Road Kill

Part-time, I have been driving a hotel minibus to and from the airport, MOA and local businesses for guests and airline crews. For the past week, just as one enters Lindberg/Terminal I, there has been a dead raccoon on the shoulder of the highway, on its back with its little paws straight up in the air in a frozen, death position.

No highway crew or MAC personnel stopped to remove the animal. Airport police and state troopers are passing by constantly hoping to write speeding tickets, but no one did anything about the road kill. May 100,000 cars drove by the unsightly dead animal in the last week.

Two days ago my conscience started bothering me about not taking steps to get the animal removed. I hoped someone would take care of it and no one did anything.

This morning I dropped off some tourists at Terminal II and passed another dead raccoon on its back with paws in the air along the ramp to #5 leaving 34th street.

When I had a minute back at the hotel I called 911 which went to the state trooper line. They asked if it was an emergency and I said no, but that I wanted road kill removed, so he hooked me up with the airport emergency line.

That dispatcher was torqued that I called his line for a non-emergency, When he heard that the troopers sent me to him, he backed off. I apologized for bothering him but said the road kill had been there for a week, and was bad for the animal's dignity and an eyesore for people entering the airport. I asked him to take care of it.

When I mentioned the 2nd dead raccoon off 34th street, he said that was not his problem but Bloomington's so I would have to call them. I asked him to just take care of it for me and said he would.

45 minutes later I went back to that Terminal I and the raccoon had been removed. That dispatcher was very efficient. Give government credit for rapid, quick response on occasion. I was very pleased.

This is a small example but if people were not afraid to get involved, but pushed themselves, their employer and their public officials to perform at a higher level, it would be a much better country. It is about as excellent as we demand that it should be.