Since You Asked: Why are there more mosquitoes?

Q: Why are there so many mosquitoes around my house this year? I live in East Marysville and I thought they sprayed for them. It seems like there are so many more this year than years past.

A: Mosquito traps set out this year, as they are every year, across Yuba and Sutter Counties, including East Marysville, indicate the counts are no more than average this year. It's possible that a nearby source of standing water is leading to more mosquitoes in your neighborhood, said Ron McBride, manager of the Sutter-Yuba Mosquito and Vector Control District.

Spraying is being done once a week, including from an airplane north of the river levee, same as every year, McBride said.

The district has already checked East Marysville this year for standing water, but you might want to check around the neighborhood for possible sources, if you can do so without trespassing or invading someone's privacy, and let McBride's office know what you find. The number is 674-5456.

Q: On Aug. 5, my wife and I went to an orientation at the Head Start preschool on Ramirez Street in Marysville that our little girl would be attending. During the question and answer session the issue of restroom situations came up. I was in shock to learn that the preschool sends boys and girls to the restroom together. There is no door on the restroom, and there are no stalls. There are just two toilets next to each other with no divider, and no door.

The teachers tried to convince concerned parents that this would become normal to the children within a couple of weeks. They also stated they had to operate this way to conform to federal standards. Your tax dollars at work!

A: Parents occasionally raise this concern — but for the 3-and-4-year-olds who attend Head Start preschools it's really not an issue, said JoAnne Aiello of E Center, the Ukiah-based private, nonprofit corporation that runs Head Start in this area.

Although some children that age occasionally need more privacy, most don't think twice about using a toilet next to a child of the opposite sex. About age 5, in elementary school, they start to pay more attention, Aiello said.

Restroom arrangements at area Head Start preschools vary quite a bit and are not set by federal standards. State law, however, requires teachers to constantly observe the children. A wall, of course, would make that harder to do, she said.

Some preschools have half-doors around toilets, she said.

The restroom situation may offend the value system of some adults or go against the way they were raised. If an adult was sexually abused as a child, that might be a factor, Aiello said.

"A very small number of people have this concern," she said.

Head Start teachers listen and explain why the arrangement is "developmentally appropriate" for the kids, she said.

Since You Asked is published Tuesdays. Send questions to reporter Rob Young at the Appeal-Democrat, P.O. Box 431, Marysville CA 95901, e-mail him at ryoung@appealdemocrat.com or call 530-749-4710.