The recent article regarding the deer hunting in Duke Forest and the proposal to implement the urban archery season in Durham (CHN, Feb. 13, bit.ly/15cfZO8) stated that there have been a total of 15 deer reported killed in the first two years of the Chapel Hill urban archery season.

On the face of it, this would appear to have very little impact on the local in-town deer population and the damage they cause. However, it is important to understand that the Chapel Hill urban archery season is a five week “special season” that takes place after the regular hunting season has closed. For a number of reasons it is a very challenging time to hunt successfully and the success rates tend to be low. What many people may not realize is that archery hunting is also permitted in Chapel Hill during the regular hunting season which is longer than the five week urban season.

Several friends and I have bow hunted in Chapel Hill the past three years and have taken nearly 40 deer during the regular and urban archery seasons. Of those, only five were taken during the urban seasons. Over the past three seasons the property owners where we have hunted have reported seeing fewer deer, and have said that they are experiencing less damage to their property each year. So it would appear that the hunting is having the desired effect of managing the deer population.

To the best of my knowledge this has been accomplished without any incidents being reported. It could be expected that Durham would share the same experience if the City Council would approve archery hunting within the city limits during both the regular and urban archery seasons.

Lastly it is important to note that all of the meat from the deer that have been killed is fully utilized by the hunters’ families and friends, or in some cases donated to food banks where it is shared with deserving families.

Robert Reda

Chapel Hill

Even ‘the good ones’

The phone finally rings. It is the public health nurse calling to go over my rabies injection options. If the man with the off-leash dog doesn’t cooperate, I will have to go through the emergency room system for each in a series of many shots. I have spent the day crying and traumatized. You see, it has been a long journey.

Six years ago I was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor, and I lost some feeling and partial use of my left leg. Running had been my exercise and outlet, so I had to learn to run again in the halls of a hospital. I took each tentative step with a long bandage connecting my toes to my knee to learn how to not drag my toes. I don’t run so much as “limp faster.” Last year I fell and had to have ACL surgery, but after one-year rehabilitation, I was finally back to running!

I had joined some friends for a run on the Carolina North Pumpkin Loop trail. I encouraged my friends to run their speed and then walk back and join me at the end. This particular day, there was a man on the trail with a large dog off-leash. I was running on the opposite side of the trail, very slowly and suddenly the dog, tail wagging, ran over to me, jumped up, and bit my arm. It really hurt, and drew blood through two layers of clothing. I was just shocked.

The man didn’t offer help or say he was sorry. After two days when he finally answered his cell phone, the man was belligerent and defensive. He told me that his dog is a good dog and “did nothing wrong.” But it is a herding dog, and was probably just trying to bring me to his herd of people on the other side of the road. In the end, he agreed to have his dog examined so I could avoid rabies shots.

Why keep your dog on a leash in public places? Because dogs are animals with animal instincts. Even the “good ones.” This one took a big bite out of me in many more ways than this selfish man will ever understand. The teeth marks and bruising on my arm are still there two weeks later. The doctor explained being jumped and bitten by a dog causes emotional trauma even if I avoided the rabies shots. He sees it all the time. I have quit my running group for now. I have not yet been back to the trails.

Please tell me there is hope for us to begin to treat one another better, please?

Susan Hoerger

Chapel Hill

Art for Wildlife

Triangle Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic, the nonprofit wildlife hospital that served the entire Triangle area and beyond, has closed. This is a huge misfortune as they did an important job brilliantly.

Having witnessed many spring seasons that included hundreds of baby songbirds, cracked turtle shells, orphaned squirrels and thousands of other patients, I know that the clinic has to exist, thrive and be well supported by our community. The alternative is unacceptable, downright heartbreaking. TWRC is searching for a viable location for a new clinic. To help support their effort the new Chapel Hill Art Gallery is hosting Art for Wildlife!

Because of the importance of this benefit there will be two art openings where the public can meet the 45 participating artists, talk with wildlife rehabbers and find out about volunteer opportunities. Café Driade, which is located behind the gallery, will provide the wine to benefit TWRC. The first art reception corresponds with Chapel Hill’s 2nd Friday ArtWalk, March 8, 6 to pm. Not a night owl? Join us the following day, March 9, 2 to 4 pm. Many artists and rehabbers plan to attend both functions. Also, enjoy the exhibit at your leisure the entire month of March, Tuesdays through Sundays, noon till 6 p.m.

At the Chapel Hill Art Gallery, which consists of many rooms, you will find paintings in every medium, photography, sculpture, turned wood, stained glass; the diverse list is simply too long to fit here. CHAG is a co-op gallery that has turned over the space for the month of March for the benefit, throwing open their doors to non-member artists. I am hoping this is a huge success, a benefit that CHAG will want to host every year. Triangle Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic needs our help on a continuing basis to run. Please join us in helping TWRC to thrive. Further fundraisers are needed, and I do believe this will be a good start. For more information go to trianglewildlife.org and chapelhillartgallery.com.

Emily Weinstein

Chapel Hill

Corporate message?

I write this letter a few days after reading the Pro-Con articles on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA. As a former chairperson of the YMCA Board of Directors, this issues has caught my attention for two reasons.

The first reason is the closing of the YMCA meetings to the membership. In an attempt to understand the second issue (the elimination of the racquetball/handball courts), I learned that members who had been trying to attend the meetings to question the decision and to understand the logic of eliminating the courts were prohibited from attending the meeting.

I then wrote a letter to the board of directors and the response I received was almost word for word the commentary published in the paper. This makes me nervous – is the board just repeating corporate message and are the members now just silent shareholders? I know another former board president wrote the board and received almost word for word, the same response.

In this response there are disturbing facts and what I believe untruths.

Paula Miller

Chapel Hill