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Numerous public commenters speak in support of Neill, Potts in BloomfieldThe Bloomfield Board of School Trustees met for their regular monthly meeting last week with a full audience in attendance. The meeting, in fact, was shifted from its typical location of the media center to the cafeteria to accommodate the larger crowd...
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UDWI REMC partners with Mainstream Fiber Networks to expand rural broadband accessAccording to a press release issued April 16, 2024, UDWI REMC and Mainstream Fiber Networks announced their partnership in the largest fiber project for the cooperative’s service territory. As part of the partnership, the release states, Mainstream will focus on establishing broadband connections to unserved and underserved areas within UDWI’s service area, specifically taking a county-wide approach. ...
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Farmer’s Market 5K springing into action May 4The Linton Farmer’s Market will host a 5K Farm Fresh Trail Run on Saturday, May 4 at Shakamak State Park with a 2.5K walk also available for those wishing to participate. Registration will open at the event at 7 a.m. with the race kicking off at 7:30 a.m.. Runners and walkers are welcome to start and finish their race anytime between 7:30 a.m. and 12 p.m....
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Bloomfield holds on for win over Eastern GreeneOn Thursday, Apr. 25, the Bloomfield softball team used a grand slam and a two-run home run to hold off Eastern Greene 7-6. The Lady Cardinals are now 4-5 while Eastern Greene is 4-7. In the top of the first, Eastern Greene senior Bailee Tieman hit a single to score senior Jessica Hovious for the 1-0 lead...
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High-powered offense lifts Miners to two straight winsAfter a 7-6 victory over Evansville Christian on Thursday, the Linton baseball team scored 20 runs against Orleans for their second straight win. The Miners are 5-5 on the year. Against Evansville Christian, a big night from senior Jamison Fields helped propel the Miners as the senior posted three hits and two RBIs on the night...
Beauregard the bunny chasing chow
Posted Thursday, January 28, 2016, at 10:23 PM
The year was 1994 and I was 14 years old. School was out for the summer and life was good. I would spend my days fishing the river with grandfather "Pap" and playing Mortal Kombat on my Sega Genesis.
One day I was outside playing with my Labrador retriever, Duchess, when back by the woods I spotted a stray dog. It was large, with matted hair, and walked with a limp from a hind leg injury. He wanted to be near people but was wary due to apparent trauma from his past. We started putting food out for him on a regular basis when it became obvious that he wasn't going anywhere. After a period of about two weeks, we were finally able to get close enough to pet him.
He was severely malnourished, suffering a prominent limp on his back right leg, and his neck was worn bare from having a rope tied to him for an unknown amount of time. What the dog didn't lack though was a gentle spirit. Once we started handling him he responded with a glad heart and was quickly absorbed into our family.
Naming a new pet is always a struggle for me. I want to pick something catchy, but simple. Something that speaks of the personality of the animal but doesn't sound too corny. In the previous school year we had studied about the American Civil War and a particular general's name stuck out to me, Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard. Beauregard, or simply Beau as he became known to all.
Beau was a complex animal. He never showed an inkling of a mean streak that chows were known for, but he could stare down a person, with an unblinking gaze that could unnerve the most stoic of strangers. He was jet-black and long legged, too long legged for chow really. At a glance he could be mistaken for a black bear.
In the summertime, he would seek out a cool place to lay, usually underneath of the back porch. In the cooler months, however, he came into his element. Snow never seemed to phase him, as he would curl up int the yard, snow forming a blanket over his thick coat. At times all you could see was his eyes blinking through the white veil of snow.
Around this same time I had a Labrador mixed with a Norwegian elk hound that had a penchant for pointing and retrieving quail. While out on a quail hunt one autumn afternoon, Beau took off running and emitting a high pitched yelp or bark. Soon he emerged from the brush in hot pursuit of a rabbit. Never one to pass up an opportunity, I took the shot and got the rabbit. This repeated itself a few times over the course of the afternoon and I ended the hunt with more rabbits than quail.
Beau was a unique dog. I know of no other chows used in the pursuit of rabbits, or any other game for that matter. He just proved the old saying that one should never judge a book by it's cover. You might just be surprised by what lies underneath.
Jon is a staff writer for the Greene County Daily World. He can be reached by telephone at (812) 847-4487, ext. 21. He can also be reached via email at jonpswaby@gmail.com.
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