“A proclamation by the governorGov. Gary Locke has proclaimed May 7-13 Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Awareness Week in Washington state. The governor describes MCS as a chronic condition for which there is no known cure, and urges the community to support people with MCS.Members of Whidbey’s Island Chemically Injured Network helped lobby the governor to make the proclamation.Another supporter was Dave Blake, environmental specialist for the Northwest Air Pollution Authority. More local citizens than you think may suffer from this malady, he said of chemically sensitive people. Recognizing that MCS is a real disease will help victims deal with family, friends and others who lose patience with their sensitivities to many things others find quite harmless.For more information, contact the Washington State MCS Network’s web site: hometown.aol.com/wsmcsn/index.htm. For Whidbey Island information go to www.islandaire@pioneernet.net.Island County wouldn’t do it, so people opposed to chemical spraying of roadsides held their own public hearing on the issue Tuesday at Bayview Hall.There seemed to be a sense of impending doom as it was announced the county road crews were spraying in the Coupeville area and it wouldn’t be long before they reached South Whidbey.Island County Commissioner Mike Shelton didn’t attend, but he knew the meeting was happening. They wanted a hearing to say what we’re doing is a grave detriment to the public — I don’t believe that, he said Thursday.However, Shelton said the county is taking another look at its road spray program. It will study the procedures of the four no-spray counties in Washington state, and look into no-spray alternatives such as a new steam sprayer that is said to be effective in killing roadside weeds.The main problem Shelton sees with any possible change is money. Cost will fairly dramatically increase, he predicted, if the county were to switch to some other weed control method.Shelton added that the spraying is done with restraint, with only a narrow strip of the shoulder being sprayed, and with sensitive wetland areas avoided entirely. In addition, property owners can spare their roadsides by obtaining No Spray signs from the county road shop and maintaining the shoulder themselves.But nothing short of an outright spray ban will satisfy the 40 or so folks who assembled at Bayview Hall in a meeting organized by the Whidbey Island Chemically Injured Network. They would like to see an end to both pesticides and herbicides used by the county and public in general.We’re holding a public forum because the county commissioners will not, Theresa Marie Gandhi told the audience.Much of the discussion centered on sex and the harmful effects of poisonous sprays on the reproductive system. In fact, Gandhi preceded the presentation with a moment of silence for the children who will die before their time and for those who will not be born because sperm counts have gone down so low.Dr. Brad Weeks, a physician and psychiatrist based in Clinton, has long been a prophet railing against man-made chemicals, which he sees as permeating society with health threats, from the food that is eaten to the packaging that protects the food.It’s so horrible and somewhat abstract that it’s difficult to fathom, Weeks said. We’ve really made a mess of things and I’m not sure we can turn it around. ‘Silent Spring’ has just started, he said, referring to Rachel Carson’s seminal book about the dangers of pesticides.Weeks said chemical killers are aimed at females, which is of particular concern to him because of his wife and four daughters. Pesticides are designed to kill female bugs, he said. It screws up their systems with fake estrogens. He links pesticides to breast cancer, which affects one in seven women in the United States, as well as other maladies.Males aren’t exempt from pesticide damage, Weeks said, citing a big increase in prostate cancer and plummeting sperm counts. Males in America are becoming feminized, he said.His best advice is to eat organic food and drink lots of water, the world’s best solvent — it’s much more important than any medication you can take, he said. Of course, it has to be good water, but that was a subject for another time.Weeks said herbicides the county sprays on the road don’t quickly disappear as the manufacturers contend. Instead, dangerous ingredients remain for 10 to 30 years. The active ingredients are listed on the labels, but Weeks said there is no information about the inactive chemicals, which he said can be highly toxic.He also warned the county that spraying could affect salmon protected by the Endangered Species Act. The county’s putting itself at tremendous legal liability, he said.Audience member Laurie Keith doubted that the county can’t find the money to switch to a no-spray policy. They spend so much paving roads that don’t have to be paved, she said.Weeks urged the audience to call your county commissioners to the carpet, until the spray policy is changed.Lori O’Neal, a founder of the Whidbey Island Chemically Injured Network, said Island County has been supplied all the materials it needs to show the dangers of sprays. They’ve got all the studies and reports on file, she said. “