Fred update: Model vulture shoos away the real birds

Fred the vulture is visible above the chimney in this photograph provided by Mayor Grayson Vandegrift.

The model vulture Fred, which the city had hung in a tree amid a vulture roost on Feb. 17 to mimic a dead one, appears to have done the job, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift reports.

"We’ll take good news where we can find it," Vandegrift wrote in an email with a photo., above. "This was taken by the homeowner and she’s reporting that after we moved Fred to a little higher spot in the tree, the vultures left. Another neighbor reported seeing them circling it and then flying away. We’re going to monitor to see if they roost somewhere else in town, but other than the tin man, that seemed to be their spot." Here's a Messenger photo, taken Tuesday, from another angle:

City hangs model of vulture to keep others from roosting

The City of Midway is trying another tactic to reduce the number of vultures that roost in the town, especially in evergreen groves in the winter. Meet Fred the vulture.

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift with Fred

Fred, a model of a red-headed turkey vulture, was hung upside down in a tall tree northwest of the intersection of Winter and Bruen streets early Monday afternoon, in the hope that the apparent carcass will dissuade vultures who, ironically, subsist on carcasses of other animals.

Marcus Stewart of Art's Electric, from Frankfort, used copper wire to hang Fred in the yard of a homeowner who wanted to remain nameless but said her child is unable to play in the yard due to vulture droppings.

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said the city bought Fred on the advice of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for $120 and would pay Art's $50 for hanging him. He said Fred amounts to a relatively inexpensive experiment that could be be repeated elsewhere if it proves successful.

To enlarge either photo, click on it.

Midway officials to hold public forum April 9 before acting on resolution backing refugee resettlement in Ky.

Amnesty International volunteer Lee Birdwhistell spoke to the city council Monday as about 20 people listened.

By Korrie Harris
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

The Midway City Council voted Monday evening to table a controversial resolution supporting refugee resettlement in Kentucky and vote on it no later than the June 3 council meeting, following a public forum.

The resolution calls for resettlement to be done without discrimination, and calls on other Kentucky communities to “join them in supporting a stronger national effort to settle refugees around the world in need of a home.”

The council followed the lead of Mayor Grayson Vandegrift, who issued a statement before the meeting in response to social-media comments debating the resolution. “It has clearly begun a discussion in our community that has lighted passions on both sides of the issue,” he wrote.

The passions and “vitriol,” as Vandegrift called it during the meeting, are illustrated by postings on Midway Musings, a closed Facebook group that has almost 700 members. After Karen Martin posted a notice asking the members to attend the council meeting to support the resolution, Angeletta Fields wrote, “I do not want refugees to move into Midway not into Kentucky!” and James Starks wrote, “This is a disgusting idea.”

The resolution does not propose moving refugees to Midway, but some said the council should stick to local business. Cindy Karrick wrote, “Our little town is not the place to address national political issues.” Johnny Wilson, who recently served out an unexpired term on the council, wrote, “Dumb!!! Fix what you were elected to fix. This [is] pure political. Where is the money coming from to house and feed them.”

The resolution drew support from some members of the Facebook group, and Sarah J. Wilson wrote, "I hope that our council will listen to both sides of the issue and vote in a way that will be truly representative of the feelings of their constituents, and not just what they want. Let's show the rest of the state that we have elected officials who care about those who elected them. Citizens, if you feel strongly about this or any issue, speak with your representatives!"

Council Member Logan Nance

At the meeting, Council Member Logan Nance introduced the resolution and a representative from Amnesty International, a global human-rights organization that has been asking local governments to pass such resolutions for more than two years.

Nance said, “As I got older, my service to my country [and] through my church took me to places like Venezuela and Afghanistan, where I was able to see the refugee crisis up close and very personal,” and when he returned, he knew he wanted to help refugees: “I was able to meet refugee families that attend church in this community, shop in this community, and it was able to hit it home for me that we could be doing more to help these people.”

Lee Birdwhistell, who identified herself as a volunteer for Amnesty International, told the council that he resolution would be “non-binding” and wouldn’t “place the burden of resettlement” on Midway, Birdwhistell said. This would be the first Amnesty International refugee welcome resolution in Kentucky, but she said Kentucky is a leading state for refugee resettlement.

Asked after the meeting why she picked Midway, she said, “I just had a connection to Logan Nance and I brought it up to him.”

Nance told the other council members that he was willing to delay action on the resolution so the public could understand what exactly was happening.

Council Member Bruce Southworth said, “I would just feel more comfortable if we had more time to get more input before we voted.”

Council Member Sara Hicks agreed. “I think having a public forum would be very appropriate and a good experience for the community,” she said.

Council Member Stacy Thurman agreed but said, “I think it’s important to go ahead if we’re going to do a public forum to make a date, to find a venue and set it up and not just let this go and let it slide under the door.”

Council Member John Holloway he didn’t see the controversy in the resolution. “All the resolution is really saying is we are happy to comply with the law.”

Vandegrift said a public forum, with face-to-face communication, would be more productive than social-media posts. “I think the more we speak to each other, the more we’ll come together as a community,” he said. ”We might come out being stronger than we were before.”

The mayor then suggested that a council member make a motion to table the resolution “because it is a significant enough resolution.”

Hicks asked Vandegrift if he wanted to delay it “to a specific date,” and he didn’t think it would be best. “I think it’s still a new enough idea, still a fresh enough issue, that I don’t think we know exactly how much time this needs and how much time we want to spend on it,” he said. “We got other stuff we gotta focus on, too.”

Holloway indicated that he favored a specific date: “We should be sure and come back to this and not let this slide.”

Council Member Kaye Nita Gallagher quipped, “I’m pretty sure it’s not just gonna disappear.” 

About 20 Midway residents on both sides of the issue were in the audience. The mayor said it would be best to postpone citizen comments to the council until the public forum, so a moderator from the Kentucky League of Cities could aid civil discourse.

The vote for tabling the resolution passed unanimously.

“We will schedule as soon as possible a public forum most likely to take place in the next few weeks,” Vandegrift said. UPDATE, March 20: The forum will be held at 6:30 Tuesday, April 9 at Northside Elementary School.

Birdwhistell said after the meeting, “I feel like it went well. I do think it’s good for the community to have a chance to talk about it, discuss it. There was a little more opposition than we were anticipating, but I feel like deciding to set up a public forum to give the community more time to come to terms with it is a good way to go.”

In other business, the council:

• Reappointed Gina Morris and Council Member Sara Hicks to the parks board. Hicks abstained from the otherwise unanimous vote. They will both serve four-year terms.

• Declared two vehicles and a list of other equipment and personal property to be surplus so it can be sold for the surplus and authorizing sale.

• Heard Don Vizi, executive director of the Woodford County Chamber of Commerce, present his annual report and request $1,000 to help with its ventures. The mayor said the monthly meetings that Vizi set up with the mayor and other community figures to keep up with one another have helped the city-chamber relationship. “I’ve really enjoyed that. It’s been very beneficial,” Vandegrift said. “I think we’re gonna see some fruit coming up soon.” 

(Vizi also announced a job fair on March 26 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Woodford County Agricultural Center. “We have 11 employers coming,” he said.)

• Heard the mayor addressed the problem with vultures roosting around the city. “We’re working with state agencies and USDA,” he said. Vandegrift said the city doesn’t want to kill the birds, but to “push them off into other parts of the county where they won’t bother anybody and the excrement won’t become a health hazard.”

• Voted to appropriate $812.40 as its share of replacing an emergency siren in the Versailles industrial park that has not been activating properly. “It’s 25 years old and it’s also the most maintenance prone siren out of all 12 sirens spread about the county,” said Drew Chandler of Woodford County Emergency Management.

• Didn’t approve a request made by Midway University to place a no-parking sign on West Stephens Street just past the president’s driveway.

Asked how often cars park there, Rob Sarrantonio, director of security and operations at Midway, said “It depends on the time of year” but “It’s been more now lately than it has in the past.”

Gallagher asked if it’s normally during the president’s events or during events at the house across the street, where some students live.

Sarrantonio said “It’s not during the president’s events,” and said people are told to park away from the area of concern.

However, Council Member John Holloway, who lives near the president’s house, said the only time he sees cars parked in the area is when events are going on at the president’s house .

Council Member Sara Hicks noted that there is a no-parking sign on Winter Street because it’s a “blind place” and police ticket violators there because it’s a “safety issue,” but she doesn’t regard Stephens Street as a “safety issue.”

When the mayor asked if there was a motion to approve the sign, no council member made one.

As vulture flock grows, Midwegians worry about health and safety; council to discuss options

Vultures preparing to roost soar above Midway Christian Church.

Story and photos by Morgan Rhodes

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

On a walk down East Bruen Street in Midway, someone might witness a scene reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.” The trees behind Midway Christian Church are filled with roosting vultures, seemingly waiting for a nice carcass to scavenge.

These vultures aren’t just behind the church, where they have returned in greater numbers than in 2010. Over the last couple of months, vultures have spread to two other locations in Midway: on Brand Street and the corner of Bruen and Turner Street.

UPDATE, Feb. 22: The church has applied for a federal permit, its pastor said after Monday night's council meeting.

The Midway City Council will discuss the vultures at its meeting Monday night. Council Member Sharon Turner is worried about the dangers the birds may pose. “People are mainly concerned about the health issues,” Turner said in an email, “and some are also concerned about their small pets that are outside.”

Experts downplay the health issues from the birds’ smelly droppings, but do say the vultures are the type that can kill prey, not just scavenge carrion.
 

Adam Probst, the University of Kentucky’s cooperative extension agent for agriculture and natural resources in Woodford County, said in an email that Kentucky is home to two types of vultures: the turkey vulture and the invasive, black headed vulture.

“The native turkey vulture has been a part of the natural ecology of Kentucky for many years,” Probst wrote. “However, the black headed vulture is expanding its territory north from Mexico and the Gulf Shore states. It is a more aggressive bird that may actually kill its prey rather than exclusively feeding on dead/decaying carcasses like the turkey vulture has done.”

While Probst said there are no immediate hazards to humans, black vultures have a more aggressive nature, making pets and children vulnerable. He said Midway has options to deal with the problem and hopes to find a solution with the council.

Probst said there is no particular reason vultures are roosting in Midway. Abandoned buildings are an attraction for nesting sites, he said. “Once they become a little more acclimated to people, they may move out into other areas around town that may have a little more traffic such as parks or near churches that don’t have daily activity.”

The pastor of Midway Christian Church, the Rev. Heather McColl, said she first noticed the vultures around Halloween in 2010. “As time passed,” she said, “they became more prolific. … This year, it seems the numbers have grown. I would guess there are 50 or more on a given night.”

McColl said the church’s concerns are for the health of the community: “Midway Christian Church is trying to be proactive.” Last year, the Versailles Police Department was called on to fire blanks in the area to scare off the vultures, but the tactic didn’t work.

Dan Roller, a city council member and member of the church, also made an effigy to scare the vultures away, McColl said. This tactic also failed.

Tire on church playground shows bird droppings.

While no one has been harmed, the vultures have caused damage to the community playground behind the church. “People used to come by and use the playground,” McColl said. “Because of the droppings, it is a health hazard.”

The smell and droppings of vultures in roosting areas are unpleasant, but pose no real harmful effects, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources says on its website. Because vultures have a unique digestive system, all bacteria are destroyed before being emitted back into the environment. According to the site, “Most view the vulture as one of nature’s most efficient, natural recyclers.” For more, click here.

Even so, McColl said the droppings have rendered the playground unusable by the community.

In an effort to solve the problem, McColl contacted Keith Stucker, district supervisor for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. McColl said Stucker confirmed the situation at the church  is no longer a temporary and minor problem, so it can be addressed with more than harassment of the birds.

Stucker suggested that McColl apply for a permit from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to give the church permission to kill the vultures, the only surefire way to be rid of them, McColl said.

A permit is required to kill black vultures because they are a federally protected species. Probst said the first line of defense is scare tactics, but since the situation has progressed to a point where the birds would simply move to another location in Midway, “I’ll be discussing at the city council meeting some options that the city can take including additional scare tactics, and the permit process for taking and removing these birds.”

Since scare tactics have already been used, Probst said he believes taking and removing the birds is the best option.  Stucker suggested to McColl that killing the birds after receiving an approved permit is the best option at this point. Because the vultures have spread and multiplied, Stucker told McColl, removal is the only available option to get rid of the problem this season. Also, according to the Alabama website, roosting vultures habitually return to previous sites, making it very likely that the birds would keep roosting in Midway.

McColl said the church will take its cue from the city council. If the city applies for a permit, she said, the church will be a part of that.

“As long as ideal roosting sites are around Midway,” Probst said, “this may need to be addressed again in the future, but it may be several years before it gets to the point that we are at today. The good news is that the city does have some options in dealing with this problem and that hopefully we can create a solution soon.”