Fort Oglethorpe purchases more mosquito chemicals for Public Works Department
Judge Van Pelt Jr. running for re-election
The city of Fort Oglethorpe recently approved the purchase of more mosquito chemicals for its Public Works Department to combat pest issues that arise throughout the summer and fall.
Public Works and Recreation Director Jeff Long proposed the purchase, which was unanimously approved by the City Council during its meeting Monday night, Sept. 25.
Judge Ralph Van Pelt Jr., a Superior Court judge of the Lookout Mountain Circuit, has announced he will be a candidate for re-election in the nonpartisan election in 2018.
The Lookout Mountain Circuit is composed of Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade and Walker counties. Judge Van Pelt was born in Summerville and now lives in Ringgold. A graduate of Berry College and the University of Georgia School of Law, Judge Van Pelt was an assistant district attorney in the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit. As an assistant district attorney, Van Pelt prosecuted the “Devil Worshiper” murder cases as well as the murder cases of Judith and
“We’re proposing to purchase a 30-gallon drum of the mosquito chemicals,” Long said.
The 30-gallon drum in turn will create more chemicals that crews can use for a significant amount of time.
“It’s actually a concentrated chemical that makes 300 gallons of the chemical that we spray out there on a daily basis,” Long said. “The purchase price is $5,100. The manufacturer also furnishes the machine that does the spraying.”
Long added that the department has already purchased chemicals once this year, which resulted in a discount from the manufacturer.
“They’re the sole provider of this, and this is our second drum this year,” he said. “They’re giving us a $420 discount.”
Crews usually spray Monday through Friday through late October. Last year, due to the Zika virus scare, crews continued to spray through the fall and until the end of the year. Alvin Neelley.
After five years in private practice in Ringgold with County Attorney Clifton M. “Skip” Patty, Judge Van Pelt was elected district attorney and held that office from January 1989 until appointment to the Superior Court bench in September 1996. As district attorney, Judge Van Pelt prosecuted all the homicide cases of the entire circuit.
Judge Van Pelt has run unopposed since his first election in 1988. In the last twenty-one years he has tried every kind of case from medical malpractice to murder to speeding.