Friday, April 20, 2001
The deer have been in the river for at least a month.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- Greenville Municipal Authority began removing dead deer from the Little Shenango River about two miles north of the borough this morning.
Bill Brady, superintendent, said as many as eight deer carcasses were still visible in the river as of Thursday and he had counted a dozen at the beginning of the week. The others apparently sank or drifted downstream, and there may be a lot more in the river, he said.
Unconfirmed reports said that people saw as many as 28 dead deer in the water, Brady said.
First seen: The animals were first spotted about a month ago, frozen in ice on the river.
Just how they got there is unclear, but Brady said one carcass that washed ashore was missing its head, an indication that someone may have killed the animal and removed the head.
Although he could see the eight carcasses in the river Thursday, he couldn't determine if they were headless.
Brady said the dead animals aren't posing any hazard to the borough's water supply.
The treatment plant can handle any fecal bacteria that may escape from the carcasses, but Brady did advise that people who draw their water from wells in the area get their water tested as a precaution.
Getting them out: Brady said he has lined up several methods to get at the animals, many of which are only in two or three feet of water.
A kayaker will use a net to try to snare some, and a borough fire ladder truck will lower a ladder over the river with a cage attached so the animals can be rolled into the cage and lifted out.
Carcasses close to the shore will be lifted out with a backhoe, he said.