Four chickens named Popcorn, Eloise, Lady Bird and Ula may have to find a new home, if resident Brian McClellan can't convince the town's Board of Appeals that he has not run afoul of the law.
McClellan said he's hoping the board will be a voice of sanity in what he feels has been a crazy situation that has been both discriminatory and unfair to him and his family.
And it has ended with a recent edict from the town's code enforcement officer that he either dismantle the coop and get rid of the chickens or face fines of up to $100 per day.
McClellan said he would never have purchased the Rhode Island reds, now his children's pets, last summer if he had any idea that code enforcement officer James Marchese would change his mind about allowing him to have them.
The avian drama is playing out as the town works to craft its first-ever chicken ordinance. Although McClellan can't prove his situation was the catalyst, he said he suspects that it might have been.
Marchese, recovering from surgery, was unavailable for comment Monday.
Board of Selectmen Chairman Roland Fernald said Marchese was only doing his job, responding to a complaint about the chickens by McClellan's neighbor, which led to a review of his property.
That leaves McClellan shaking his head: He knows of at least two others in his Bolt Hill Road neighborhood who have chickens and haven't been singled out.
"The town isn't using common sense. If my neighbor is so upset, I'm willing to make changes," he said. "I don't really know what I can do. No one is willing to come to my property, and every time I went to Town Hall, I was told everything was fine."
McClellan's interaction with town officials began last July. The family, including wife Amy and their three children, had recently lost the family dog, and the children asked whether they could have another pet.
They settled on chickens, in part because the couple felt it would teach their children responsibility, as the chickens' care is primarily in the youngsters' hands.
Before he invested in a coop, yard and chickens, McClellan said, he visited Marchese, explaining he wanted to abide by the law and would not purchase chickens if he was not allowed to keep them on his property.
"He said any town ordinance preventing ownership of chickens in the Village District (where we live) is unclear and questionable," said McClellan. "Therefore, he could not prevent us from owning them."
The lack of clarity was linked to two ordinances that have conflicting requirements. One states that accessory structures have to be 10 feet from the property line. Another states that houses for the breeding and care of animals "for sale or lease" must be 100 feet or more from property lines.
"I told him these were pets, and we weren't going to sell them or the eggs from them," McClellan said.
In an August letter, Marchese laid out the two ordinances, stating that, when there is "doubt of intent," the benefit of the doubt goes to the applicant.
McClellan went to Town Hall again after receiving the letter, he said, and again Marchese "told me I could own chickens on my property."
Popcorn and the gang were bought in September, when McClellan received another letter from Marchese, asking him to place the coop 10 feet from the property line, which he did.
McClellan didn't hear from the town until late December, when Marchese wrote that, "upon further review," the McClellans had to get a building permit and apply for site plan review by the Planning Board.
What happened in the ensuing month was a flurry of letters back and forth and several visits to Town Hall — including one to Town Planner Kate Pelletier, who told McClellan he did not have to apply for site plan review, according to McClellan. Pelletier could not be reached for comment.
The ultimate slap for McClellan, however, was a Jan. 12 Board of Selectmen decision approving Marchese's request to order McClellan to remove the coop and get rid of the chickens or face fines of up to $100 a day.
McClellan said he was never notified of the meeting and, therefore, was not given a chance to explain his position.
"I don't understand," he said. "I tried to do everything I was told to do. And to top it off, my neighbors have chickens and the town is not going to tell them to remove them."
Fernald said the case was "a lot of 'he said, he said' with the neighbor, and I'm not going to get into that." He said, when Marchese brought the situation to the board, "we needed to move forward to rectify the situation."
He said the selectmen have faith in Marchese.
"We support his decision, and have asked him to move forward," Fernald said.
He said he knows McClellan has filed an appeal, "and hopefully this can be taken care of so things work out for everyone."
2012年1月12日星期四
Man chooses new job in Maine over retirement
There is something about Maine that grabs people. I certainly see it in lifetime Mainers, but that spark of Maine fire can be particularly exciting in newcomers. Many people choose to retire in Maine, but today’s story tells of a man who chose Maine instead of retirement.
Rather than retire last summer at age 65, Bill Trumble moved to Maine and took the job of senior vice president of academic affairs at Unity College.
Bill grew up in Washington state. Over the last 40 years, he has studied and worked in schools in Texas, Idaho, New Jersey, New Hampshire and upstate New York, to name a few.
I met with Bill in his office, part of a college building that used to be a chicken coop, and asked him about his new job at Unity College.
“I’ve been in a lot of institutions,” he said. “This one is the best ever!”
Bill is a lifetime lover of the outdoors and an avid believer in responsible environmental stewardship. A bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and a doctorate in medical physiology have deeply informed his understanding of the natural environment, but Bill’s greatest inspirations come from outside the classroom walls. He has spent time outdoors all his life, including annual wilderness trips that take him all over the world.
“Wilderness is the only place where you can really get your mind right,” Bill said.
Unity College’s work to educate people about that essential connection between humans and their natural environment fits exactly with Bill’s philosophy.
“So much of what we teach here is important to the country and to the planet,” he said.
The second thing that Bill loves about his new job stems from the fact that his arrival coincided with several other newcomers to Unity’s team, including President Steve Mulkey. As a result, there is a refreshing openness to creativity and innovation.
“No one says, ‘We’ve always done it this way.’ Nothing is taboo; no new thought is off limits when it comes to thinking about how to make Unity a better, more attractive school for environmentalists.”
You might have read about one of Bill’s unusual ideas in a Bangor Daily News story last November. In order to get to know Unity students in a new way, Bill spent a week as a resident in one of the college dorms. By all reports, it was an enlightening experience for both students and administrator .
As I toured Unity College’s campus with both Bill and admissions officer Diane Laliberte , I began to catch the contagion of their enthusiasm. There is Unity House, the president’s home — a building so energy efficient that its power usage meter runs backwards. There is TerraHaus, a 10-person dorm that reportedly is the only passive energy certified building on a college campus in the country. There is artwork everywhere, a vibrant greenhouse, science labs, gymnasium, student center, library that doubles as the town library , and off in the distance, a couple of skaters shoveling snow off Unity’s new pond.
There is so much more to Unity College than I realized, and with the energy of new leadership, I get the feeling that there will be a lot more to come. Bill talked about Unity’s commitment to keeping students actively engaged in their fields — both figuratively and literally. Every student does some kind of outdoor experience, completes an internship, and receives direct employment counseling all along the way.
But what really lights up Bill’s face is his vision for the work that Unity College can do: graduate programs, international partners, spreading the word of Unity’s mission. Nothing is off the table. Knowing it is his “last job” inspires Bill to pursue what he believes in without compromise, and he believes that he is in exactly the right place to do so.
“The environment needs attention. Twenty-three national academies of science agree that climate change is happening; it is real; it is caused by man. Ten years from now, we’ll look back and ask ourselves, ‘Did we do anything when we had the chance?’ We want to leave the Earth in as good or better shape than we got it.”
Rather than retire last summer at age 65, Bill Trumble moved to Maine and took the job of senior vice president of academic affairs at Unity College.
Bill grew up in Washington state. Over the last 40 years, he has studied and worked in schools in Texas, Idaho, New Jersey, New Hampshire and upstate New York, to name a few.
I met with Bill in his office, part of a college building that used to be a chicken coop, and asked him about his new job at Unity College.
“I’ve been in a lot of institutions,” he said. “This one is the best ever!”
Bill is a lifetime lover of the outdoors and an avid believer in responsible environmental stewardship. A bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and a doctorate in medical physiology have deeply informed his understanding of the natural environment, but Bill’s greatest inspirations come from outside the classroom walls. He has spent time outdoors all his life, including annual wilderness trips that take him all over the world.
“Wilderness is the only place where you can really get your mind right,” Bill said.
Unity College’s work to educate people about that essential connection between humans and their natural environment fits exactly with Bill’s philosophy.
“So much of what we teach here is important to the country and to the planet,” he said.
The second thing that Bill loves about his new job stems from the fact that his arrival coincided with several other newcomers to Unity’s team, including President Steve Mulkey. As a result, there is a refreshing openness to creativity and innovation.
“No one says, ‘We’ve always done it this way.’ Nothing is taboo; no new thought is off limits when it comes to thinking about how to make Unity a better, more attractive school for environmentalists.”
You might have read about one of Bill’s unusual ideas in a Bangor Daily News story last November. In order to get to know Unity students in a new way, Bill spent a week as a resident in one of the college dorms. By all reports, it was an enlightening experience for both students and administrator .
As I toured Unity College’s campus with both Bill and admissions officer Diane Laliberte , I began to catch the contagion of their enthusiasm. There is Unity House, the president’s home — a building so energy efficient that its power usage meter runs backwards. There is TerraHaus, a 10-person dorm that reportedly is the only passive energy certified building on a college campus in the country. There is artwork everywhere, a vibrant greenhouse, science labs, gymnasium, student center, library that doubles as the town library , and off in the distance, a couple of skaters shoveling snow off Unity’s new pond.
There is so much more to Unity College than I realized, and with the energy of new leadership, I get the feeling that there will be a lot more to come. Bill talked about Unity’s commitment to keeping students actively engaged in their fields — both figuratively and literally. Every student does some kind of outdoor experience, completes an internship, and receives direct employment counseling all along the way.
But what really lights up Bill’s face is his vision for the work that Unity College can do: graduate programs, international partners, spreading the word of Unity’s mission. Nothing is off the table. Knowing it is his “last job” inspires Bill to pursue what he believes in without compromise, and he believes that he is in exactly the right place to do so.
“The environment needs attention. Twenty-three national academies of science agree that climate change is happening; it is real; it is caused by man. Ten years from now, we’ll look back and ask ourselves, ‘Did we do anything when we had the chance?’ We want to leave the Earth in as good or better shape than we got it.”
2011年12月20日星期二
A roost of one's own
Muncie might not be a major automaker anymore, but we've established a toehold in another key manufacturing domain.
Chicken coops.
Brook Linton, who runs Solid State LLC out of a cavernous 90-year-old warehouse on the city's near south side, recently explained what got him into it.
"Nobody around here was doing it," he said. "Nobody was making chicken coops. A lot of people are getting into chickens again."
Tall and lanky, Linton was bundled against the cold air flowing through his drafty building at 800 S. Liberty St. last week. As he talked, everywhere you looked in its western end were stacks of old doors, tumbled sinks and bath tubs, framed windows reclaimed from walls and felled porch posts waiting to rise again.
All this, he noted, was salvaged from old houses razed over the past couple years.
Can't find an eight-foot door? This is your place.
"All the components of the house, we resell them," Linton said. "A lot of people who can't find anything in the box stores come here."
It was at the far eastern end of the warehouse, though, where employee John Halsey was hard at work, building a new chicken coop from recycled wood.
"We have a pretty set pattern," Linton noted, of his coops' design.
The young businessman launched this part of his enterprise about eight months ago. Halsey was working on the seventh coop, and four have been sold. A couple of the others sat outside the warehouse, looking like big doll houses, their weathered blue and yellow paint schemes determined by the color of the reclaimed wood that went into their manufacture.
"We really don't paint them," Linton said. "Whatever reclaimed color the wood is, that's on the walls."
So, what will a chicken coop cost you?
If you'd like the large coop, one that as many as 25 chickens would be proud to call home, it will be about $1,000.
On the other hand, if you are more of a 10-chicken man (or woman), that will run you only about $550.
The smaller coop, by the way, was specially designed with ease of hauling in mind, Linton said, it being small enough to fit in the bed of a compact S-10 Chevy pickup truck.
Of course, if your chicken ambitions far exceed 10 or even 25 fowl, don't despair.
"We can make bigger coops," Linton said. "It's custom sized."
By the way, each coop contains a roost inside.
"That's because chickens like to sleep up off the ground," Linton explained, just that quickly doubling the scope of this reporter's chicken knowledge.
Who are the folks buying his chicken coops? It's probably too early to have accurately identified a market demographic yet, but he said one customer was a new retiree.
"He just wanted something to do," he said.
More power to folks like that, he continued, and their dreams of raising chickens.
"We're hoping that it catches on," Linton said.
Chicken coops.
Brook Linton, who runs Solid State LLC out of a cavernous 90-year-old warehouse on the city's near south side, recently explained what got him into it.
"Nobody around here was doing it," he said. "Nobody was making chicken coops. A lot of people are getting into chickens again."
Tall and lanky, Linton was bundled against the cold air flowing through his drafty building at 800 S. Liberty St. last week. As he talked, everywhere you looked in its western end were stacks of old doors, tumbled sinks and bath tubs, framed windows reclaimed from walls and felled porch posts waiting to rise again.
All this, he noted, was salvaged from old houses razed over the past couple years.
Can't find an eight-foot door? This is your place.
"All the components of the house, we resell them," Linton said. "A lot of people who can't find anything in the box stores come here."
It was at the far eastern end of the warehouse, though, where employee John Halsey was hard at work, building a new chicken coop from recycled wood.
"We have a pretty set pattern," Linton noted, of his coops' design.
The young businessman launched this part of his enterprise about eight months ago. Halsey was working on the seventh coop, and four have been sold. A couple of the others sat outside the warehouse, looking like big doll houses, their weathered blue and yellow paint schemes determined by the color of the reclaimed wood that went into their manufacture.
"We really don't paint them," Linton said. "Whatever reclaimed color the wood is, that's on the walls."
So, what will a chicken coop cost you?
If you'd like the large coop, one that as many as 25 chickens would be proud to call home, it will be about $1,000.
On the other hand, if you are more of a 10-chicken man (or woman), that will run you only about $550.
The smaller coop, by the way, was specially designed with ease of hauling in mind, Linton said, it being small enough to fit in the bed of a compact S-10 Chevy pickup truck.
Of course, if your chicken ambitions far exceed 10 or even 25 fowl, don't despair.
"We can make bigger coops," Linton said. "It's custom sized."
By the way, each coop contains a roost inside.
"That's because chickens like to sleep up off the ground," Linton explained, just that quickly doubling the scope of this reporter's chicken knowledge.
Who are the folks buying his chicken coops? It's probably too early to have accurately identified a market demographic yet, but he said one customer was a new retiree.
"He just wanted something to do," he said.
More power to folks like that, he continued, and their dreams of raising chickens.
"We're hoping that it catches on," Linton said.
2011年11月10日星期四
Nothing foul with Point Breeze coop idea
One might expect to be able to pick out the residence with the chicken coop in the back, especially on a quiet block in Point Breeze.
But when I stopped by Marie Teasdale's apartment house on Wednesday, there was no farm smell or loud clucking. The chickens in question were pecking around with a minimum of fuss. When Teasdale let them out of their fenced area, she got them back in by clapping and marching behind them.
In short, those chickens are better trained than my dog.
Teasdale, 27, applied for a permit with Pittsburgh's zoning hearing board to keep 12 chickens on her property on McPherson Boulevard. She also had sought permission to keep beehives, but withdrew that part after the idea ruffled some neighbors' feathers. I had a lot of questions for Teasdale, but here's one that's always puzzled me: What makes someone want to own chickens in the city?
Teasdale, who is originally from Portland, Ore., studied environmental science there and took an urban farming class.
"It was my absolute favorite class," she said.
The idea of making fresh produce and vegetables available to the benefit of a community and the environment inspired her to create her own mini-farm. Besides the chickens, Teasdale is planting a large garden and has a compost pile.
She owns nine chickens. The Urban Agriculture Zoning Code says that a person can own three chickens as long as the minimum lot size is 2,000 square feet. From there, it's one chicken per 1,000 square feet.
Teasdale's property (a house and two vacant lots next to it) is well above 12,000 square feet, so the request is within the parameters of the relatively new law.
She said she checked with her immediate neighbors when she first began housing the chickens, and found no opposition. So when she went to the hearing last week, she didn't expect much squawking, because not one person ever raised any concerns with her before.
A few neighbors showed up to complain about the chickens, claiming they smelled bad, attracted predators and could carry diseases, such as the avian flu.
"I was honestly very surprised," she said.
Teasdale disputes each point. She said she has never come across a case in her studies of chickens spreading avian flu in North America.
She adds that she keeps a clean coop. I don't know what constitutes an acceptable coop because I grew up on concrete, but I walked through the area, and it smelled and looked clean to me. Also, I didn't step in any chicken ... you know.
As to the predators, she acknowledges the neighborhood has a rat problem, but it predated her chickens. Also, she said there is no rat problem on her property.
She's awaiting a decision from the board, but in the meantime, she is moving her chickens to a bigger coop, which is being built. It will have two levels, a drainage system and fencing to keep predators out.
If the board decides against her, she plans to seek another permit for a different number of chickens.
If there is a next time, though, she says she'll attend the hearing with neighbors who support her, as well as pest control and farm experts.
"I can understand where the apprehension is from, but I think it's unwarranted," Teasdale said.
But when I stopped by Marie Teasdale's apartment house on Wednesday, there was no farm smell or loud clucking. The chickens in question were pecking around with a minimum of fuss. When Teasdale let them out of their fenced area, she got them back in by clapping and marching behind them.
In short, those chickens are better trained than my dog.
Teasdale, 27, applied for a permit with Pittsburgh's zoning hearing board to keep 12 chickens on her property on McPherson Boulevard. She also had sought permission to keep beehives, but withdrew that part after the idea ruffled some neighbors' feathers. I had a lot of questions for Teasdale, but here's one that's always puzzled me: What makes someone want to own chickens in the city?
Teasdale, who is originally from Portland, Ore., studied environmental science there and took an urban farming class.
"It was my absolute favorite class," she said.
The idea of making fresh produce and vegetables available to the benefit of a community and the environment inspired her to create her own mini-farm. Besides the chickens, Teasdale is planting a large garden and has a compost pile.
She owns nine chickens. The Urban Agriculture Zoning Code says that a person can own three chickens as long as the minimum lot size is 2,000 square feet. From there, it's one chicken per 1,000 square feet.
Teasdale's property (a house and two vacant lots next to it) is well above 12,000 square feet, so the request is within the parameters of the relatively new law.
She said she checked with her immediate neighbors when she first began housing the chickens, and found no opposition. So when she went to the hearing last week, she didn't expect much squawking, because not one person ever raised any concerns with her before.
A few neighbors showed up to complain about the chickens, claiming they smelled bad, attracted predators and could carry diseases, such as the avian flu.
"I was honestly very surprised," she said.
Teasdale disputes each point. She said she has never come across a case in her studies of chickens spreading avian flu in North America.
She adds that she keeps a clean coop. I don't know what constitutes an acceptable coop because I grew up on concrete, but I walked through the area, and it smelled and looked clean to me. Also, I didn't step in any chicken ... you know.
As to the predators, she acknowledges the neighborhood has a rat problem, but it predated her chickens. Also, she said there is no rat problem on her property.
She's awaiting a decision from the board, but in the meantime, she is moving her chickens to a bigger coop, which is being built. It will have two levels, a drainage system and fencing to keep predators out.
If the board decides against her, she plans to seek another permit for a different number of chickens.
If there is a next time, though, she says she'll attend the hearing with neighbors who support her, as well as pest control and farm experts.
"I can understand where the apprehension is from, but I think it's unwarranted," Teasdale said.
2011年11月9日星期三
Weird world of consular requests
Asking for rock superstar Phil Collins' telephone number and checking on the Prince of Wales' shoe size are among the odd requests made to British consular staff abroad, it has been revealed.
Records also showed that staff in Spain were asked by a man to contact a dominatrix who had left him stranded at the airport.
A man rang the consulate in Sydney to ask what clothes he should pack for his holiday while a Briton in Sofia, Bulgaria, wanted the consulate to sell his house for him.
A woman in Moscow wanted embassy staff to visit her flat to get something done about a loud buzzing noise there, while a consulate in Greece were asked how to put a chicken coop up in a man's garden.
In Florida, a man called the consulate to report there were ants in his holiday villa and asked what he should do, while another hopeful caller asked consular staff in Dubai to meet his dog at the airport and help the pet through customs as he would be away when the animal arrived.
A caller asked staff in Malaga in southern Spain in mid-September where she could get a Christmas lunch as everywhere she had phoned was already booked up.
Staff in Greece were asked for tips on the best fishing spots and where to purchase good bait.
The caller - to foreign office staff in Spain - who wanted Prince Charles' shoe size wanted the information so he could send him shoes as a present.
Consular Affairs Minister Jeremy Browne said: "We will always try to help where we can but there are limits to the support that we can provide. It is important that people understand the level of help we can offer.
"Our priority is to help people in real difficulty abroad and we cannot do this if our time is diverted by people trying to use us as a concierge service. We need to be able to focus primarily on helping victims of serious crimes, supporting people who have been detained or assisting people who have lost a loved one abroad."
Records also showed that staff in Spain were asked by a man to contact a dominatrix who had left him stranded at the airport.
A man rang the consulate in Sydney to ask what clothes he should pack for his holiday while a Briton in Sofia, Bulgaria, wanted the consulate to sell his house for him.
A woman in Moscow wanted embassy staff to visit her flat to get something done about a loud buzzing noise there, while a consulate in Greece were asked how to put a chicken coop up in a man's garden.
In Florida, a man called the consulate to report there were ants in his holiday villa and asked what he should do, while another hopeful caller asked consular staff in Dubai to meet his dog at the airport and help the pet through customs as he would be away when the animal arrived.
A caller asked staff in Malaga in southern Spain in mid-September where she could get a Christmas lunch as everywhere she had phoned was already booked up.
Staff in Greece were asked for tips on the best fishing spots and where to purchase good bait.
The caller - to foreign office staff in Spain - who wanted Prince Charles' shoe size wanted the information so he could send him shoes as a present.
Consular Affairs Minister Jeremy Browne said: "We will always try to help where we can but there are limits to the support that we can provide. It is important that people understand the level of help we can offer.
"Our priority is to help people in real difficulty abroad and we cannot do this if our time is diverted by people trying to use us as a concierge service. We need to be able to focus primarily on helping victims of serious crimes, supporting people who have been detained or assisting people who have lost a loved one abroad."
2011年11月1日星期二
Running a-fowl of the law
Lori Hutson never expected to lay an egg with Jackson County officials over the two dozen chickens happily cackling in her backyard.
The 53-year-old White City resident received a warning of violation on Oct. 26, notifying her to remove her poultry or risk getting slapped with a $600 fine on Nov. 26. If she fails to remove the egg-laying hens after the November deadline, the fine jumps to $10,000.
"I'm trying to feed my family — in a failing economy and as a single mother," Hutson said. "We raised them from babies, and we treat them with love."
In a neighborhood where chickens and even rabbits are found in many backyards, Hutson said she is dismayed to be singled out by Jackson County.
The hens would deprive her and her extended family of the two dozen or more eggs laid each day.
For those who live outside the district or other unincorporated areas, county ordinances allow up to 20 chickens for each acre. Hutson lives on a 1-acre parcel on Antelope Road.
But Hutson and many of her neighbors live in the White City Urban Residential District, where you aren't allowed to have cows, horses, alpacas, poultry, ostriches, emus, swine or fur-bearing animals. Jackson County's Land Development Ordinance specifically forbids them, said Ted Zuk, building official with the Development Services Department.
County code enforcement officers don't purposely seek out residences that have farm animals in White City, however.
"Code enforcement is complaint-driven," he said.
Zuk said he didn't know how many violations had been handed out over the years, but he didn't think it was a significant number.
Commissioner C.W. Smith said it was a surprise to him to learn about an outright prohibition on farm animals in White City.
"From a personal standpoint, as long as it's clean and they are not free-ranging, I don't have a problem with it," he said.
Smith said that if residents want to change the ordinance, they should go before the White City Planning Commission.
Ralph Menning, Hutson's brother-in-law who also lives on the property, said he's mystified that chickens aren't allowed.
"I can't understand why you can have chickens in downtown Portland, but not in unincorporated White City," he said. Medford also allows chickens, as long as the area is kept clean and neighbors don't complain about noise.
The 49-year-old, who is on disability for leg, heart and breathing problems, said other neighbors have roosters that crow, but his hens don't bother anybody.
He said he and his stepsister invested $750 into building a chicken coop and installed fencing and a sprinkler system to keep the hens and some ducks, one of which they rescued because it had a broken leg.
"We have a lot of money into these chickens," Menning said.
Hutson said she takes a lot of pride in keeping the pen and henhouse clean.
"It's not like it's trashy," she said. Hutson said she once had four turkeys, but they were butchered last week.
Hutson said she will try to seek help from the American Civil Liberties Union because she thinks the county is infringing on her rights with its ordinance.
She believes a neighbor is mad at them for recently locking the chicken coop because she and her stepbrother noticed someone was pilfering eggs.
Before the lock was put on the henhouse, Hutson, who works in Ashland, said egg production mysteriously dropped during the week, then increased on the weekends when she was home.
Since most of her family is struggling to make ends meet, the eggs have helped out, she said. Hutson has a daughter with four children and a son with two children.
"I guess you can't take care of yourself in a failing economy," she said.
The 53-year-old White City resident received a warning of violation on Oct. 26, notifying her to remove her poultry or risk getting slapped with a $600 fine on Nov. 26. If she fails to remove the egg-laying hens after the November deadline, the fine jumps to $10,000.
"I'm trying to feed my family — in a failing economy and as a single mother," Hutson said. "We raised them from babies, and we treat them with love."
In a neighborhood where chickens and even rabbits are found in many backyards, Hutson said she is dismayed to be singled out by Jackson County.
The hens would deprive her and her extended family of the two dozen or more eggs laid each day.
For those who live outside the district or other unincorporated areas, county ordinances allow up to 20 chickens for each acre. Hutson lives on a 1-acre parcel on Antelope Road.
But Hutson and many of her neighbors live in the White City Urban Residential District, where you aren't allowed to have cows, horses, alpacas, poultry, ostriches, emus, swine or fur-bearing animals. Jackson County's Land Development Ordinance specifically forbids them, said Ted Zuk, building official with the Development Services Department.
County code enforcement officers don't purposely seek out residences that have farm animals in White City, however.
"Code enforcement is complaint-driven," he said.
Zuk said he didn't know how many violations had been handed out over the years, but he didn't think it was a significant number.
Commissioner C.W. Smith said it was a surprise to him to learn about an outright prohibition on farm animals in White City.
"From a personal standpoint, as long as it's clean and they are not free-ranging, I don't have a problem with it," he said.
Smith said that if residents want to change the ordinance, they should go before the White City Planning Commission.
Ralph Menning, Hutson's brother-in-law who also lives on the property, said he's mystified that chickens aren't allowed.
"I can't understand why you can have chickens in downtown Portland, but not in unincorporated White City," he said. Medford also allows chickens, as long as the area is kept clean and neighbors don't complain about noise.
The 49-year-old, who is on disability for leg, heart and breathing problems, said other neighbors have roosters that crow, but his hens don't bother anybody.
He said he and his stepsister invested $750 into building a chicken coop and installed fencing and a sprinkler system to keep the hens and some ducks, one of which they rescued because it had a broken leg.
"We have a lot of money into these chickens," Menning said.
Hutson said she takes a lot of pride in keeping the pen and henhouse clean.
"It's not like it's trashy," she said. Hutson said she once had four turkeys, but they were butchered last week.
Hutson said she will try to seek help from the American Civil Liberties Union because she thinks the county is infringing on her rights with its ordinance.
She believes a neighbor is mad at them for recently locking the chicken coop because she and her stepbrother noticed someone was pilfering eggs.
Before the lock was put on the henhouse, Hutson, who works in Ashland, said egg production mysteriously dropped during the week, then increased on the weekends when she was home.
Since most of her family is struggling to make ends meet, the eggs have helped out, she said. Hutson has a daughter with four children and a son with two children.
"I guess you can't take care of yourself in a failing economy," she said.
2011年6月14日星期二
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
Advertisement
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8日星期三
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.
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