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Barnstable Patriot
Barnstable, Massachusetts
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October 6, 2006     Barnstable Patriot
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October 6, 2006
 
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Town 'eyes' solution to goop generated by geese Athletes, coaches say problems are piling up By David Beatty news@barnstablepatriot.com —i i ¦ DAVIDSTILL II PHOTO FOUR WHEELS OF RELIEF - Joe Capello of the school maintenance department is helping reduce the number of geese on fields around the middle and high schools with this remote-controlled truck. The eyes help menace the birds. KATHLEEN SZMIT PHOTC DOING DAMAGE - Both working ends of resident Canada geese around Barnstable High and Middle schools are causing problems. The birds are eating the fields down to dirt and polluting with the residuals. A pair of large, dark eyes patrolled the fields around Barnstable High School this week, spooking Canada geese at 30 miles per hour. It's not a new sport, but a'strategy to end a long- standingfeud between the school maintenance depart- ment and a growing gaggle of resident geese whose eliminations have become a nuisance. School facilities manager Joe Slominski deployed a high-quality,remote-con- trolled vehicle this week - about the size of a cat -that features a large piece of foam with a painted pair of large, intimidating eyes. Slominski explained that the geese fear the eyes and scatter when they see them coming. Joe Capello, a mainte- nance department aide, drives the vehicle across the middle and high school fields each morning, and it appears to be working. "Geese are lazy," said Slominski. "They don't like to fly around; they just like to land and eat. I hope they land in Harwich." Slominski said the aver- age goose deposits between two and four pounds of excrement daily.This means that the Barnstable athletic fields capture dozens upon dozens of pounds of waste on a typical day. Adding to Slominki's maintenance headache is that for every pound that a goose relinquishes, it must amass at least a pound more, most of which is eaten off of the playing fields. This results in pockets of grass- less areas. Health Concerns for Athletes Paul "Spanky" Demanche, BHS head football coach for the past 18years, believes the goose problem to be more than just an unpleasant bother of the early season. He considers it a heath hazard. "The kids get infections and rashes, and I've got to think that ^i ^i BlkW goose dung is a factor," said I Demanche. I Tom I McKean, ¦ director ¦ of public ¦ health ¦ for the ¦ Town of Barnstable, said that goose feces can cause viral infec- tions and gastrointestinal disease, and even spread Hepatitis A. The waste is most dangerous when ingest- ed or put in contact with an open wound. The best way to avoid contracting a virus is to keep clean, and wash your hands as often as possible. It's tough for Barnstable athletes to avoid the mess entirely, given that, for the last several years, large con- gregations of Canada Geese have taken up residence on the expansive grounds of BHS. They feed on the acres of well-maintained grass, ^ drink from small neigh- boring ponds, and finally relieve themselves, pretty much, wherever they please, which, more often than not, is on the athletic fields. A Stubborn Problem The obvious solution is to simply get rid of the geese. But that's been easier said than done. BHS Athletic Direc- tor Steve Francis said his department has been trying to evict the birds for the six years he has been A.D. In previous years they have employed wooden dog like- nesses and even Francis' own Shetland sheepdog, but all unsuccessfully. "It takes a persistent ef- fort ," said Francis. "We've even tried chasing them with a golf cart." Senior Jackie Hapenny, a co-captain of the varsity girls soccer team, describes the situation as "annoying. You need to look before you sit." But the excrement is impossible to avoid entirely, and that is what concerns Francis. Athletes with cuts or open sores could easily get infected. Bess Doherty, head coach of the field hockey team, said that the girls on her team don't complain about their unpleasant situation, and "have, sort of, learned to live with it." Despite this, Doherty is quick to mention that the profuse amount of waste does make for an "uncom- fortable environment." And the geese are getting bolder. As the gaggles grow and continue to inhabit the school grounds relatively undisrupted, Demanche has noticed a change in their attitude. "The geese have become more brazen," he said. Through his 21 years at BHS Demanche only began to see a serious goose problem in the last six or seven years, during which it has intensi- fied dramatically. "We need to look at alter- natives for the health and safety of our student ath- letes," Demanche said. SrV. 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