As the New York Giants and New England Patriots battle on the field during Super Bowl XLVI today, game-related consumer spending is projected to reach an all-time high.
Total Super Bowl-related revenues are predicted to reach $11 billion, according to a survey by the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association conducted by BIGinsight. The average game-watcher is expected to shell out $63.87 on related merchandise, apparel and snacks, up from $59.33 last year, according to the survey. A whopping 71.3 percent of that will be on beverages and food, especially items like chicken wings, pizza and dip.
Those kinds of numbers are an appetizing thought to Middletown and Hamilton business owners.
Kim Snider of Wings on Brookwood, 147 N. Brookwood Ave. in Hamilton, said her family-owned business generates approximately three times the amount of revenue on Super Bowl Sunday than it does on a typical Sunday.
“Wings and football have always been a tradition,” she said. “(Super Bowl Sunday) is, by far, our busiest day of the year. We go through about 16,000 wings and probably about 8,000 boneless wings.”
The restaurant, which offered Facebook fans discounts for pre-sale orders, started taking reservations for pickup times on Sunday a week in advance. This week, customers have “inundated” Wings on Brookwood with not only more orders than in recent years, but also more wings per order as well, Snider said.
National Restaurant Association research shows that chicken wings (63 percent) now outpace pizza (61 percent) as a game-day “must-have.” However, dips or spread, garnered the top spot with 69 percent of votes from famished fans.
Super Bowl Sunday at Fricker’s in Middletown means a 40 percent to 60 percent boost in carry-out sales revenues, said spokesman Jim Manley.
“Nobody calls for orders of 10 (wings) for the Super Bowl,” Manley said.
“They all call for orders of 200 to 500 and that’s why the number is so exorbitant, because they have a number of folks over to their house and at that point they’re just trying to feed the world and we’re very fortunate to be a beneficiary.”
The restaurant, however, does not see as much walk-up traffic because most people are attending Super Bowl parties, Manley said. “With that, it’s about the same amount of food as we would normally do, it just doesn’t get eaten in our restaurant,” he said.
To accommodate the droves of customers who flock to the restaurant for its Frickin’ Chicken Wings, Fricker’s must book time for its fryers, reserve a portion of them for last-minute orders and create a waiting area for pick-up orders, Manley said.
Nick Dadabo, owner of Chester’s Pizza in Hamilton, said the although his store no longer delivers, business increases by 30 to 40 percent on Super Bowl Sunday compared to a typical Sunday.
Dadabo said he expects that much of an increase, if not more, this Sunday, in part because of special prices on pizza, sandwiches and chicken wings, and the “independent bump” local places receive from big-name pizza establishment advertising that he said get customers “thinking pizza.”
But the decisive factor in any surge in sales boils down to customers avoiding economic “gloom and doom” by immersing themselves in the Super Bowl, he said.
“I think people are trying to find a way to satisfy themselves and maybe escape a little bit from the reality that we’re going through a pretty tough time,” Dadabo said.
Although wholesale chicken prices notoriously go up around Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and the Super Bowl, prices have flown the coop over during the past year, Snider said, a fact of life that may peck into profit margins.
“This is the first year I’ve watched it double,” Snider said. However, “We’ve not changed our prices. We’ve not changed anything.”
The price hikes have continued as sales for fresh chicken breasts, the highest priced meat, have plummeted, Snider said. “That determines how much they (suppliers) are going to charge for the wings,” she said. “They need to make up their money on the wings and we don’t have a choice. It is what it is.”
2012年2月5日星期日
2012年1月31日星期二
Ioby Partners with Deutsche Bank to Fund Projects
CDCs, non-profit organizations commissioned to provide services or programs in a certain geographic location, are a particularly good way for ioby to deepen its focus on local solutions to environmental problems in communities. “Any New Yorker can post their project on ioby, but we have a special interest in supporting the ideas and initiatives of New Yorkers in neighborhoods that have a greater burden of environmental problems and fewer resources to address them,” says Erin Barnes, executive director and co-founder of ioby, in a press release about the partnership with Deutsche Bank.
“This partnership came about through conversations with Deutsche Bank about how our mass campaigns were working for us. Deutsche Bank has long been dedicated to working with CDCs. When I was saying to Sam Marks, the program officer we work with at Deutsche Bank, how match campaigns work with ioby, he immediately drew the conclusion that [we could work with] CDCs, since their target focus is the neighborhood level, and that would be a perfect opportunity for ioby to improve its reach,” Barnes, told Dowser.
“CDCs bring a comprehensive point of view to neighborhood development, and in many neighborhoods, they are playing a leading role engaging their constituents in local environmental issues,” said Marks, the Vice President, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, in ioby’s press release. “We were compelled by the notion that ioby could provide a platform to allow CDCs to take advantage of grassroots crowd-resourcing for block-level sustainability projects aligned with their broader community visions.”
Two innovative projects will lead off the match campaign. The Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation (CHLDC) is working on raising $5,940 for an urban farm in the low-income East New York/Cypress Hills neighborhood of Brooklyn. The project, Pollos Del Pueblo, will transform an unused, city-owned vacant lot into a resource for the community, by installing a chicken coop, a chicken run, a storage shed, and a community compost station.
“East New York/Cypress Hills is a food desert. Fresh, nutritious food is hard, if not impossible to come by out here. The result is a devastating health crisis where a third of adults are obese and 19% have diabetes. Additionally, more than half of residents live below the poverty line, unemployment is a high 19% and more than 80% of students qualify for free lunch,” said Betsy MacLean, Director of Community Development, Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation.
“This project and grassroots fundraising campaign offer the opportunity to take a real blight on the community – one of many vacant, overgrown lots – and transform it into a site for exciting, important community building and expanded access to fresh food – including organic eggs.” added MacLean.
The second pilot project will be a partnership between Living City Block Gowanus and the Gowanus Community Development Corporation. The Gowanus neighborhood is the site of the Gowanus Canal, which was declared a polluted and hazardous Superfund site in 2010. These groups will together host a series of design charettes and contests, with the goal of creating the best wayfinding signs for visitors and residents of the Gowanus neighborhood. “The signs will lead pedestrians, cyclists and car traffic to various green infrastructure sites in the area, such as bike racks, solar panels, bioswales and micro-wind turbines,” according to ioby’s press release.
“Gowanus has a special culture of its own, and the community should play a role in creating and designating the interest spots of the neighborhood,” said Llewelyn Wells, president and founder, Living City Block. “Since the entire process of the project is about citizen engagement, the fundraising for it will be, too.”
ioby’s crowdfunding efforts so far fully funding nearly 100 projects in all five boroughs of New York City through small, individual donations. The average donation is $35 and the average project budget is $1,200.
“The Obama campaign in 2008 helped people see how they could fund the things they believed in by pooling large numbers of small donations. Typically the wealthy gave charity--now people can support change in the very neighborhoods they live in. It shifts the ideology from hand-outs to community engagement,” said Barnes. Most ioby micro-donors live within two miles of the project they are supporting, which helps foster a local sense of community and responsibility.
“After finding matching campaigns to be a very effective way for us to support the work of ioby’s project leaders, we couldn’t be happier about this initiative,” said Brandon Whitney, COO and co-founder of ioby, in the press release. “Matches embolden project leaders and micro-donors alike.”
“This partnership came about through conversations with Deutsche Bank about how our mass campaigns were working for us. Deutsche Bank has long been dedicated to working with CDCs. When I was saying to Sam Marks, the program officer we work with at Deutsche Bank, how match campaigns work with ioby, he immediately drew the conclusion that [we could work with] CDCs, since their target focus is the neighborhood level, and that would be a perfect opportunity for ioby to improve its reach,” Barnes, told Dowser.
“CDCs bring a comprehensive point of view to neighborhood development, and in many neighborhoods, they are playing a leading role engaging their constituents in local environmental issues,” said Marks, the Vice President, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, in ioby’s press release. “We were compelled by the notion that ioby could provide a platform to allow CDCs to take advantage of grassroots crowd-resourcing for block-level sustainability projects aligned with their broader community visions.”
Two innovative projects will lead off the match campaign. The Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation (CHLDC) is working on raising $5,940 for an urban farm in the low-income East New York/Cypress Hills neighborhood of Brooklyn. The project, Pollos Del Pueblo, will transform an unused, city-owned vacant lot into a resource for the community, by installing a chicken coop, a chicken run, a storage shed, and a community compost station.
“East New York/Cypress Hills is a food desert. Fresh, nutritious food is hard, if not impossible to come by out here. The result is a devastating health crisis where a third of adults are obese and 19% have diabetes. Additionally, more than half of residents live below the poverty line, unemployment is a high 19% and more than 80% of students qualify for free lunch,” said Betsy MacLean, Director of Community Development, Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation.
“This project and grassroots fundraising campaign offer the opportunity to take a real blight on the community – one of many vacant, overgrown lots – and transform it into a site for exciting, important community building and expanded access to fresh food – including organic eggs.” added MacLean.
The second pilot project will be a partnership between Living City Block Gowanus and the Gowanus Community Development Corporation. The Gowanus neighborhood is the site of the Gowanus Canal, which was declared a polluted and hazardous Superfund site in 2010. These groups will together host a series of design charettes and contests, with the goal of creating the best wayfinding signs for visitors and residents of the Gowanus neighborhood. “The signs will lead pedestrians, cyclists and car traffic to various green infrastructure sites in the area, such as bike racks, solar panels, bioswales and micro-wind turbines,” according to ioby’s press release.
“Gowanus has a special culture of its own, and the community should play a role in creating and designating the interest spots of the neighborhood,” said Llewelyn Wells, president and founder, Living City Block. “Since the entire process of the project is about citizen engagement, the fundraising for it will be, too.”
ioby’s crowdfunding efforts so far fully funding nearly 100 projects in all five boroughs of New York City through small, individual donations. The average donation is $35 and the average project budget is $1,200.
“The Obama campaign in 2008 helped people see how they could fund the things they believed in by pooling large numbers of small donations. Typically the wealthy gave charity--now people can support change in the very neighborhoods they live in. It shifts the ideology from hand-outs to community engagement,” said Barnes. Most ioby micro-donors live within two miles of the project they are supporting, which helps foster a local sense of community and responsibility.
“After finding matching campaigns to be a very effective way for us to support the work of ioby’s project leaders, we couldn’t be happier about this initiative,” said Brandon Whitney, COO and co-founder of ioby, in the press release. “Matches embolden project leaders and micro-donors alike.”
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.”
2012年1月2日星期一
Newport Beach squawks about man's chicken flock
As Michael Resk moves around his Spanish-style home in Corona del Mar, small bobbing heads mirror his actions, following him to the front gate, backyard and alley.
And in his Goldenrod Avenue yard, the six members of his feathered flock — nicknamed the Goldenrod 6 — cluck, peck at the grass and dig holes in search of bugs.
Resk has owned the chickens for 16 months, but he's run afoul of Newport Beach city ordinances that prohibit owning poultry. But it's all a semantic mix-up, Resk says, because his birds aren't for meat or eggs; they're largely ornamental.
His chickens — Red, Blackie, Flaty, Tiny, Blondie and Whitey — are the manifestation of an idea he had while sitting in his yard thinking chickens would be a nice decorative addition. But after a neighbor complained to the city, Resk was given two weeks to remove the birds. The deadline is imminent.
Newport Beach's law, enacted in 1970, prohibits owning any animal commonly considered livestock within city limits, with a few exceptions in permitted areas. Resk said he's prepared to pay fines.
Resk and the Goldenrod 6 have become a fixture for neighbors on a run, nannies and their charges, and passersby.
Susan Jent, a nanny who was watching over Matea and Madalyn one recent afternoon, said they often come by to see the birds. "We always walk past here and look for ... the chickens," Jent said, as the girls stood along the fence greeting the birds. "It's the highlight of the walk."
Lorenza Robbins said her 4-year-old autistic daughter, Summer, visits the chickens daily, feeds them and dances with them during her visits.
For Summer, whose condition makes communication difficult, one of her first words was "chicken," her mother said. Summer "just lights up when she sees the chickens," Robbins said. "She loves them. For some reason, she connects with them."
Resk is one of many Orange County residents who have begun to raise chickens, according to Margaret Millspaugh, owner of Wagon Train Feed & Tack in Orange. She's known to many as the Chicken Lady of Orange County.
Millspaugh said she used to sell about 25 chickens a week, but recently her business has been booming, with 40 chicken sales a week. She said her clients come from across the county.
She said she knows many cities have relaxed their ordinances and permit chickens as pets, while some chicken owners may slip under the radar.
"A lot [more] people get away with owning chickens than we know about," Millspaugh said. She added that chickens like to live in even-numbered groups. "I try to do even numbers — no odd man out."
Huntington Beach allows six chickens per residence or 24 chicks younger than 8 weeks, provided they stay 25 feet away from other buildings. Irvine allows four chickens as long as they remain 30 feet from any home with certain zoning restrictions. Laguna Beach also allows residents to own chickens, provided that the birds don't run free and are housed in a sanitary coop.
Resk said he hasn't seen a snail, termite or spider since bringing his chickens home — but he also hasn't seen much of his tomato plants recently. He had to replace his corn and broccoli with citrus plants, which are less tasty to his flock.
Resk said he thinks he's dealing with an outdated law and believes his Goldenrod 6 contribute color to the community.
"I think this is just an old law," he said.
"I think it adds a lot more than it detracts."
And in his Goldenrod Avenue yard, the six members of his feathered flock — nicknamed the Goldenrod 6 — cluck, peck at the grass and dig holes in search of bugs.
Resk has owned the chickens for 16 months, but he's run afoul of Newport Beach city ordinances that prohibit owning poultry. But it's all a semantic mix-up, Resk says, because his birds aren't for meat or eggs; they're largely ornamental.
His chickens — Red, Blackie, Flaty, Tiny, Blondie and Whitey — are the manifestation of an idea he had while sitting in his yard thinking chickens would be a nice decorative addition. But after a neighbor complained to the city, Resk was given two weeks to remove the birds. The deadline is imminent.
Newport Beach's law, enacted in 1970, prohibits owning any animal commonly considered livestock within city limits, with a few exceptions in permitted areas. Resk said he's prepared to pay fines.
Resk and the Goldenrod 6 have become a fixture for neighbors on a run, nannies and their charges, and passersby.
Susan Jent, a nanny who was watching over Matea and Madalyn one recent afternoon, said they often come by to see the birds. "We always walk past here and look for ... the chickens," Jent said, as the girls stood along the fence greeting the birds. "It's the highlight of the walk."
Lorenza Robbins said her 4-year-old autistic daughter, Summer, visits the chickens daily, feeds them and dances with them during her visits.
For Summer, whose condition makes communication difficult, one of her first words was "chicken," her mother said. Summer "just lights up when she sees the chickens," Robbins said. "She loves them. For some reason, she connects with them."
Resk is one of many Orange County residents who have begun to raise chickens, according to Margaret Millspaugh, owner of Wagon Train Feed & Tack in Orange. She's known to many as the Chicken Lady of Orange County.
Millspaugh said she used to sell about 25 chickens a week, but recently her business has been booming, with 40 chicken sales a week. She said her clients come from across the county.
She said she knows many cities have relaxed their ordinances and permit chickens as pets, while some chicken owners may slip under the radar.
"A lot [more] people get away with owning chickens than we know about," Millspaugh said. She added that chickens like to live in even-numbered groups. "I try to do even numbers — no odd man out."
Huntington Beach allows six chickens per residence or 24 chicks younger than 8 weeks, provided they stay 25 feet away from other buildings. Irvine allows four chickens as long as they remain 30 feet from any home with certain zoning restrictions. Laguna Beach also allows residents to own chickens, provided that the birds don't run free and are housed in a sanitary coop.
Resk said he hasn't seen a snail, termite or spider since bringing his chickens home — but he also hasn't seen much of his tomato plants recently. He had to replace his corn and broccoli with citrus plants, which are less tasty to his flock.
Resk said he thinks he's dealing with an outdated law and believes his Goldenrod 6 contribute color to the community.
"I think this is just an old law," he said.
"I think it adds a lot more than it detracts."
2011年12月22日星期四
Tampa's 'Exploding Chicken' sculpture set for new roost
Within months the so-called "Exploding Chicken" sculpture, which roosted downtown for 22 years, will be settled in its new home at the Channel District roundabout.
"I would anticipate that the bird will find his permanent roost early next year," said Bob McDonaugh, the city's acting administrator for economic development. "After it's erected then it will be repainted and dedicated."
The 19-ton, 36-foot-tall piece officially known as the untitled George Sugarman sculpture flew the coop from Ashley Drive in April 2010.
Volunteers – including members of a local steelworkers union – disassembled the sculpture. It was lifted by a crane onto flatbed trailers and taken to Gulf Marine Repair Corp. for safekeeping while new accommodations were readied.
The original principal tenant of Rivergate Tower, NCNB National Bank of Florida, commissioned the sculptor's work in 1988. In 2005, when the distinctive riverfront cylindrical building at 400 N. Ashley Drive was sold to American Capital Partners of Miami, the new owner donated the sculpture to the city.
McDonaugh said he wanted to make sure it didn't disappear.
"It's a recognizable Tampa icon," he said. "People like it; they're fond of it."
The sculpture's foundation is under construction and will be completed in the next few weeks, McDonaugh said.
Asked about the sculpture, Mayor Bob Buckhorn said, "I'm the last person to ask his opinion on art because I'm barely qualified to offer one. But it's a conversation piece. … If people are making fun of it, that means they're talking about it."
The abstract piece was given its popular nickname by longtime Tampa Tribune columnist Steve Otto.
Otto was excited to learn the chicken's return is imminent.
"I'm sure they're doing it for the Republican Convention – for the national exposure that it's going to bring the city," he said.
"I would anticipate that the bird will find his permanent roost early next year," said Bob McDonaugh, the city's acting administrator for economic development. "After it's erected then it will be repainted and dedicated."
The 19-ton, 36-foot-tall piece officially known as the untitled George Sugarman sculpture flew the coop from Ashley Drive in April 2010.
Volunteers – including members of a local steelworkers union – disassembled the sculpture. It was lifted by a crane onto flatbed trailers and taken to Gulf Marine Repair Corp. for safekeeping while new accommodations were readied.
The original principal tenant of Rivergate Tower, NCNB National Bank of Florida, commissioned the sculptor's work in 1988. In 2005, when the distinctive riverfront cylindrical building at 400 N. Ashley Drive was sold to American Capital Partners of Miami, the new owner donated the sculpture to the city.
McDonaugh said he wanted to make sure it didn't disappear.
"It's a recognizable Tampa icon," he said. "People like it; they're fond of it."
The sculpture's foundation is under construction and will be completed in the next few weeks, McDonaugh said.
Asked about the sculpture, Mayor Bob Buckhorn said, "I'm the last person to ask his opinion on art because I'm barely qualified to offer one. But it's a conversation piece. … If people are making fun of it, that means they're talking about it."
The abstract piece was given its popular nickname by longtime Tampa Tribune columnist Steve Otto.
Otto was excited to learn the chicken's return is imminent.
"I'm sure they're doing it for the Republican Convention – for the national exposure that it's going to bring the city," he said.
2011年12月11日星期日
Going green
Perhaps it's the brilliantly orange nasturtiums scrambling up fences. It could be the infant formula tins that have been painted with bright flowers and butterflies, hanging from an old washing line. Maybe it's the circular garden plots, some dotted with the magenta stems of bolting silverbeet. Likely it has something to do with Julia Milne, statuesque and ethereal in her gumboots and sunhat.
Whatever it is, the garden at Great Start Taita feels like a magical place. Next door, kids from St Michael's School sitting on the monkey bars call out to Milne, the volunteer behind the garden. She's been nominated for NZ Gardener magazine's gardener of the year and has an impressive number of gardening and community-building projects under her supervision in Taita. She sings back "hello" to the monkeys and guides us around the garden. Monarch butterflies glide by. Milne has been here just over a year, turning the formerly empty grounds of Great Start Taita into a model of sustainability, and starting up gardening workshops for children and adults.
One of the most amazing things about the garden Milne and her band have created is how little money it's cost. You won't find stacks of compost bags or soil improvers here; instead there are compost heaps bursting with grass clippings and kitchen scraps, a 40-gallon drum with comfrey leaves and water steeping into a nutrient-laden plant tonic. She keeps a bucket of rotted sheep pellets, seaweed and grass clippings in water as a fertiliser that locals can get a bottle of to take home, "because a lot of our locals don't have compost ready to go". Mulch comes from the council, and gardens are manured with horse poo, bought for only a few dollars.
As we stroll, she throws out gardening tips - how to deal with clay soil, where to get the best seaweed. She won't let us leave empty handed and digs up a comfrey root for us to take home. "You need tomatoes?" she asks.
Companion plants light up the garden with wild flowers, and children from the gardening club Milne started up have their own little plots in stacks of tyres. There are plots dedicated to Maori vegetables, another called the gifting garden, where the produce is given away. Various people have their own plots at the back. Dotted here and there are more nasturtiums, daisies and comfrey. It's the antithesis of the orderly rows you might find in suburban vege patches and gardening magazines. But not every crop is a roaring success. Milne says her last leeks were so thin, a friend cheekily referred to them as "impotent".
Whatever it is, the garden at Great Start Taita feels like a magical place. Next door, kids from St Michael's School sitting on the monkey bars call out to Milne, the volunteer behind the garden. She's been nominated for NZ Gardener magazine's gardener of the year and has an impressive number of gardening and community-building projects under her supervision in Taita. She sings back "hello" to the monkeys and guides us around the garden. Monarch butterflies glide by. Milne has been here just over a year, turning the formerly empty grounds of Great Start Taita into a model of sustainability, and starting up gardening workshops for children and adults.
One of the most amazing things about the garden Milne and her band have created is how little money it's cost. You won't find stacks of compost bags or soil improvers here; instead there are compost heaps bursting with grass clippings and kitchen scraps, a 40-gallon drum with comfrey leaves and water steeping into a nutrient-laden plant tonic. She keeps a bucket of rotted sheep pellets, seaweed and grass clippings in water as a fertiliser that locals can get a bottle of to take home, "because a lot of our locals don't have compost ready to go". Mulch comes from the council, and gardens are manured with horse poo, bought for only a few dollars.
As we stroll, she throws out gardening tips - how to deal with clay soil, where to get the best seaweed. She won't let us leave empty handed and digs up a comfrey root for us to take home. "You need tomatoes?" she asks.
Companion plants light up the garden with wild flowers, and children from the gardening club Milne started up have their own little plots in stacks of tyres. There are plots dedicated to Maori vegetables, another called the gifting garden, where the produce is given away. Various people have their own plots at the back. Dotted here and there are more nasturtiums, daisies and comfrey. It's the antithesis of the orderly rows you might find in suburban vege patches and gardening magazines. But not every crop is a roaring success. Milne says her last leeks were so thin, a friend cheekily referred to them as "impotent".
2011年11月23日星期三
7 Charged With Hate Crimes In Amish Hair Attacks
The leader of a breakaway Amish group allowed the beatings of those who disobeyed him, made some members sleep in a chicken coop and had sexual relations with married women to "cleanse them," federal authorities said as they charged him and six others with hate crime counts in hair-cutting attacks against other Amish.
Authorities raided the group's compound in eastern Ohio on Wednesday morning and arrested seven men, including group leader Sam Mullet and three of his sons.
Several members of the group carried out the attacks in September and October by forcefully cutting the beards and hair of Amish men and women, authorities said. Cutting the hair is a highly offensive act to the Amish, who believe the Bible instructs women to let their hair grow long and men to grow beards and stop shaving once they marry.
The attacks struck at the core of the Amish identity and tested their principles. They strongly believe that they must be forgiving in order for God to forgive them, which often means handing out their own punishment and not reporting crimes to law enforcement.
The attacks had terrorized Amish communities, Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla said at a news conference Wednesday.
"You've got Amish all over the state of Ohio and Pennsylvania and Indiana that are concerned. We've received hundreds and hundreds of calls from people living in fear," he said. "They are buying Mace, some are sitting with shotguns, getting locks on their doors because of Sam Mullet."
Mullet told The Associated Press in October that he didn't order the hair-cutting but didn't stop his sons and others from carrying it out. He said the goal was to send a message to other Amish that they should be ashamed of themselves for the way they were treating Mullet and his community.
"They changed the rulings of our church here, and they're trying to force their way down our throat, make us do like they want us to do, and we're not going to do that," Mullet said.
U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach said Wednesday that religious differences should be a matter of theological debate, not disputes "resolved by late night visits to people's homes with weapons and violent attacks." He said he did not know how often hate crimes involve intradenominational disputes.
The seven men were in custody and expected to be arraigned Wednesday in Youngstown. They include Mullet; his sons Johnny, Lester and Daniel; Levi Miller; Eli Miller; and Emanuel Schrock. The charges carry a penalty of up 10 years in prison.
Holmes County Prosecutor Steve Knowling, who filed state charges against five of the same defendants last month, said he would dismiss those counts and let federal prosecutors take the lead in the case.
In the state case, an Amish bishop and his son said they were held down while men used scissors and a clipper to cut their beards. Similar attacks were under investigation in Amish communities in Carroll, Jefferson and Trumbull counties in eastern and northeastern Ohio.
A defense attorney in the state case, Andy Hyde, said Sam Mullet would fight the federal charges. Hyde said he didn't know if he would represent Mullet in federal court.
The seven men were sleeping when the FBI and local police showed up at their homes before dawn Wednesday, Abdalla said. Three men initially refused to come out of their rooms, but all seven were arrested without incident, he said.
The attacks came amid long-simmering tension between Amish bishops and Mullet's group, which he established in 1995. Arlene Miller, the wife of one victim, said several bishops hadn't condoned Mullet's decision to excommunicate several members, saying there was no spiritual justification for his action.
One of Mullet's daughters-in-law and a former brother-in-law told investigators that Mullet controls everything that happens within the community outside Bergholz and that he allowed others to beat members of the group who disobeyed him, according to an affidavit filed in federal court Wednesday.
Mullet punished some by making them sleep in a chicken coop for days and was sexually intimate with married women in the community so that he could "cleanse them of the devil," the two said in the affidavit.
Both said they left the community because they did not want to live under Mullet's control.
Authorities have said some Amish refused to press charges, following their practice of avoiding involvement the courts.
One couple refused to press charges even after acknowledging that their two sons and another man came into their house, held them down, and cut the father's beard and the mother's hair. But others have said they decided to press charges to prevent anyone else from getting hurt.
Ohio has an estimated Amish population of just under 61,000 second only to Pennsylvania with most living in rural counties south and east of Cleveland.
They have a modest lifestyle and are deeply religious. Their traditions of traveling by horse and buggy and forgoing most modern conveniences distance themselves from the outside world and symbolize a yielding to a collective order.
Authorities raided the group's compound in eastern Ohio on Wednesday morning and arrested seven men, including group leader Sam Mullet and three of his sons.
Several members of the group carried out the attacks in September and October by forcefully cutting the beards and hair of Amish men and women, authorities said. Cutting the hair is a highly offensive act to the Amish, who believe the Bible instructs women to let their hair grow long and men to grow beards and stop shaving once they marry.
The attacks struck at the core of the Amish identity and tested their principles. They strongly believe that they must be forgiving in order for God to forgive them, which often means handing out their own punishment and not reporting crimes to law enforcement.
The attacks had terrorized Amish communities, Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla said at a news conference Wednesday.
"You've got Amish all over the state of Ohio and Pennsylvania and Indiana that are concerned. We've received hundreds and hundreds of calls from people living in fear," he said. "They are buying Mace, some are sitting with shotguns, getting locks on their doors because of Sam Mullet."
Mullet told The Associated Press in October that he didn't order the hair-cutting but didn't stop his sons and others from carrying it out. He said the goal was to send a message to other Amish that they should be ashamed of themselves for the way they were treating Mullet and his community.
"They changed the rulings of our church here, and they're trying to force their way down our throat, make us do like they want us to do, and we're not going to do that," Mullet said.
U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach said Wednesday that religious differences should be a matter of theological debate, not disputes "resolved by late night visits to people's homes with weapons and violent attacks." He said he did not know how often hate crimes involve intradenominational disputes.
The seven men were in custody and expected to be arraigned Wednesday in Youngstown. They include Mullet; his sons Johnny, Lester and Daniel; Levi Miller; Eli Miller; and Emanuel Schrock. The charges carry a penalty of up 10 years in prison.
Holmes County Prosecutor Steve Knowling, who filed state charges against five of the same defendants last month, said he would dismiss those counts and let federal prosecutors take the lead in the case.
In the state case, an Amish bishop and his son said they were held down while men used scissors and a clipper to cut their beards. Similar attacks were under investigation in Amish communities in Carroll, Jefferson and Trumbull counties in eastern and northeastern Ohio.
A defense attorney in the state case, Andy Hyde, said Sam Mullet would fight the federal charges. Hyde said he didn't know if he would represent Mullet in federal court.
The seven men were sleeping when the FBI and local police showed up at their homes before dawn Wednesday, Abdalla said. Three men initially refused to come out of their rooms, but all seven were arrested without incident, he said.
The attacks came amid long-simmering tension between Amish bishops and Mullet's group, which he established in 1995. Arlene Miller, the wife of one victim, said several bishops hadn't condoned Mullet's decision to excommunicate several members, saying there was no spiritual justification for his action.
One of Mullet's daughters-in-law and a former brother-in-law told investigators that Mullet controls everything that happens within the community outside Bergholz and that he allowed others to beat members of the group who disobeyed him, according to an affidavit filed in federal court Wednesday.
Mullet punished some by making them sleep in a chicken coop for days and was sexually intimate with married women in the community so that he could "cleanse them of the devil," the two said in the affidavit.
Both said they left the community because they did not want to live under Mullet's control.
Authorities have said some Amish refused to press charges, following their practice of avoiding involvement the courts.
One couple refused to press charges even after acknowledging that their two sons and another man came into their house, held them down, and cut the father's beard and the mother's hair. But others have said they decided to press charges to prevent anyone else from getting hurt.
Ohio has an estimated Amish population of just under 61,000 second only to Pennsylvania with most living in rural counties south and east of Cleveland.
They have a modest lifestyle and are deeply religious. Their traditions of traveling by horse and buggy and forgoing most modern conveniences distance themselves from the outside world and symbolize a yielding to a collective order.
2011年9月25日星期日
City council to deal with fowl play
Will the chickens come home to roost in local backyards, or will the city maintain its prohibition against fowl within city limits?
That question will come before the Glenwood Springs City Council on Oct. 20 in a staff report laying out the pros and cons of the idea of letting residents keep chickens in their backyards.
There appears to be considerable support on the side of backyard chicken coops and the birds that live in them.
For one thing, every other town in Garfield County permits residents to keep chickens on their private property, under a variety of conditions. And many other towns and cities around the county, including Denver and New York City, permit chickens to be kept on private property.
“I support letting people raise chickens,” said Mary Russell of Glenwood Springs. “I want people to eat locally.”
Russell said she buys eggs from someone keeping chickens in Carbondale, but would prefer to get her eggs closer to home.
“If people are allowed to have dogs in their yards, they should certainly be allowed to have chickens,” said Roxanne Bank, a Carbondale resident who once lived in Glenwood Springs. She recently spoke before the Glenwood Springs City council in favor of revising the city's chicken policy. Her message, speaking from experience, is that living next door to backyard chickens is no problem at all.
Jennifer Vanian, a Glenwood Springs resident recently ticketed for raising chickens in her backyard, also has asked the council to change the law and let the chickens roost here.
“I've raised them since I was 16 years old, and never really had any problems,” she said, arguing that it is better for people to eat locally produced foods that are fresh and come from a known source.
Chickens offer other advantages to the community, she said.
They offer a job for kids that teaches them about food production, which has more meaning than, say, keeping their rooms clean, Vanian said.
“I think it creates character, responsibility, compassion, as well as a feeling of being needed,” she said of the task of raising chickens. “And I think it goes a long way toward creating food security within a town.”
For instance, she recalled a time some years ago when an avalanche closed I-70 to Denver for three days. Grocery deliveries were interrupted, local supplies ran low and speculation was rife concerning serious shortages.
In addition, chicken waste is productive, she said.
“It creates great soil,” she said, and can be tilled into a backyard garden, forging another link in the local food chain.
Rules for keeping chickens
Vanian has proposed rules that would permit up to six hens per household, but no roosters.
The chickens would have to be kept in covered outdoor pens, with fencing buried six inches into the ground to prevent escapes and keep out predators, among other proposed guidelines.
Her ideas are already in use in other towns around Garfield County. Most communities permit hens but no roosters, and place limits on the numbers of birds allowed.
While chickens have their ardent supporters, Glenwood Springs Police Chief Terry Wilson said some object to chickens being kept by their neighbors. The worries center on odors, noise, and the possibility that a chicken coop could attract predators to the neighborhood.
Complaints about under-the-radar chicken keeping in Glenwood Springs have been “very sporadic, and very widespread” since he has been chief.
“The best one was, we had someone that had quite a flock of them at his house a number of years ago,” the chief recalled with a laugh. The very young chicks somehow got out of their coop.
“We had literally hundreds of these little chicks running rampant,” he continued, still chuckling.
“It was a terrible situation, absolutely horrible,” he concluded, tongue firmly in cheek.
More seriously, he said, residents have complained about the noise and odors emanating from chicken coops in a neighbor's yard.
Vanian, who acknowledged that she was cited recently by police for having chickens, said her campaign to get the city law changed grew out of that encounter.
“My experience has been positive, with the police, and I've worked on it with the code enforcement officer,” she explained. “I'm trying to do this in a way that everybody wins.”
Glenwood Springs development director Andrew McGregor said his office is putting together “a white paper, if you will,” to be presented to the council at its meeting on Oct. 20.
“We see in our own professional literature that it's happening all over the country,” said McGregor. The question for this community is whether there are “unique characteristics in Glenwood Springs that might make it problematic.”
One could be predators such as mountain lions, foxes and coyotes that might be drawn to a chicken coop.
“I think the devil is in the details,” McGregor continued, saying he will be checking with state wildlife officials, the county health department and other government entities as he puts his report together for the council.
That question will come before the Glenwood Springs City Council on Oct. 20 in a staff report laying out the pros and cons of the idea of letting residents keep chickens in their backyards.
There appears to be considerable support on the side of backyard chicken coops and the birds that live in them.
For one thing, every other town in Garfield County permits residents to keep chickens on their private property, under a variety of conditions. And many other towns and cities around the county, including Denver and New York City, permit chickens to be kept on private property.
“I support letting people raise chickens,” said Mary Russell of Glenwood Springs. “I want people to eat locally.”
Russell said she buys eggs from someone keeping chickens in Carbondale, but would prefer to get her eggs closer to home.
“If people are allowed to have dogs in their yards, they should certainly be allowed to have chickens,” said Roxanne Bank, a Carbondale resident who once lived in Glenwood Springs. She recently spoke before the Glenwood Springs City council in favor of revising the city's chicken policy. Her message, speaking from experience, is that living next door to backyard chickens is no problem at all.
Jennifer Vanian, a Glenwood Springs resident recently ticketed for raising chickens in her backyard, also has asked the council to change the law and let the chickens roost here.
“I've raised them since I was 16 years old, and never really had any problems,” she said, arguing that it is better for people to eat locally produced foods that are fresh and come from a known source.
Chickens offer other advantages to the community, she said.
They offer a job for kids that teaches them about food production, which has more meaning than, say, keeping their rooms clean, Vanian said.
“I think it creates character, responsibility, compassion, as well as a feeling of being needed,” she said of the task of raising chickens. “And I think it goes a long way toward creating food security within a town.”
For instance, she recalled a time some years ago when an avalanche closed I-70 to Denver for three days. Grocery deliveries were interrupted, local supplies ran low and speculation was rife concerning serious shortages.
In addition, chicken waste is productive, she said.
“It creates great soil,” she said, and can be tilled into a backyard garden, forging another link in the local food chain.
Rules for keeping chickens
Vanian has proposed rules that would permit up to six hens per household, but no roosters.
The chickens would have to be kept in covered outdoor pens, with fencing buried six inches into the ground to prevent escapes and keep out predators, among other proposed guidelines.
Her ideas are already in use in other towns around Garfield County. Most communities permit hens but no roosters, and place limits on the numbers of birds allowed.
While chickens have their ardent supporters, Glenwood Springs Police Chief Terry Wilson said some object to chickens being kept by their neighbors. The worries center on odors, noise, and the possibility that a chicken coop could attract predators to the neighborhood.
Complaints about under-the-radar chicken keeping in Glenwood Springs have been “very sporadic, and very widespread” since he has been chief.
“The best one was, we had someone that had quite a flock of them at his house a number of years ago,” the chief recalled with a laugh. The very young chicks somehow got out of their coop.
“We had literally hundreds of these little chicks running rampant,” he continued, still chuckling.
“It was a terrible situation, absolutely horrible,” he concluded, tongue firmly in cheek.
More seriously, he said, residents have complained about the noise and odors emanating from chicken coops in a neighbor's yard.
Vanian, who acknowledged that she was cited recently by police for having chickens, said her campaign to get the city law changed grew out of that encounter.
“My experience has been positive, with the police, and I've worked on it with the code enforcement officer,” she explained. “I'm trying to do this in a way that everybody wins.”
Glenwood Springs development director Andrew McGregor said his office is putting together “a white paper, if you will,” to be presented to the council at its meeting on Oct. 20.
“We see in our own professional literature that it's happening all over the country,” said McGregor. The question for this community is whether there are “unique characteristics in Glenwood Springs that might make it problematic.”
One could be predators such as mountain lions, foxes and coyotes that might be drawn to a chicken coop.
“I think the devil is in the details,” McGregor continued, saying he will be checking with state wildlife officials, the county health department and other government entities as he puts his report together for the council.
2011年9月20日星期二
Havelock may allow chickens at school
It may just turn out that the chicken comes before the egg — at least at Havelock High School.
Havelock commissioners agreed to hold a hearing on Sept. 26 on a request to allow chickens at the high school for educational purposes.
City rules now prohibit barnyard animals within city limits.
“It’s very important for students to have real live specimens to work with in the classroom,” Kayla Harris, Havelock’s new agriculture education teacher, told commissioners Monday night. “We live in a world now where a lot of things are virtual, but in career and technical education, especially agriculture education, it’s important for those students to understand the life cycles of a chicken, or the life cycles of a cow — how they reproduce and how they produce more products for us to consume and to use on a daily basis.
“Our goal is to get our students ready for careers in agriculture and any other industry that they can enter. More and more jobs related to poultry production are coming to North Carolina.”
Harris pointed to the Sanderson Farms poultry production facility in Kinston.
“They are looking for skilled students to come and work in their companies, and I feel it’s our responsibility in Craven County and at Havelock High School to have our students ready to take over those careers,” she said. “There’s a huge opportunity for them to make great money, wonderful benefits and retirement packages.”
Harris proposed that the school be allowed to have 20 chickens, all hens and no roosters. Havelock Principal Jeff Murphy told commissioners that the school had a horticultural compound that would be modified to house the birds.
“We’re going to have it in an orderly fashion at the high school. We’re going to house it in the right way. We’re going to build the right structure so that it’s the right way for chickens,” Murphy said. “We’re going to do it on a trial basis also. We’re going to see how it benefits students. And we’re going to make sure that it works with our educational environment, and if it doesn’t, then we’ll do away with it. If it does, then we’ll keep doing it. Whatever the laws are, we’re going to stick to that as close as possible.”
Commissioner Danny Walsh pointed out that the board had previously turned down a request from resident Janet Hatfield to keep three chickens in a backyard coop.
Havelock Mayor Jimmy Sanders suggested an exception be made for schools and that the birds not be allowed within 400 feet of a residence.
Sanders said the high school is isolated and well away from homes, and Commissioner Will Lewis pointed out the differences between the two requests.
“Two main reasons why we said no to chickens in the city of Havelock was proximity and property values,” he said. “Those were our major sticking points. It seems like both of those can be dealt with in this situation.”
Though there was no vote taken, it appeared that there was a 3-2 split on the board in favor of allowing the chickens at the school.
Havelock commissioners agreed to hold a hearing on Sept. 26 on a request to allow chickens at the high school for educational purposes.
City rules now prohibit barnyard animals within city limits.
“It’s very important for students to have real live specimens to work with in the classroom,” Kayla Harris, Havelock’s new agriculture education teacher, told commissioners Monday night. “We live in a world now where a lot of things are virtual, but in career and technical education, especially agriculture education, it’s important for those students to understand the life cycles of a chicken, or the life cycles of a cow — how they reproduce and how they produce more products for us to consume and to use on a daily basis.
“Our goal is to get our students ready for careers in agriculture and any other industry that they can enter. More and more jobs related to poultry production are coming to North Carolina.”
Harris pointed to the Sanderson Farms poultry production facility in Kinston.
“They are looking for skilled students to come and work in their companies, and I feel it’s our responsibility in Craven County and at Havelock High School to have our students ready to take over those careers,” she said. “There’s a huge opportunity for them to make great money, wonderful benefits and retirement packages.”
Harris proposed that the school be allowed to have 20 chickens, all hens and no roosters. Havelock Principal Jeff Murphy told commissioners that the school had a horticultural compound that would be modified to house the birds.
“We’re going to have it in an orderly fashion at the high school. We’re going to house it in the right way. We’re going to build the right structure so that it’s the right way for chickens,” Murphy said. “We’re going to do it on a trial basis also. We’re going to see how it benefits students. And we’re going to make sure that it works with our educational environment, and if it doesn’t, then we’ll do away with it. If it does, then we’ll keep doing it. Whatever the laws are, we’re going to stick to that as close as possible.”
Commissioner Danny Walsh pointed out that the board had previously turned down a request from resident Janet Hatfield to keep three chickens in a backyard coop.
Havelock Mayor Jimmy Sanders suggested an exception be made for schools and that the birds not be allowed within 400 feet of a residence.
Sanders said the high school is isolated and well away from homes, and Commissioner Will Lewis pointed out the differences between the two requests.
“Two main reasons why we said no to chickens in the city of Havelock was proximity and property values,” he said. “Those were our major sticking points. It seems like both of those can be dealt with in this situation.”
Though there was no vote taken, it appeared that there was a 3-2 split on the board in favor of allowing the chickens at the school.
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.
2011年4月23日星期六
Debbie Cavallaro talks about the baby boom down on the farm
Q: When can we see the baby animals?
A:We try to start having our babies at the end of February and go all the way through at least May and into June. We try to split them up because they do grow fast and that way, no matter what time folks come out, they get to see babies. They're right in the barn or right at the fence, and they're very friendly. They actually like visitors.
Q: Where did the animals come from?
A:Many were born here. We get some really good donations from local people. We try to show good examples of the breed, so most are thoroughbred. Some we raise up, some we will purchase. We have a donation box in our barn, and we generally use donated funds if we need to buy an animal. And then many of our animals get sold to 4-H kids or local farmers. That's always very gratifying for us to go to the local fairs and see how our goats and sheep and pigs are competing. We're close to the Livingston County Fair, the Oakland County Fair and the Washtenaw Fair.
Q: Who takes care of the animals?
A:We have three full-time staff and we have five part-time staff -- people that do a variety of things. I feed animals every day. I clean pens every day. The herdsmen check who is ready to deliver, who didn't come up to the feeder to eat, a lame horse, whatever it may be. We have a lot of kids programs. We just got done with our big maple sugaring program. We do horse-drawn rides, and that takes a special team called teamsters and they harness horses. No day is the same, I can tell you that.
Q: How many animals do you have?
A:We're looking at all the cows, all the sheep, all the chickens, goats, the ducks, the geese: We probably have 75 to 85. It certainly increases in the spring, especially with all the twins coming. This time of year we have a lot. Usually in November, that's when we sell a lot of our extras off.
Q: How many buildings do you have at the farm that people can go into?
A:We have five buildings you can actually go in. Certainly our biggest attraction is our lower barn area. That's the maternity ward where all the babies are. And then you can go into our chicken coop and cow pen. It's set up where it is close viewing pretty much for everybody, and it is all wheelchair- and stroller-accessible -- very easy to maneuver.
A:We try to start having our babies at the end of February and go all the way through at least May and into June. We try to split them up because they do grow fast and that way, no matter what time folks come out, they get to see babies. They're right in the barn or right at the fence, and they're very friendly. They actually like visitors.
Q: Where did the animals come from?
A:Many were born here. We get some really good donations from local people. We try to show good examples of the breed, so most are thoroughbred. Some we raise up, some we will purchase. We have a donation box in our barn, and we generally use donated funds if we need to buy an animal. And then many of our animals get sold to 4-H kids or local farmers. That's always very gratifying for us to go to the local fairs and see how our goats and sheep and pigs are competing. We're close to the Livingston County Fair, the Oakland County Fair and the Washtenaw Fair.
Q: Who takes care of the animals?
A:We have three full-time staff and we have five part-time staff -- people that do a variety of things. I feed animals every day. I clean pens every day. The herdsmen check who is ready to deliver, who didn't come up to the feeder to eat, a lame horse, whatever it may be. We have a lot of kids programs. We just got done with our big maple sugaring program. We do horse-drawn rides, and that takes a special team called teamsters and they harness horses. No day is the same, I can tell you that.
Q: How many animals do you have?
A:We're looking at all the cows, all the sheep, all the chickens, goats, the ducks, the geese: We probably have 75 to 85. It certainly increases in the spring, especially with all the twins coming. This time of year we have a lot. Usually in November, that's when we sell a lot of our extras off.
Q: How many buildings do you have at the farm that people can go into?
A:We have five buildings you can actually go in. Certainly our biggest attraction is our lower barn area. That's the maternity ward where all the babies are. And then you can go into our chicken coop and cow pen. It's set up where it is close viewing pretty much for everybody, and it is all wheelchair- and stroller-accessible -- very easy to maneuver.
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