COLUSA, CA (MPG) – The Colusa Rotary Club met for its weekly meeting at Rocco’s Bar & Grill on Tuesday, April 28. Members gathered for lunch and community updates, with past president Susan Meeker serving as master of ceremonies.
Colusa Rotarian Ed Hulbert announced his retirement as CEO of Otterson Companies, overseeing Colusa Industrial Properties.
“I will still be hanging around a bit,” Hulbert said. “I have a few projects to finish and help with the transition.”
Hulbert said Jacob Kley will replace him.
“He’s a fellow Rotarian, super smart pilot and a pretty good barbecuer,” Hulbert said.
Hulbert also said Jillian Rohleder, who has worked with Colusa Industrial Properties for the past couple of years, has been promoted to office manager. Both Rohleder and Kley said they are excited for the opportunity.
Colusa Rotarian Jon Wrysinski reported that the 2026 Kids Fishing Day was a success.
“Kids Fish Day was held on Saturday, April 25. We had 98 participants and a lot of nice trout went home to be dinners,” Wrysinski said. “Everyone seemed to have a good time.”
The event is typically held in late April at the Little Stony Creek day-use area on Goat Mountain Road and is hosted by the Colusa County Fish and Game Advisory Commission.
Meeker also announced that Colusa Founders Day will be held June 20 with a “Birthday in the USA” theme.
“The board has gifted Founders Day $500 and $500 for Rotarian Ralph Newlin’s project of flag bunting for the historic Colusa County Courthouse,” Meeker said. “We’re going to be making a big splash of patriotism before the Fourth of July.”
The program featured Dan Kiley, manager of the Colusa Mosquito Abatement District, who outlined ongoing mosquito control efforts and emerging challenges.
Kiley said the district was formed in 1958 in response to nuisance conditions and disease concerns.
“There was some outbreaks of encephalitis that spurred on the formation of the district at that time,” he said.
The district operates across an area that supports mosquito populations.
“We have an abundant supply of mosquitoes due to the fact that we have over 60,000 acres of rice and over 30,000 acres of wetland,” Kiley said.
With three full-time and two part-time employees, crews work from late June through early November. Kiley said most treatments occur at night, with spraying in Colusa and surrounding areas twice a week.
Control methods depend on cost and conditions.
“Larviciding is much more expensive than the adulticiding program, so we have to go with what the population of mosquitoes is at the time,” Kiley said.
The district uses multiple tools to measure effectiveness.
“We have the light trap data that we collect on a weekly basis and we can compare the numbers to previous years,” he said.
Kiley said staff also conduct field checks and testing.
“We’ll capture live mosquitoes and put them in cages and see how far and how effective our material is,” Kiley said.
He said rotating chemicals is necessary to maintain effectiveness and limit resistance.
Kiley also noted the presence of invasive Aedes mosquitoes.
“I was hoping that we could keep them from getting established in Colusa County, but unfortunately they came, and they stayed,” he said.
Kiley said the district uses a layered surveillance system. Crews deploy sentinel chickens, along with weekly light traps and Biogents traps, to track mosquito populations and identify species.
Residents can assist through the state’s dead bird reporting system. The West Nile Virus Dead Bird Hotline operates from mid-April to mid-October, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Staff evaluate whether a bird is suitable for testing and coordinate pickup. Birds must be dead less than 24 hours and in suitable condition.
The hotline number is 1-877-968-2473. Reports can also be filed at westnile.ca.gov.
The Colusa Mosquito Abatement District covers about 160 square miles, including the city of Colusa and the West Butte area, with a portion extending into Sutter County.
For more information, visit colusamosquitoabatementdistrict.com.