Posted: 10/24/06
Who is accountable for escaped deer?
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Whoís accountable?
That was the theme of a 30 minute discussion at the October 17 Houston County Board meeting about a deer that escaped from a local deer breeding pen.
Environmental services director Rick Frank said he had received several calls that a deer escaped from the Larry Ledebuhr breeding herd in Mound Prairie Township.
Commissioner Kevin Kelleher said he had received ìtons of complaintsî on it too.
ìTheyíre not coming down and doing anything,î Kelleher said, referring to the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, which regulates game farms. ìThere isnít any enforcement or thereís a total miscommunication of who does what.î
Curt Goetzinger, who lives near the Ledebuhr property, said his wife, Sue, and son, Ryan, saw a deer with a green ear tag on October 9. He called the DNR and had the number in the deerís ear tag deer traced to Ledebuhrís deer farm.
Goetzinger said that Ledebuhr told him the gate had been intentionally opened.
Steve Bauer of Caledonia said he was concerned about it as a cattle raiser, sportsman, and business owner.
What if a deer gets out that has Chronic Wasting Disease, Bauer asked. ìWhoís liable?î
ìThereís no penalty [to Ledebuhr] for not doing anything,î Kelleher said.
ìSo it just keeps getting ëpass the buckí?î Goetzinger asked.
Somebody should be held accountable, Bauer repeated.
Kelleher asked Frank to contact the Department of Agriculture and Minnesota DNR to have them come to a meeting and answer questions.
Commissioner Dave Corcoran said several times that it wasnít just Ledebuhr who had a deer farm. There were several others in the county, he said. ìItís the ones [deer] that arenít tagged that are out there that make you wonder,î he said.
Jim Bakkum, a neighbor of Ledebuhr, said he was also concerned that there was an escape from the breeding herd. He asked if there would be secure measures taken to prevent it from happening again.
The county board has no authority over that, Kelleher said; it comes from the Department of Agriculture.
The county asks for accountability with its zoning laws, Bauer said. ìThis is basically the same principal.î
Ledebuhr told The Argus on October 23 that the deer escaped from his breeding herd and not a hunting preserve as was stated at last weekís meeting. He said he does not have fences up for his hunting preserve yet.
He believes someone opened a gate, but he canít prove it. ìThere were gates that were pushed open, letís put it that way,î he said.
New PHN head chosen
In other board news, commissioners offered the job of public health nursing director to Debra Rock, La Crescent.
Rock was the most qualified of the four finalists, commissioners Ann Thompson and Corcoran said. Rock was previously home care coordinator in Houston County, Thompson said, so she is familiar with the system.
ìSheíd be able to hit the ground running,î Corcoran said.
Corcoran, Thompson, and personnel director Tim Comstock will now negotiate a salary package with Rock.
Commissioner Tom Bjerke abstained because Rock is his sister.
Recycling change proposed
Commissioners talked about the pros and cons of having the county haul ferrous metal from its drop sites to the processing facility in La Crosse.
Hilltoppers Refuse and Recycling, the company that has the contract now, does a good job, environmental services director Rick Frank said. Their contract expires in December.
But Frank thinks the county could do it for less. The county has the manpower to do it, he said in answer to a question from commissioner Larry Graf. Additional containers would have to be ordered, but there is $30,000 in the 2007 budget for that, Frank said.
Commissioner Kevin Kelleher asked how long the payback period would be. ìIt may take five years,î Frank answered. ìBut the payback would be there.î
Hauling the material would require county employee time on the road, Kelleher said. ìWhat is that individual doing now that isnít going to be done?î he asked.
Frank said there would be time saved by going to bigger equipment. He estimated that 3-4 times as much material could be taken with one trip.
Commissioners asked Frank to come back with more information. Commissioner Dave Corcoran also asked Frank to look at used equipment.
Other business
ï Zoning hearing set: Commissioners set a public hearing for a zoning definition change for November 14 at 10 a.m. It will look at the definition of ìcertificate of occupancy,î which was tabled at an earlier hearing people were unclear what the word ìalterî meant.
ï Wage increase: The board voted to increase the wage of Lynn Reburn $13.23 to $13.77 per hour. Reburn was moved from half-time to full-time on October 10 as highway department accounting clerk. She is filling in for the accountant, who on family leave. The increase in pay was recommended by Bjorklund Compensation Consulting based on the comparable worth rating, Comstock said.
Kelleher said the county was setting a precedent by using comparable worth in the process.
ï Status change: The board approved changing the status of maintenance specialist Greg Skauge from probationary to regular.
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