Suicidal deer ...




The people of Button Township, a rural area just outside Paxton, Ill., are sick and tired of hitting deer with their cars. As a novel way to get drivers' attention, the town is installing new "suicidal deer" signs to curb the amount of wrecks caused by deer-vehicle collisions.

According to the Ford County Record, Button Township Highway Commissioner Ron Hilligoss came up with the eye-catching signage. The standard deer-crossing signs were altered to read "Suicidal Deer: Next 5 Miles."

“My nephew sent me a picture of one of these signs out in Colorado about six months ago. He texted it to me, and I thought it was really a good thing because it gets your attention,” Hilligoss was quoted as saying. “So we had a Ford County Highway Department meeting and I said, ‘Can you get me these signs?’”

Four signs will eventually mark the roads in Button Township. The first went up roughly seven weeks ago; the other three have not been placed yet. Hilligoss worries that vandals might shoot up the signs or otherwise damage them, but if the prototype survives the rest will go up.

Illinois as a whole isn't even in the top 20 states for deer-vehicle collisions, but Button Township has more than its fair share. The area had 33 reported wrecks in 2015 alone. While that figure sounds fairly low, the number doesn't tell the whole story: As of the 2010 Census, Button Township had only 281 people within its 34 square miles.

The sign seems to already be making a difference. No deer collisions have been reported in 2016 as of the article's publication Friday. “A lot of people see it,” Hilligoss said. “If you ask anybody where a deer crossing sign is, they couldn’t tell you, but they know where that one is at."

Photo by: Will Brumleve/Paxton Record

 




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Fishing Report from TPWD (Apr. 24)

GOOD. Water Stained; 60 degrees; 0.20 feet above pool. Bass have slowed, but post spawners are setting up on points in 5-7 feet of water with Carolina rigged creature baits. Topwaters and frogs are good early morning around grass. Shaky heads are good around boat houses. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Changing weather means changing bite. First phase spawners are now in a post spawn pattern and aggressive. Frog pattern top waters are excellent in the grass and brush. Casting into the pockets and letting the frog sit for a few seconds is a good idea. Crappies are shallow, catching them on edge of banks, small fish patterns like wooly buggers are a good bet. Bream are beginning to make themselves known in the shallows, wooly buggers and small poppers should bring a strike.Crappie are good in 2-13 feet on timber and around grass lines. Some fish are moving back out into the 12-18 feet areas and a little deeper. Black crappie are on a few bridges, but fish are not loaded up yet. Black crappie are also grouping under docks on sunny afternoons. Cast 1/16th ounce hand tied jigs continue to be good in white and gray, white and chartreuse and light blue and gray colors. Minnows will still work very well and especially on shallow fish around grass. Soft plastics will also work well as the fish have been very aggressive. We should see the aggressive bite until the warmer months get here and the fish get a little finicky. Catfishing continues to be good around timber where birds are roosting in 10-18 feet. Also getting reports of some shallow catfish around grass lines and sea walls. Those fish are most likely chasing shad spawns. Catfish are cruising around shallow wood in 6-12 feet, with lots of fry showing up. Use your favorite prepared catfish bait to load the boat once you locate the fish. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

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