Sharon residents agree: no herbicides, please

SHARON — At last month’s Board of Selectmen’s meeting, James Gillespie, owner of Forestland Consultations, brought forth a proposal for spraying the commercial herbicide Lesco Prosecutor Pro at intersections around town. This would get rid of vegetative overgrowth that, Gillespie warned, is creating road hazards.

At this month’s selectman’s meeting, which was held Aug. 11, the proposal was dropped by Gillespie after the selectmen went over concerns raised by residents.

The active ingredient in the herbicide is glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in the products Round-Up and Weed-B-Gone.

First Selectman Malcolm Brown read to the board a letter written by Carol Couch, president of the Sharon Garden Club, who urged the selectmen to avoid using herbicides anywhere in town.

“Many herbicides are listed by the government as having toxic and carcinogenic ingredients,� Couch said in her letter. “In addition, spraying of these herbicides in public and populated areas, which are subject to run-off after rains, means that the property owners, who have not chosen to use such chemical products, will, by force of drainage, be subject to these chemicals entering the soils.�

The letter was signed by Couch and 16 members of the Garden Club.

Selectman Tom Bartram said he had also received negative reactions from residents about the proposed spraying.

“Out of all the topics I have covered in the 18 years on the board, this one got the most response and all of it was negative,� Bartram said. “Sharon is on the side of not using herbicides.�

Gillespie defended his proposal and denied that the herbicide is dangerous.

“This is a good thing for a lot of parts of town,� Gillespie said. “I have done this for 15 years with great success. No complaints, no problems.�

Gillespie said the state uses herbicides on its land and Connecticut Light and Power uses herbicides to clear unwanted vegetation off power lines.

“If you want to have studies about this you can, but sometimes the squeaky wheel is not the right wheel,� Gillespie warned.

However, Brown said that he too had received negative reactions from residents.

“I have heard from some, but not in great volumes, say 20 or 30 people,� Brown said. “One individual wrote to me citing studies from the American Cancer Society and the International Organization for Biological Control. She said the studies found that exposure to Round-Up killed certain types of beneficial insects, including parasitic wasps and ladybugs. Applications of glyphosates significantly altered the growth and survival of earth worms.�

Before Brown read the criticism about Gillespie’s proposal, he said he had not made his mind up about it. But after he read letters and research about the herbicides he said, “Well, maybe I have made up my mind about it.�

“My concern is for the residents because you’re forcing something on them that they do not want,� Selectman John Mathews said. “I have not heard one person say they want it. I am not decrying the product. As a responsible selectman, though, I can’t force this on them.�

Gillespie withdrew his proposal to the town before the board could vote on it.

“I don’t want any chance of liability against me for doing my job,� Gillespie said. “You don’t have an alternative. The roadsides are not being cleared and they are not even being mowed. There are sight line and safety issues. You’re going to have a car accident and someone is going to sue [the town]. The town is going to have liability, which means that everyone in this room is going to have liability when someone gets hurt.�