Part of south Cape Girardeau is going to the birds. Hundreds of thousands of birds.

Marcia Ritter, the Ward 6 representative on the Cape Girardeau City Council, said Tuesday night that she has received several phone calls about an annoying bird problem in the southwest corner of the city.

Apparently, starlings have invaded the neighborhood again in what has become a reoccurring problem in the city.

She said some callers were concerned that the mosquito-borne West Nile virus could be transferred through the bird droppings.

Police Capt. Carl Kinnison said he talked with the county health department and was told there was no increased chance of catching the virus with the presence of birds and their droppings.

Kinnison also said he was told that there would not be a heightened chance of histoplasmosis, a disease associated with bird droppings that can cause blindness.

City manager Michael Miller said the city has tried a number of techniques to get rid of the birds in the past such as playing audiotapes of birds in distress and poisons. Usually, the birds don't leave, he said. They spread out or bother somebody else.

Kinnison said Sikeston is currently involved in an experiment with the Missouri Department of Agriculture for a new type of poison.

Miller said the city will keep an eye on Sikeston's experiment for future consideration for the bird control.

Billboard regulation OK'd

The Cape Girardeau City Council gave first-round approval to an ordinance that would put stricter regulations on billboards.

The regulations, for the most part, coincide with new regulations passed at the state level.

Jeff Bohnert, with Drury Southwest signs, appeared at a public hearing and said he had some concerns about the distance from the right of way -- 30 feet -- that would be required to erect a billboard. It used to be 30 feet from the street, Bohnert said.

City planner Kent Bratton said the intent of the ordinance was to be 30 feet from the right of way all along, but the new ordinance makes it clear.

Miller pointed out that because a special-use permit would be needed to build a billboard now, exceptions could be made on a case-by-case basis.

A special-use permit means a 60-day delay from application to approval. It used to be one to three weeks, Bohnert said.

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127