May 19, 2008 6:28 pm US/Central
Fireworks Meant To Scare Seagulls Frighten Town
CROWN POINT, Ind. (CBS) ―
Residents of Crown Point, Ind., say unusual pops, bangs and booms were waking them up in the middle of the night, and they had nothing to do with a celebration.
As CBS 2 Northwest Indiana Bureau Chief Pamela Jones reports, the noises were caused by fireworks set off to scare seagulls away.
Allied Waste sits blocks away from homes. Trucks pick up trash in Crown Point, dump it at the company's site, and it gets transferred to a landfill later. But while the waste waits, so do hungry seagulls looking for a meal.
A spokesperson from Allied Waste declined an on-camera interview. But he says the company has used industrial fireworks to make the seagulls scatter. And he says it's unlikely the fireworks were set off in the middle of the night because the seagulls aren't usually active at that time."
The frightening noises have shaken up April Berg's 8-year-old Rottweiler mix, who trembles when he's outside now. Fireworks set off at a nearby garbage hauling company intended to scare seagulls have frightened the dog too.
"And it took awhile for me to put two and two together why he was going so crazy," Berg said.
The dog has jumped through two windows in just over a week at their home, breaking them.
"Came Monday, I come home for my lunch hour like I do everyday and I let him out and no sooner than I let him out, I sat down and the window broke," Berg said. "He dove through another window."
Crown Point police say Allied Waste violated city and state laws banning fireworks except during some holidays. The department took complaints from neighbors and contacted the company.
"The company has agreed to stop doing the fireworks as of right now to be good neighbors with the rest of the community," said Assistant Police Chief Jim Janda.
The waste company is considering playing recordings of seagulls in distress to ward off the birds. They're also looking into a chemical mixture that could be sprayed to keep the birds away.
A representative told CBS 2 seagulls are a common problem, but they want a humane way to deal with them.
(CBS 2 and the Post-Tribune are news partners covering stories in the communities of northwest Indiana. Send story tips to tips@cbs2chicago.com. (© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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