To: All Students, Faculty and Staff
From: Edward J. Blais, Director of Public Safety
Regarding: Storm Warning
This is a message to advise our campus community of a winter storm. The Regional Emergency Management Office of Franklin County informed us that they received this weather message:
The National Weather Service in Gray advises that Franklin County will receive 12+ inches of snow from Wednesday into Thursday. We will also experience very windy conditions to create blowing and drifting snow.
Please remember that if you are parked in a “daytime only” parking lot, overnight, your car will be towed for snow removal.
Also a small reminder of the town of Farmington winter parking policy, which states:
Winter Parking Ordinance
No person shall park a vehicle from 12:00 A.M. (midnight) to 6:00 A.M. on any street, public way, or Town owned or leased parking lot (i.e. Bjorn Parking Lot, Park Street Parking Lot, Park-N-Ride Parking Lot (except the front 11 spaces), Town Office Parking Lot, Community Center Parking Lot and Broadway Municipal “Kyes Square” Parking Lot), from the fifteenth (15th) day of November to the fifteenth (15th) day of April of each year or during any part of the day which would block the removal of snow. The decision to remove snow at times other than 12:00 A.M. (midnight) to 6:00 A.M. rests solely with the Public Works Director or his designee. The owner of said vehicle shall be subject to a penalty of $10.00 and/or be subject to having their vehicle towed at the owner’s expense.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
donkey story moving up in headlines
Monday, February 12, 2007
Top headline on the front page of today's Morning Sentinel: "Elusive donkey still on lam" with color photo!
By AMY CALDER
Staff Writer
PITTSFIELD -- An effort to catch an elusive donkey turned sophisticated Sunday as a woman skilled in the psychology of horses tried her hand at the challenge.
Karina Lewis saddled her horse, Beauty, and headed out over a snowy field off Higgins Road toward Jenny, the yellow donkey that has evaded captors since Jan. 18.
"Some people call me a horse whisperer; some people call me an equine psychologist," Lewis, of Benton, said. "I like to call myself a problem-solver of people and horses."
Lewis' partner, Kirk Stanley, rode beside her atop Jasper, a dark bay mule. Jenny frolicked in the snow at a distance, approaching the riders and then backing off.
"We'll be part of the herd" Lewis said. "Jenny is on every level willing to communicate. It's going to be a little bit of a pursuit there in the woods because that's where she feels superior."
Lewis and Stanley came to Mary Gaeta and Joe Varricchio's farm Sunday, eager to help like lots of others who have become sympathetic with their plight.
The couple bought Jenny just before the new year to help guard the farm from foxes, coyotes and raccoons that make off with about 60 chickens a year, according to Gaeta. Jenny escaped Jan. 18 and has been wandering around the property and neighboring fields ever since, returning daily for food -- but just out of human grasp.
"I'm worried about her running into the road and getting hit or somebody else getting hurt," Varricchio said. "I've had so many suggestions and so many people that want to come with their animals to help draw her out. It's unbelievable. Everybody wants to help."
One person who tried Sunday was Kevin Hall of TK Ranch in Newport, which specializes in miniature horses and donkeys.
Hall led his donkey, Jackson, around the field on a leash, pursuing Jenny in the snow until he returned, exhausted and breathless.
"I've never had such a hard time getting a donkey a date in my life," he said.
Lewis took a slower, gentler approach with Jenny, which she called a "hinny," a female donkey crossed with a stallion. A mule is a jackass stud crossed with a female horse, she said.
Lewis' business is called The Mirror Effect, in which she has helped people from all over the world with problems including a horse's resistance to taking a bit, to one that constantly bucked its rider off.
Lewis has a master's degree in psychology. She grew up on a ranch in Montana, where her grandfather and uncle are professional cowboys and where she spent years developing a special ability to "read" horses, mules and donkeys. She recently moved to Maine from Colorado with Stanley, who grew up in central Maine.
"She has a unique gift that's just not a learnable thing," Stanley said.
Lewis was confident they would capture Jenny Sunday. But about 30 acres of woods thick with brush and fallen trees -- and open fields with snow drifts sometimes three feet deep -- impeded their efforts. And the aloof Jenny was anything but willing to submit.
"You know, it's kind of like chasing a 700-pound rabbit," Lewis said after about three hours of coaxing. "She's about 650 to 700 pounds and she can move just like a rabbit, in and out of the brush."
But she and Stanley said they would return Tuesday to pick up where they left off. "I'm going to come back several times," Lewis said. "I'm not going to give up on this situation."
The farm, called "Mary's Gardens," was abuzz with activity Sunday morning. Two baby lambs were born in the barn, Smokey the dog trotted around the barnyard with the hens, ducks and geese, and curious spectators who had heard about the donkey on television and in newspaper reports drove in and out, taking photos and offering recommendations for capture.
Jenny seemed to enjoy the hunt, lingering near the trees and showing herself only so much to onlookers before disappearing into the woods for long periods.
"She's a smart donkey -- that's all I can say," Varricchio said.
Lewis said Jenny may be searching for her mate, from which she was separated after someone who bought the donkeys at Tilton's Auction in East Corinth sold it. Lewis said having that mate would help draw Jenny out, and she asked anyone knowing its whereabouts to contact Gaeta at the farm.
Amy Calder -- 861-9247
acalder@centralmaine.com
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