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Bears Around Adair - Bear Board officially organized 2020-07-12 - Adair County, KY - Photo from archives of Columbia Magazine. Back in the day, in 1996, these were the men who first joined Ed Waggener, CEO, in forming the official Columbia Blue Ribbon Bear Board to answer these questions: are there bears in Adair County? Where? What kind are they? Could they be descendants of Haskin Coomer's Hobart Bear? Are they a friendly sort of bear? If not, what precautions should be taken with children, pets, small livestock, and tourists? Should bears come under planning & zoning? Gary Coomer, top left, "the Dean of the Bear Board, lives on Bennett Ridge, smack dab in the middle of Likely Black Bear Country. To the north lies the Dean Woods, where there have been Bear Sightings. To the East rises Meatskin Road, then Harvey and Sparks and Independent and Greenbrier Ridges; next, Dirigo, Hwy 704, rich in bear lore; then northern Cumberland County-and beyond, more Cumberland County. Thence to Clinton, through heavily forested Wayne County, and thence, eastward to McCreary County, the most westward confirmed black bear county in Kentucky. Bill Ballou, lower left, "Because of his extraordinary qualifications, this legendary lawman cum Circuit Court Clerk is the only Bear Board Member at Large. Mr. Ballou knows bears inside out. And he respects them. "I killed a bear at the head of Big Runnix (Renox to sissies) when I was young," he remembers. "It was me or him. If I had had my gun, I would have shot him. But I didn't. I picked up a big stick and slew him with one blow between the eyes...". Johnny Vaughn, at right, "...has actually killed two bears, and has pictures to prove it. He will be responsible for the Fishers' Ford Sector of Adair County and the Fountain area below his office on the Columbia Public Square." Clicking 'read more' will take you to the story of the formation in 1996 of the official board, more members and more reasons why men felt it a vital necessity. Read More... | Permalink | Comments?

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