Without Stadium Home, Bats Invade Texas A&M Buildings
by Matthew Watkins, The Texas Tribune – May 2, 2015
COLLEGE STATION – The natatorium at Texas A&M University is typically a hub of activity in the spring. Students swim laps there, health classes use it for instruction and the swimming and diving team practices on its high-dives.
But this month, all that activity stopped because of a new user. For about a week, hundreds of Mexican free-tailed bats made the pool their temporary home.
The infestation was an extreme case, but it wasn’t altogether unique. Renovations and eradication efforts at the bats’ normal home – the football stadium Kyle Field – have forced the flying mammals out across the rest of campus in search of new shelter.
“They are finding bats in the gym, in the swimming pool – all kinds of places,” said Thomas Lacher, a wildlife and fisheries sciences professor and bat expert on campus.
Bats have always had a presence at the university. Several thousand live in Kyle Field year-round. And during certain times of year, when the migratory animals are passing through the surrounding Brazos Valley, there are hundreds of thousands. The same thing happens at other large concrete structures across the state, most famously at the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin.
Occasionally, the animals come into contact with humans – like the time in 2000 when one bit a barefoot student in the A&M library after it flew into her shoe – but they’re mostly harmless. Despite stereotypes, very few carry rabies, and they usually fly high enough to avoid humans, Lacher said.
For years, university officials mostly just left the animals alone. They hung signs in the stadium warning fans that they were entering a “bat-friendly stadium.” And any stray dead bats were scooped up before games.
But there were reasons to get rid of the animals. Fans in the fall had to endure the pungent smell of guano during football games. The bat poop stained the walls and covered the ground. And there were health concerns, considering food is prepared and served in the stadium.
“They were defecating on the concession stands,” Lacher said.
Removal efforts began in 2013, when the university hired a local pest control company to hang nets in some concourses. That allowed the bats to get outside the stadium to feed, but then prevented them from getting back in. Other areas of the stadium were demolished to make room for gleaming new amenities.
Soon, large groups of bats began appearing elsewhere on campus. More than 1,000 showed up in nearby Cain Hall, which houses the student counseling department. An employee told The Bryan-College Station Eagle that she found several of the animals dead in her closet.
But their arrival at the natatorium this month may have been the most disruptive. The bats were swarming and feeding and fighting inside, said James Nash, associate director of facilities at the A&M Recreation Center, where the pool is housed.
“You would see them in clusters of 50 or so together,” Nash said. “Occasionally, they would take off and fly around the facility.”
The university brought in two different pest control companies to get rid of the bats. Eventually, they used the same method used at Kyle Field, hanging nets in the areas where the animals had been entering.
The bats’ presence led to some curiosity and joking among students and staff. But Lacher said the situation is far from funny. The homeless animals’ lives are at risk, he said.
At night, bats’ body temperatures drop significantly, he said. That allows the animals to rest, but it also puts them at risk when the temperature drops. The animals need shelter or they will die. And right now, there is no place big enough on campus to house them all, Lacher said.
When the renovations began, some of Lacher’s students studied the issue and made recommendations to the school. They suggested following the example of the University of Florida, which had a similarly large bat population living inside its stadium. When that school forced its bats out its stadium, it built a group of large outdoor bat houses elsewhere on campus.
The structures in Florida looked like the roofs of old houses, only without a building underneath. Eventually, thousands of bats moved in, and the houses became popular local attractions, Lacher said.
Saving the animals in College Station would benefit the surrounding area, Lacher said. The bats spread out across the region to eat insects at night, which benefits the local agriculture industry, he said.
“It would be a great gesture for the university to make, being one of the leading agricultural universities in the country,” Lacher said.
A&M administrators didn’t answer questions this week about their efforts to deal with the bats. Lacher said the university built a few small houses around campus, but they are nowhere near big enough to take in all the animals.
As a result, the future of the bat colony doesn’t look good, he said.
“If I had to hazard a guess, I would guess that a very significant portion of these bats are going to die,” he said. “They have no place to go.”
Disclosure: Texas A&M University is a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2015/05/02/during-stadium-renovation-homeless-bats-invade-m-b/.
Far Right Has Chance
One of the long-shots of today’s Kentucky Derby, is the horse that came in second to the favorite, American Pharoah, at the Arkansas Derby a few weeks ago in Hot Springs. Although, the horse Far Right, came in second to American Pharoah, the race was 1 1/8 mile, but the Kentucky Derby is a longer race at 1 1/4mile. Twenty one horses qualified for the most popular race in horse racing, but already two have been scratched this morning, leaving a field of 19, so far. Anything can happen in a longer race especially with so many horses. I had a chance to speak with one of Far Right’s owners at the Arkansas Derby. Although disappointed that the horse came in second in the 1 million dollar purse race, the points earned there qualified Far Right to compete in the Kentucky Derby. American Pharoah may be tough to beat, but anything can happen in horse racing.
It is a small circle of horses that qualify for the Kentucky Derby, and some of these horses have competed before in shorter races, trading off winners. Another Kentucky Derby horse, Mr. Z, came in third to Far Right in the Arkansas Derby, but came in second to Far Right’s third in another race last November. In that November race, another Kentucky Derby runner , Ochoochoocho, beat them both. None of these horses including the favorite has even raced a 1 1/4 mile race recently. So, it may come down to the extra 3/8 of a mile that determines the winner. American Pharoah may be tough to beat, but anything can happen in horse racing.
Far Right is owned by Harry Rosenblum and his wife Kay, shown in white in photo below. Another partner on the horse is Robert LaPenta.
Far Right is shown in an AP photo by Garry Jones in a workout earlier this week at Churchill Downs.
Lady Cats Softball Season Ends
The Lady Cats’ softball team had their season end as Whitehouse won a decisive game three, 12-7 at Lady Cat Park late Friday night. A nine run fifth inning was more than the Lady Cats could overcome. Earlier in the evening, the Lady Cats forced a third game with an 8-3 win over Whitehouse. The Lady Cats end the season with an 18-7 record. Seniors Kasey Moore and Makayla Glosson were honored on Senior Night.
Wildcats Defeat Marshall 8-2
Eagle Stadium
The Wildcats’ baseball team wrapped up the district’s number two seed in the playoffs with an 8-2 victory over Marshall Friday night. The Wildcats improved to 9-4 in district play and 12-9 for the season. The Wildcats finish up district play Saturday at noon in Longview. That game was postponed by rain and wet grounds Tuesday night. Tyler Follis is schedule to pitch for the Wildcats.
SSHS All-Sports Athletic Banquet Is Monday
Sulphur Springs Athletic Director Greg Owens calls the annual All-Sports Athletic Banquet a fun time and a neat time to reflect on the sports year and to celebrate every athlete and what they have accomplished. This year’s banquet takes place Monday at 6 p.m. in the High School Cafeteria. Tickets are $8 and are available at the High School Office or at the door. Big Smith’s barbeque will be served.
The banquet marks the final days of the sports seasons for school athletics. The Regional Track Meet is this weekend. Lady Cats softball is in the play-offs Friday and the baseball team will be entering play-offs next week, according to Owens.
“It’s neat to reflect on the year,” said Owens. He said the banquet is a celebration of the student-athlete and their accomplishments during the past year. “To see a kid mature” is the greatest joy for the coach according to Owens. He said the entire coaching staff wishes these students well as they move forward in life.
UIL Holds Banquet in Recognition of Successful Year
The Sulphur Springs High School UIL Academic team will compete in the UIL State Meet at the University of Texas in Austin on May 26-28, 2015. Last night, SSHS UIL hosted a banquet to congratulate the students who advanced to State and to recognize the efforts of UIL participants throughout the year. 19 UIL teams were recognized by the 14 coaches, and many funny stories were told of UIL throughout the year.
SSHS UIL Competitors 2014-15
Ariel Gonzalez and Peyton Howard stood out in the year thanks to their abilities to solve mathematical problems on the level of Hallsville and Pine Tree, two schools with which the math-based UIL teams are very competitive. Lydia Burleson has been acknowledged as “Newcomer of the Year” due to her victories at both District and Regional, all while being a first-year competitor in SSHS UIL. The UIL teams coached by Gail Herman, which include Literary Criticism, Spelling & Vocabulary, and Ready Writing, have been seen as some of the most successful, with both the Literary Criticism and Spelling & vocabulary teams, as well as Burleson in Ready Writing, all advancing to the State meet.
Regional Competitors
The most successful meet that SSHS UIL had this 2014-15 school year was the Regional meet in which 12 students qualified for State, with one advancing in two events, and an additional student earning the position of alternate for the State meet. The SSHS UIL Academic team received second place overall, having earned 145 total points. The teams advancing to State are Literary Criticism, Ready Writing, Social Studies, and Spelling & Vocabulary.
Gina Wilder talks about UIL
Celebration Market on Celebration Plaza Saturday
Adler & Hearne
The Saturday evening happening, the Celebration Market returns to Celebration Plaza 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. in Sulphur Spring Saturday night. Sulphur Springs Community Development Specialist Gus Gustafson said the new stage secured for the market is in place and has been tested during the Thursday night visit from members of the Congress for New Urbanism.
Gustafson said the Saturday evening market will be huge with arts, crafts, homemade and handmade items. Food vendors have been limited to novelty items such as street tacos due to the number of restaurants now downtown. Live entertainment is planned for almost every Saturday night. This week, Adler and Hearne, who are on the Texas Touring Roster. The following week, The Blandells will be on stage during the market.
Spring at the Sulphur Springs Public Library… by Hope Cain
Spring is an exciting time for us at Sulphur Springs Public Library. Winners of many book awards come out and we look forward to which books will win these prestigious awards. I wanted to share some of the kids and young adult selections with you.
Texas Bluebonnet Book Award for 2015 is The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt.
Coretta Scott King (author) Book Award for Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
Caldecott Award The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, written and illustrated by Dan Santat
Newbery Award The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction Bo at Ballard Creek by Kirkpatrick Hill
Pura Belpré (illustrator) Award Little Roja Riding Hood by Susan Middleton Elya
Schneider Family Book Award Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming
Alex Awards for Young Adults/Adults All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Every Hero has a Story is the theme for summer reading program this year. We will be focusing on comic book superheroes, of course, but also the people in our everyday life who are super! The program calendar is officially released on May 1, but the special dates to save are: June 4, July 21 and July 30. We will repeat the weekly Tuesday morning Storytime with one on Thursday evening to include those working parents that want to participate.
Items Needed:
- scraps of fabric – solid colors, blue, red, pink, green, black, silver or gold, etc.
- Lite Steam a Seam 2 for applications – pieces are ok
- Youth large and extra large tshirts – solid colors
Sulphur Springs Public Library has teamed up with ECLC and challenges the parents of preschoolers to read 1K before K! That’s right! The challenge is for parents to read 1000 books to their child before Kindergarten! ECLC is offering many prizes along the way to keep the parents and children engaged. The library encourages parents of preschoolers to come by and pick from the many wonderful selections in the children’s area. The library encourages browsing for books, sitting in the window seats and reading to your child. Often the fire truck goes by which is a special event for the children!
Sulphur Springs Public Library has also teamed up with Lone Star Legal Aid. LSLA is a nonprofit law firm created to equalize access to justice for low-income persons who otherwise would not be able to afford an attorney to protect their rights and help meet basic needs. The library will be hosting Lone Star Legal Aid 4 more times this year on these dates: May 20, July 15, September 16 and November 18 from 1-4pm. Once meeting eligibility requirements, LSLA handles your questions on family law, welfare and income assistance, public education, housing, health care, consumer, taxpayer clinic, employment and juvenile issues. If you have questions please call LSLA at 1-903-785-8711.
Don’t forget we now have eBooks! We have joined Overdrive and have access to 30,000 eBooks. We share most of these with 40 other libraries, so you may see a waiting list for popular books. If you want to borrow a very popular book, I can reserve specific books for just our library. Right now, I have Outlander, Killing Patton, Ruby, Gray Mountain, and Unbroken reserved for just us! Book Clubs…let the library know what you are reading!
There are 90 registered users of eBooks from Sulphur Springs and 953 checkouts since beginning eBook access in October 2014. The top eBook reader has borrowed 91 ebooks or audiobooks!!!
Senate Passes Tax-Free Holiday to Spur Gun Sales
by Eva Hershaw, The Texas Tribune – April 30, 2015
The state Senate on Thursday gave the green light to a proposal to designate one weekend a year when Texas shoppers would not have to pay sales tax on guns.
Senate Bill 228 by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, would create a sales tax holiday for firearms, ammunition and hunting supplies during the last weekend in August. Texas already has tax holidays for two other kinds of products: school supplies and energy-efficient appliances.
The proposed tax break — which Creighton calls a Second Amendment tax holiday weekend — would come one week ahead of hunting season and one week before a similar weekend in Louisiana. Texas would lose $3.6 million per year in tax revenue under the proposed legislation, according to an estimate from the Legislative Budget Board.
“Since 2009, retailers in east and southeast Texas have been at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to their Louisiana counterparts,” Creighton said in a statement. “Providing this sales tax break prior to the start of hunting season will be an economic driver for small businesses and will provide our hunters much deserved savings.”
Mississippi and South Carolina also have similar tax holidays for guns, according to the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association, which supports the Texas proposal.
“This bill supports lawful gun ownership and encourages Texas sportsmen and their families to spend their money here at home,” Tara Mica, state liaison for the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement.
The measure, which was approved by the Senate on a vote of 21-10, now heads to the House.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2015/04/30/senate-locks-second-amendment-tax-holiday/.
