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Drivers need to slow down when traveling through Webster
To the Editor:
The town of Webster obviously places some value in having a walkable community, especially now with its newly added sidewalk stretching toward Southwestern Community College. I am frequently on these sidewalks with my 7-month-old son in the stroller, and I can honestly say that I often feel unsafe walking alongside N.C. 116 (Webster Road). Cars clip at my elbows as they travel by at high speeds on a narrow, two-lane road with no room for error. The traffic on these roads makes walking to the post office seem reckless.
Winding its way among oddly-shaped lots and historic homes, the main road through Webster is not designed for high-speed travel. It curves sharply at the intersection of 116 and Buchanan Loop – an intersection that has been the site of five single-car accidents within the last three years. The Webster town planning board has met with N.C. Department of Transportation officials to discuss the danger. DOT’s solution was to add painted crosswalk stripes and two “Pedestrian Crossing” signs. Within eight months of their installation, a car jumped the curb and careened through three lots. Its speeding path took out the recently-erected Pedestrian Crossing sign. Had there been a pedestrian on that stretch of sidewalk, the car surely would have taken her out as well. DOT may just as well have painted a checkered flag at the end of a raceway.
The Webster sidewalks are frequently occupied by small children from a local day care, a loyal crowd of Buchanan Loop-walkers completing their circuits, and residents strolling to the post office. Someday, someone is going to get killed walking along Webster’s sidewalks. And we will all be to blame. The Webster town board knows of the danger. The DOT is well aware of the danger. And those of you who drive through our community above the speed limit (and that includes almost everyone), you will also be to blame.
If the town of Webster and DOT cannot find a creative way to force traffic to slow down, then I am pleading with everyone who drives through Webster to force yourself to drive with care and caution.
Leigh Anne Young
Webster
Trap/Neuter/Release is better solution to feral cat problem
To the Editor:
Oct. 16 is National Feral Cat Day. It is sponsored by several organizations including Alley Cat Allies and the Humane Society of the United States and is to make the public aware of the plight of these animals.
Maybe people have seen them behind a restaurant, in an alley or in a park. Feral (wild) cats live everywhere, forming colonies wherever they find scraps of food and a bit of shelter, be it in Dumpsters or trash cans. Millions of feral cats now live in the U.S.
Feral is not another word for “stray.” A stray cat has been abandoned or strayed from home and become lost. These cats are friendly and can be re-socialized and adopted. Almost all the cats at most animal shelters fit this description. Many are frightened when they arrive, and some are euthanized before they have a chance to settle down. Space problems and insufficient staff lead to this mistake. Catman2 and ARF visit shelters often and rescue many of these cats in time to save their lives.
A feral cat is an unsocialized cat. Either it never lived with a human family, or it was a house cat that strayed and over time has thrown off the effects of domestication and reverted to a wild state. Feral cats avoid human contact. Adult feral cats usually cannot be tamed and are most content living outside. On the other hand, feral kittens, up to about 10 weeks of age, can often be tamed and placed in homes.
There are many myths about feral cats. One is that they lead short and miserable lives so it is best to trap and euthanize them. In reality studies show that feral cats have about the same life span as pet cats that are allowed to live an indoor/outdoor life, and they contract diseases at about the same rate. It is simply not humane or prudent to kill a healthy feral cat, and this practice does not reduce their populations. The reason is that when resident cats are removed other cats move in to fill the void and start breeding. Another myth is that feral cats are predators and deplete wildlife. Although it is true that cats are predatory, their main game is rodents, which are a threat to the health of man. Study after study has shown that birds only make up a small part of the diet of cats. However, bird feeders can make birds a target for any smart cat, domestic or feral. If one feeds the birds, care must be taken to place the feeder in a location that is not conducive to this problem. Research has shown the overwhelming cause of wildlife depletion is the destruction of natural habitats due to man-made structures, pesticides and chemical pollution – not feral cats. One only has to drive along N.C. 107 between Cullowhee and Sylva to see the daily reduction of the natural landscape.
There is a humane solution to the feral cat issue. It not only reduces populations, but it improves the lives of feral cats now in existence. The solution is called “Trap/Neuter/Release” and has worked everywhere it has been implemented. The procedure is to humanely trap the feral cats, evaluate them as to age, health and condition, then vaccinate the healthy ones and spay or neuter them and return them to their original habitat. When this is done breeding stops. Populations are then gradually reduced by natural selection. The annoying behaviors of breeding cats, like yowling or spraying, stop, and in time the size of the population will stabilize. People will need to keep tabs on the colony, to feed them and re-trap them each year to keep vaccinations up to date.
We don’t trap, hunt and kill other wild animals just because they are wild. Raccoons, foxes, skunks and other wild animals prey upon wildlife, and we consider this to be a part of nature. There is no good reason to attempt to eliminate the feral cat population in order to save the world. History should have taught us that the killing of feral cats by government agencies does not work. The statistics at any shelter will bear this out. Year after year the killing goes on, and the population of feral cats only increases. Trap/Neuter/Release is a proven solution, and it will save governments money in the long run. For more information, log on to www.alleycat.org or www.wildaboutcats.com. This is an answer you can feel good about.
Harold Sims
Cullowhee
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