The Auburn Plainsman A Spirit That Is Not Afraid www.theplainsman.com
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Vol. 117, Issue 31, 8 Pages
Whoot let the owls out? Auburn center prepares to release recovered owlets Brandon Miller Writer
The Southeastern Raptor Rehabilitation Center in Auburn is most well known for being home to Auburn’s eagles that fly before each home football game. However, the center also takes in hundreds of orphaned and injured birds each year. Recent storms have resulted in numerous orphaned owls being sent to the center, and these owls are being prepared to be released shortly. “Some of these (birds) came in from the storm that we had a couple of weeks ago that was really bad,” said Eva Matthews, veterinary technician for the Raptor Center. “Other ones were just orphan owls that were found
Nicole Singleton / SPORTS EDITOR
Liz Crandall, rehabilitation specialist with the Raptor Center, said the center will set a release date when the owls are ready to be released in August. in the area, and people brought them into us.” According to Matthews, some of the birds brought in because of the storm were screech, great horned
and barred owlets, as well as red shoulder hawks. “The nests were knocked down, and the parents were not seen,” Matthews said. “So, people brought them
into us.” These young raptors came from cities including Wetumpka and Pine Mountain, Ga. Raptors at the center
normally come from a 100mile radius of Auburn, unless another center cannot take care of an injured bird and send it to Auburn. “Each year in the spring season, we take on a lot of fledglings and nestlings,” said Liz Crandall, rehabilitation specialist. “Most of the time, they were not orphaned or abandoned, they were perfectly healthy birds that were being raised by their parents.” Often, people will see birds on the ground and assume they are orphans. They take them to the Raptor Center, which receives about 200 raptors each year, Crandall said. “We try to discourage that,” Crandall said. “Songbirds, hawks and owls are on the ground for a month or more—trying to learn how to hunt, how to fly and things like that—before they become completely independent of their parents.” When fledglings are received, the employees and volunteers at the Raptor Center place the new bird with a foster parent. “A foster parent is basically a bird that for some reason is not able to be released,” Matthews said. “When we put them with the fosters, they teach them to hate people. That’s the way we get them ( fledglings) to make sure they
aren’t imprinted toward people, so we can release them back into the wild safely.” Before the fledglings can be released, they must learn all the skills needed to survive on their own. The foster parent helps the fledgling more than humans could with this act. If the bird is fully healthy from arrival, the process takes three months on average, Crandall said. “I can’t teach an owl how to hunt a live mouse,” Crandall said. “We just hope for the best.” Rehabilitating raptors can become an emotional job, which is one reason Matthews said the orphans are not named, but rather given numbers. “One of my favorite birds is going to be released this summer, and I know I’m going to cry,” Matthews said. “He had two broken arms and was shot. To know I helped him back to full health means a lot to me.” With such a small number of staff members, volunteers are important to the Raptor Center. Anyone interested can apply. After a short orientation, volunteers can choose ways to assist the staff with work around the center. “The volunteers run this place,” Matthews said. “We couldn’t do it without them.”
Farming, farmers’ markets a family tradition for some Natalie Yarid News Editor
During the summer months, warm weather and a common interest bring people together. Family and friends alike have gathered in downtown Opelika for their common interest, local farming. Harrison and Peggy Bryce are witnesses and participants of this gathering. The Bryces have been farming together for 50 years. Harrison initially had the idea, and Peggy encouraged expansion and increasing the variety of foods on the farm. Harrison worked with the horticulture department at Auburn University for more than 20 years, and Peggy worked for the AU Bookstore for 15 years. After the couple retired from the University, they began solely focusing on the Bryce Farm. The Bryce farm is located in Salem, approximately 10 miles from Opelika. The Bryces look forward to
Natalie Yarid / News Editor
Harrison and Peggy Bryce sell produce to customers at the Opelika farmers’ market. selling their fruits and vegetables at the Opelika farmers’ market each summer. They said the people are friendly and they love the environment. The Opelika farmers’ mar-
ket has been around for many years, but this year it has a new location. The market will now be located at the Opelika Courthouse square. Pam Powers-Smith, director of Opelika Main Street, said the change of location, from South Railroad Avenue to the Courthouse square, will offer a more relaxed environment. “There are no lines and the parking is really easy,” PowersSmith said. Powers-Smith said she hopes the market will bring more shopping to downtown Opelika. The market is held every Tuesday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., and usually lasts through the beginning of August. It is a cash-only market. The proceeds go directly to each farmer, and a small percentage goes toward advertisement for the market. Each week different farmers » See Markets, A2
Blakely Sisk / Photo Staff
The Auburn Tigers national championship team met with President Barack Obama at the White House June 8.
Obama welcomes Tigers to White House Tuesday Crystal Cole Managing Editor
The Auburn family invaded the White House Wednesday, many hoisting the signature orange and blue shakers. President Barack Obama invited the 2010 Auburn Tigers football team to the White House for a ceremony honoring the team’s national championship season. The ceremony was a light-heart-
ed event, with Obama even receiving a chest bump from wide-receivers coach Trooper Taylor. The president congratulated the team on its first championship since before he was born. “And I’m getting quite a bit of gray hair,” Obama said. “So that was a long wait for Tiger fans.” » Read the rest online at
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City of Auburn debates 1 percent sales tax increase at Tuesday’s meeting Natalie Yarid News Editor
The Auburn City Council is two weeks away from voting on a sales-tax ordinance. The council will vote on a 1 percent sales tax increase at the June 21 meeting. Sheila Eckman, City Council Ward #2, said the eight council members and mayor will each vote in the process. She said it has been four or five years since a tax increase has occurred in Auburn, and the council
will do all within its power to reassure the process is done correctly. There are many reasons the council is considering the ordinance, but it all boils down to one thing. “We need more money,” Eckman said. Bill Ham, mayor of Auburn, said there are three main areas in Auburn where the money is needed. These departments are economic development, the public school system and infrastructure.
The combined total of funds needed to complete these projects is about $45 million. Ham said the economic developments Auburn needs will cost approximately $17 million. Some of the money generated by the 1 percent tax increase would be used to complete construction of West Tech Park, off exit 51 of I-85. Ham said some companies are waiting for the park to be finished before they move business to Auburn.
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The second area in need of money is the public school system. There has been a continued increase in enrollment at Auburn schools, which has pressed the city to build a new elementary school. This project will cost between $19 and $20 million. The last of the three major departments in need of financial help is infrastructure. The enlargement of the I-85 bridge on Moores Mill Road, an
$8 million project, would be funded by the 1 percent tax increase. “Everyone wants the city to be as lean as possible,” said Lolly Steiner, president of the Auburn Chamber of Commerce. Steiner said during these weeks, the council has been meeting with the Chamber of Commerce to ensure it is doing what is best for Auburn’s citizens by keeping costs low. At the City Council meeting on June 7, no one from the commu» See Increase, A2 Recycled paper