fill out an extensive form. She made multiple requests that GCMAD not trespass but alleges the quads enter anyway. Is it so surprising that people are getting angry? GCMAD Manager Cody Johns is a public servant. Shouldn't he be asking us for permission?

Why is GCMAD so unwelcome on private property? Johns also reported during this meeting that there's been staff turnover and "performance" issues. Maybe an HR shakeup would help morale? High time for new trustees and new management. (It should go without saying: Shine A Light Gem County never condones unlawful or illegal violence. Shine A Light Gem County supports the intended and appropriate use of the Second Amendment in defense of our rights...and as a last resort.)

Of the 44 counties in Idaho, only Payette and Gem have sprayed aerial Dibrom in the last two years (that we can confirm). In 2024, GCMAD Manager Cody Johns applied for a declared health emergency from the Board of County Commissioners but was DENIED. GCMAD contracted with Vector Disease Control and flew the aerial anyway - BEFORE they had a single positive West Nile Virus test in hand! GCMAD has just announced on Facebook that another aerial is coming some time in August 2025. Dibrom, which operates like a nerve agent, has been associated with developmental delays in toddlers who were exposed in utero.

In the June 2025 Gem County Mosquito Abatement District Board Meeting, Manager Cody Johns reported that residents seeking to be excluded from the program were concerned by harassment received from GCMAD techs. Johns denied allegations - citing instead that his tech was having difficulty with maps. Please review this footage of a tech making multiple laps back and forth around a resident's home after recently being denied her opt out...and you decide. Was this GPS user error or mean-spirited intimidation against those who just want to be left alone?

Why won't the GCMAD Board respond to its constituents? How toxic is the spray? Where are the long-term health studies? Are we killing the natural predators? There are many safe alternatives - why do they refuse to they try them? And don't our property rights predate this "health" district? Idahoans are asleep at the wheel - trading their liberty for that "safety" Benjamin Franklin cautioned us against. Local resident explains his family's escape from communist China and encourages people to wake up before it's too late.

Sixty five years ago, GCMAD was formed out of concern for cattle health - when there was no West Nile in the U.S. Decades after this experiment began, mosquitos abound in Gem County, public health is in the toilet and chronic disease is commonplace. The board has gone rogue and property rights hang in the balance. What metrics - if any - are in place to ensure our safety has been the true beneficiary of this program? And if it hasn't, who has? When will the people demand a long overdue course correction - so that individuals may make their own health choices and enjoy property rights once again in Gem County?

Posted courtesy of Casey Whalen at "NorthIdahoExposed" - see more of his independent journalism here: https://rumble.com/user/northidahoexposed

If there was no emergency as Gem County Emergency Manager Jeff Ulmer suspects, then why does tyrant Cody John insist on spraying people who have lawfully opted out? Is it just "bad blood" and "politics"? Feels pretty predatory in Gem County!