LISTEN: Mansfield looks to lasers to solve crow poop problem; Richland County Bears to host Special Olympics swim meet at Friendly House

 

 

Will a green laser keep crows from roosting (and pooping) in Mansfield’s central park? Parks and recreation superintendent Mark Abrams hopes so.

 

Mark Abrams, Mansfield city parks and recreation superintendent recently ordered the laser and three “dead crow effigies (which are simply decoys that look like dead crows)” from Amazon. He hopes the $20 green laser lights will convince a huge murder of crows to stay out of the trees at night in Central Park.

 

The crows roosting in downtown during winter in Mansfield is nearly as predictable and common as the buzzards returning to Hinckley, Ohio, each March.

 

Unlike the turkey vultures, however, the crows are not welcomed guests in Central Park trees, where their nightly gatherings leave behind a gross, sticky coating of fecal matter that covers historical monuments, benches, artwork and sidewalks.

 

During colder winter months, when they’re not nesting, crows like to congregate in larger numbers for safety. The warmth radiating off city roads and trapped by tall buildings provide a cozy winter home.

 

Street lights in cities help them better surveil for predators. Abrams said the hand-held laser and the dead crow effigies, which cost $30 each, are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday. Though he also said Amazon didn’t specify which Wednesday.

 

He’s banking on this one. The plan is to hang the decoys in the trees and have a parks employee spend an hour or so at dusk each night shining the green laser into the trees.

 

Kevin McGowan, of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in New York, recently told the New York Times that crows will see the green light and might think animals are running over the branches. Perhaps successfully bluffed, the hope is the crows will then fly somewhere else to sleep for the night.

 

McGowan has studied crows for three decades. He said dispersing the birds is a tricky game.

 

The fact is, crows are intelligent birds and may not want to leave a place they have already settled. Either way, Abrams said the light and the effigies are worth the effort.

 

At least for a few weeks. From everything he’s have read, and short of cutting down trees or a mass murder of crows, it’s the laser-crow-decoy method that’s probably the most non-invasive way for everyone involved to help mitigate the problem.

 

Now, some local history … Did you know that Jacob Cowan was a physician and U.S. Representative from Ashland in the 1800s?

 

Born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, Cowan moved with his parents to Steubenville in 1835 to manufacture of woolen goods.

 

In 1846 moved to Ashland County, where he began practicing medicine. In between his career treating patients, he had two short stints in government. He served as a member of the State house of representatives 1855-1857 and then as a Democrat to congress from 1875 to 1877 where he served as chairman of the Committee on Militia.

 

He ran for another term but lost and went back to practicing medicine in Ashland until his death in 1895.

 

Next, an event you should know about. The moment of truth is looming for the Richland County Bears swim team. Since November, they’ve been practicing at Ontario High School on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. to prepare for the Northwest Region Special Olympics.

 

Now, Troy Smith the Manager of Community Education and Special Projects for Richland County Board of DD, says he’s excited to invite the public to the Northwest Region Special Olympics Swim Meet at the Friendly House this coming Sunday, Jan. 30. Registration and warmups will run from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

 

The meet will start at 11:30 a.m. There will be about 80 swimmers representing nine counties. Each swimmer is allowed to swim two events and a relay. They’ll also have the opportunity to compete in state competition at Bowling Green State University in early March.

 

Finally, we’d like to take a moment to remember Diana G. Woodrow. Diana was born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. As the self-proclaimed “favorite” grandchild she learned to cook and bake at a very young age under the guidance of her grandmother, Thelma.

 

After a brief time in Mt. Prospect, Illinois, her family moved to Mansfield in 1964. Diana attended Mansfield City Schools and graduated from Mansfield Malabar in the class of 1972. In her early adulthood she owned and operated Woody’s Bar in downtown Mansfield.

 

It was there that she met some of the colorful characters who would populate her life thereafter. She was an avid baseball fan and the Cleveland Indians were always her team. Diana worked at the Meijer store in Ontario, ending her tenure there in a management position.

 

Her most recent endeavor was as owner and operator of The Upper Crust restaurant and Grotto Hall Catering with her partner June Thorne.

 

Diana and June were married in 2016 after having been together for many years. Sadly, June passed last summer. Diana often had a crusty, “rough-edged” exterior, but if you were in her family circle she was fiercely loyal, supportive and generous to a fault.

 

Thank you for taking a moment with us today to remember and celebrate Diana’s life.