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Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
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Fireworks, thunder and things that go bump in the night By Linda Waggener Fireworks boomed, thunder rumbled, and something crashed on the back porch. It was past bedtime when I heard a thud and then a crash on the back porch. Fireworks had been booming all around town for two days and thunder rumbled from passing storms, yet this sound was different and worrisome. I tried to assume it was just animals searching for food but it kept happening every few minutes. Using the "hue" gift from my friend Connie, I turned on the back porch light from my cell phone and thought, "Ha, that will surprise and stop the noise maker." It did not. Random crashes and thuds continued. So I got up, went to the back door holding a steak knife for self-defense, and eased the curtain open enough to see four - count them, FOUR - young raccoons on different shelves climbing over and around my stuff - ok, clutter - on the porch shelves. Raccoons. Four of them! The light hadn't bothered them at all. I rattled the storm door several times, fiercely, thinking that would surely rattle them and get them running! Four raccoons paused what they were doing, looked in my noise-making direction for merely a second, then went right back to pilfering. One was on the very top of the shelves, tossing down flat items stored out of the way up there. One commanded a position on the next shelf down and two were positioned on shelves at either side! I slammed the heavy inside door hard, furiously, as I do when I really want to have the final word on something... but they went right on with their thieving ways. Do raccoons laugh? More items crashed from the shelves to the porch floor as I watched from inside the door in amazement and continued to make noise in hopes it would communicate that they were not wanted. Blue the Cat came to stand near the door with me. Together we observed the masked bandits who continued to climb up, over and around the shelves, knocking off garden shears, hose, books, the cat carrier, paint cans, the grandkid's sidewalk chalk and games. They literally ripped open, chewed and pulled the stuffing out of Blue’s cat bed. They had eaten half of a lime green hand exerciser squeeze ball before realizing it didn’t have much taste and tossing the rest of it to the porch floor. It, and the other items they'd knocked off the shelves, lay scattered along the path to the carport. I remembered a friend's suggestion to get rid of bully stray cats - ones that need to get the message they can't take over the territory of the resident cats - suggesting that strays would run away from being spritzed with water. I happened to have a spray bottle handy filled with vinegar and water for cleaning in the kitchen. I opened the door just far enough to hold it out, sent out a long spray that got near a couple of them and it actually got their attention! I kept it up. It got them ambling toward the end of the shelves. Wonderful - this was so much better than rattling the storm door off its hinges! At last, after everything left on the shelves and a couple of the raccoons, smelled of vinegar, one by one they clumsily exited the shelves and lumbered under the car toward the exit from the carport. It was 11:30pm and we were exhausted from the battle. The spoils would wait until morning to clean up. Blue the Cat walked slowly toward his Honda after the last one of them disappeared. I asked him to be in charge from his perch on the car hood and make sure the raccoons didn't eat the tires off it. This story was posted on 2019-07-07 01:10:23
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Adair Democratic Party Executive Committee meets Monday Fire Department now taking fire dues for 2019-2020 Chamber of Commerce meeting Tue 9 July 2019 Camp Dry Creek VBS at Great Oaks Ministries Vacation Bible School at Bloomington Chapel Church Free books at Auntie's Craft Corner RIDES: EV charging stations will be able to grow in KY FM2 Pageant scheduled for Saturday, 20 July 2019 Hungry Kids Cafe menu for tomorrow, 6 July 2019 Families offered information about Organ Donation View even more articles in topic News |
 
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