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TEXARKANA, AR (KSLA) -

The Texarkana Arkansas Board of Directors has adopted a resolution to declare an emergency in order to immediately begin pesticide application in light of West Nile Virus cases confirmed in the area.

The board adopted the resolution Thursday afternoon, based on what they have determined isa significant risk to human health. There have been at least 9 cases in the Texarkana area, according to officials in Bowie County. The number of cases on the Arkansas side of the state line have not been released.

Public Works Director Paul Hackleman says this had to be done because in spite of confirmed cases in the area, state law would otherwise require the city to wait 30 days before spraying.

The order, Hackleman says, will allow them to move forward immediately. "We are going to target the area of the city that has actual cases of West Nile viruses from the citizens and from there we will move on to the creeks, go around the schools, city parks and from that point, we will move in to just complaint areas that citizens are complaining about mosquitoes."

The priority areas for spraying will include Savannah Circle, Ware Road and Randy Sams Shelter.

Hackleman says the city dismantled its pesticide application equipment earlier this year, they saybecause theolder equipment didn't meetrecently passed state standards.With the emergency order, they'll be able to put the equipment to use again immediately.

Thursday afternoon, city employees began putting the spraying equipment back together. They hope to begin spraying between 10 p.m. Thursday and 2 a.m. Friday.

Copyright 2012 KSLA. All rights reserved.

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Texarkana, AR declares West Nile Virus emergency to begin spraying

Widow talks about life with West Nile, death

Of all the complaints of the summer -- the haze, the heat, the humidity -- nothing has people talking more this year than the West Nile virus outbreak that has killed almost 30 people in Texas.

For one family, five years ago the signs were there -- a summer evening spent outside, a dead Blue Jay found in a neighbor's yard, a seemingly healthy man suddenly got sick. But back then those pieces of information didn't immediately add up to much. Today, we know they point to a killer virus.

The West Nile virus scare is something we've grown to accept. But for June Metcalf, it's never far from her mind, no matter what time of year it is. In the summer of 2007, during National Night Out, neighbors gathered in the Metcalfs' front yard with lemonade and cookies. A mosquito, carrying West Nile virus, bit Roy Metcalf. Within days, the 83-year-old man was in the hospital. His health crumbled so fast doctors had trouble explaining it first.

"The mosquito bit him on Tuesday. Friday (he was) running a fever. Friday night (he had an) extreme fever. By that Monday he was on a ventilator," June Metcalf said.

A chance encounter with an infectious disease specialist finally provided the Metcalfs with a diagnosis. It was West Nile virus. From there, Roy Metcalf went from hospital to hospital, but the problems persisted. He was essentially paralyzed. The avid reader couldn't even focus on the pages of a book.

"His eye muscles wouldn't work. He couldn't lift his arms or legs, sit up or turn over in bed," said June Metcalf.

Problems with his facial muscles made it hard for Roy Metcalf to talk. But even in the hospital, June Metcalf said Roy Metcalf maintained his sense of humor.

"He was quite a cut up,"said June Metcalf, "(He) looked up at me and said, 'I must be real sick all my kids are here!'"

Surrounded by family and friends, Roy Metcalf fought hard to get home. A year after the initial bite, the community celebrated his homecoming. At the time, the family couldn't have been more grateful. Roy Metcalf, though in a wheelchair, had a big smile on his face. It had been a long and treacherous year since he slept under his own roof.

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Widow talks about life with West Nile, death

The black farmworker convicted of killing Eugene Terre'Blanche believes the white supremacist leader gave him HIV, a psychologist has told his sentencing hearing in South Africa.

Chris Mahlangu was convicted in May of bludgeoning Terre'Blanche to death in his farmhouse outside the small town of Ventersdorp on April 3, 2010.

During the trial, the court found no proof that Terre'Blanche had raped Mahlangu.

But as his sentencing hearing got under way on Monday, clinical psychologist Hein Swanepoel told the court that Mahlangu believes Terre'Blanche raped him and gave him HIV, the virus that could lead to AIDS, according to the Independent Online.

"Mr Mahlangu says he is HIV positive and suspects he must have been infected by the deceased," Swanepoel said, according to the website.

"He alleges he was raped by the deceased three to four times and did not resist because the deceased was a powerful man. He did inform police about the rape and for fraudulent reasons that was not included in the statement," Swanepoel said.

The psychologist was testifying in mitigation, as Mahlangu's defence tried to convince the court to hand down a milder sentence than the possible life in prison.

Judge John Horn had rejected Mahlangu's claims to have acted in self-defence and accepted the prosecution's argument that the killing had been triggered by a fight over wages.

Terre'Blanche, 69 when he was killed, co-founded the far right Afrikaner Resistance Movement (AWB) which violently opposed South Africa's all-race democracy and campaigned for a self-governing white state.

Their campaign included bomb attacks ahead of the 1994 elections, which ended the white-minority apartheid state.

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Terre'Blanche gave me HIV - killer

By: Agence France-Presse August 20, 2012 11:42 PM

InterAksyon.com The online news portal of TV5

JOHANNESBURG -- The black farmworker convicted of killing Eugene Terre'Blanche believes the white supremacist leader gave him HIV, a psychologist said at his sentencing hearing Monday.

Chris Mahlangu was convicted in May of bludgeoning Terre'Blanche to death in his farmhouse outside the small town of Ventersdorp on April 3, 2010.

During the trial, the court found no proof that Terre'Blanche had raped Mahlangu.

But as his sentencing hearing got under way Monday, clinical psychologist Hein Swanepoel told the court that Mahlangu believes Terre'Blanche raped him and gave him HIV, the virus that could lead to AIDS, according to the Independent Online.

"Mr Mahlangu says he is HIV positive and suspects he must have been infected by the deceased," Swanepoel said, according to the website.

"He alleges he was raped by the deceased three to four times and did not resist because the deceased was a powerful man. He did inform police about the rape and for fraudulent reasons that was not included in the statement," Swanepoel said.

The psychologist was testifying in mitigation, as Mahlangu's defense tried to convince the court to hand down a milder sentence than the possible life in prison.

Judge John Horn had rejected Mahlangu's claims to have acted in self-defense and accepted the prosecution's argument the killing had been triggered by a fight over wages.

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South African white supremacist's killer believes victim gave him HIV

Chris Mahlangu, left, who was convicted of murdering South African white supremacist Eugene Terre'Blanche, says his victim raped him and infected him with HIV. Source: AP

THE black farmworker convicted of killing Eugene Terre'Blanche believes the South African white supremacist leader gave him HIV, a psychologist has said at his sentencing hearing.

Chris Mahlangu was convicted in May of bludgeoning Terre'Blanche to death in his farmhouse outside the small town of Ventersdorp on April 3, 2010.

During the trial, the court found no proof that Terre'Blanche had raped Mahlangu.

But as his sentencing hearing got under way, clinical psychologist Hein Swanepoel told the court that Mahlangu believes Terre'Blanche raped him and gave him HIV, the virus that could lead to AIDS, according to the Independent Online.

"Mr Mahlangu says he is HIV positive and suspects he must have been infected by the deceased," Mr Swanepoel said, according to the website.

"He alleges he was raped by the deceased three to four times and did not resist because the deceased was a powerful man. He did inform police about the rape and for fraudulent reasons that was not included in the statement," Mr Swanepoel said.

The psychologist was testifying in mitigation, as Mahlangu's defence tried to convince the court to hand down a milder sentence than the possible life in prison.

Judge John Horn had rejected Mahlangu's claims to have acted in self-defence and accepted the prosecution's argument that the killing had been triggered by a fight over wages.

Terre'Blanche, 69 when he was killed, co-founded the far-right Afrikaner Resistance Movement (AWB) which violently opposed South Africa's all-race democracy and campaigned for a self-governing white state.

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Killer believes extremist gave him HIV