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Ottumwa Publishing
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•••••AUGUST 24, 2022•••••
Trade Offs We have two dogs on guard at all times, except of course when they are sleeping. Jag, the terrier, is the outside dog, while Billie, the poodle, guards from inside the house. Before we go to bed in the evening, both dogs check the perimeter, making sure everything is secure. Jag then goes to his chair on the porch and Billie retires to his bed at the foot of our bed. All is well if not a creature is stirring. Unfortunately, this rarely happens. A deer will walk into the yard which sends Jag flying out of his chair, barking ferociously as he runs off the deer. This not only wakes us up, it causes Billie to jump up and look out of the window. If he sees something or Jag continues to bark as when he has a raccoon treed, Billie will start to bark, eager to go help his little buddy drive off or capture the intruder. Needless to say, it is difficult to sleep with a dog barking outside one’s bedroom window. It is impossible to sleep with a large dog barking a few feet away from a person’s bed. My wife and I have (Outdoors cont’d on pg 2)
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AUGUST 24, 2022
Ray’s Longbranch Homemade 1/2 lb. Tenderloins & Hamburgers Drakesville, IA • 722-3355
(Outdoors cont’d from pg 1)
discussed possible solutions to our problem and have come up with no good solutions, only trade-offs. Leaving things as they were was not an option. We will always have wildlife enter our yard and dogs will protect us from them. Trying to train Jag to not bark at everything in the darkness would be impossible. He is doing what a dog is supposed to do and at his age and state of mind, I am sure we could not train him to quit. We finally decided to lock Jag in the garage at night. It meant risking the loss of flowers and bushes to deer and rabbits, but that seemed to us to be an acceptable trade for a full night’s sleep. Jag sleeps in the garage on his bed when it is cold or storming, so the new routine was
not too difficult of an adjustment for him. If something or someone were to try to get into the garage, Jag comes unglued. Likewise, if something is close enough to the house that Billie can hear it, we will be made aware. The new system seems to be working out well, at least for our sleep. There have been a few casualties concerning the vegetation in the yard. Deer seem to be especially fond of hosta plants and rose of Sharon bushes. I was not surprised at the rose of Sharon as they get well pruned by the deer during the evenings in the winter when Jag is keeping warm in the garage. The bushes are about ten years old. They should be eight to ten feet tall and full of flowers. Due to their
severe annual pruning, most of them are one to two feet tall and some have one or two blooms on them. What we will now have is year around pruning which may result in the untimely demise of the poor little bushes. The hostas are not fairing much better. They seem to be pruned back even with the ground whenever they send out a new leaf. I do not thing they will survive. It would be nice to let dogs run free at night, but this is impossible. It would also be nice if the deer would stay out of the yard or at least not eat the things we plant. This to is not going to happen. Under the circumstances, we are willing to accept the trade off it takes to get a full night’s sleep.
AUGUST 24, 2022
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Warrant Wednesday
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Wapello County has over 500 active warrants. Warrant Wednesday’s are designed to help law enforcement locate wanted persons, with the public’s help. Do NOT attempt to apprehend these individuals. Instead, call the Ottumwa Police Department at (641) 683-0661 or Wapello County Sheriff ’s Department at (641) 684-4350 if you have any information on their whereabouts. Your tips can be made anonymously.
Name: Angela Jacqueline Acebedo DOB: 09/28/1998 Warrant Issued: 02/24/2022 Warrant Details: Failure to Appear Original Charge: Theft 4th Degree
Name: Devon Joseph Danger DOB: 07/19/1999 Warrant Issued: 08/03/2022 Warrant Details: Failure to Appear Original Charge: OWI 3rd Offense
Name: Oscar Madueno DOB:07/16/1993 Warrant Issued: 08/19/2022 Warrant Details: Failure to Appear Original Charge: Criminal Mischief 4th Degree
Name: Rikkia Carlissa Starks DOB: 06/13/1998 Warrant Issued: 08/15/2022 Warrant Details: Failure to Appear Original Charge: Possession of a Controlled Substance 2nd Offense
The Best of The Wurst Mom had a handoperated meat grinder for as long as I can remember. It was a cast aluminum device that could be mounted on the edge of a work table or countertop. A threaded bolt was clamped to the underside of the work surface to hold the grinder firmly in place. It had an aluminum crank with a wooden handle to turn the auger. A small hopper was on the top to feed meat, or whatever you were grinding, to the auger. Mom could grind anything with that gadget. I first remember Mom using the grinder at Thanksgiving. After boiling the turkey neck and giblets with onion, celery, herbs, and spices, Mom would have one of the kids pick the meat from the neck. Then she would run it and the other giblets through the grinder, preparing them to go in the dressing. After that, Mom would put a slice of bread through to push all the meat from the auger. Mom’s dressing was always outstanding. She used the grinder for more than just turkey stuffing. She would also use this kitchen tool to pour a bag of fresh cranberries, a quartered apple, and an orange (with the rind) into the hopper. After grinding the fresh fruits and adding a little sugar, she had the best fresh cranberry relish in the world. Mom always made the relish the day before Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter so that the flavors would have time to blend together. After a big holiday meal, Mom would gather leftover scraps of ham or turkey and run them through the grinder. Then she would add diced onion, celery, garlic, and other seasonings and stir in mayonnaise or Miracle Whip. Oh, and dill pickle relish – a ham salad sandwich wouldn’t be complete without dill relish…and maybe some diced hard-boiled eggs, too. Mmm. I swear Mom made the best ham salad sandwich ever! Mom usually used scraps and leftovers in the grinder, but I remember one time
AUGUST 24, 2022
she cooked whole chicken breasts just to run them through the gadget. Then, she added her veggies, seasoning, and mayo. Next, she added pecan pieces, sliced green grapes, and dried cranberries to the mixture. “Why did you put all that in there,” I asked?
a few top pieces, I could grab one or two from the bottom, replace the top sandwiches, and she would never know the difference.”
Mom set the plate in a round, shallow Tupperware container. She pressed on the top, then ‘burped’ the lid. “And,” Mom added, “that half sandwich may be your last meal if any pieces are missing when I come back downstairs.” Mom turned to go upstairs to get dressed for her luncheon. She paused at the first step, “I’m not kidding, Thomas. Leave them alone.”
A friend once said, “Liverwurst is one of those foods that looks bad and smells bad, but I eat it anyway.” So it’s kind of like canned cat foot: it looks and smells terrible, but cats eat it, so it must be good, right?
A little voice of logic spoke to me, “She will know.” So, considering the inevitable consequences, I decided to replace the lid, leaving “I’m taking this to a well enough alone. Beluncheon with my sides, it wouldn’t be fair women’s group,” she to sneak a piece from said. “Hand me that loaf of bread, please.” I Mom’s platter of fancy handed her the bread. sandwiches. I mean, there was even a doily Mom cut the crust away and saved them on the green glass to use later. Then she plate under them. But spread the chicken sal- not all the sandwiches ad on the wheat bread. Mom made with the She topped them with grinder were fancy. leaves of lettuce, then cut the sandwiches into When money was tight, as it often was fancy triangles. in a large family, Mom would go to the groI offered my unsoliccery store to buy two ited opinion: “I’ll bet or three pounds of the women in your bulk bologna from the group aren’t going to like it with all that extra meat counter. Then, at home, she would cube stuff in there.” Mom didn’t reply, so I offered the processed meat and turn it through the some advice. “Maybe you should have put it grinder. Then Mom added diced onion, on white bread.” She celery, and such. On a finished neatly stacksummer’s day picnic, ing the triangle sandwiches on a decorative those bologna salad sandwiches were as plate. There were a delicious as the fancy few extra pieces, so sandwiches she made Mom handed me one for the women’s club. I and took one for herstill like some of Mom’s self. ‘budget’ sandwiches I must admit, they were the best. very delicious – even with the extra nuts and Lately, I have been craving liverwurst. I’m fruits that didn’t seem like they should be on the only one in my a sandwich. I gobbled house who likes it, so I went to the store and the morsel right up, grabbed the last piece bought a small piece from the cutting board, of liverwurst in the and ate it. I reached for mustard yellow colored wrapper. I sliced another triangle from the plate Mom had pre- the Braunschweiger pared, but she slapped thick at home and put my hand away. “Don’t it on bread with a liberal amount of Miracle even think about it,” Whip. It made for a she warned. quick sandwich, and the distinct flavor was “Come on, Mom. I very satisfying. Unonly had two pieces,” I pleaded. “That’s only fortunately, it seems people either love liverhalf a sandwich. I’m wurst or hate it. still hungry.”
The liverwurst brought back memories. You probably guessed it: Mom would run liverwurst through the meat grinder. Then, add some onion, dill pickle relish, seasoning, and Miracle Whip, and oh, what a sandwich it made.
Because she used my formal first name, I knew she meant what she said. However, since she didn’t use my I wonder what ever middle name with it, I figured there might be happened to that old meat grinder with the a little wiggle room. hand crank? With that grinder, Mom could When Mom was out even make liverwurst of sight, I opened the Tupperware to peek in- delicious. One might side. Then I calculated, say she made the best “If I carefully removed or the wurst.