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Petition seeks vote on Solon deer culling
(by Sue Reid - April 22, 2011)
Petition seeks vote on Solon deer culling
By SUE REID
A group of Solon residents began collecting signatures last Satrurday for a referendum to be placed on this November's ballot to prohibit the use of lethal methods for deer management.
Solon Deer, a group of residents which organized in February in opposition of lethal forms of deer management, filed an initiative petition with the city and has until the end of June to collect 970 signatures for the cause.
Resident John Nolan, a member of Solon Deer, said he is confident they will collect all the signatures they need. The group got off to a good start last weekend, he said.
"We've got a dozen circulators," Mr. Nolan said. "We haven't even been at it for a week, and we're on our way."
There are people involved with Solon Deer who have been successful with referendums in other cities in Ohio, Mr. Nolan said.
Solon Public Works Director James S. Stanek said Monday, "if this ends the debate once and for all, then maybe that's what needs to happen."
Mr. Nolan said Solon Deer decided to file the initiative when it became clear that the city was going to embark upon another deer management program and it would likely include lethal methods.
"We were concerned about the high cost of killing deer in Solon," he said. "We keep hearing about safety with the deer-car accidents, but when you kill deer, there are still ones remaining and you will have accidents.
"We're introducing a new safety issue of guns and arrows," Mr. Nolan said of talk early this year of an archery program. "It's kind of ironic and strange. Many of us think there are better ways of dealing with deer."
That includes such nonlethal methods as Strieter-Lites, which are highway warning reflectors used to reduce nighttime deer-vehicle collisions, he said.
One of the goals of the initiative is to educate the public about the nonlethal alternatives, Mr. Nolan said. "They tend to be less expensive and more effective," he said. Killing deer is not that effective and not that cheap, he said.
In terms of a time line for a deer-management program, the administration has committed to presenting City Council's safety and public properties committee a comprehensive program in May for their consideration.
Typically, from a culling perspective, the city would do something in November, Mr. Stanek said. If an archery program is chosen, that would begin in late September.
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