Another bear story

[Dances with Mice]

A bear that has been prowling a neighborhood raiding trash cans and dog dishes and has become accustomed to people tossing food to him has now been relocated to the Georgia mountains. Probably near a shelter on the AT, where he'll feel right at home.

Somebody needs to take notes - so far we've learned that bears like Ranier beer and Ritz crackers, but they don't like Busch or wheat bread.

And why do they always say 'north Georgia mountains'? To differentiate them from all those mountains in south Georgia?
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http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ha...y.asp?ID=83604

Cumming's 'Smokey' finally captured

CUMMING - Ritz crackers helped officials in Cumming catch a 100-pound bear that had been raiding bird feeders, trash cans and dog dishes.

Division of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Jay Cantrell sank a dart loaded with a tranquilizer into the bear's haunches Wednesday.

Officials took the bear back to the north Georgia mountains.

The bear was captured after he was spotted in the Parkside subdivision. A police officer tossed him dog food from a 20-foot deck. Then he tried wheat bread, but the bear didn't respond.

A woman who lived in the house suggested Ritz crackers, which the bear liked.

The biologist says he's not sure where the bear came from. He says the animal might have lived in Dawson County or Lumpkin County, which both have lots of habitat.

The police department nicknamed the bear ``Smokey.''

[TakeABreak]

WHo knows why the idiots who report the news or write articles say what they do. All I can suumize is that if sounds good to them and other morons then say. Even it makes no sense what so ever to neormal people.

[Mausalot]

SEATTLE, Washington (Reuters) -- A black bear was found passed out at a campground in Washington state recently after guzzling down three dozen cans of a local beer, a campground worker said on Wednesday.

"We noticed a bear sleeping on the common lawn and wondered what was going on until we discovered that there were a lot of beer cans lying around," said Lisa Broxson, a worker at the Baker Lake Resort, 80 miles (129 kilometers) northeast of Seattle.

The hard-drinking bear, estimated to be about two years old, broke into campers' coolers and, using his claws and teeth to open the cans, swilled down the suds.

It turns out the bear was a bit of a beer sophisticate. He tried a mass-market Busch beer, but switched to Rainier Beer, a local ale, and stuck with it for his drinking binge.

Wildlife agents chased the bear away, but it returned the next day, said Broxson.

They set a trap using as bait some doughnuts, honey and two cans of Rainier Beer. It worked, and the bear was captured for relocation.

[Goon]

> And why do they always say 'north Georgia mountains'?
> To differentiate them from all those mountains in south Georgia?

I've noticed since moving to Georgia that if you ask the natives where they are from, they'll usually say "north Georgia" or "south Georgia". Almost like they are two different states, like the Carolinas.

[Dances with Mice]

> And why do they always say 'north Georgia mountains'?
> To differentiate them from all those mountains in south Georgia?

I've noticed since moving to Georgia that if you ask the natives where they are from, they'll usually say "north Georgia" or "south Georgia". Almost like they are two different states, like the Carolinas.

That's because you live in Dawsonville home of Awsome Bill, firmly in North GA and in the foothills of the Appalachians.

Jimmy Carter was from South Georgia. Different place entirely.

[Youngblood]

That's because you live in Dawsonville home of Awsome Bill, firmly in North GA and in the foothills of the Appalachians.

Jimmy Carter was from South Georgia. Different place entirely.

Gee, when you capitalize North and South like that... they do seem like different states!

Youngblood

[steve hiker]

That's because you live in Dawsonville home of Awsome Bill, firmly in North GA and in the foothills of the Appalachians.
Jimmy Carter was from South Georgia. Different place entirely.

Q: Is Atlanta in North Georgia or South Georgia?

A: Neither. It's a colony of New York.

Follow up: Where does New York-GA end and North Georgia begin? For you Georgia residents.

[Goon]

I can tell you that any northern influence hasn't made its way to Dawson County as you can read from this news article.

---

[ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 11/9/02 ]

Dawson junk car fans rev up to fight leaders

By NORMAN AREY
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer
Jeremy Bales / Special

DAWSONVILLE -- With threats of bloodshed ringing
in their ears, Dawson County commissioners asked
police to escort them to their cars following a
meeting last week.

The message residents sent was clear, loud and
vehement: "Don't mess with our cars!"

Commissioners had proposed an ordinance to
beautify the county by removing all junk cars.
Dawsonites took exception, so commissioners
scratched it.

But residents, with a recall petition in hand,
haven't quit yet.

The rural county, with a population of 15,999, is
60 miles north of downtown Atlanta and has had a
love affair with the automobile since its invention.

One Saturday night every month, there is a rally
in Dawsonville that routinely draws more than 500
classic cars, built by their owners.

And, of course, Dawson County's main claim to fame
is that it's the home of "Awesome Bill From
Dawsonville" Elliott, a NASCAR Hall of Famer. The
county has produced five Daytona 500 winners for a
total of 12 titles.

But it's almost impossible to gaze across the
landscape without seeing cannibalized cars. Most
of them are kept to be scavenged for parts to fix
up show cars.

"Sometimes it takes four cars to make one," said
Gordon Pirkle, owner of the Dawsonville Pool Room.
"This is a hotbed of people restoring old cars.
Cars have been a way of life in Dawson County always."

The new ordinance was scheduled for discussion at
the Oct. 28 commission meeting, drawing more than
275 citizens -- more than 10 times the usual
crowd. They came primed for either resolution or
trouble. They got resolution, when the commission
announced at the top of the meeting that it had
withdrawn the ordinance. But then it turned into
trouble.

"I think people felt the ordinance gave government
too much power," said county attorney Joey Homans.
"It interfered with their property rights. They
felt people could come onto their property and
look at their stuff."

The vocal outpouring and threats came even after
the commission said it had scratched the proposed
ordinance.

"People still wanted to vent," said Dawson Deputy
Sheriff Greg Rowan. "Folks here are trying not to
be a metro Atlanta county. They don't want to be
like Alpharetta or Gwinnett County. People don't
take kindly to change."

Rowan said one of the 60 or so speakers told the
commission, "If blood is spilled, it'll be on your
hands." Another said that if the commissioners
passed any ordinance dealing with junk cars, "they
could end up like the late Dr. Martin Luther King."

"I felt the potential was there for some real
problems," Rowan said. "It was quite
nerve-racking. I called for another patrol car to
come to the parking lot. I thought if anything
happened, it would be out there."

"They wanted us to cover up junk autos," said
Nicky Elliott, niece to Awesome Bill. "Come on.
That's ridiculous."

Because of this, there is a petition under way to
recall three of the five commissioners. Some feel
they should remove all five from office.

"Mountain people don't like other people telling
them what to do," said Betty Turner, a
seventh-generation Dawson native. "A lot of people
here like old cars for a hobby. It takes parts off
of four or five cars to fix one show car.

"All those people at Big Canoe [a gated community
nearby] saw those junk cars when they came in, so
why didn't they move on? If they want things here
to be like the city of Atlanta, why don't they
stay there?

"Most of the people at the meeting have lived here
most of their lives," said Turner. "Every time we
go to a meeting, they want to pass more ordinances
and laws. . . . Now most of the commissioners
aren't even from here. They're outsiders trying to
tell us how to run our business."

"They opened up a can of worms," said Pirkle, "and
I don't know if they're going to be able to get
[the lid] back on."

[Dances with Mice]

Q: Is Atlanta in North Georgia or South Georgia?

A: Neither. It's a colony of New York.

Follow up: Where does New York-GA end and North Georgia begin? For you Georgia residents.

Georgia State Highway 20, pretty much. Might have to raise that up a little in Gwinnett because of the mall. Otherwise both North and South Georgia claim Macon and the Allman Brothers. Neither side claims nor wants Savannah.

That was too funny about the non-operational (don't call them junk) cars. Another hot button issue is dog leash laws. Let any talk start about keeping dogs in fenced yards or on a leash and war breaks out between the subdivision dwellers and country folk.

Now to crawl back onto topic - there's a small inexpensive pulp magazine called "Georgia Outdoors" or something similar, about hunting and fishing in Georgia. Once a year it will list the tag counts from the various wildlife checking stations. Each year at the Dawson Forest station, tucked in right behind that huge outlet shop mall on GA-400, 3 or 4 bears are harvested each season during the bow season. I'm surprised there aren't more problem bears finding their way into subdivisions.

It's worth the price of the magazine just for the back page where they list all the poaching incidents in the state, including the names of the low-life scoundrels and the details about how they got caught. You don't want to be listed there because then all your neighbors and co-workers will hear about it.

[halibut15]

Count Hall County out. It's as much New York-GA as "the ATL" is nowadays. If anybody knows Clermont, GA...that's my cutoff line....yankees.

[steve hiker]

Yep, he sure does. Tim Treadwell tells about it in his book Among Grizzlies:

The sprawling green fields were littered with bears. One patch boasted between forty and fifty bears. Slinking about, I discovered a fresh crater surrounded by fresh piles of bear droppings. I recognized the crater from my research as being a bear daybed. This bed was eight feet long, six feet wide, and three feet deep. I plopped down in the crater, and peeked out over the edge at the bears. The grazing bears harvested grass with steady yo-yo chomps, then lifted their heads to swallow.

Feeling a sense of contentment, my eyelids grew heavy, and I fell asleep in the bear's bed. Slipping into a trance, bears swirled around in my head, just like in the dream I had the evening that I arrived. Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! could be heard as if in another room in my dreams. The persistent crunching was soft and surreal at first, then louder and more realistic.

Finally, I shook myself awake and found myself staring up at a huge grizzly just a few feet from my head. The animal was so gigantic that it blocked out the sun's light, it's massive head larger than two basketballs put together. Platter-sized paws with dagger-like claws were just inches from my face. He continued to graze, glaring at me all the while.

He was so close, I could have reached out and patted his damp mouth and chin. I could hear the grass slide down his gullet, gurgling around in his swollen belly. His stomach was so huge that it nearly dragged on the ground. I was terrified, but I couldn't help but marvel at the magnificent creature. At that moment, my future rested in his paws.

Without staring directly at him I sensed something unique about this bear. I began to sing, ever so softly: "Mr. Chocolate Bear, I'm so sorry I'm in your bed." He cocked his head and gingerly backed up a few paces, peering at me. Without knowing why, I felt positive I could just roll out the crater and safely leave. Carefully, I did just that, and crawled away, all the while singing sweetly to the bear.

=====================
WOW! Now that takes balls. Tim Treadwell ain't scarda no bears ... he even takes over their beds!

[Dances with Mice]

Tim Treadwell ain't scarda no bears ... he even takes over their beds!

A song Tim wrote:

I've looked at bears
From both sides now...
From in and out
Their alimentary canal.
But still, somehow
It's bear illusions I recall,
I really don't know bears
At all.

[TDale]

It was Tim's smell that put the bear off.

I'll bet they relocated that black bear to the Cohuttas. Great.