2-26-03

By Jerry Eicher

Dear Editor,

On the front page of which the Herald reports the resignation of Chairman Sanderson from the Cumberland County Democratic Committee over the zoning controversy on the biosolids facility, it also reports about the problem with loose dogs after officer Bappert gets bitten by a pit bull. That is not what I want to talk about though, but about our bear problem that is also reported on the same front page. That is right, our bear problem. I am assuming it is the same one that has been in our back yard, unless we have two or more bears in the Hampton Sydney area.

I hope people are not missing what is going on. We have bears within four miles of the town of Farmville. Is Farmville located in the mountains where bears are supposed to be? No, it is located in populated, rural Virginia. Is Hampton Sydney located in the sticks that bears are roaming the edge of the college grounds? No, it is a reputable institution that has long ago left the wilderness both in academia and location. Why then do we have bears in Hampton Sydney and in our backyard that lies on a road populated by residences all in sight of each other? We have them because someone who thinks they know better has felt the need to reintroduce them to this area.

If you think all this is cute as you envision Winnie the Pooh with his honey jar, think again. These bears are no Pooh. As the Herald reports this one destroyed and threw bee hives around for some thirty feet. Is the wise guy who thought we needed bears going to pay for the damage? I doubt. What about the electric fence that now has to be put up around all bee hives?

When I spoke with the appropriate local authority about the bear in our backyard I expected to be disbelieved. In that case I was prepared with tracks in the snow to prove it. I was not disbelieved at all, but was instead greeted as one who was the bearer of good tidings. Bears in the Piedmont I was told, were indeed a marvelous thing. I was also told, very courteously, that they were here before we were. Well, that may be true, but so were the two copper heads I met last summer.

Just for the record, I have no intentions of shooting the bear, nor should any one else for that matter. These bears are well protected by the law. Apparently the local judges have been given lectures on the utter harmlessness of fussy wussy, and will not believe your story of self defense. You would be well advised to have teeth marks in your posterior before you fire any weapons in Mr. Pooh’s direction.

All of this is utterly ridiculous though. We should not have to be dealing with bears in this area. Bears are unpredictable and dangerous; it makes not difference what the learned intellectuals say. If we have bears in such a populated area as this, it is just a matter of time till a child or an adult will meet up with a sow with cubs. Any treatise on bear cuddliness will be worthless then.

Bears are also destructive. Owners of bee hives should not have to be putting up electric fences and the extra expense, for bear protection. Neither should we have to bother with bears getting to our bird feeder in the back yard, or protecting our pets from them. If we lived in the boon docks, then yes, I would expect such things, but give me a break, this is Prince Edward County.