Watch Out For That Deer !
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10 Point Buck - Hunter's Dream
O.J Cunningham has been hard at work preparing for the 2006 Bay County Sports Hall of Fame Banquet -- and NOT writing a weekly column. This Cunningham Column was first published back in 2003 and is appropriate for this time of year (Deer Hunting) in Michigan. New subscribers to MyBayCity may have missed it the 1st time around.
Ok! Here's my take on the $135,000 Deer Crossing The Road Project.
Quick Review -- Governess Jennifer Granholm is giving Central Michigan University $135,000 to study Why The Deer Cross The Road in Michigan.
I think almost everyone has heard about it in one way or another. There's been BC Times editorials. Jokes at luncheons. Local radio talk shows are having a field day. I'm sure it will even be a topic on Jay Leno or Letterman before the month is finished.
Maybe a Top Ten (Why Do The Deer Cross The Road In Michigan?)Letterman list.
Whenever I mention this Bambi bit of info (and I talk about it a lot). . . I always seem to get the same reaction . . . Snickering, Rolling Eyes, Some spit of unprintable blasphemy, The ever-quick chicken/road reference, etc..
Two things sure . . .
- (1) $135,000 is a lot of money
(2) Everybody's got a better idea how to spend $135,000.
So I got this deer thing on my mind and I'm driving (Last Saturday) from Bay City to South Bend for my annual trip to the Notre Dame football season premier. I'm cruising along the Indiana Toll Road (Interstate 80/90) heading West. I'm dreaming about the day Carlyle Holiday will graduate and Notre Dame will have a real quarterback . . .
Out of the corner of my eye, I keep seeing these signs that say "Flashing lights may indicate the presence of animals near the highway." I also notice a regular pattern of solar devices about every half-mile or so. And then suddenly, I see the motion sensors and put it all together.
The Indiana Toll Road has flashing lights, powered by solar devices, triggered by motion sensors to warn the cars whenever deer are approaching the interstate. Solar panels store electricity. Motion Sensors trigger the warning device. Lights Flash. Drivers are warned. Cars slow down. Fewer car/deer accidents. This is by far the coolest thing I have ever seen.
Maybe I should tell Ms. Granholm!
After the game, (I don't have to tell you who won), I get home and do a little research on the Internet about the Indiana Toll Road. It seems that last Fall, the Indiana Highway Department spent somewhere around $200,000 to line sixty (60) miles of Indiana Toll Road with these solar powered warning devices. They're collecting data over the next two years to see if there are fewer car/deer accidents this year then last.
But one thing sure . . . now we know why the deer cross the road on the Indiana Toll Road . . .
----> To Make The Lights Flash!
Now, all we have to do is figure out what CMU is going to do with the $135,000. Maybe they should just call the Indiana Toll Road people. Can You Hear Me Now?
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O. J. Cunningham |
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