"Our Mayor Says . . . . A Matter of Scents" from the September 24, 1953 Door County Advocate
By — MAYOR STANLEY R. GREENE
Our Mayor Says . . . .
By — MAYOR STANLEY R. GREENE
A MATTER OF SCENTS
Local officials, in connection with the municipal anti-skunk campaign, are discovering what every student of government knows, that the distribution of functions among government services is an important and delicate question.
Our city has been afflicted with an invasion of skunks. The invasion has been not only odorous but disruptive of the routine of life. House-holders returning home at night have been unable to get in their homes because of skunks on the porches. Automobile owners have been denied the use of their garages by skunks adversely occupying their driveways. Policemen checking the dark corners of alleys have had embarrassing experiences that interfered with the performance of their duties.
Chief of Police Roman Londo decided in his usual aggressive fashion to substitute action for appeasement. As a result the streets and alleys of the city have resounded to the sound of gunshots by night.
The tactical theory back of the operation has been that if a skunk is approached from the rear by means of a shotgun—and if the officer does not miss his chance—the skunk has no opportunity to enter a complaint in connection with his sudden demise. That's the theory although it does not always seem to work.
But after the officer has done his shotgun duty, a dead skunk with or without scent remains and a problem arises. The police department insists that their function is dealing with live skunks. Live skunks they will handle but not dead ones.
The street department points out that their department has never been connected in any fashion with skunks—dead or alive—and that they have no desire to establish such a connection. The garbage collectors state that according to the terms of their contract a skunk is not garbage and will not be collected until the body has been properly packaged in a suitable container such as is prescribed for that purpose. The street sweeper of course is not designed to pick up dead skunks along with the other litter. instead of "passing the buck" city departments seem to be passing the skunk.
So the business of dealing with live skunks will have to be postponed until it is decided which city department handles the dead ones.
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
Articles by Stanley Greene
https://doorcounty.substack.com/t/stanley-greene