I would like to submit a complaint to the editor on the deplorable fact that we are not part of the statewide black fly abatement program. It is quite easy to see from the Department of Environmental Protection map of participating counties that we are an island of nonparticipation.

According to a DEP spokesman, Lackawanna has expressed interest, and that means once Monroe joins, we will be the only county still coping with these biting insects. I can't go out my door without a net hat. I got bitten on the eyelid a few days ago and had to take a steroid to get the swelling down. We are covered with these nasty bites.I emailed my complaint to the Carbon County Commissioners on two occasions, though they have never acknowledged me. I complained to our representative Doyle Heffley. I submitted complaints through the DEP website. The response I get from DEP is that until the Carbon County Commissioners contact DEP, the agency can't act. Carbon County has an economy based on outdoor sport. It makes no sense to drive everyone indoors because of biting flies.Eileen EastJim Thorpe