Neary-Sighted

Yours truly awoke early today to go to a couple meetings for his day job on the Long Beach Peninsula, a 2.5 hour trip or so either way. I returned this evening to a fine dinner by the better half of the Neary couplet, and then fired up the computer. I usually check emails throughout the day, so it is always interesting to read a bunch at once. It's enormously satisfying to hear from our citizens, who often 'speak' more freely by computer.

And I thought it would be a great day if I had two or more emails thanking me for advocating for community policing during our budget hearings last night.

Wow. In one day, we have an entirely new issue. The citizens are speaking out. The council email is overflowing, and transcripts of phone messages for the Council show a lot of people are talking about the idea of a deer hunt in Lakewood. We got a bunch of mail - examples are below - and one citizen even sent a photo she took in her yard, which is above.

Now, when Councilman Ron Cronk mentioned the issue a couple weeks ago, I think everyone was caught by surprise. We have some very serious issues in town - the shootings outside a business are only the most recent example. And while there are a lot of deer in Oakbrook, the animals have not come up before as a Grade A issue. The council chatted a bit and said we'd be open to hearing ideas. To be honest, I was not sure if the people suggesting hunting as one option in a populated area were serious or not. It did not matter, because the idea was going nowhere without further study.

I have to admit, when Ron and another member of his Lakewood Cares group were talking, my mind wandered and I wondered if Lakewood CARES now stands for Citizens Armed with Rifles and Explosives against Squirrels. But that was just me being smart-alecky. At most I was hoping staff would look at what other cities have done and come to us with some practical suggestions from other communities.

But what sounded like a fairly preposterous idea at the council meeting - can you imagine people with crossbows and shotguns wandering down Phillips Road? - sure sounded serious in print in the newspaper. We have received a large number of heartfelt emails and transcripts of calls, which I will share here. Now, I am just one vote of seven council members, folks, but I have trouble thinking that the way we will tackle this problem will involve hunting.

Why? Well ...

Dear Lakewood City Council,... I’m fourteen years old, you may not care about what I have to say, but I’m saying it anyways. I’m young; being a teenager is too often associated with being obnoxious, selfish, or above all, “still learning”, yet I know what is right and what is wrong. I know that letting the people of Lakewood KILL deer just for being in their yard is completely wrong. It is the most sadistic and twisted thing I’ve ever heard. The thought of it makes me want to vomit. ... I know you must ge a lot o letters like this but please, think about it an act! I know you can make the right decision. …here is my question to you: HOW WILL YOU SLEEP SOUNDLY AT NIGHT, knowing tha as you lie in your bed tons of people are whipping out their bows and arrows. Please don’t hurt the deer. They don’t deserve it. They don’t know any better You DO

I feel compelled to offer you another viewpoint on this issue. As a twenty-two year Oakbrook resident I enjoy seeing deer roam about from time to time. They are beautiful animals that harm no one. Yes, they have eaten my roses and tulips but I feel that was a small price to pay for being able to see these beautiful creatures up close. ... If it were up to me, I would fix the following issues in Oakbrook before I began hunting deer: (1) Speeding around the Onyx/Zircon loop is out of control, (2) The unpatrolled city park on Onyx is a hangout for kids who are using it for sex and drugs after dark, (3) There is an increase in junk cars and boats scattered throughout the neighborhood, (4) Houses that are for sale and vacant have been broken into by a group of teenagers, (5) Some of the rental houses are not being kept up in appearance, (6) We have had an increase in car break-ins and vandalism.

If you are intent on removing the deer, I would suggest relocating them. I for one do not want hunters in my neighborhood; I do not care how safe it is. I feel that would be the worst solution for many reasons. Will the council take responsibility if someone gets injured?

... Let us not forget that the deer are hungry and have been displaced from many of their feeding areas due to construction of new houses in Oakbrook. Remember when the whole Onyx strip from 87th Street onward was forest? I feel we as human beings can share our neighborhoods and attempt to live in harmony with these harmless creatures. Thank you.

I was absolutely appalled at the idea of allowing a bow-and-arrow hunt for deer in Oakbrook. One of the charms of living in our neighborhood is its park-like setting and diversity of wildlife, particularly the deer which come romping through our property from the adjacent canyon. Naturally, they eat my petunias and roses, but it's a small price to pay for being able to watch a mother deer and her small babies eating a leisurely breakfast. ...

Recently our grandchildren from Houston came to visit. Since they had never seen any deer except in a wildlife park, they were really excited to see a mother deer and two babies ambling through our yard. On their next visit, I hope I won't have to answer their plaintive query, "Grandma, where are all the deer?," with the answer, "Oh, they were all killed so that some people in Oakbrook can have beautiful yards."

My entire family is up in arms at the idea that they’re going to be murdering deer with bows and arrows. The obvious solution is to hire a professional to come, tranquilize them, and cart them off to Mt. Rainier where at least they have a chance of surviving. This better go no further. I tell you that this could lead to rioting in the streets of Lakewood. This is the most outrageous thing! What kind of example are we setting for these children who are already trigger-happy with their computer games! If we have men up in trees with bows and arrows murdering animals, we’re going to have little boys behind hedges murdering dogs and cats. If this goes any further, it’s just going to get ugly.

I’m calling about the article about the deer. A bow and arrow season is just about the silliest thing we’ve every heard of, and we certainly want to register our disapproval. The animals were here first. We’re sitting on their territory and if they come through ours, we just need to sit back and enjoy it.

And certainly one of the most potent phone messages was this one, simply because it said so much so simply:

The article concerns shooting the deer. I am not only opposed to this, but I think it’s ridiculous, it’s dangerous, and it’s absolutely ludicrous. ... Thank you very much. Bye.
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