Colorado "Turkey Lady' is Given a Citation for 'Disorderly Conduct' After Tapping on a Car That Almost Hits Her

A Thornton, Colorado woman known for escorting turkeys across the road is given a ticket for disorderly conduct after an irate driver nearly hits her and calls 911. She just wants to assist wild turkeys across the road safely, but has ended up ruffling the feathers of local birds.

Turkeys; photo by Ruth Caron on Unsplash

Question: Why did the turkeys cross the road?

Answer: To get to the other side.

Turkeys crossing the road is what caused a ruckus in Thornton, Colorado. Seen below is a photo of the local "Turkey woman" helping turkeys cross the street.

Turkeys crossing the road

According to the National Wild Turkey Foundation (NWTF), there were 7 million turkeys in the U.S. in 2015, and "inhabit 19,000 square miles of forest lands in Colorado. (Source: Colorado Outdoors Magazine)

A Thornton Woman Wants to Help Turkeys Cross a Busy Road

FOX31 KDVR News reported that Mary Ann Strauch was just "helping turkeys cross the road" not far from her residence at York Street and 124th Avenue when a motorist "sped around her," almost hitting her.

During the incident, "Turkey lady" Mary Ann Strauch tapped the back of the car with a stick she used to herd the turkeys, and that set the driver off.

Mary Ann said:

“She got really irate and jumped out and started yelling at me,” Strauch said. “And she insisted on calling 911 and having the police come out, and then we were all detained out here about 2 and a half hours.” -Mary Ann Strauch, the "Turkey lady"

Thornton Police arrived at the scene and sorted out the situation, and ultimately cited both women for disorderly conduct. This upset Mary Ann Strauch because she was just wanting to help nature.

She said:

“I try to help the birds be safe, and I think I’m helping the motorists as well,” she said. “Most of the people seem to really enjoy the birds, and they really appreciate me being out here helping the birds.” -Mary Ann Strauch, the "Turkey lady"

Signs at Turkey Crossings Don't Slow Car Traffic

Karen Bigelow, a Thornton City Councilmember worked with the turkey lady to get turkey crossing signs installed, but signs alone don't slow cars buzzing by, and the city can't do anything to slow the traffic, either.

“What I was told is we can’t touch the turkeys, we can’t re-home them, because they’re wildlife,” she said. “I don’t understand why we can’t rehome these turkeys when we do rehome prairie dogs from development areas. What’s the difference? I’ve not been able to get an answer on this at all.” -Karen Bigelow, Thornton City Councilmember

Turkey lady Mary Ann Strauch says that despite this incident, she will keep helping these turkeys across the road.

Why?

To help them get to the other side safely. Mary is concerned cars will hit them.

She said:

“When they cross these busy roads, particularly 124th or York, they are getting run over,” she said of the turkeys. “I wonder what happens when someone gets in an accident because of the turkeys?” -Mary Ann Strauch, the "Turkey lady"

 

Thoughts

It's time for the readers to share their thoughts and opinions.

• Do you think that the Turkey lady is helping the community?
• Do you think that the city of Thornton should do something to slow traffic at turkey crossings?
• What do you think needs to happen to protect the turkeys and drivers?

Sources

Colorado Parks & Wildlife website: "Turkey"

Coloradooutdoorscontributor. "5 Tips for Hunting Merriam's Turkeys." Colorado Outdoors. 14 May 2015.

Kruegel, Evan. "‘Turkey lady’ confronted while helping neighborhood birds cross the street." FOX31 KDVR News. 5 October 2023.

Summary: A local woman has taken it upon herself to assist wild turkeys cross the road in Thornton, Colorado.

Driver Hits Something. Wisconsin Warden Pulls a Bobcat Out From Being Lodged in the Front Grill of a Car

Wisconsin authorities are called when a car hits a bobcat and it becomes lodged in the grill of a car. A game warden is called to the scene and they carefully pull the bobcat from under the vehicle. The bobcat is returned to mother nature.

a bobcat by Chandler Cruttenden on Unsplash

In Portage County, Wisconsin a Toyota car hits a bobcat and the bobcat becomes lodged inside the grill of the car. Authorities are called to the scene to extract the cat.

WSAW-TV 7 News reported that the driver called the dispatcher stating, "I have a bobcat in my car" on Tuesday, 18 April 2023.

The driver felt the vehicle strike something but didn't know what until getting out of the vehicle. That's when they noticed a bobcat stuck in the front grill of the car.

bobcat stuck in front car grill by Sheriff Mike Lukas

When Portage County Sheriff's Department arrived, they determined that they needed to get a game warden out there to assist with the situation. They called Conservation Warden Bryan Lockman to come and help out.

Portage County Sheriff's Office Posted on Facebook

The Portage County Sheriff's Office posted about the incident on Facebook.

On 19 April 2023, Sheriff Mike Lukas posted:

"Ok this is a first, dispatch gets a caller stating, "I have a bobcat in my car". You can only imagine what everyone was thinking at the time, so when they dispatched over the radio numerous deputies were curious. So, Deputies Selvey, Stanton and Ashbeck responded to the location to investigate. As you can imagine the shock they were in when low and behold there was a bobcat in the vehicle. My deputies are really good at solving problems but this one baffled them so we called in reinforcements with Conservation Warden Bryan Lockman. As you can see on the bodycam footage Warden Lockman was a pro at getting the critter out and in his truck and returned it to the wild.

All in a day’s work at the Portage County Sheriff’s Office and the Wisconsin DNR." (Source: Portage County Sheriff's Office)

With the Conservation warden on site, they came up with a plan and worked to get the bobcat out of the grill of the vehicle, and then released the bobcat "back to the area where it got stuck in the vehicle and released it."

photo by Portage County Sheriff's Office

Thankfully both the cat and the people were not harmed during this cat extraction.

Please share this article with friends and family on social media so others can be informed about this story.

Sources

Poltrock, Heather and Dominique O'Neill. "Portage County deputies rescue trapped bobcat from vehicle on highway." WSAW-TV 7 News. 19 April 2023.

Sheriff Mike Lukas account on Facebook.

Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resource official website.

After his 18th Birthday, Does Justin Bieber See the Man in the Mirror?

Justin Bieber at concert (Feb. 2012) photo: AinhoaBelieber

Justin Bieber is now 18 and should now be considered a man in the pop music industry. We have watched as this teenage heartthrob has wooed millions of young girls onstage. Will he embrace manhood, or miss his younger years?

When Justin Bieber wakes up in the morning, does he see the Man in the Mirror?
How fitting a question, considering that Justin's longtime idol is Michael Jackson, which he shared at Michael Jackson's Memorial service outside of Grauman's Chinese Theater in January.

After Justin Bieber has celebrated 18th birthday, this incredible milestone marks his transition from a teenage pop star to a man, who aspires to one day be like the King of Pop.

Justin Bieber was very surprised when he received his birthday present on the Ellen Degeneres Show. His manager, Scooter Braun, gave him the keys to a $100,000 sports car, which also happens to be eco-friendly - being an electric vehicle - which fits in very nicely with Justin's style.

Now that Justin has moved into the forefront of manhood, does that mean he has to give up having fun?

Not necessarily.

Justin Bieber is known for being a prankster, from his shenanigans back on the CSI set (story here), to his more recent debut on the season premiere of Punk'd on MTV, airing March 29, 2012. Let's just say that he pulls a huge prank on Taylor Swift, who happens to be one of the most humblest music celebrities out there.

Justin Bieber may now be grown up, but that doesn't mean that he has to stop having fun - as long as that fun is innocent and doesn't get anyone pregant.

According to ABC News, his accuser, Mariah Yeater, had filed a lawsuit against Justin, but has since agreed to settle the case out of court. All the while Justin Bieber has maintained his innocence, and that this story was completely fabricated to benefit from his fame.

While it is a shame that anyone is accused of such allegations, it is only more evidence for Justin's coming of age, since child stars typically uphold a squeaky-clean image, with no indication of sexual misconduct.

Fans of "The Bieb" can hope and pray that he keeps his purity until his future wedding day with Selena Gomez, unless he chooses a lucky alternate from the sea of screaming girls that fill his concert arenas. The latter choice is very unlikely, considering by his own testimony he goes straight from a performance to his escort vehicle at each venue, not stopping to mingle with fans, let alone have enough time to get anyone pregnant.

Justin Bieber can be seen next at the Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards, airing on March 31, 2012, but he will not be going as a kid, because now he will now be going as a man.

Sources:

1. Trumbull, Mark. Justin Bieber birthday: He got a Fisker Karma electric car.... CSMonitor.com.
2. Collins, Leah. Justin Bieber to Taylor Swift: You're Punk'd. VancouverSun.com.
3. ABC News. Justin Bieber Takes DNA Paternity Test, According to Report. ABCNews.

Photo credit:

AinhoaBelieber. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Wikimedia Commons.