CARL JUNCTION, Mo. —
Don’t feed the geese in Carl Junction.
Or the ducks.
The City Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance prohibiting the feeding of geese and ducks at any of the city’s parks, citing a public health concern.
“This has been precipitated by some people who live along the side of lakes,” Mayor Mike Moss told the council. “Some of their neighbors are feeding them, which is encouraging more waterfowl.”
Waste left behind by the waterfowl is polluting the yards and driveways of nearby residents and causing nutrient loading in the lake, Moss said.
Moss said the problem stemmed from an Airport Drive resident who fed Canada geese for years, which caused them to stay in the area rather than migrate. Moss believes that with that person’s death, the waterfowl just moved to nearby bodies of water, including those in Carl Junction parks.
After a brief discussion, the council unanimously approved the ordinance. Signs are to be installed in coming weeks.
“Everyone wants them gone,” said City Administrator Steve Lawver.
The city of Pittsburg, Kan., faced a similar issue in June 2009, when public health officials deemed the population of waterfowl at Lakeside Park unsafe, and a wildlife biologist with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks said an abundance of nitrates from waterfowl feces was polluting the lake.
Pittsburg city commissioners approved a plan to capture and relocate the majority of waterfowl in Lakeside Park and ordered signs installed prohibiting any feeding of the birds.
In other business, the Carl Junction council:
• Approved an ordinance at the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission that shortens the site plan review procedure. Now, anyone who has previously completed preliminary site plans and obtained building permits, and then wants to add on to those plans does not have to go through the entire review procedure for approval.
• Approved acceptance of updated flood plain maps used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the State Emergency Management Agency. Lawver said Carl Junction “came out on the good side” during recent map updates in comparison with some other area communities where land was added to the flood plains. “We had some shrinkage of the flood plain in areas that were borderline,” he told the council.
Moving court
CARL JUNCTION COUNCIL MEMBERS on Tuesday heard about a plan to move Municipal Court from 302 N. Main St. (inside the police station) to the Carl Junction Community Center. City Administrator Steve Lawver said the move is dependent on the city finding funding. He said the court likely would be relocated to a space between City Hall and the gymnasium. The move is necessary, council members agreed, to provide police with more training and storage space. Officials will meet next week with a design service to discuss options.
Local News
Carl Junction ordinance bans feeding of waterfowl
- Local News
-
-
Registration continues for Get Fit TRYathlon in Pittsburg
On average, it costs more than $600 to match one child with an adult volunteer in the Crawford County Big Brothers Big Sisters program. Four years ago, the Get Fit TRYathlon was born as a fundraiser for the program, and it has been gaining momentum, organizers say.
-
Council to consider condemnation measures for widening projects
The Joplin City Council on Monday night will consider ordinances for proposed condemnation proceedings on five pieces of property that are needed for three street widening projects.
-
Andra Bryan Stefanoni: The story of two engines that could
It’s hard not to be enamored by trains if you grew up where I did. Pittsburg is crisscrossed by rail lines, as are many Southeast Kansas towns that were built on the backs of coal miners.
-
Jo Ellis: Mudslinging can be fun when it’s in the hands of kids
CARTHAGE, Mo. — It’s slick. It’s sticky. It’s goopy. It’s soupy. It’s Mudstock 2013, and it’s going to be so much fun for kids. But hold on. Carthage police Chief Greg Dagnan said Mudstock isn’t just for kids. “Adults go through it all the time, and they have just as much fun,” he said, adding, “I think.”
-
‘Lucky ’13’: 481 graduate from Joplin High School
Samantha Mahurin believes students in the Joplin High School class of 2013 are unique in that they have survived — together — what she calls the “roller coaster” of their high school career.
-
Announcements, picnics, tributes all scheduled for tornado anniversary event
Wednesday’s second anniversary observance of the May 22, 2011, tornado that devastated the Joplin and Duquesne area is expected to include several key announcements.
-
Susan Redden: Lawmakers pass bills to benefit veterans
Joplin area legislators scored some victories the last week of the Missouri General Assembly’s session, but if anyone is keeping count, the record has to go to Rep. Charlie Davis.
-
Interfaith services an outgrowth of 2011 tornado in Joplin
Celebrating community and rebuilding, members of three faiths came together Sunday at the Landreth Park amphitheater as part of an ongoing interfaith effort that came out of the aftermath of the May 22, 2011, tornado.
-
FACES OF RECOVERY: 176,869 volunteers help put Joplin together again
They initially came in droves, pouring into Joplin by the thousands during the months following the May 2011 tornado to clear debris, clean up damaged homes and businesses and distribute donations of food, water, clothing and other necessities.
-
Civil War committee honors sacrifice of soldiers ambushed at Rader Farm
Dozens of local residents gathered Saturday at the Rader Farm on the 150th anniversary of the massacre of 15 soldiers of the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry and three white soldiers from the 2nd Kansas Volunteer Artillery Battery by guerrilla Confederate forces.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Registration continues for Get Fit TRYathlon in Pittsburg
