Westwood Elementary kids ‘stick together’

The rangers found the two bucks in the water at Beaver Creek, struggling to free themselves from a net of rope that entangled them.

“We figure that one buck already had the net in its horns, and ran into another deer with antlers and the two decided to tangle,” Lorain County Metro Parks Director Jim Ziemnik said.

It’s not clear exactly where the material was from or how it became stuck in the antlers of the first deer, but Detrick said it was clearly rope formed into a net.

He speculated that it may have been part of a net trap set by someone hoping to “shed hunt” which is collecting the antlers of deer that are shed in the winter.

The exact circumstance was unusual, but deer getting their antlers stuck together while sparring is not uncommon.

Oftentimes, at least one of the bucks in this situation is put down because they will fight against would-be rescuers.

But on Feb. 20, the rangers present wanted to try and keep both bucks alive.

“They said let’s see if we can free these guys and not have to put one of them down,” Chief Ranger Paul Hruby said. “And Mark was all over that, and kind of spearheaded the effort.”

JEFF BARNES | The Chronicle-Telegram Wellington’s Westwood Elementary students pledged to “stick together” as part of the district’s Kindland campaign rally on Feb. 23. Rallies have been held

So Detrick, a military veteran, said he started thinking outside the box.

He could tell the material tying the antlers together was rope, and he knew he could cut it with the pocket knife he had. But getting close enough to do so would be unsafe.

Ranger Dakota Loop was also there and grabbed some twine from his vehicle while Detrick found a discarded 2-by-2 post about 8 feet long on the creek bed.

Detrick attached his knife to the end of the rope with the twine and eventually reinforced it with duct tape provided by Amherst police.

“I ran across the creek and I attempted once by myself with my, uh, stickknife device to try to cut them away,” Detrick said. “But I only got a couple cuts before they started getting rowdy again.”

Loop grabbed a catch pole designed for dog catching and Capt. Dustin Frey joined to hem the deer in place, while Detrick went back to work with his contraption.

“We were kind of able to keep them in a certain area,” Detrick said. “Ranger Loop and Captain Frey held on to the catch pole to control the deer while I worked the knife to try and cut away the netting.”

After a five-minute struggle, both deer were freed from the rope, and from each other.

The larger of the bucks took off after a shorter additional struggle to get it out of the catch pole. But the smaller deer had lost an antler and remained on the ground.

The rangers worried it had been hurt, but as Frey approached to retrieve his body camera, which had become unclipped in the fray, the smaller deer popped up and took off as well.

Though Detrick came up with the idea to add distance to the knife, he emphasized he would not have been able to free the deer without the help of his fellow rangers at the scene.

It was a strange and stressful afternoon, but the rangers were thrilled to see both bucks walk away unscathed.

“I was very, very happy,” Detrick said. “Because that thought of having to dispatch the deer did cross our minds. But we did our due diligence to try and not have to do that, and it paid off this time. It was just a little bit of Boy Scout and military ingenuity at work.”

3-year-old Ashton Taylor dies after cancer battle

and playing and running.”

A 3-year-old Elyrian who captured the hearts of many while suffering with terminal cancer died Feb. 23 evening, the family announced on social media.

Ashton Taylor suffered from an aggressive form of brain cancer with his family documenting his journey on social media through their Facebook page, Ashton’s Army. In a Friday morning post, the family announced Ashton’s death with an image of a sunset.

“Ashton is driving Jeeps all around Heaven right now. When we saw the sunset we knew it was Ashton’s time, I knew Granny painted that sunset for him. He passed in my arms tonight with his whole family around him. Our hearts have never hurt so bad but we know he is cancer free

The page is managed by Ashton’s parents, Tara and Joe Taylor. In a separate, previous post, they had written that Ashton was still fighting hard, describing him as a true warrior and loving him until his time came.

Diagnosed after his first birthday, Ashton underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy, but found joy in Jeeps, riding his batteryoperated Jeep around the neighborhood.

In June, 160 Jeep owners from multiple states gathered in Elyria for a Jeep parade, giving Ashton a ride to Sheffield at Quaker Steak and Lube.

Elyria Mayor Frank Whitfield offered his condolences on behalf of the city in his weekly update video posted to Facebook. Three weeks ago, Whitfield presented Ashton with a junior key to the city for his fight against brain cancer.