In 1962 the United States Department of Defense donated 111 acres of land to the City of Westerville. It has been abandoned for years. During World War II, Kilgore Manufacturing Co was one of only three plants for incendiary bombs during World War II.
From the Columbus Dispatch: “The company made the ammunitions that then-Lt. Col. Jimmy Dolittle used for air strikes over Japan in 1942,” attorney Ron Kuis said. “The company remained in business through the Korean War and later filed for bankruptcy,” Kuis said.
During the summer of 2007, Otterbein had planned to clean up the site and sell it to a homebuilder. Neighbors worried that removing dirt from the site could stir up unhealthy chemicals and the plan was trashed. Now everyone is happy because the vacant 111-acre site will be used for Otterbein College’s Equine Center. They plan horse barns, grazing land and riding areas for Otterbein College students. The new center will cost $3 million. 63 years after the war ended, 31 acres on the site remain contaminated and need to be cleaned up. These 31 acres will be fenced in for safety. The school can begin using the remaining land right away. read more. . .
Ohio’s River Valley Middle and High Schools were built in the 1960’s on the site of a former military complex (and POW camp during WWII). The now abandoned buildings sit right on the spot where chemical waste was dumped for years. Both schools were closed in 2003 due to high rates of Leukemia cases among former students who attended these schools. An investigation of the contamination and school leukemia cases began in 1997 (see article below). It sounds like a I bad location to build a school, doesn’t it?
The schools still stand and can be viewed from the road. Concrete barriers with “No Trespassing” signs have been placed to block all of the entrances. The grounds are now used to store mulch. I drove past recently and saw the huge stacks of mulch. I’m wondering if that is a good idea. According to some reports as many as 75 different chemicals were found at hazardous levels around the school including arsenic. You know, I’m not even sure it would be safe to store mulch there. Who would want to buy it? Unless you were planning on mulching for someone you really disliked. “Oh, yes. I’ll help you mulch. I know just the place to buy it. . .”
Today I read a short article here that Erin Toughill beat up her husband, Clark Bevans, on their honeymoon. That is a bad, bad way to start a marriage. A restraining order has been granted. It reminds me of the movies “Mr & Mrs Smith” and “War of the Roses”. Here’s a big surprise, the wedding is being annuled. Go figure.
Pro golfer, Tripp Isenhour, was trying to make a shot. If only that darn bird would hush up. I know! Lets kill the dang thing! Where’s my bb-gun. Oh, I didn’t bring it. Lets just hit it really hard with a golf ball. I’m a pro golfer right? My golf game is much more important than a dang bird!
Prosecutors say a red-shouldered hawk was making noise, forcing a video crew to film another take. The hawk moved closer, and the golfer hit several balls at it. A witness says the bird fell to the ground, bleeding from both nostrils. The 39-year-old golfer, whose real name is John Henry Isenhour III, is charged with cruelty to animals and killing a migratory bird.
If you are lucky enough to play golf for a living, you’re going to be out there in nature. Nature sometimes makes noise. It would have been just as bad if he had killed a non-protected bird, like a seagull. If it was an accident, that would be something else. But he obviously did this on purpose. What a total jerk. What if it had been a dog barking? Would he have beaten it with his golf club? Hey, who knows how many animals he’s killed when no one was watching. . .
The Tiger Ranch has been billed as a no-cage, no-kill sanctuary for cats. After reading this, you’ll find it is exactly the opposite. Before reading on, a word of warning. This is quite disturbing. read more, watch news clips here. . .
Linda M. Bruno, owner/operator of the Tiger Ranch and Cat Sanctuary has a lot of explaining to do. She faces 14 counts of animal cruelty, with more on the way. Humane officials and Allegheny County Sheriff’s deputies raided her animal sanctuary in Frazer on Thursday night. Apparently, a worker went undercover and filmed the terrible conditions inside the Tiger Ranch. The video was then shown to a judge which led to last week’s raid. The video revealed that there were literally hundreds of diseased cats suffering from contagious viruses. It also showed two freezers full of over 100 dead cats.
Over 600 cats were removed from the 29 acre facility. Animal welfare workers said they found hundreds of cats and other animals living in horrible conditions.In the raid, Humane officials and Allegheny County Sheriff’s deputies found many horrors. There were dead cats in litter boxes. “Cats were running up to us sneezing and falling over from dehydration,” said Nelson, SPCA CEO (Nelson is a good guy, read this article about him). Officials also seized nine dogs, six horses and a goat from the facility. Nelson says humane officers rushed 200 animals to a veterinary hospital Thursday, but several animals died before they got there. According to reports there were burial pits found on the property where Bruno - over time - had been burying dead cats.
Animal welfare workers are continuing their investigation calling it “one of the largest anti-cruelty raids of recent times”Tiger Ranch has been billed as a no-cage, no-kill sanctuary for cats; but Nelson says it was anything but. “She describes it as a sanctuary. I describe it as just pure hell.”
The ’supporters’ of the Tiger Ranch are saying “Tiger Ranch Was Not Abusing Animals“. It sounds like they’re saying the Sheriff and the CEO of the SPCA are lying. What about the cats that approached and the CEO of the SPCA and fell over from dehydration?
One supporter, Chris DeRose said, “You can go into any sanctuary and find something that is not right or up to speed at any moment and capture it on camera and build a ‘witch hunt’ …“
I don’t know anyone who would consider dead cats in litter boxes ’not being up to speed’.
The Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which organized the raid, is asking for donations to help with the cats’ continuing care. Monetary donations may be made via the PSPCA Web site; via phone at 215-426-6304, ext. 217; or by mail to Pennsylvania SPCA, 350 E. Erie Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19134. Supplies may be sent to the Clarion County SPCA, 9562 Route 322, Shippenville, PA 16254.
In Australia, a 16-year-old Busselton boy helped saved his sister from a crocodile attack in 2005. On March 17, 2008, he has received a commendation for bravery in this year’s Australian Honours List. Simon Burnup helped free his sister from the jaws of the croc by punching it in the head. The 11-year-old girl, Chantal was attacked while swimming in the Sale River. The then 14-year-old says he rushed to help when he saw his father struggling to free his sister from the jaws of the crocodile.
The West Busselton girl, Chantal Burnup, suffered bruising, cuts and puncture wounds when the three-metre crocodile grabbed her by the torso. She had been swimming in a freshwater pool near Doubtful Bay. After about 20 minutes, her dad saw Chantal disappear. “I just jumped in because I could see her underwater and she wasn’t coming up,” he said.
Chantal was pulled under water by the reptile. Her father, Richard, was finally able to wrestle her free from its jaws when Simon jumped in and punched the crocodile in the head. He grabbed her by one arm and pulled, while Simon hit the crocodile in the head with his right fist. The crocodile let go and Mr Burnup dragged Chantal to a rock, from where they could see the crocodile watching them Click here for list of recent crocodile attacks.
THE waterhole where the attack occurred continues to attract campers and swimmers.
Crocodile expert Malcolm Douglas warns to never assume estuaries are safe. “It just puts shivers up my spine to go anywhere near these waterholes that these people go swimming in,” he said.
Chantal’s father Ric Burnup says he will never stop blaming himself for taking his children swimming in a natural pool off Doubtful Bay in the west Kimberley region. “I was really a mess for about a week; I couldn’t even talk about it,” he said. “I look back and I think it was a really poor decision on my part letting her go in the water.”
Mr Burnup said he was horrified when he returned a week after the attack to collect the children’s belongings and found a young family camping at the waterhole and preparing to enter the water. “They had no idea what had happened there a week earlier,” he said. How about putting ups a sign?
Yesterday, Chantal said she was “feeling normal again” and was enjoying the voyage to Cairns. “We’ve been having a lot of fun together — we have seen lots of great stuff, including humpback whales,” she said. “But I don’t want to see any big crocodiles again.”
“WE HAD MANY MORE VISITORS THAN WE EXPECTED; ALL ANIMALS INVOLVED WITH THE RESCUE HAVE BEEN ADOPTED AND WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING” -Humane Society of Southern Arizona
Over five hundred people called or showed up at the Humane Society of S. Arizona. They wanted to adopt the 752 dogs that were rescued from a triple wide trailer in Arizona. The Humane Society says that by Friday, they had almost all been adopted. Humane society spokeswoman, Jenny Rose, anticipated all dogs would be gone by Saturday. By Friday night, only 60 adoptable dogs remained. When 500 people showed up Friday, the Humane Society handed out numbers for the puppy mill dogs. The people needed to come back on ‘a certain day’ to maybe pick up one of the dogs. I would have requested a Chinese Crested. I love those ugly little hairless dogs. I just don’t know what my 110 pound golden retriever would think of that. He gets quite jealous when I pet another dog. There were birds, too! Jenny Rose said that the 36 birds found in the roundup won’t be available for adoption for weeks. Can you imagine a trailer with thirty-six birds and 752 dogs? The noise would be deafening! I hope they had a few acres and no neighbors nearby! That must be the case because if it was in a neighborhood I would hope someone would notice such a thing. You would have to be an absolute idiot not to notice your neighbor’s house with so many animals. Money is still needed to offset the expected $400,000 cost of the doggie roundup, Rose said. Donations can be made online at www.hssaz.org or at the shelter, 3450 N. Kelvin Blvd., or over the phone at 520.327.6088.
I just found this quote in a news report which answers my earlier question about the neighbors: “Neighbors said the triple-wide mobile home was the residence of Billy and Wanda Jones for about the past 10 years. Some residents figured the couple kept about 50 dogs; others thought about 150. No one in their wildest estimate guessed more than 700″. Neighbors Doug and Mary Schroder, both 50, weren’t as laid-back. Mary Schroder said she repeatedly called the Pima Animal Care Center for the past several years to no avail. “They could have taken care of this 400 dogs ago,” she said. more. . .
Below you will find a news story about a home in Arizona where 752 dogs lived with their two humans. That seems like a lot. Maybe about 799 too many. The earlier reports of this story say there were 800 small dogs. Alarmists! Authorities said there were also 36 birds that were seized this week at a property in the 12200 block of West Manville Road.
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — About 800 small dogs, including Chihuahuas, Chinese crested, terriers and Pomeranian, were seized from a triple-wide mobile home whose occupants were overwhelmed trying to care for the animals, authorities said Wednesday.
Pima County sheriff’s deputies and animal welfare officials who removed the dogs also found 82 caged parrots in the home in a rural area northwest of Tucson.
Some dogs were pregnant and giving birth as they were taken to shelters in Tucson, said Jenny Rose, a spokeswoman for the Humane Society of Southern Arizona. Ninety-six dogs were taken from the house Monday and another 700 on Wednesday, she said.
“The home was definitely in very bad condition, urine and feces all over the home, in the kitchen and bedroom, with a very strong odor,” she said. “Obviously, 800 dogs in a triple-wide mobile home, they were packed in there. That being said, they were in pretty good shape.”
The elderly owners, who have not been identified, were apparently overwhelmed but have cooperated with authorities, sheriff’s Sgt. James Ogden said. No charges have been filed, but authorities continue to investigate.
The animals appeared to have had enough food, but a few were missing paws — some from having been attacked by other animals, others apparently having caught their feet in fencing outside, Rose said.
The breeds included Chinese crested and Lhasa apsos. The owners were breeding and offering the dogs for sale, Rose said, but she described it as a hoarding case, in which elderly people sometimes feel no one else can give their animals a good home and won’t part with them.
Deputies were alerted this month after a woman who bought a Chihuahua at the home reported the conditions, Ogden said.
The dogs living inside the house apparently had free run of the premises, Ogden said. Others were found in other structures on the property.
Ogden described the living conditions as “horrible, filth everywhere … probably one of the worst (situations) I’ve ever seen.”
The animals will be offered for adoption soon, Rose said, adding that a rescue group from Phoenix had taken 100 of the dogs.
In 1962 the United States Department of Defense donated 111 acres of land to the City of Westerville. It has been abandoned for years. During World War II, Kilgore Manufacturing Co was one of only three plants for incendiary bombs during World War II. 
