OCTOBER 5, 2011 WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
NEWSMAGAZINENETWORK.COM
I NEWS I 17
Town & Country
Latest legislation would authorize sharpshooting of 300 deer Vote scheduled for Oct. 10
Residents said they wanted the city to consider cost as a factor before making any By CASEY GODWIN decision. A deer management plan that has been “I want the cheapest method,” Town & shunned by some Town & Country resi- County resident Dennis Fitzgerald said at dents received little fireworks at the Sept. the meeting. “It’s clear to me in the long 26 Town & Country Board of Aldermen run, Aldermen Gerber’s mathemathimeeting. cal model is far cheaper than a just lethal Aldermen held a first reading of a bill method.” that would contract White Buffalo Inc. to Gerber said his proposed plan would euthanize up to 300 unmarked deer. After cost the city roughly $162,500 over two the reading, there was no further discussion. Residents again raised concerns that the proposed deer management plan did not contain sterilization and stated that safety was a concern. In the proposed bill, sharpshooting can only occur from elevated stands and no less than 50 yards from inhabited buildings or livestock. According to a report prepared by Town & Country Police Capt. Gary Hoelzer, the deer population within the city limits was found to be about 650. The ultimate goal is to bring the population down to 300 in the next two years in hopes that the reduction will significantly reduce the number of deer-vehicle crashes that occur each year. The proposed plan, developed by Hoelzer, was one of two options recently presented at a board of aldermen work session. Alderman Al Gerber (Ward 2) had presented an alternative plan that included sterilization preceeding any lethal control methods.
years, based on 2010 cost estimates. After the first two years, sharpshooting would no longer be required and the only costs the city would incur would be to sterilize a small number of deer each year. The proposed bill would allocate $138,000 from the general fund to be used toward 2012 deer population control. Hoelzer said that contracting with White Buffalo for two years would cost about $130,000. The city would also have to pay about $31,000
each year in processing fees to Share the Harvest, a program administered by the Missouri Department of Conservation that provides a way to donate venison to the needy. “Sharpshooting will cost less in the short run,” Gerber said in an email. “My argument has always been that sterilization is a long-term investment.” The board plans to hold a final vote on the proposal at its next meeting on Oct. 10.
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Priory student dies after being struck by SUV By TED DIXON JR. A 13-year-old boy who was struck by a vehicle while jogging on Conway Road died two days later as the result of injuries sustained in the accident. Creve Coeur Police Sgt. Jeff Chellis said that around 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 28, Brandon Hsueh, a member of the St. Louis Priory School cross country team, was jogging eastbound with his team on Conway when he may have stumbled and lost his footing and was struck by an oncoming SUV. Police responded to the scene, and Hsueh, of Ladue, was transported to Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur. Chellis said Hsueh later was airlifted to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center in St. Louis because of the seriousness of his injuries. He succumbed to those injuries at 12:50 a.m. Fri., Sept. 30. Chellis said a preliminary investigation indicated that the driver of the car that struck Hsueh was not at fault in the accident. The accident at press time remains under investigation.
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