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The Le6 County Ledger Thursday, November 1, 2001 - Page IB m m ‘W i • Raiders Cheerleaders Bats Eat Bugs And Should Be Welcomed Guests, Not Feared Halloween Icons NOW OPEN NENE'S COUNTRY KITCHEN SERVING BREAKFAST AND LUNCH 7:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M. NEXT TO BRANCH DEER PROCESSING ON HWY 377 AND 195 eer Processing USDA License, ni^m ck 7 MILES 195 N □ COURT HOUSE LEESBURG Hog Processing Old Fashioned Smoked Sausage, Salami Big Buck Contest - Win a Browning A-Bolt Corner of Hwy. 195 Mon - Sat and Hwy 377 - Lee St. 8 a.m.- 9 p.m. 759-2869 Sunday 8-8 M Custom Cuts Include Skinning Cleaning • Hanging VISA 3 Lee County Raiders seven and eight year old Cheerleaders pictured on the front row is Kristen Adkinson. On the second row are: Kendall Lasseter, Kimberli Moody, and Amber Griffin. Pictured on the third row are Ashley Lane, Autumn Parsons, Brittany Lawson and Kristina McNutt. Pictured on the back row are Britney Raulerson, Mardi McConnell, Shianne Simpson and Logan Chappell. The raiders football team went undefeated and placed first. They are coached by Ginger Parsons and Stacey McNutt and the cheerleaders won the Spirit Award. When you see bats flying around this Halloween or any other time of the year, don't fear them, welcome them! Georgia is home to sixteen species of bats, all of which eat nothing but fly ing insects such as moths and beetles. To help develop conser vation strategies for these misun derstood animals, the Georgia Bat Working Group has been coordi nating these efforts with the help of Georgia Department of Natu ral Resources (DNR), Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) wild life biologists. Because of their unusual habits and appearance, bats have gener ated superstitious fear and suf fered misguided righteous perse cution throughout history. Evi dence of the evil nature attributed to bats is the fact that they, along with ghosts and witches, are popular Halloween icons. "Many people also despise bats because they perceive these ani mals to be dangerous carriers of disease," said Jim Ozier, DNR senior wildlife biologist. "While Fishin’ Fantasy winners in the eight year old and under classification are Chelsea Hines with the smallest fish, Zachary Willoughby with the largest fish and Jordan Rovac with the most fish. Fishin’ Fantasy winners in the eight year old to 12 year old classification are Kyle Mims with the smallest fish, Nathan Lane with the largest fish and Brittany Kennedy with the most fish. bats can transmit rabies to people, such incidences are extremely rare. Most bat bites are a result of an obviously sick bat being handled." BAT HABITATS Some species of bats such as the gray bat and southeastern myotis depend upon specific suitable caves for roosting; others, such as big brown bats and evening bats, use trees and buildings. Females give birth to one or two young in the spring. Often, several females form a nursery colony in a warm, sheltered spot where they bear and raise their pups together. Several weeks after birth, the young are ready to join the adults in flight. Most bats hibernate during the wintertime. Especially during the past cen tury, many bat populations have been dramatically impacted by widespread alterations to their roosting and foraging habitat, in cluding loss of critical forested areas and caves. Some species have adapted to using buildings for shelter, but old buildings are often destroyed, and bats are fre quently not welcome when they move into the walls or attics of people's homes. Additionally, water pollution has impacted many of the waterways that are valuable to bats because of their aquatic insect production, and widespread use of insecticides has further contaminated and re duced food supplies. HANDLING BATS RESPONSIBLY Many homeowners are terrified to discover they have a few bats in their attic, and in a panic, are willing to do almost anything to get them out. While the bats themselves are for the most part harmless, even beneficial to the homeowner, their droppings can build up over time and create un pleasant odors in buildings. In most situations, nuisance bat problems can be resolved with no harm to the bats and little expense to the homeowner. There are no legal solutions that involve kill ing or harming the bats. Instead, they should be excluded from the structure by sealing openings and using one-way doors that allow the bats to come out in the evening to feed, but do not allow them to pass through the other way. Exclusions should only be done during early spring and late summer/fall to avoid entrapping young that cannot yet fly. Ide ally, an alternate roost structure should be installed nearby. JACK DUF Master, BODY WORKS me 1518 U.S. Hwy 19 (stop by and see our new location) 439-8833 (““) FENDER AND BODY REPAIRS • AUTO PAINTING • GLASS REPLACEMENT COLLISION REPAIR & UNIBODY FRAME SPECIALISTS *FREE ESTIMATES AUTO ACCESSORIES • INSURANCE CLAIMS • IMPORTS & DOMESTICS APPROVED BY ALL MAJOR INSURANCE COMPANIES FOR DIRECT REPAIRS If You Are Involved In An Accident, Request the “Master” 24 Hour Wrecker Service & Roadside Assistance Your Full Service Collission Repair Shop In Lee County! Homeowners should seek techni cal advice from a qualified source before attempting to handle bat exclusions themselves. If they hire someone to do the job, they should make sure the person is qualified, permitted, and aware of proper exclusion techniques. BAT PROTECTION Today we know enough about bats to admire and respect them for their critical roles in Nature, and to attempt to resolve some of the problems that impact their long-term survival. Six of Georgia's bat species are consid ered to be of special conservation concern because of threats to their populations. Three of these, the gray bat, Indiana bat. and Rafinesque's big-eared bat, are listed for special protection un der the Georgia Endangered Wildlife Act, and the gray bat and Indiana bat receive even stronger protection on the federal Endan gered Species List. Other species appear to be relatively secure, but are still in need of attention. For instance, it is likely that thou sands of Mexican free-tailed bats, big brown bats, and evening bats die needlessly each year because they are improperly dealt with at their roosts in attics and walls. Pain Relief Today... Health For A Lifetime! Enjoy Advanced Treatment Providing Continued Pain Relief In a Warm & Friendly Environment • Specializing in bone, . . joint and muscle conditions ‘ • Nonsurgical spinal care • Certified in Sports injury treatment and rehabilitatioi • Advanced diagnostic testing • Certified massage therapist on stal • Pain relief with excellent results • Convenient appointment • Attentive caring staff • Most insurance accepted and filed Dr. David A Wren is a member of the American Chiropractic Association, Georgia Chiropractic Association, ACA Sports Council, and the Academy Of Industrial Health Consultants. QL_Q2¥kUL-Wl£I] Chiropractic & Sports Injury 1290 U.S. Highway 19 South 883-0042 BAT MANAGEMENT Several states are forming groups similar to Georgia's Bat Working Group to support the recently developed North Ameri can Bat Conservation Partner ship. The Partnership and work ing groups seek to identify re search, survey, monitoring, man agement and public education ef forts that are needed to promote conservation of bat populations, and to facilitate enactment of pro grams to meet these needs. For more information on bats, please contact the Georgia DNR Nongame-Endangered Wildlife Program (478-994-1438). Also, see the following websites: North American Bat Conservation Part nership (www.batcon.org/nabcp/ newsite/index.html), The Coali tion of North American Bat Working Groups (www.batworkingroups.org), Bat Conservation International (www.batcon.org), and Basically Bats (www.lads.com/ basicallybats/). Conservation efforts conducted by The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Re source Division for endangered and threatened species are sup ported through funds provided by the sale of wildlife license plates. Georgians can support WRD's conservation efforts by purchas ing wildlife license plates for their vehicles. Contact your local county tag office to purchase a tag. WRD is putting tag dollars to work for wildlife. For more information about WRD's Nongame Endangered Wildlife and Natural Heritage Programs, go to http:// www.georgiawildlife.com. Tennis Camp Saturday, November 3 The Fall 2001 Tennis Camp will be held Saturday, November 3 at the tennis courts at Lee County Middle School. The camp will be from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon. The camp is designed for boys and girls in the third through eight grade and the registration fee is $20.00 which includes a t-shirt and snacks. LCHS Tennis Boost ers are sponsoring the camp. For additional information, call Sharon King at Lee County Middle School at 759-6114.