There used to be a lot of sheep in this country. Much to the consternation of more than a few cowboys, it was actually the sheep that made the big ranches. One ol’ boy told me that the cattle business was sort of a luxury, and a fella has to run sheep until he can get money enough ahead to trade himself into a herd of cows.
Maybe he was right, but then there’s the other well-healed big operator that started right out in the cattle business. The old boy sure didn’t look the part, though. He wore old brogan clod-hopper shoes tied up with binder twine, and raggedy old clothes that would make a sheepherder look like a fashion statement from Madison Avenue. The old guy looked for all the world like a bum that had just fallen off a freight train.
*
Someone asked him once why he dressed like that, with as big an operation as he had.
“Well,” was his reply, “ever’ time I got money enough ahead to dress like a cowboy, I just decided to buy out another homesteader instead.”
Everyone has their priorities, I guess.
It takes a special sort of a guy to herd sheep. The work is pretty lonesome. It’s just one old boy and his dogs out in the middle of no place with a band of sheep to keep on good grass and water. The guys would be all alone for weeks on end with no one to talk to except the critters around them. Of course keeping the coyotes and other predators from packin’ the lambs off was pretty much a full-time job.
Coyotes are a piece of cake compared to what some guys had to deal with. One old herder up in the Dupuyer country used to nail the grizzly ears to the side of the wagon box so he could keep score, and he’d get quite a collection by the end of the season.
Marvin DePriest was herdin’ sheep for Bud Gordon years ago, and on one of Bud’s trips to the north range to re-supply the herders, Marvin was lettin’ the boss know how sick he was getting of the groceries. With no refrigeration in his wagon, the cuisine was pretty limited.
“Boy, what I wouldn’t give for a good fried chicken dinner,” Marvin commented, with his mouth watering at the very thought. “I’m sure gettin’ sick of soda crackers and mutton.”
Bud was a good ol’ boy and certainly wanted to keep his herders happy if he could, so he promised to bring Marvin up a young rooster the next time he came around with groceries.
A couple of weeks later, Bud showed back up at Marvin’s camp with another load of groceries, and sure as the world, he had a good young rooster in a crate in the back of the pickup, just like he’d promised. Marvin was elated. He could hardly wait.
As soon as Bud’s dust had settled on his trip back to headquarters, Marvin started in unraveling an old gunny sack to make a little string to tie his rooster up. He fastened the string around one of the rooster’s hind legs and tied him up to the spoke on the wagon wheel with 20 or 30 feet of slack, so he could scratch around out there on the prairie.
Exactly why he didn’t eat that rooster the day he got him remains a mystery. Maybe the idea was to fatten him up a little more, I don’t know. Well, the plan sort of backfired. Being lonesome like he was, Marvin got kind of attached to his new feathery friend. He even named him Oscar.
Now, chickens aren’t really known for their great intellect. I think they’ve got a brain about the size of a pea, and most of them are dumber than a sack of hammers, but Oscar was different. He was one smart rooster. Whenever a chicken hawk would come close, Ol’ Oscar would beat feet under the wagon and crawl up on the reach (that’s the long pole that holds the two axles together). He spent the nights roosting up there under the wagon, too. No critters were ever going to get him where he was hiding. Not with this super hiding place and Marvin’s dogs laying right there close.
As time went on, Marvin and Oscar became fast friends, with the sheepherder becoming more impressed by the day with how that chicken could effortlessly evade the hawks, owls, and coyotes that would have loved to have him for lunch. The two developed a unique relationship, not often seen between man and bird. Some say the two even carried on philosophical discussions concerning economics and politics, but I really find that a little hard to believe.
Be that as it may, Marvin just couldn’t bring himself to eat Oscar. A fella just can’t chop the head off his friend and then eat him for dinner. Marvin made up his mind to send him back with Bud the next time he came up with groceries.
A couple of weeks went by, and here came Bud again; surprised to see that rooster still tied with 30 feet of string to the wagon wheel. He asked Marvin why he hadn’t eaten him yet.
“Oh, I can’t eat him. That’s the smartest rooster I’ve ever seen,” the herder explained. He went into great detail about how Oscar watched the sky and dashed under the wagon at the very sight of a hawk. “You just need to haul him back to the ranch and throw him in the chicken coop where you got him.”
“I can’t do that,” Bud explained. “The other roosters will kill him, now. He’s been gone for over a month, and a strange rooster in the coop will cause the biggest fight you ever saw. I’m afraid they’ll kill ’im, Marvin.”
Marvin just stood there in silence for a moment as he mulled all this over in his head. “I don’t think so,” he finally answered. “That’s one smart rooster, and I can’t bear to eat him, so just take him on back home with you. Movin’ the wagon with a rooster tied to it ain’t the easiest thing I’ve ever done. I’m afraid I’ll run over him, an’ that’d be a real waste. Jus’ take him back home and turn him loose.”
Bud could see that Marvin’s mind was made up. He was pretty sure of what would happen when he threw that young rooster back in the coop, but he crated him up and hauled him back to the ranch anyway.
Sure enough, Bud had barely turned his back from releasing Oscar back into the chicken coop, when the awfullest chicken fight you ever saw broke out. It was a real dog pile with feathers flying everyplace as every rooster in the coop piled on top of the stranger.
Bud just shook his head. “I knew that was going to happen,” he said to himself. “Marvin should have fried that rooster when he had the chance.”
The chicken squawkin’ continued for several minutes as Bud did a few evening chores around the place. In fact, the ruckus was sill going on when he stuck his head back in the door to see what was left of Marvin’s fine feathered friend.
The fight was still going strong, but much to Bud’s surprise, there over in the corner on the top rung of the roost sat Oscar; a smug look of victory on his beak. Somehow he’d managed to sneak out from under the bottom of that pile of fighting roosters, and was content as could be to sit out the rest of the scrap ... safe and sound on his high, safe vantage point.
Oscar was one smart rooster. What his ultimate fate was, I never did hear. All I know for sure is that I agree with Marvin. It’d be a sin to eat a chicken that was that smart.
2011年6月29日星期三
Ballardites to welcome the Chicken Coop and Urban Farm Tour into their backyard farms
On Saturday, July 9, Seattle Tilth’s Chicken Coop and Urban Farm Tour will visit fifty unique sites throughout the Seattle area to showcase backyard animals and gardens.
Seattle Tilth has been organizing this community event for over a decade, originally to encourage people to raise chickens in the city. Since then, the event has expanded in both topic and turf to include urban and suburban sites, as well as a wide variety of animals and agricultural practices.
In Ballard, tour participants will get a look at mini dairy goats, chickens, vertical growing, rainwater harvesting, and more.
"Having chickens is absolutely doable in Ballard," said Ballard resident Wendy Barrington.
Nicknamed "The Barrington Farms" by their neighbors, the Burlington family has a flock of five chickens that they keep in their garage which has been retrofitted into a coop.
"We have a pretty small backyard so we used what we had to accommodate the chickens and make it aesthetically pleasing," Barrington said.
Barrington said she always wanted to "own a farm in the city" and that her children, age 10 and 7, wanted chickens.
"You don't save money by having your own animals. You should do mostly for the fun," she said.
The family has five chicken, some of which they've raised since they were only two or three day old. The newest member in their coop was adopted around Christmas time from the Humane Society.
"She was our little christmas bonus," Barringtonn said. "Not a lot of people know that the Humane Society sometimes has chickens but there are a lot of predators for stray chickens in the city such as raccoons and dogs."
Barrington said she found that having chickens to be a lot easier than expected.
"It's easier than having cats and dogs," she said.
In addition to giving the family fresh eggs, Burlington said the chickens are affectionate.
"They're social and affectionate. They each have their own funny individual personality," she said.
Barrington said the chickens like to crawl all over the family's chocolate lab and the cat has learned to "not
mess with the chickens".
Ballard resident Ingela Wanerstrand, expert in edible garden designs and tree pruning, has been leading the way in the urban livestock movement for years.
In 2007, Jennie Grant of Madrona wrote to the Seattle City Council and formed the Goat Justice League. With the support of Councilmember Richard Conlin, Wanerstrand and 1,000 others who signed a petition joined Grant in convincing Seattle that goats were pets, and they were tacked onto the list of allowed domestic animals.
Wanerstrand is one of about 12 people in Seattle who keep goats and the only one in Ballard. She also has chickens and grows fruit and vegetables.
She became interested in mini dairy goats after she discovered that was allergic to cow's milk but can consume goat dairy.
She now milks her four goats daily for fresh milk and makes her own goat cheese as well.
"Fruit and animals are my passion," Wanerstrand said.
Wanerstrand has converted her backyard in an urban farm filled with fruit trees, animals and other edibles.
"It's fun and beautiful," she said.
Wanerstrand said keeping an urban farm is "totally doable".
"I manage to maintain a house, a business, and all my animals," she said, adding that it takes her 45 minutes to an hour every morning to milk and feed her pets as well as do some minor cleaning.
"It's all in the design," Wanerstrand said, which is where her expertise as a landscape designer comes in.
"You want to make it as low maintenance, beautiful and productive as possible."
She said it was relatively low-cost to build the goat-shed and chicken coop as she used all recycled materials and enlisted her friends to help build it with a building party.
Wanerstrand said the best things about goats and chickens is that "they're pets but also productive".
"It's hard to quantify the love I get from my cat but the goats and chickens give me eggs, milk, cheese, and fertilizer," she said.
For Seattleites who have been thinking about converting their backyards into mini farms, the Chicken Coop and Urban Farm Tour might be the perfect way to see how it's done. Tickets are $12 each, with discounts for groups and families and Seattle Tilth members.
Seattle Tilth has been organizing this community event for over a decade, originally to encourage people to raise chickens in the city. Since then, the event has expanded in both topic and turf to include urban and suburban sites, as well as a wide variety of animals and agricultural practices.
In Ballard, tour participants will get a look at mini dairy goats, chickens, vertical growing, rainwater harvesting, and more.
"Having chickens is absolutely doable in Ballard," said Ballard resident Wendy Barrington.
Nicknamed "The Barrington Farms" by their neighbors, the Burlington family has a flock of five chickens that they keep in their garage which has been retrofitted into a coop.
"We have a pretty small backyard so we used what we had to accommodate the chickens and make it aesthetically pleasing," Barrington said.
Barrington said she always wanted to "own a farm in the city" and that her children, age 10 and 7, wanted chickens.
"You don't save money by having your own animals. You should do mostly for the fun," she said.
The family has five chicken, some of which they've raised since they were only two or three day old. The newest member in their coop was adopted around Christmas time from the Humane Society.
"She was our little christmas bonus," Barringtonn said. "Not a lot of people know that the Humane Society sometimes has chickens but there are a lot of predators for stray chickens in the city such as raccoons and dogs."
Barrington said she found that having chickens to be a lot easier than expected.
"It's easier than having cats and dogs," she said.
In addition to giving the family fresh eggs, Burlington said the chickens are affectionate.
"They're social and affectionate. They each have their own funny individual personality," she said.
Barrington said the chickens like to crawl all over the family's chocolate lab and the cat has learned to "not
mess with the chickens".
Ballard resident Ingela Wanerstrand, expert in edible garden designs and tree pruning, has been leading the way in the urban livestock movement for years.
In 2007, Jennie Grant of Madrona wrote to the Seattle City Council and formed the Goat Justice League. With the support of Councilmember Richard Conlin, Wanerstrand and 1,000 others who signed a petition joined Grant in convincing Seattle that goats were pets, and they were tacked onto the list of allowed domestic animals.
Wanerstrand is one of about 12 people in Seattle who keep goats and the only one in Ballard. She also has chickens and grows fruit and vegetables.
She became interested in mini dairy goats after she discovered that was allergic to cow's milk but can consume goat dairy.
She now milks her four goats daily for fresh milk and makes her own goat cheese as well.
"Fruit and animals are my passion," Wanerstrand said.
Wanerstrand has converted her backyard in an urban farm filled with fruit trees, animals and other edibles.
"It's fun and beautiful," she said.
Wanerstrand said keeping an urban farm is "totally doable".
"I manage to maintain a house, a business, and all my animals," she said, adding that it takes her 45 minutes to an hour every morning to milk and feed her pets as well as do some minor cleaning.
"It's all in the design," Wanerstrand said, which is where her expertise as a landscape designer comes in.
"You want to make it as low maintenance, beautiful and productive as possible."
She said it was relatively low-cost to build the goat-shed and chicken coop as she used all recycled materials and enlisted her friends to help build it with a building party.
Wanerstrand said the best things about goats and chickens is that "they're pets but also productive".
"It's hard to quantify the love I get from my cat but the goats and chickens give me eggs, milk, cheese, and fertilizer," she said.
For Seattleites who have been thinking about converting their backyards into mini farms, the Chicken Coop and Urban Farm Tour might be the perfect way to see how it's done. Tickets are $12 each, with discounts for groups and families and Seattle Tilth members.
2011年6月26日星期日
Festival shows there’s an appetite for local food
Don’t know how to spend your summer vacation? Let your appetite be your guide.
Guelph Wellington Local Food — an initiative of the Guelph Community Health Centre — is tapping into the culinary tourism trend with its taste•real brand, which was officially launched at the Guelph Wellington Local Food Fest, held Sunday at the Ignatius Jesuit Centre.
“Agriculture is part of our history and heritage and we need to showcase it more,” said Gayl Creutzberg, outreach co-ordinator for taste•real. “There are lots of reasons to come to the region. Great food, locally grown and carefully prepared, is one more.”
The initiative begins with the local food map of member-organizations — everything from farms that are open to the public, pick-your-own places, restaurants and B&Bs that feature locally sourced food, farmers’ markets, greenhouses, and retailers.
Taste•real has linked with Guelph fab 5, a marketing partnership of Guelph’s well-loved festivals: the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival, Hillside Festival, the Guelph Jazz Festival, Eden Mills Writers’ Festival, and the Festival of Moving Media.
Creutzberg said she hopes visitors who are coming for a festival will check out taste•real restaurants and destinations while in the area. Conversely, she hopes those who come following the culinary trail will check out the festivals and other attractions that make Guelph and Wellington unique.
“It’s farms, it’s restaurants, greenhouses, kitchen stores, hotels and B&Bs (bed and breakfasts),” she said. “There’s been a real coming together over this.”
Sunday’s local food festival was testament to that.
Tours of the Ignatius Centre showed food in the field — the outcome of many private and community projects that happen on the expansive property.
A walk through the marketplace featured booth after booth of produce grown at local farms and food-related products sold at local businesses.
And then there were the local restaurants, cooking up delicious, locally sourced food for visitors to sample.
“I care about locally grown, yes, especially since having kids,” said Shannon Noble of Guelph, who attended the event for the first time with her husband and two small children. “We try to eat local, organic food. It’s nice to come to this and find out what’s in the area.”
There were cooking demonstrations and even one on pickling and making jam. There were workshops on agriculture-related topics, such as how to keep a backyard chicken coop, or how to become a hobby beekeeper.
Some 1,800 people were expected to attend.
Maureen Comartin, of Windsor, was visiting family in Guelph and they all went to the food festival.
“We buy local in Essex County and my daughter buys local in Guelph. I think it’s a smart idea,” she said. “It’s certainly a wonderful atmosphere at the Ignatius Centre.”
Guelph Wellington Local Food — an initiative of the Guelph Community Health Centre — is tapping into the culinary tourism trend with its taste•real brand, which was officially launched at the Guelph Wellington Local Food Fest, held Sunday at the Ignatius Jesuit Centre.
“Agriculture is part of our history and heritage and we need to showcase it more,” said Gayl Creutzberg, outreach co-ordinator for taste•real. “There are lots of reasons to come to the region. Great food, locally grown and carefully prepared, is one more.”
The initiative begins with the local food map of member-organizations — everything from farms that are open to the public, pick-your-own places, restaurants and B&Bs that feature locally sourced food, farmers’ markets, greenhouses, and retailers.
Taste•real has linked with Guelph fab 5, a marketing partnership of Guelph’s well-loved festivals: the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival, Hillside Festival, the Guelph Jazz Festival, Eden Mills Writers’ Festival, and the Festival of Moving Media.
Creutzberg said she hopes visitors who are coming for a festival will check out taste•real restaurants and destinations while in the area. Conversely, she hopes those who come following the culinary trail will check out the festivals and other attractions that make Guelph and Wellington unique.
“It’s farms, it’s restaurants, greenhouses, kitchen stores, hotels and B&Bs (bed and breakfasts),” she said. “There’s been a real coming together over this.”
Sunday’s local food festival was testament to that.
Tours of the Ignatius Centre showed food in the field — the outcome of many private and community projects that happen on the expansive property.
A walk through the marketplace featured booth after booth of produce grown at local farms and food-related products sold at local businesses.
And then there were the local restaurants, cooking up delicious, locally sourced food for visitors to sample.
“I care about locally grown, yes, especially since having kids,” said Shannon Noble of Guelph, who attended the event for the first time with her husband and two small children. “We try to eat local, organic food. It’s nice to come to this and find out what’s in the area.”
There were cooking demonstrations and even one on pickling and making jam. There were workshops on agriculture-related topics, such as how to keep a backyard chicken coop, or how to become a hobby beekeeper.
Some 1,800 people were expected to attend.
Maureen Comartin, of Windsor, was visiting family in Guelph and they all went to the food festival.
“We buy local in Essex County and my daughter buys local in Guelph. I think it’s a smart idea,” she said. “It’s certainly a wonderful atmosphere at the Ignatius Centre.”
John Moffitt's mystery millions
He spent 60 years in Castle Rock, delivering mail for three decades and quietly amassing a timber fortune that benefits numerous charities and local schools — but John Moffitt remains a mystery millionaire.
Moffitt, who died in 1989, lived a frugal but eccentric life, caring for a pack of dogs, hoarding food at times and never throwing anything out. He loved gardening, playing the piano, collecting antiques and writing poetry. He lived in "a shack" for decades, rarely spending anything on himself.
If you were poor, or sick, Moffitt would help. In return, he wanted anonymity. Charities sometimes lost his support after asking for more money or disclosing his involvement.
His John Moffitt Foundation now contributes to 13 charities or organizations annually, including all Cowlitz County public schools. In just two examples, his money helps Castle Rock children read and provides emergency money for dialysis patients throughout Washington and Oregon. In the past decade, the foundation has distributed more than $1.3 million.
Yet few people know much about Moffitt. Even relatives only knew part of his story, never hearing of the abusive, poverty-stricken childhood that led to his life of quiet philanthropy.
"He was just a shy man," said attorney Chris Roubicek, who worked with Moffitt before his death and now represents his estate. "He didn’t wear his philanthropy on his sleeve."
"We were shocked at how much he had," said nephew Don Parham of Portland, recalling how the family reacted after learning Moffitt was worth close to $8 million at his death. "But him creating a foundation? That didn’t surprise me any. He was a good man."
John Hardy Moffitt was born Feb. 5, 1897, in Portland, the second child and only son of John H. and Mary E. (Gentry) Moffitt, according to a short biography the late Castle Rock lawyer Frank Hallett wrote for the foundation.
Moffitt’s father, a railroad conductor and candy merchant, died when Moffitt was two. His mother remarried twice, having three more children.
Relatives said that while Moffitt loved to tell jokes and stories, he didn’t talk much about his youth.
They weren’t happy memories, according to Hallett’s biography.
One of Moffitt’s stepfathers was a "drunkard" who squandered his wages and whipped young Moffitt, Hallett wrote. Moffitt was teased at school, where he was "ill-clothed, often hungry and barefoot," Hallett wrote. At times he lived with relatives or in foster homes.
Moffitt never forgot several acts of kindness from those hard times, including Christmas gifts from the Salvation Army and shoes from one of his teachers, Hallett wrote.
Moffitt spent much of his teen and early adult years helping support his mother and siblings. Eventually, the strain and long hours caused him to have a nervous breakdown, Hallett wrote. He later served in the Army medical corps in stateside hospitals during World War I.
News of the hardships detailed in Hallett’s biography shocked some of Moffitt’s relatives when they were told of them last week.
"Not having shoes? My goodness," Moffitt’s great-niece Nancy Pagaduan exclaimed from her Aloha, Ore., home. "We have a picture of his mother and her sisters and they’re beautiful, little Victorian girls. It’s hard to think about her being married and not being able to make ends meet."
In 1926, then his late 20s, Moffitt moved to Castle Rock and started buying logged-off and second-growth timberland, sometimes for just $5 an acre.
"I think it was just a way for him to accumulate property for his retirement," Roubicek said. "And he always held on to it. (Frank Hallett) would say sometimes he’d pay the taxes on the tree farm before he’d eat."
Moffitt ran a farm on his land and also worked 30 years as a postal carrier, bringing home every stray dog he found, Parham said. At one point he had as many as 27 dogs, Parham said.
During the Great Depression, Moffitt worked for the Works Progress Administration and in California shipyards. He also was a "very caring and effective" social worker in Cowlitz County, Hallett wrote. He retired from the post office in 1966.
He had enough to still help relatives from time to time, but Moffitt himself lived in a small home on his Delameter Road tree farm that everyone who knew him describes as a "shack." When Roubicek first saw the overgrown, abandoned building in the 1980s he thought it was an old chicken coop.
"He lived a pauper’s existence out there on Delameter Road," Roubicek said. "(The shack) was the God-awfulest thing." His long-time friends and caretakers Harold and Virginia Brown helped out on the tree farm as Moffitt got older.
Some people called him a hermit, but Moffitt visited and vacationed with family and friends through the years, including trips to Hawaii and the Ozarks.
In the 1970s, Moffitt’s life changed dramatically. Friends convinced him to log 183 acres along Woodside Drive. He made a windfall during the log export boom and socked most of it away in treasury bonds. He’d moved to a cottage in the 1960s and moved into a house in Castle Rock in 1979.
He splurged on a Cadillac and a motor home, but even then he wasn’t flashy. He owned the motor home 15 years but only put 80 miles on it, Roubicek said.
Haunted by "an innate fear of hunger and poverty," Moffitt remained notoriously frugal, Hallett wrote.
Roubicek remembers as a young lawyer mistakenly charging Moffitt postage on some legal documents. It was just a few stamps, but Moffitt never let him forget about it, Roubicek said.
"He had a long memory and he rarely forgot a slight," Roubicek said. "And that helped to make him a little bit of a character ... a little eccentric."
Moffitt gave money to others throughout his life, but kept it quiet.
Moffitt, who died in 1989, lived a frugal but eccentric life, caring for a pack of dogs, hoarding food at times and never throwing anything out. He loved gardening, playing the piano, collecting antiques and writing poetry. He lived in "a shack" for decades, rarely spending anything on himself.
If you were poor, or sick, Moffitt would help. In return, he wanted anonymity. Charities sometimes lost his support after asking for more money or disclosing his involvement.
His John Moffitt Foundation now contributes to 13 charities or organizations annually, including all Cowlitz County public schools. In just two examples, his money helps Castle Rock children read and provides emergency money for dialysis patients throughout Washington and Oregon. In the past decade, the foundation has distributed more than $1.3 million.
Yet few people know much about Moffitt. Even relatives only knew part of his story, never hearing of the abusive, poverty-stricken childhood that led to his life of quiet philanthropy.
"He was just a shy man," said attorney Chris Roubicek, who worked with Moffitt before his death and now represents his estate. "He didn’t wear his philanthropy on his sleeve."
"We were shocked at how much he had," said nephew Don Parham of Portland, recalling how the family reacted after learning Moffitt was worth close to $8 million at his death. "But him creating a foundation? That didn’t surprise me any. He was a good man."
John Hardy Moffitt was born Feb. 5, 1897, in Portland, the second child and only son of John H. and Mary E. (Gentry) Moffitt, according to a short biography the late Castle Rock lawyer Frank Hallett wrote for the foundation.
Moffitt’s father, a railroad conductor and candy merchant, died when Moffitt was two. His mother remarried twice, having three more children.
Relatives said that while Moffitt loved to tell jokes and stories, he didn’t talk much about his youth.
They weren’t happy memories, according to Hallett’s biography.
One of Moffitt’s stepfathers was a "drunkard" who squandered his wages and whipped young Moffitt, Hallett wrote. Moffitt was teased at school, where he was "ill-clothed, often hungry and barefoot," Hallett wrote. At times he lived with relatives or in foster homes.
Moffitt never forgot several acts of kindness from those hard times, including Christmas gifts from the Salvation Army and shoes from one of his teachers, Hallett wrote.
Moffitt spent much of his teen and early adult years helping support his mother and siblings. Eventually, the strain and long hours caused him to have a nervous breakdown, Hallett wrote. He later served in the Army medical corps in stateside hospitals during World War I.
News of the hardships detailed in Hallett’s biography shocked some of Moffitt’s relatives when they were told of them last week.
"Not having shoes? My goodness," Moffitt’s great-niece Nancy Pagaduan exclaimed from her Aloha, Ore., home. "We have a picture of his mother and her sisters and they’re beautiful, little Victorian girls. It’s hard to think about her being married and not being able to make ends meet."
In 1926, then his late 20s, Moffitt moved to Castle Rock and started buying logged-off and second-growth timberland, sometimes for just $5 an acre.
"I think it was just a way for him to accumulate property for his retirement," Roubicek said. "And he always held on to it. (Frank Hallett) would say sometimes he’d pay the taxes on the tree farm before he’d eat."
Moffitt ran a farm on his land and also worked 30 years as a postal carrier, bringing home every stray dog he found, Parham said. At one point he had as many as 27 dogs, Parham said.
During the Great Depression, Moffitt worked for the Works Progress Administration and in California shipyards. He also was a "very caring and effective" social worker in Cowlitz County, Hallett wrote. He retired from the post office in 1966.
He had enough to still help relatives from time to time, but Moffitt himself lived in a small home on his Delameter Road tree farm that everyone who knew him describes as a "shack." When Roubicek first saw the overgrown, abandoned building in the 1980s he thought it was an old chicken coop.
"He lived a pauper’s existence out there on Delameter Road," Roubicek said. "(The shack) was the God-awfulest thing." His long-time friends and caretakers Harold and Virginia Brown helped out on the tree farm as Moffitt got older.
Some people called him a hermit, but Moffitt visited and vacationed with family and friends through the years, including trips to Hawaii and the Ozarks.
In the 1970s, Moffitt’s life changed dramatically. Friends convinced him to log 183 acres along Woodside Drive. He made a windfall during the log export boom and socked most of it away in treasury bonds. He’d moved to a cottage in the 1960s and moved into a house in Castle Rock in 1979.
He splurged on a Cadillac and a motor home, but even then he wasn’t flashy. He owned the motor home 15 years but only put 80 miles on it, Roubicek said.
Haunted by "an innate fear of hunger and poverty," Moffitt remained notoriously frugal, Hallett wrote.
Roubicek remembers as a young lawyer mistakenly charging Moffitt postage on some legal documents. It was just a few stamps, but Moffitt never let him forget about it, Roubicek said.
"He had a long memory and he rarely forgot a slight," Roubicek said. "And that helped to make him a little bit of a character ... a little eccentric."
Moffitt gave money to others throughout his life, but kept it quiet.
2011年6月22日星期三
Dexter bear hasn't crossed into Jackson County, but we've had our share of past bear sightings
A four-legged subject of fascination has been riling up residents of one of Jackson’s neighbors to the
east.
A black bear that was spotted roaming around the Dexter area has achieved somewhat of a celebrity status
in the town since the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office confirmed its presence there last week.
The animal has its own Twitter account, Facebook page and has sparked specials at local businesses,
despite pillaging property in the area and raiding a backyard chicken coop, according to AnnArbor.com.
The bear, apparently content with its Dexter fame, has not made its way west into Jackson County. There
have been no recent bear sightings in the county, according to the Michigan Department of Natural
Resources.
However, Jackson has had its share of vagabond bears.
A black bear with cubs was reported in Leoni Township in 2009, but the sighting was never confirmed by
authorities.
A year earlier state wildlife biologists attempted to trap a bear near the Waterloo Recreation Area so
it could be fitted with a radio collar and tracked. The bear was first sighted in Henrietta Township
then made its way over to Manchester, where it was spotted foraging in a potato field.
Wildlife biologists estimate Michigan has 15,000 to 19,000 black bears, mostly in the Upper Peninsula.
Bears can be seen between Mount Pleasant and St. Johns and are rarely spotted south of that area, but
have been moving deeper into the Lower Peninsula.
The DNR is urging people to avoid feeding or trying to attract the bear.
east.
A black bear that was spotted roaming around the Dexter area has achieved somewhat of a celebrity status
in the town since the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office confirmed its presence there last week.
The animal has its own Twitter account, Facebook page and has sparked specials at local businesses,
despite pillaging property in the area and raiding a backyard chicken coop, according to AnnArbor.com.
The bear, apparently content with its Dexter fame, has not made its way west into Jackson County. There
have been no recent bear sightings in the county, according to the Michigan Department of Natural
Resources.
However, Jackson has had its share of vagabond bears.
A black bear with cubs was reported in Leoni Township in 2009, but the sighting was never confirmed by
authorities.
A year earlier state wildlife biologists attempted to trap a bear near the Waterloo Recreation Area so
it could be fitted with a radio collar and tracked. The bear was first sighted in Henrietta Township
then made its way over to Manchester, where it was spotted foraging in a potato field.
Wildlife biologists estimate Michigan has 15,000 to 19,000 black bears, mostly in the Upper Peninsula.
Bears can be seen between Mount Pleasant and St. Johns and are rarely spotted south of that area, but
have been moving deeper into the Lower Peninsula.
The DNR is urging people to avoid feeding or trying to attract the bear.
Utah author teaches backyard chicken-coop basics
Utah native Gretchen Anderson has chronicled the ruffled feathers between city leaders and backyard farmers in her book about urban chicken coops, now she’s teaching free classes this week on the basics of raising backyard chickens.
Anderson’s book The Backyard Chicken Fight, chronicles the new urban chicken-coop movement in cities across the country where urban farmers have clashed with municipalities that consider clucking chickens nuisances. In researching her book Anderson discovered quite a reversal in the role of government and the citizen chicken raiser. She refers to a 1918 poster where the government advertises the need for citizens to keep and raiser their own chickens, as evidence of how far the change has shifted.
“We’ve moved away from all of our farming roots,” Anderson says. “We’ve become metropolitan and cosmopolitan and left our food production to factory farms. As a result nobody has chickens in their backyards and nor do municipalities want to enter in that conversation.” Anderson’s love affair with organic chickens dates back to her youth in Holliday, where her family had their own chickens and she used to ride her bicycle around as a kid selling fresh eggs to her neighbors.
As an adult she gravitated easily to the topic of the urban chicken movement, and set out to write a concise history of the movement’s battles against cities whose ordinances have long since abandoned zoning for urban chickens. Anderson’s book follows the property rights vs. chicken coops battles across the country including a spotlight on the debate here in Utah. “I did chronicle Ogden,” Anderson said. “The fight got pretty ugly there.”
But beyond telling the stories Anderson is also preaching the benefits of home grown eggs, a super food that can be produced at little cost. “I think it is especially [economical] considering the quality of the egg I get out of my backyard coop,” Anderson says.
“It’s unmatched by any organic cage-free egg you can buy in the market.” Anderson will be at hand this week—which is Chicken Week—teaching free classes on building cheap coops, warding off predators and general tips and tricks for raising your chickens from the comfort of your very own backyard.For more on what the Wasatch Gardens are doing for Chicken Week, visit their website here.
Check out Anderson's free chicken coop classes the rest of this week:
Wednesday, June 22, 7:00 p.m. Riverton Library, 12877 S. 1830 West Road Riverton
Thursday, June 23, 7:00 p.m. Magna Library, 2675 S. 8950 West Magna
Friday June 24, 4-6pm, Tyler Library Branch, 8041 S. Wood Street Midvale
Anderson’s book The Backyard Chicken Fight, chronicles the new urban chicken-coop movement in cities across the country where urban farmers have clashed with municipalities that consider clucking chickens nuisances. In researching her book Anderson discovered quite a reversal in the role of government and the citizen chicken raiser. She refers to a 1918 poster where the government advertises the need for citizens to keep and raiser their own chickens, as evidence of how far the change has shifted.
“We’ve moved away from all of our farming roots,” Anderson says. “We’ve become metropolitan and cosmopolitan and left our food production to factory farms. As a result nobody has chickens in their backyards and nor do municipalities want to enter in that conversation.” Anderson’s love affair with organic chickens dates back to her youth in Holliday, where her family had their own chickens and she used to ride her bicycle around as a kid selling fresh eggs to her neighbors.
As an adult she gravitated easily to the topic of the urban chicken movement, and set out to write a concise history of the movement’s battles against cities whose ordinances have long since abandoned zoning for urban chickens. Anderson’s book follows the property rights vs. chicken coops battles across the country including a spotlight on the debate here in Utah. “I did chronicle Ogden,” Anderson said. “The fight got pretty ugly there.”
But beyond telling the stories Anderson is also preaching the benefits of home grown eggs, a super food that can be produced at little cost. “I think it is especially [economical] considering the quality of the egg I get out of my backyard coop,” Anderson says.
“It’s unmatched by any organic cage-free egg you can buy in the market.” Anderson will be at hand this week—which is Chicken Week—teaching free classes on building cheap coops, warding off predators and general tips and tricks for raising your chickens from the comfort of your very own backyard.For more on what the Wasatch Gardens are doing for Chicken Week, visit their website here.
Check out Anderson's free chicken coop classes the rest of this week:
Wednesday, June 22, 7:00 p.m. Riverton Library, 12877 S. 1830 West Road Riverton
Thursday, June 23, 7:00 p.m. Magna Library, 2675 S. 8950 West Magna
Friday June 24, 4-6pm, Tyler Library Branch, 8041 S. Wood Street Midvale
2011年6月19日星期日
10-year-old boy injured in ceiling collapse
A 10-year-old Palestinian boy sustained serious injuries on Saturday morning after concrete from the ceiling of a chicken coop outside their house located in the Dhafan area of Ras Al Khaimah collapsed on him. The boy was feeding chicken when the accident occured.
The boy, Abdul Rahman Obaid, was admitted to Saqr Hospital in an unconscious state.
Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Director of Saqr Hospital, said the boy sustained wounds on his head and fracture on his right leg. The wound on the boy’s head required nine stitches after which his fractured leg was operated upon, said Al Nuaimi.
The boy’s father said his son was in the chicken coop located outside their main house when parts of the ceiling collapsed and fell on him.
Family members who were in the main house heard Obaid screaming and shouting for help and they hurried to rescue him. Family members rushed the boy to the hospital.
According to the boy’s father, the rented house which is nearly 30 years old is in a dilapidated condition and needs thorough repair and maintenance.
He said he had on several occasions talked to the owner of the house to do maintenance work, but he has been reluctant to do so.
“I have sometimes hired men to do maintenance work on the cracked walls and ceiling, but the house is too old,” said the father.
He stressed that the landlord is not willing to pay for the maintenance work despite the fact that the house rent was hiked a couple of months ago.
Obaid’s father said this was the second incidence of ceiling collapse. Last year, parts of the kitchen ceiling had collapsed and had fallen on his wife as she was cooking.
The boy, Abdul Rahman Obaid, was admitted to Saqr Hospital in an unconscious state.
Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Director of Saqr Hospital, said the boy sustained wounds on his head and fracture on his right leg. The wound on the boy’s head required nine stitches after which his fractured leg was operated upon, said Al Nuaimi.
The boy’s father said his son was in the chicken coop located outside their main house when parts of the ceiling collapsed and fell on him.
Family members who were in the main house heard Obaid screaming and shouting for help and they hurried to rescue him. Family members rushed the boy to the hospital.
According to the boy’s father, the rented house which is nearly 30 years old is in a dilapidated condition and needs thorough repair and maintenance.
He said he had on several occasions talked to the owner of the house to do maintenance work, but he has been reluctant to do so.
“I have sometimes hired men to do maintenance work on the cracked walls and ceiling, but the house is too old,” said the father.
He stressed that the landlord is not willing to pay for the maintenance work despite the fact that the house rent was hiked a couple of months ago.
Obaid’s father said this was the second incidence of ceiling collapse. Last year, parts of the kitchen ceiling had collapsed and had fallen on his wife as she was cooking.
Normal council to discuss chicken coops, form-based code
The Normal City Council is expected to determine the fate of urban chicken coops and an optional form-based code for the town’s leg of the Main Street Corridor at its meeting Monday night.
Members also will consider offering a 1 percent rebate of the local share of the state’s sales tax to Normal residents or businesses purchasing a new electric vehicle through Dec. 31, 2013.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the council chambers of City Hall, 100 E. Phoenix Ave.
Town staff is supporting an ordinance allowing up to four hens in an urban chicken coop. The planning commission voted 3-2 to recommend the ordinance to the council.
Among the concerns voiced at the public hearing was the potential for the spread of histoplasmosis from the chicken droppings. Histoplasmosis is an infection of the lungs, liver, spleen or central nervous system caused by inhaling or ingesting a fungus.
In a report to the council, Town Planner Mercy Davison said a medical researcher and university professor who specializes in the disease said the histoplasmosis fungus is found in soil across much of the Ohio Valley, including Normal. A typical outbreak occurs when a significant amount of bird droppings, left undisturbed for many years, is disturbed.
The researcher said the risk of histoplasmosis from four backyard hens is quite low.
Town staff also is supporting the adoption of an optional form-based code for the Main Street Corridor. The planning commission recommended it 5-0.
If approved, developers of future projects along the Normal leg of the corridor would have the option of building under current code or the form-based code, which dictates design and use and envisions buildings close to the street with parking in the rear.
The council also will consider a 1 percent rebate for residents and businesses purchasing a new electric car. Assistant City Manager Geoff Fruin said assuming an average sales price of $30,000, the typical rebate would be $300. If 200 to 400 people applied for rebates over the next two years, it would total $60,000 to $120,000.
Normal is a partner in the Bloomington-Normal Electric Vehicle Task Force’s EVTown effort, which hopes to see 1,000 electric vehicles in the Twin Cities by 2014.
Members also will consider offering a 1 percent rebate of the local share of the state’s sales tax to Normal residents or businesses purchasing a new electric vehicle through Dec. 31, 2013.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the council chambers of City Hall, 100 E. Phoenix Ave.
Town staff is supporting an ordinance allowing up to four hens in an urban chicken coop. The planning commission voted 3-2 to recommend the ordinance to the council.
Among the concerns voiced at the public hearing was the potential for the spread of histoplasmosis from the chicken droppings. Histoplasmosis is an infection of the lungs, liver, spleen or central nervous system caused by inhaling or ingesting a fungus.
In a report to the council, Town Planner Mercy Davison said a medical researcher and university professor who specializes in the disease said the histoplasmosis fungus is found in soil across much of the Ohio Valley, including Normal. A typical outbreak occurs when a significant amount of bird droppings, left undisturbed for many years, is disturbed.
The researcher said the risk of histoplasmosis from four backyard hens is quite low.
Town staff also is supporting the adoption of an optional form-based code for the Main Street Corridor. The planning commission recommended it 5-0.
If approved, developers of future projects along the Normal leg of the corridor would have the option of building under current code or the form-based code, which dictates design and use and envisions buildings close to the street with parking in the rear.
The council also will consider a 1 percent rebate for residents and businesses purchasing a new electric car. Assistant City Manager Geoff Fruin said assuming an average sales price of $30,000, the typical rebate would be $300. If 200 to 400 people applied for rebates over the next two years, it would total $60,000 to $120,000.
Normal is a partner in the Bloomington-Normal Electric Vehicle Task Force’s EVTown effort, which hopes to see 1,000 electric vehicles in the Twin Cities by 2014.
2011年6月14日星期二
Medal of Honor awaits Army Ranger who lost hand saving other lives
The radio message was short and devoid of details. But it was enough to let the Army Rangers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state know that Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry and others were in trouble.
"Hey," Petry said, "my hand is gone."
After being shot in both legs and losing his right hand in a display of uncommon valor in Afghanistan, Petry continued to bark orders at the fellow Rangers who responded to the scene of the attack.
"He was yelling at the medic to loosen up the tourniquet on one of his legs because that was I guess what was most painful to him," Sgt. 1st Class Jerod Staidle, Petry's platoon sergeant, recalled Thursday.
Petry's "conspicuous gallantry" will be honored July 12, when President Obama presents him with the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for combat valor.
Petry, 31, is the ninth service member to receive a Medal of Honor during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and only the second of those who lived to see the honor.
The actions for which he'll be honored occurred May 26, 2008, when he was pinned down against a chicken coop with two other Rangers during an assault on a compound in the Paktia province of Afghanistan.
An enemy fighter tossed a grenade at them. Petry grabbed it and threw it back -- in time to save his comrades, but not his hand.
"We would like to say that every Ranger would do that given the exact same situation, but you're never going to know that until he's placed in that situation," said Master Sgt. Steven Walter, a senior noncommissioned officer during the mission. "We're extremely proud that (Petry) did react in the manner that he did because he definitely saved lives that day."
Staidle, Walter and another Lewis-McChord Ranger, Master Sgt. Reese Teakell, provided information about their fateful mission during a news conference last week at the battalion's local headquarters.
Petry will make no public statements until his ceremony next month, the Army said.
His three fellow Rangers praised the married father of four for his split-second reaction. They described him as a selfless leader and mentor who played a key role in establishing his platoon when a new Ranger company was formed at Lewis-McChord in October 2007.
They said he was hard-working, almost to a fault, joking that when Petry charted out routes for missions, his unit often found itself going around or over a mountain and always found water.
"He's a happy-go-lucky guy," Walter said. "He always has a smile on his face. He'll make you laugh every time."
On that day three years ago, the Rangers participated in a helicopter raid to hunt down an unidentified terrorist. About 40 of them infiltrated several compounds. The terrorist escaped before the Rangers' arrival but was killed later, they said.
During the clearing operation, an enemy fighter wounded Petry and Pfc. Lucas Robinson in an outer courtyard and they took cover against a chicken coop, according to an unclassified PowerPoint presentation by the Rangers.
Sgt. Daniel Higgins joined them to evaluate their wounds.
The enemy fighters then threw two grenades and one landed among the three soldiers.
"He (Petry) could have moved himself around the corner of the building ... and saved himself but then the other two Rangers would probably be dead," Staidle said. "He put his own life at risk to grab that grenade and throw it around the corner to save all three of them."
Neither Robinson nor Higgins attended Thursday's news conference. They have left the Army and are attending college, officials said.
Two other Rangers, including Spc. Christopher Gathercole, came to their aid. Gathercole was shot in the head and died. Three enemy fighters were killed in the courtyard.
The Rangers said Petry continues to enjoy fishing, golfing and skeet shooting -- and has specifically designed attachments to his prosthetic to help him.
Walter said Petry is committed to continuing his career in the Army.
Staidle said Petry is honored and humbled by the nomination and never hesitates to answer questions about his injury or show how his prosthetic works.
Although his legs continue to bother him, Staidle said Petry has participated in 5-kilometer runs and completed a 20-mile road march with his former company 18 months ago.
"You can tell he's proud of what he's done," Staidle said. "He hasn't let it go to his head ... He knows what he did was the right decision."
"Hey," Petry said, "my hand is gone."
After being shot in both legs and losing his right hand in a display of uncommon valor in Afghanistan, Petry continued to bark orders at the fellow Rangers who responded to the scene of the attack.
"He was yelling at the medic to loosen up the tourniquet on one of his legs because that was I guess what was most painful to him," Sgt. 1st Class Jerod Staidle, Petry's platoon sergeant, recalled Thursday.
Petry's "conspicuous gallantry" will be honored July 12, when President Obama presents him with the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for combat valor.
Petry, 31, is the ninth service member to receive a Medal of Honor during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and only the second of those who lived to see the honor.
The actions for which he'll be honored occurred May 26, 2008, when he was pinned down against a chicken coop with two other Rangers during an assault on a compound in the Paktia province of Afghanistan.
An enemy fighter tossed a grenade at them. Petry grabbed it and threw it back -- in time to save his comrades, but not his hand.
"We would like to say that every Ranger would do that given the exact same situation, but you're never going to know that until he's placed in that situation," said Master Sgt. Steven Walter, a senior noncommissioned officer during the mission. "We're extremely proud that (Petry) did react in the manner that he did because he definitely saved lives that day."
Staidle, Walter and another Lewis-McChord Ranger, Master Sgt. Reese Teakell, provided information about their fateful mission during a news conference last week at the battalion's local headquarters.
Petry will make no public statements until his ceremony next month, the Army said.
His three fellow Rangers praised the married father of four for his split-second reaction. They described him as a selfless leader and mentor who played a key role in establishing his platoon when a new Ranger company was formed at Lewis-McChord in October 2007.
They said he was hard-working, almost to a fault, joking that when Petry charted out routes for missions, his unit often found itself going around or over a mountain and always found water.
"He's a happy-go-lucky guy," Walter said. "He always has a smile on his face. He'll make you laugh every time."
On that day three years ago, the Rangers participated in a helicopter raid to hunt down an unidentified terrorist. About 40 of them infiltrated several compounds. The terrorist escaped before the Rangers' arrival but was killed later, they said.
During the clearing operation, an enemy fighter wounded Petry and Pfc. Lucas Robinson in an outer courtyard and they took cover against a chicken coop, according to an unclassified PowerPoint presentation by the Rangers.
Sgt. Daniel Higgins joined them to evaluate their wounds.
The enemy fighters then threw two grenades and one landed among the three soldiers.
"He (Petry) could have moved himself around the corner of the building ... and saved himself but then the other two Rangers would probably be dead," Staidle said. "He put his own life at risk to grab that grenade and throw it around the corner to save all three of them."
Neither Robinson nor Higgins attended Thursday's news conference. They have left the Army and are attending college, officials said.
Two other Rangers, including Spc. Christopher Gathercole, came to their aid. Gathercole was shot in the head and died. Three enemy fighters were killed in the courtyard.
The Rangers said Petry continues to enjoy fishing, golfing and skeet shooting -- and has specifically designed attachments to his prosthetic to help him.
Walter said Petry is committed to continuing his career in the Army.
Staidle said Petry is honored and humbled by the nomination and never hesitates to answer questions about his injury or show how his prosthetic works.
Although his legs continue to bother him, Staidle said Petry has participated in 5-kilometer runs and completed a 20-mile road march with his former company 18 months ago.
"You can tell he's proud of what he's done," Staidle said. "He hasn't let it go to his head ... He knows what he did was the right decision."
Boy, 12, accused of killing 11 chickens with shovel
A 12-year-old Oakland boy was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly broke into a chicken coop at a community garden over the weekend and used a shovel to bludgeon 11 chickens to death, police said.
Investigators are still searching for a second juvenile in connection with the break-in at the garden run under the auspices of the Alameda Point Collaborative, which provides transitional housing and other services at the former Alameda Naval Air Station to people who were once homeless.
Along with breaking into the chicken coop on Lemoore Road, the boy is suspected of breaking into the garden's tool shed and stealing the shovel, police detective Sgt. Wayland Gee said.
The boy's name was not disclosed because he is a juvenile. He lives in Oakland and was released after he was given a Notice to Appear on animal cruelty charges in Juvenile Court, according to investigators.
"He put the blame on other kids," Gee said.
Detective Sgt. Jennifer Basham said police have identified the second juvenile suspected of participating in the break-in.
A collaborative employee discovered the doors of the coop and tool shed had been forced open on Sunday afternoon, police said. The break-in apparently happened sometime after Saturday morning.
Eleven chickens were dead, while six were still alive and one was missing, Gee said. The shovel was nearby and showed evidence that someone had used it to kill the birds, he said.
Police
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began investigating the case Monday after the break-in was initially reported to the city's Animal Control department.
Patrol Officer Richard Soto was interviewing a witness on Tuesday at the former base -- which is now known as Alameda Point -- when he spotted the 12-year-old boy and detained him because he allegedly matched the description of one of the suspects.
The youth was later positively identified as having taken part in the break-in, police said.
Doug Biggs, the executive director of the collaborative, said the agency was still reviewing what happened.
Gee said the Alameda Police Officers Association is working with the collaborative on finding ways to replace the birds.
Investigators are still searching for a second juvenile in connection with the break-in at the garden run under the auspices of the Alameda Point Collaborative, which provides transitional housing and other services at the former Alameda Naval Air Station to people who were once homeless.
Along with breaking into the chicken coop on Lemoore Road, the boy is suspected of breaking into the garden's tool shed and stealing the shovel, police detective Sgt. Wayland Gee said.
The boy's name was not disclosed because he is a juvenile. He lives in Oakland and was released after he was given a Notice to Appear on animal cruelty charges in Juvenile Court, according to investigators.
"He put the blame on other kids," Gee said.
Detective Sgt. Jennifer Basham said police have identified the second juvenile suspected of participating in the break-in.
A collaborative employee discovered the doors of the coop and tool shed had been forced open on Sunday afternoon, police said. The break-in apparently happened sometime after Saturday morning.
Eleven chickens were dead, while six were still alive and one was missing, Gee said. The shovel was nearby and showed evidence that someone had used it to kill the birds, he said.
Police
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began investigating the case Monday after the break-in was initially reported to the city's Animal Control department.
Patrol Officer Richard Soto was interviewing a witness on Tuesday at the former base -- which is now known as Alameda Point -- when he spotted the 12-year-old boy and detained him because he allegedly matched the description of one of the suspects.
The youth was later positively identified as having taken part in the break-in, police said.
Doug Biggs, the executive director of the collaborative, said the agency was still reviewing what happened.
Gee said the Alameda Police Officers Association is working with the collaborative on finding ways to replace the birds.
2011年6月12日星期日
Santa Fe soldier set to receive Medal of Honor
The soldiers who served with the Army sergeant set to receive the Medal of Honor next month because of his actions in Afghanistan say he's a hero who's maintained his sharp wit and plans to "keep rangering."'
After he had been shot in both legs, Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Arthur Petry didn't just lose his hand while throwing an enemy grenade away from himself and two fellow Army Rangers. As they continued to fight a small armed group, Petry kept calling out orders and helping his unit fulfill its mission and get the injured men the medical help they needed.
"Everybody would like to think they'd do the same thing," said Sgt. 1st Class Jarod Christopher Staidle, one of Petry's fellow soldiers from the 75th Ranger Regiment who spoke to the media Thursday. But no one could possibly know what they would do unless faced with the same situation, he said.
Petry made a conscious decision to go in and help his fellow Rangers who had been wounded, and to move them to a safer location near a chicken coop. If he hadn't done so, he wouldn't have been there to grab the grenade and toss it away, saving two men but becoming seriously wounded himself.
One U.S. soldier was killed in that fight in the eastern Afghan province of Paktia in May 2008, as was the entire enemy unit.
On July 12, Petry will be the second living, active-duty service member to receive the nation's highest military decoration for actions in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. Last year,
President Barack Obama awarded a Medal of Honor to Staff Sgt. Sal Giunta, also for actions in Afghanistan.
"He did not consider the long-term repercussions," said Master Sgt. Reese Wayne Teakell, another highly decorated member of Petry's unit.
He could have saved himself by moving his body instead of grabbing the grenade, but his fellow soldiers would likely have died or been severely injured if he made that choice, Teakell added.
Petry probably knew the moment he reached for that grenade what danger he faced. "There is some voice in all of our heads that says 'I probably won't survive this,'" Teakell said.
His fellow soldiers immediately recognized the heroic nature of Petry's actions and knew he had done something special that day.
"I'm very proud of him," said Master Sgt. Steven L. Walter.
Petry has declined to talk to the media until after the president gives him his medal. Both of the men he saved - Pfc. Lucas Robinson and Sgt. Daniel Higgins - have left the Army and are attending college.
Staidle said Petry is extremely humbled by the honor. Despite being eligible for a medical discharge, he has chosen to stay on active duty and is working near his unit at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, south of Seattle, helping injured soldiers adjust to life after battle.
Petry and his wife Ashley have four children, Brittany, Austin, Reagan and Landon.
The 31-year-old native of Santa Fe has served six tours in Afghanistan and two in Iraq, according to the Army. He enlisted in September 1999. When he re-enlisted in 2010, Petry said he loves the work he does helping wounded soldiers.
"If I can't go to the fight, I can help the men who are wounded, injured or ill," he said in a statement from the Army.
Petry is determined to "keep rangering" as much as possible, Staidle said.
"He's always upbeat," Staidle said. "He hasn't let any of this go to his head."
But he has let it feed his mischievous sense of humor, his comrades agreed.
They share, with smiles, that Petry's one regret is that he used his right hand to lob the grenade, since that's the hand he used to write, golf and shoot a gun.
He spends a lot of time demonstrating his high-tech prosthetic arm, which means the battery runs down all the time, his fellow Rangers noted.
That doesn't seem to be a problem for Petry, however, as he can then carry the arm around and use it as a prop in his comedy routine. They say most people don't notice the arm, because of the man who is wearing it, except of course when he has taken it off and is shaking someone's hand with the fake arm he's holding with his left hand.
After he had been shot in both legs, Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Arthur Petry didn't just lose his hand while throwing an enemy grenade away from himself and two fellow Army Rangers. As they continued to fight a small armed group, Petry kept calling out orders and helping his unit fulfill its mission and get the injured men the medical help they needed.
"Everybody would like to think they'd do the same thing," said Sgt. 1st Class Jarod Christopher Staidle, one of Petry's fellow soldiers from the 75th Ranger Regiment who spoke to the media Thursday. But no one could possibly know what they would do unless faced with the same situation, he said.
Petry made a conscious decision to go in and help his fellow Rangers who had been wounded, and to move them to a safer location near a chicken coop. If he hadn't done so, he wouldn't have been there to grab the grenade and toss it away, saving two men but becoming seriously wounded himself.
One U.S. soldier was killed in that fight in the eastern Afghan province of Paktia in May 2008, as was the entire enemy unit.
On July 12, Petry will be the second living, active-duty service member to receive the nation's highest military decoration for actions in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. Last year,
President Barack Obama awarded a Medal of Honor to Staff Sgt. Sal Giunta, also for actions in Afghanistan.
"He did not consider the long-term repercussions," said Master Sgt. Reese Wayne Teakell, another highly decorated member of Petry's unit.
He could have saved himself by moving his body instead of grabbing the grenade, but his fellow soldiers would likely have died or been severely injured if he made that choice, Teakell added.
Petry probably knew the moment he reached for that grenade what danger he faced. "There is some voice in all of our heads that says 'I probably won't survive this,'" Teakell said.
His fellow soldiers immediately recognized the heroic nature of Petry's actions and knew he had done something special that day.
"I'm very proud of him," said Master Sgt. Steven L. Walter.
Petry has declined to talk to the media until after the president gives him his medal. Both of the men he saved - Pfc. Lucas Robinson and Sgt. Daniel Higgins - have left the Army and are attending college.
Staidle said Petry is extremely humbled by the honor. Despite being eligible for a medical discharge, he has chosen to stay on active duty and is working near his unit at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, south of Seattle, helping injured soldiers adjust to life after battle.
Petry and his wife Ashley have four children, Brittany, Austin, Reagan and Landon.
The 31-year-old native of Santa Fe has served six tours in Afghanistan and two in Iraq, according to the Army. He enlisted in September 1999. When he re-enlisted in 2010, Petry said he loves the work he does helping wounded soldiers.
"If I can't go to the fight, I can help the men who are wounded, injured or ill," he said in a statement from the Army.
Petry is determined to "keep rangering" as much as possible, Staidle said.
"He's always upbeat," Staidle said. "He hasn't let any of this go to his head."
But he has let it feed his mischievous sense of humor, his comrades agreed.
They share, with smiles, that Petry's one regret is that he used his right hand to lob the grenade, since that's the hand he used to write, golf and shoot a gun.
He spends a lot of time demonstrating his high-tech prosthetic arm, which means the battery runs down all the time, his fellow Rangers noted.
That doesn't seem to be a problem for Petry, however, as he can then carry the arm around and use it as a prop in his comedy routine. They say most people don't notice the arm, because of the man who is wearing it, except of course when he has taken it off and is shaking someone's hand with the fake arm he's holding with his left hand.
Environmentalist Leopold deserves continued study
Our state has long been home to many people who treasure nature in all its vast and varying forms. People traveled to this state from far-away homes to establish new lives, made possible by the bounty that the rich waters and soil yielded.
Those who understood and appreciated what our resources provide were sometimes moved to do what they could to protect or conserve them. Manitowoc County has certainly has had its share of conservation legends, some of whom helped preserve Point Beach, Collins Marsh, the Rahr Forest and Woodland Dunes.
In particular, two people from Wisconsin are often held in highest esteem among conservationists, and both had connections with the University of Wisconsin as well. The first is John Muir, who came with his family from Scotland at a young age to the central part of the state to farm. He later attended UW just a few years after its founding, then left to embark on remarkable journeys of discovery of nature, journeys which eventually led him West where he was an important spokesman for conservation and later founded the Sierra Club and helped establish our national parks.
The second was Aldo Leopold, who was born in Iowa and who worked for the U.S. Forest Service and in the 1930s the Forest Products Laboratory, a position that brought him to Madison.
After a few years he began a teaching career at the University of Wisconsin, and he is considered to be one of the originators of modern wildlife management methods. Leopold remained in Madison for the rest of his life, contributing much to our knowledge of wildlife and helping to found the Wilderness Society.
While there, he purchased an old, bankrupt farm near Baraboo, renovated its chicken coop as a family cabin, and visited on weekends to work to restore its land, observe and record its phenology (seasonal natural events), and to write about nature. As he thought about nature and peoples' impact on it, he developed what he called a land ethic — a philosophy, or morality, relating to how we have come to use or abuse natural systems. A number of his writings were gathered and published as "A Sand County Almanac."
Those who understood and appreciated what our resources provide were sometimes moved to do what they could to protect or conserve them. Manitowoc County has certainly has had its share of conservation legends, some of whom helped preserve Point Beach, Collins Marsh, the Rahr Forest and Woodland Dunes.
In particular, two people from Wisconsin are often held in highest esteem among conservationists, and both had connections with the University of Wisconsin as well. The first is John Muir, who came with his family from Scotland at a young age to the central part of the state to farm. He later attended UW just a few years after its founding, then left to embark on remarkable journeys of discovery of nature, journeys which eventually led him West where he was an important spokesman for conservation and later founded the Sierra Club and helped establish our national parks.
The second was Aldo Leopold, who was born in Iowa and who worked for the U.S. Forest Service and in the 1930s the Forest Products Laboratory, a position that brought him to Madison.
After a few years he began a teaching career at the University of Wisconsin, and he is considered to be one of the originators of modern wildlife management methods. Leopold remained in Madison for the rest of his life, contributing much to our knowledge of wildlife and helping to found the Wilderness Society.
While there, he purchased an old, bankrupt farm near Baraboo, renovated its chicken coop as a family cabin, and visited on weekends to work to restore its land, observe and record its phenology (seasonal natural events), and to write about nature. As he thought about nature and peoples' impact on it, he developed what he called a land ethic — a philosophy, or morality, relating to how we have come to use or abuse natural systems. A number of his writings were gathered and published as "A Sand County Almanac."
2011年6月8日星期三
Little white lies of grandfatherhood
I’ve been a grandfather for 27 years, and I have 18 grandchildren, so I should know better.
There are times when trying to be a good role model and remain a doting grandfather are difficult, to be sure. I may have mentioned before that my wife and I baby-sit grandchildren two days a week. It certainly is fun most of the time, and it is eye-opening all the time.
You were too busy making a living when your own children were little. You don’t even remember how they grew up so fast. One day they’re toddlers, and the next they are getting married.
Growing children have questions about everything, and grandparents are expected to have the answers to all of the questions. I have an especially inquisitive 4-year-old granddaughter who has been coming to the “farm” since she was 1.
She has explored all the animals that she has encountered. Never has she been afraid of handling the animals unless they were extremely larger than she. At 1 year of age, she chased baby chickens around and around the manure-covered chicken coop trying to catch one so she could pet it. She learned when to quit chasing chickens by cornering them in the coop. If they could peck their way free, she gave up on them.
Lizards, snakes and frogs were pets to be handled, mangled and enjoyed. She became particularly fond of a painted turtle that climbed out of a pond and lived most of the summer with us. She was very disappointed when we informed her that we had set Timmy free down near the pond.
Last summer, during one of her excursions, she found a tree frog. A tree frog differs from an ordinary frog in that when you kiss it, it doesn’t become a prince. Lola found that out firsthand. Tree frogs have the ability to leap great distances and swim like an ordinary frog; but, unlike ordinary frogs, they can climb trees, or houses, or cars, or anything they want to climb. They have suctions beneath their legs and feet and can change colors to blend in with whatever they attach themselves to.
My granddaughter, Lola, became attached to a tree frog she found at the farm, and against my better judgment, I let her take it home, where after a few days it died in the makeshift home it was provided. I felt bad about the sadness but chalked it up to a learning experience.
Unfortunately, Lola found another tree frog at the farm this year. It had attached itself to our hot tub on the deck of our house underneath a large tree. The frog would climb under the cover flap, where it would be cooler and wetter in the hot day sun. Here Lola found it hiding. She immediately grabbed it and needed a carrying box with air holes for breathing so she could spend the afternoon playing with her newfound friend.
Immediately I began wrestling with the question that I knew was coming. “Can I take the frog home to show Mommy?” I didn’t want her to experience the same grief and turmoil that was created last year. I began to run through my mind the words I would use to keep her from taking the frog. She wasn’t happy and argued openly with my decision, but finally acquiesced.
I convinced her that her buddy would be waiting for her next week if she would simply put him under the hot tub cover. She reluctantly complied.
Just before it was time for Lola’s exit for home, she wanted one last look at her buddy. So Grandpa raised the lid to the hot tub and sure enough their lay the frog attached, looking somewhat under the weather. Lola screamed and began crying. “He’s dead, you killed him!” she screamed.
I lowered the lid and assured her that he was not dead but only looked that way to keep the cat from killing him. She wasn’t really buying it; but, she has always relied on Grandpa to tell her the truth. Why would he lie to her now?
How do you stop? Do I tell the truth or concoct another tale to avoid her pain? I can look hard for another tree frog and hope she can’t tell the difference. What a wicked web we weave!
There are times when trying to be a good role model and remain a doting grandfather are difficult, to be sure. I may have mentioned before that my wife and I baby-sit grandchildren two days a week. It certainly is fun most of the time, and it is eye-opening all the time.
You were too busy making a living when your own children were little. You don’t even remember how they grew up so fast. One day they’re toddlers, and the next they are getting married.
Growing children have questions about everything, and grandparents are expected to have the answers to all of the questions. I have an especially inquisitive 4-year-old granddaughter who has been coming to the “farm” since she was 1.
She has explored all the animals that she has encountered. Never has she been afraid of handling the animals unless they were extremely larger than she. At 1 year of age, she chased baby chickens around and around the manure-covered chicken coop trying to catch one so she could pet it. She learned when to quit chasing chickens by cornering them in the coop. If they could peck their way free, she gave up on them.
Lizards, snakes and frogs were pets to be handled, mangled and enjoyed. She became particularly fond of a painted turtle that climbed out of a pond and lived most of the summer with us. She was very disappointed when we informed her that we had set Timmy free down near the pond.
Last summer, during one of her excursions, she found a tree frog. A tree frog differs from an ordinary frog in that when you kiss it, it doesn’t become a prince. Lola found that out firsthand. Tree frogs have the ability to leap great distances and swim like an ordinary frog; but, unlike ordinary frogs, they can climb trees, or houses, or cars, or anything they want to climb. They have suctions beneath their legs and feet and can change colors to blend in with whatever they attach themselves to.
My granddaughter, Lola, became attached to a tree frog she found at the farm, and against my better judgment, I let her take it home, where after a few days it died in the makeshift home it was provided. I felt bad about the sadness but chalked it up to a learning experience.
Unfortunately, Lola found another tree frog at the farm this year. It had attached itself to our hot tub on the deck of our house underneath a large tree. The frog would climb under the cover flap, where it would be cooler and wetter in the hot day sun. Here Lola found it hiding. She immediately grabbed it and needed a carrying box with air holes for breathing so she could spend the afternoon playing with her newfound friend.
Immediately I began wrestling with the question that I knew was coming. “Can I take the frog home to show Mommy?” I didn’t want her to experience the same grief and turmoil that was created last year. I began to run through my mind the words I would use to keep her from taking the frog. She wasn’t happy and argued openly with my decision, but finally acquiesced.
I convinced her that her buddy would be waiting for her next week if she would simply put him under the hot tub cover. She reluctantly complied.
Just before it was time for Lola’s exit for home, she wanted one last look at her buddy. So Grandpa raised the lid to the hot tub and sure enough their lay the frog attached, looking somewhat under the weather. Lola screamed and began crying. “He’s dead, you killed him!” she screamed.
I lowered the lid and assured her that he was not dead but only looked that way to keep the cat from killing him. She wasn’t really buying it; but, she has always relied on Grandpa to tell her the truth. Why would he lie to her now?
How do you stop? Do I tell the truth or concoct another tale to avoid her pain? I can look hard for another tree frog and hope she can’t tell the difference. What a wicked web we weave!
Batavia family first to get approval of backyard chicken operation
Batavia’s first family of backyard egg-laying hens has passed inspection with flying colors.
“I am all for living sustainably,” Holly Kammes said Wednesday, as she whisked a couple of fresh eggs for her breakfast.
Kammes and her family managed to raise a variety of breeds, including Barred Rocks and the rare blue egg-laying Araucana, in their southwest side backyard with little attention.
Kammes’ chickens are the first flock to get the seal of approval by the city building department, after aldermen last month voted 9 to 5 — after considerable debate — to allow residents to keep up to eight hens on properties zoned and occupied for single family residential. The amendments to city code require owners to register prior to acquiring chickens, but registration forms are not accepted until the coop has passed final inspection by a city building inspector.
City Building Commissioner Jeff Albertson, said Kammes’ chickens were the city’s first inspection, while others are in the process of seeking approval. Kammes’ chickens were also among the few that had 30 days to bring their property into compliance.
“They passed the inspection,” Albertson said Tuesday. “We never thought there would be a huge rash of people. We knew there would be some.”
Albertson said the building department has received two applications for a chicken coop permit.
“The hens are a great way for my boys to learn about sustainability and doing chores,” Kammes said. “I have wonderful neighbors; my neighbor closest to the coop actually comes out and greets them with ‘Good morning girls!’ My other neighbor said she doesn’t hear them too often but when she does it reminds her of childhood. All my neighbors enjoy the eggs.
“There is some knowledge owners need to acquire, but raising hens is easier than raising the family dog; they can be trained and make wonderful family pets,” said Kammes, whose family has lived in Batavia for four generations.
Kammes, an organic vegetable gardener, discovered chicken droppings were as “precious” for adding nutrients to her garden soil as fresh eggs are for her family.
Kammes will share her knowledge as a chicken keeper and gardener from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday during the fourth annual Batavia MainStreet Green Walk, held along Wilson Street in the downtown, to raise awareness of the art of going green.
“I am all for living sustainably,” Holly Kammes said Wednesday, as she whisked a couple of fresh eggs for her breakfast.
Kammes and her family managed to raise a variety of breeds, including Barred Rocks and the rare blue egg-laying Araucana, in their southwest side backyard with little attention.
Kammes’ chickens are the first flock to get the seal of approval by the city building department, after aldermen last month voted 9 to 5 — after considerable debate — to allow residents to keep up to eight hens on properties zoned and occupied for single family residential. The amendments to city code require owners to register prior to acquiring chickens, but registration forms are not accepted until the coop has passed final inspection by a city building inspector.
City Building Commissioner Jeff Albertson, said Kammes’ chickens were the city’s first inspection, while others are in the process of seeking approval. Kammes’ chickens were also among the few that had 30 days to bring their property into compliance.
“They passed the inspection,” Albertson said Tuesday. “We never thought there would be a huge rash of people. We knew there would be some.”
Albertson said the building department has received two applications for a chicken coop permit.
“The hens are a great way for my boys to learn about sustainability and doing chores,” Kammes said. “I have wonderful neighbors; my neighbor closest to the coop actually comes out and greets them with ‘Good morning girls!’ My other neighbor said she doesn’t hear them too often but when she does it reminds her of childhood. All my neighbors enjoy the eggs.
“There is some knowledge owners need to acquire, but raising hens is easier than raising the family dog; they can be trained and make wonderful family pets,” said Kammes, whose family has lived in Batavia for four generations.
Kammes, an organic vegetable gardener, discovered chicken droppings were as “precious” for adding nutrients to her garden soil as fresh eggs are for her family.
Kammes will share her knowledge as a chicken keeper and gardener from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday during the fourth annual Batavia MainStreet Green Walk, held along Wilson Street in the downtown, to raise awareness of the art of going green.
2011年6月6日星期一
Chicken Coop Proposal Ruffles Feathers In Gastonia
GASTONIA, NC- "I did not forsee any problems at all. I just thought it would go through, we would get the permit, we would build a coop, we would have chickens and life would go on without any problems," said Dwayne Johnson, a Gastonia resident.
Johnson and his partner, Brian Giampaoli, put a bid in to the City of Gastonia.
They want to build a chicken coop to house up to 20 hens on this 3-acre estate in the historic district of Gastonia.
"I think, for someone to spend 20,000 dollars on a chicken coop is... most people would probably think it's outrageous, but we have to do that in order to maintain the architecture and the style our home is built around," said Giampaoli.
Their plea... they say the chickens would help the community be more "green".
The chicken would produce daily fresh eggs and compost from their waste.
The City of Gastonia sent a denial letter to Johnson in May stating "Your site plan appears to be in compliance with the applicable requirements of section 10-18 of the livestock ordinance."
But, the bid was still denied.
Johnson thinks this letter is more subjective than objective. The letter goes on to state that the animals are likely to seriously interfere with the neighboring properties because of noise and odor.
Johnson and Giampaoli’s neighbors agree.
It's not the country. It is in the city and we just didn't want it back there," said
Kristine DeJong.
DeJong and her husband Ronald sent a letter to the city stating they don't want the coop because it's too close to their home.
Others neighbors with nearby property think the chickens could decrease property value.
"You apply for your chicken permit. We say we don't want it and the powers that be will make a decision based on that," said DeJong.
At this point, Johnson and Giampaoli say that's not enough because the denial was uneducated and unfair.
"A baby's diaper stinks if you don't change it. So, if you have an animal and you don't take care of them, then of course they're going to stink. Dogs stink, cats stink," said Johnson.
Johnson filed an appeal to the city's denial last week.
He's told a meeting is being set up with him and the assistant county manager to discuss the appeal.
If the coop is denied again, they plan to pursue legal action against the city of Gastonia.
Johnson and his partner, Brian Giampaoli, put a bid in to the City of Gastonia.
They want to build a chicken coop to house up to 20 hens on this 3-acre estate in the historic district of Gastonia.
"I think, for someone to spend 20,000 dollars on a chicken coop is... most people would probably think it's outrageous, but we have to do that in order to maintain the architecture and the style our home is built around," said Giampaoli.
Their plea... they say the chickens would help the community be more "green".
The chicken would produce daily fresh eggs and compost from their waste.
The City of Gastonia sent a denial letter to Johnson in May stating "Your site plan appears to be in compliance with the applicable requirements of section 10-18 of the livestock ordinance."
But, the bid was still denied.
Johnson thinks this letter is more subjective than objective. The letter goes on to state that the animals are likely to seriously interfere with the neighboring properties because of noise and odor.
Johnson and Giampaoli’s neighbors agree.
It's not the country. It is in the city and we just didn't want it back there," said
Kristine DeJong.
DeJong and her husband Ronald sent a letter to the city stating they don't want the coop because it's too close to their home.
Others neighbors with nearby property think the chickens could decrease property value.
"You apply for your chicken permit. We say we don't want it and the powers that be will make a decision based on that," said DeJong.
At this point, Johnson and Giampaoli say that's not enough because the denial was uneducated and unfair.
"A baby's diaper stinks if you don't change it. So, if you have an animal and you don't take care of them, then of course they're going to stink. Dogs stink, cats stink," said Johnson.
Johnson filed an appeal to the city's denial last week.
He's told a meeting is being set up with him and the assistant county manager to discuss the appeal.
If the coop is denied again, they plan to pursue legal action against the city of Gastonia.
Mayor Asks City Council to Consider Allowing More Chicken Coops in Santee
Santee Mayor Randy Voepel believes that more Santeeans would raise chickens if zoning laws allowed them to do so.
He has asked the City Council to consider voting to amend a law which governs animal regulations in residential districts of the city. If the Council agrees to consider the proposal, additional residents could soon have the option to keep a small number of chickens on their property.
The Council will vote at the June 8 meeting as to whether to give the matter consideration. If approved, the item would be added to a future Council meeting agenda for a formal vote.
“Many citizens are keeping chickens these days because of the high cost at grocery stores and concerns about chemical additives and hormones,” Voepel wrote in a memo to the City Council. “Currently, chickens are not permitted in most residential zones, and I want to encourage urban agriculture in Santee by allowing our citizens to keep five or so chickens in a coop with the appropriate setbacks.”
Voepel further asserted that he is not looking to change zoning as it pertains to roosters, however, because they “they tend to drive people crazy,” he said.
Although a number of municipalities within the county allow for people to raise fowl, many times zoning ordinances only permit homes within more rural areas to do so.
Some believe that the ordinances are a bit too strict.
In 2009, La Mesa resident Jill Richardson began circulating a petition asking city officials make it legal for residents to raise up to six hens per single family residence homes. Earlier this year, residents of the city of San Diego began advocating for a similar change after two chickens living in a back yard coop in North Park were "forced into hiding" after city officials learned their presence.
Santee Associate City Planner Angela Reeder said that she’s aware of a growing urban chicken movement.
“People are going green, and chickens eat bugs in outdoor gardens which allow people not to use pesticides,” Reeder said. “Right now in Santee, though, our zoning ordinance only allows chickens to be raised in the HL and R-1 residential zones, which are lower-density residential areas.”
Voepel said that he wants to loosen the current regulation, which only permits one fowl to be kept within every 2,000 square feet of site area, and to allow for chicken coops to be installed, provided they are in a distance of no less than 50 feet from neighboring homes.
“Requiring a 50-foot setback will kill 70 to 80 percent of the homes in Santee because the houses are just too close together,” he said, furthering that those eligible for coops would be required to have a garden as a means of offsetting chicken waste.
“Because of an increasing interest in urban agriculture changing the ordinance to allow greater numbers of Santeeans to raise chickens, should they choose, seems like a cool thing to do,” Voepel said. “So I’ve put an item on the June 8 agenda to see if members of the City Council might want to pursue it. If they don’t [the idea] will die right there.”
He has asked the City Council to consider voting to amend a law which governs animal regulations in residential districts of the city. If the Council agrees to consider the proposal, additional residents could soon have the option to keep a small number of chickens on their property.
The Council will vote at the June 8 meeting as to whether to give the matter consideration. If approved, the item would be added to a future Council meeting agenda for a formal vote.
“Many citizens are keeping chickens these days because of the high cost at grocery stores and concerns about chemical additives and hormones,” Voepel wrote in a memo to the City Council. “Currently, chickens are not permitted in most residential zones, and I want to encourage urban agriculture in Santee by allowing our citizens to keep five or so chickens in a coop with the appropriate setbacks.”
Voepel further asserted that he is not looking to change zoning as it pertains to roosters, however, because they “they tend to drive people crazy,” he said.
Although a number of municipalities within the county allow for people to raise fowl, many times zoning ordinances only permit homes within more rural areas to do so.
Some believe that the ordinances are a bit too strict.
In 2009, La Mesa resident Jill Richardson began circulating a petition asking city officials make it legal for residents to raise up to six hens per single family residence homes. Earlier this year, residents of the city of San Diego began advocating for a similar change after two chickens living in a back yard coop in North Park were "forced into hiding" after city officials learned their presence.
Santee Associate City Planner Angela Reeder said that she’s aware of a growing urban chicken movement.
“People are going green, and chickens eat bugs in outdoor gardens which allow people not to use pesticides,” Reeder said. “Right now in Santee, though, our zoning ordinance only allows chickens to be raised in the HL and R-1 residential zones, which are lower-density residential areas.”
Voepel said that he wants to loosen the current regulation, which only permits one fowl to be kept within every 2,000 square feet of site area, and to allow for chicken coops to be installed, provided they are in a distance of no less than 50 feet from neighboring homes.
“Requiring a 50-foot setback will kill 70 to 80 percent of the homes in Santee because the houses are just too close together,” he said, furthering that those eligible for coops would be required to have a garden as a means of offsetting chicken waste.
“Because of an increasing interest in urban agriculture changing the ordinance to allow greater numbers of Santeeans to raise chickens, should they choose, seems like a cool thing to do,” Voepel said. “So I’ve put an item on the June 8 agenda to see if members of the City Council might want to pursue it. If they don’t [the idea] will die right there.”
2011年6月1日星期三
Chicken keeping is latest backyard hobby
A growing number of San Antonians are learning that yes, indeed, the chicken came first.
In the past three months, Jimmy Manger, daytime manager at Alamo Feed & Pet Supply, has sold more than
400 baby chicks.
“We're seeing a lot more people keeping four or five chickens in the backyard for eggs,” Manger says.
The reasons for keeping feathered friends as pets and producers vary. More than a year and a half ago,
Yen Diep and her parents received chickens from friends with the intentions of butchering and eating
them.
“We opened the box and inside were the scraggliest-looking chickens we'd ever seen,” Diep says. The
chickens were spared from the cutting board, and the Dieps had to figure out what to do with five
chickens.
Googling led to some makeshift coop building; a few trips to the feed store later for a cage, food and
water trays and feed, and the chickens were situated in their new home.
For Diep's parents, who grew up in Vietnam, having chickens roam the backyard was a part of life.
“My parents were used to that,” Diep said. “The meat from free-range chickens is slightly tougher, but
they prefer that, so they'll buy free-range.”
The Dieps learned about keeping chickens through trial and error. After waiting for several months for
their hens to start laying, the Dieps asked friends what steps they should take to procure eggs. They
learned hens need a special protein-packed feed to reach optimal egg-laying hormone levels.
“After we got them the feed, we had so many eggs, my mom was giving away dozens,” Diep said.
Yes, the eggs are different from the eggs sold at your local grocery store. Different chicken varieties
lay different-colored eggs: eggs with spots and flecks, bluish-green eggs, dark brown eggs, tan eggs.
Once the harder-than-average shell is cracked, the inside reveals a slightly darker and, at times, bigger
yolk.
That being said, there isn't a discernible taste difference between home-grown and store-bought eggs.
Joe Barfield, a Mahncke Park resident, has kept chickens in his backyard since 2003. Barfield has celiac
disease and cites health and nutrition as reasons for keeping hens.
“It's a challenge to try and eat whole foods every day, but we try doing it a little bit here and there,
” Barfield says. Barfield and wife, Dee, use their eggs in all their dishes, including Shirred Eggs and
Raw Egg Curry Dressing.
Barfield keeps his hens in a chicken tractor, or movable chicken coop, he built. This helps protect the
chickens from predators while providing a new plot of soil to dig and peck; moving the chickens every
other day gives the soil a chance to use the nitrogen-rich chicken waste and flourish.
Even in coops, chickens aren't always safe. Predators such as cats, dogs, raccoons, opossums and even
bees can often find a way. The Dieps lost three of their chickens to a swarm of bees.
“They were defenseless,” Diep says. “We're nursing one back to health, but we're not sure she'll make
it.”
Barfield shares his backyard hobby with neighbor and Restaurant Gwendolyn owner and chef, Michael
Sohocki.
Sohocki built a pyramid-shaped tractor that stands more than 6 feet tall. Each of his hens lays about an
egg a day into three bottomed-out plastic buckets that lay on the side closest to the coops door. The
tractor is pulled across his backyard daily to give the chickens fresh grass and nutrients to consume.
“I do this because it makes my chickens happy,” Sohocki says. “Happy, healthy chickens will give me
eggs.”
His chickens produce about six eggs a day, which he uses in everyday cooking.
Sohocki's approach to backyard chicken-keeping focuses on sustainability and awareness.
“I trust these eggs because I know where they came from,” Sohocki says. “Increasing the social
knowledge of seasonal food and benefits leads to a healthier takeaway — the only change is you.”
In the past three months, Jimmy Manger, daytime manager at Alamo Feed & Pet Supply, has sold more than
400 baby chicks.
“We're seeing a lot more people keeping four or five chickens in the backyard for eggs,” Manger says.
The reasons for keeping feathered friends as pets and producers vary. More than a year and a half ago,
Yen Diep and her parents received chickens from friends with the intentions of butchering and eating
them.
“We opened the box and inside were the scraggliest-looking chickens we'd ever seen,” Diep says. The
chickens were spared from the cutting board, and the Dieps had to figure out what to do with five
chickens.
Googling led to some makeshift coop building; a few trips to the feed store later for a cage, food and
water trays and feed, and the chickens were situated in their new home.
For Diep's parents, who grew up in Vietnam, having chickens roam the backyard was a part of life.
“My parents were used to that,” Diep said. “The meat from free-range chickens is slightly tougher, but
they prefer that, so they'll buy free-range.”
The Dieps learned about keeping chickens through trial and error. After waiting for several months for
their hens to start laying, the Dieps asked friends what steps they should take to procure eggs. They
learned hens need a special protein-packed feed to reach optimal egg-laying hormone levels.
“After we got them the feed, we had so many eggs, my mom was giving away dozens,” Diep said.
Yes, the eggs are different from the eggs sold at your local grocery store. Different chicken varieties
lay different-colored eggs: eggs with spots and flecks, bluish-green eggs, dark brown eggs, tan eggs.
Once the harder-than-average shell is cracked, the inside reveals a slightly darker and, at times, bigger
yolk.
That being said, there isn't a discernible taste difference between home-grown and store-bought eggs.
Joe Barfield, a Mahncke Park resident, has kept chickens in his backyard since 2003. Barfield has celiac
disease and cites health and nutrition as reasons for keeping hens.
“It's a challenge to try and eat whole foods every day, but we try doing it a little bit here and there,
” Barfield says. Barfield and wife, Dee, use their eggs in all their dishes, including Shirred Eggs and
Raw Egg Curry Dressing.
Barfield keeps his hens in a chicken tractor, or movable chicken coop, he built. This helps protect the
chickens from predators while providing a new plot of soil to dig and peck; moving the chickens every
other day gives the soil a chance to use the nitrogen-rich chicken waste and flourish.
Even in coops, chickens aren't always safe. Predators such as cats, dogs, raccoons, opossums and even
bees can often find a way. The Dieps lost three of their chickens to a swarm of bees.
“They were defenseless,” Diep says. “We're nursing one back to health, but we're not sure she'll make
it.”
Barfield shares his backyard hobby with neighbor and Restaurant Gwendolyn owner and chef, Michael
Sohocki.
Sohocki built a pyramid-shaped tractor that stands more than 6 feet tall. Each of his hens lays about an
egg a day into three bottomed-out plastic buckets that lay on the side closest to the coops door. The
tractor is pulled across his backyard daily to give the chickens fresh grass and nutrients to consume.
“I do this because it makes my chickens happy,” Sohocki says. “Happy, healthy chickens will give me
eggs.”
His chickens produce about six eggs a day, which he uses in everyday cooking.
Sohocki's approach to backyard chicken-keeping focuses on sustainability and awareness.
“I trust these eggs because I know where they came from,” Sohocki says. “Increasing the social
knowledge of seasonal food and benefits leads to a healthier takeaway — the only change is you.”
Bear spotted in West Asheville
Several residents on Brucemont Circle in the heart of West Asheville saw the bear shortly after 8 a.m. near a chicken coop owned by three families in the neighborhood.
"I think the bear was checking out the chicken coop when I drove up," said Brucemont Circle resident Paul Moore, who was returning home from taking his daughter to school.
The bear stayed in Moore's nextdoor neighbor's yard for several minutes, then climbed a fence and went into another yard before disappearing.
Moore said he couldn't guess where the bear might have come from. It would have had to cross one or more major roads, including possibly Haywood Road or Patton Avenue, to get to Brucemont Circle.
Send us your bear news
Have you seen a bear in your yard or in a public place in the Asheville area recently? Send us a bear photo if you have one along with your contact information.
"I think the bear was checking out the chicken coop when I drove up," said Brucemont Circle resident Paul Moore, who was returning home from taking his daughter to school.
The bear stayed in Moore's nextdoor neighbor's yard for several minutes, then climbed a fence and went into another yard before disappearing.
Moore said he couldn't guess where the bear might have come from. It would have had to cross one or more major roads, including possibly Haywood Road or Patton Avenue, to get to Brucemont Circle.
Send us your bear news
Have you seen a bear in your yard or in a public place in the Asheville area recently? Send us a bear photo if you have one along with your contact information.
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