Well, that explains it

[altivo]

The roadblock I passed on state route 23 yesterday morning is now explained. I did notice on my way home that there had been a fire or explosion in the barn right at the spot where the block was set up. I hadn't seen that in the morning because of the more immediate distractions right on the road.

Front page of the Northwest Herald today.

The headline writer went for the sensationalist angle, of course. Yes, 45 animals died, but most of them were baby chicks rather than the donkeys, llamas, and goats who occupy most of that barn. The property damage is extensive, though, and they were still burning hay, straw, and wood in the yard near the barn this morning.

Comments

[hrrunka]

A keeper's nightmare, that. Even the animals rescued from the barn may be suffering from inhaling smoke and fumes. :(

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yep. They apparently had a vet on the scene trying to help with that. Later news says that many animals have been fostered out to neighboring farms until the building can be repaired.

disconnect in effect

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

Don't get me wrong, folks- I feel sad for the animals and all- but I have to chuckle at a headline reading "BLAZE KILLS 45... animals" *smirks* I get the feeling you live in a small town, Alt :P

Re: disconnect in effect

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Marengo is a small town, yes. The population is under 4000 unless maybe you count cats and dogs. I live three miles out of town to the east, the place where the fire took place is maybe three miles out of town to the north.

And yes, the newspaper account is sensational. But that isn't the Marengo paper, which is weekly and covers three towns. The Farmside will probably have only a line or two about this if anything, because they come out so late that nothing timely or newsworthy appears in their rag. High school sports scores seem to be the main features.

No, the Northwest Herald is, believe it or not, the county-wide daily newspaper. The Herald rarely reports anything about the western end of the county, though. It prefers to focus on the wealthy western suburbs of Chicago that lie in the far eastern parts: Barrington, Algonquin, and Crystal Lake. Only if they are short of news or can make some kind of screaming sensational "Five teens killed in car wreck" story out of it do they bother with our end of things.

This story has apparently been picked up by the television news out of Chicago, which probably means two things will happen. PETA will show up to make a fuss about animal abuse by petting zoos, and someone will start a trust fund to take up collections to "help the poor homeless animals."

Re: disconnect in effect

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

^_^ okies... still appeals to my general sense of human silliness. Let us know if you ever run across a headline like, "RABID GOAT MAULS TEN AT PETTING ZOO"

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

I wonder how that started o.O Hmmm

[altivo.livejournal.com]

He apparently had electric heaters in the barn. No idea how they were hooked up.