Last weekend, attorney Thomas Liotti pushed for an injunction against the planned aerial spraying of Anvil, a pesticide substitute for Malathion, a neuro-toxin. State Supreme Court Justice Leonard Austin ordered the county to prove its spraying efforts were legal Monday at 2 p.m. and stopped the county from conducting spraying before that time.

However, the judge ruled against the injunction and spraying was planned to resume, pushing back the schedule. Cold weather then set in and spraying had to be held up again.

As of press time, the area from the Long Island Expressway to Hempstead Turnpike is planned to be sprayed on Friday, Oct. 8 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

In the meantime, Nassau County Executive Thomas S. Gulotta announced that the insect repellent containing DEET will be available free of charge at local fire departments and other community sites.

Gulotta said, "The health and safety of our residents are paramount. The distribution of insect repellent is one more avenue of protection the county is pursuing to combat the potential threat of mosquito-borne disease."

Gulotta added, "I am grateful to the men and women of our volunteer fire departments and community organizations in working with the county to help protect our citizens."

The use of insect repellent containing DEET is recommended if individuals will spending time outdoors in likely mosquito habitats. Individuals should minimize outdoor activities, wear long sleeves and pants if outside and remove any standing water in their yards including emptying birdbaths, other shallow containers and cleaning gutters to eliminate mosquito breeding places.

The following fire houses in the area will be giving out DEET. They ask that residents do not call since they are not staffed. However, each location will post distribution availability on their doors:

Albertson Fire Department, 100 Willets Road, Albertson; Williston Park Fire Department, 454 Willis Avenue, Williston Park; East Williston Fire Department, 456 Sagamore Avenue, East Williston; New Hyde Park Fire Department, 1555 Jericho Turnpike, New Hyde Park and Garden City Park Fire Department, 2264 Jericho Turnpike, Garden City Park.