Latest news with #TheIslandPacket
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Arizona Man Kills Mountain Lion to Protect Pet Dog from Animal Attack
A man shot and killed a mountain lion after the big cat attacked his dog The dog and its owner were out for a walk at night in Buckeye, Arizona, when the mountain lion aggressively approached them The dog sustained no serious injuries in the encounter with the wild animalA man and his dog are safe after a dangerous encounter with a mountain lion. On May 25, around 10 p.m., in Buckeye — about 30 miles west of Phoenix, Arizona — the man was walking his dog in a residential area called Verrado when a mountain lion approached the pair and attacked them, the Arizona Game and Fish Department told PEOPLE in a statement. The "brief altercation" did not result in serious injuries for the canine, with the man successfully "kicking the lion off his dog," the department's statement read. Yet, the altercation didn't deter the predator, because the mountain lion doubled back, per the statement, following the man and dog as they returned home. The mountain lion approached the duo again, but this time, the man fatally shot the big cat. The killing was an act of self-defense, the statement read. The state's wildlife management agency picked up and transported the dead mountain lion without further incident. Mountain lion and human encounters are rare, but the spread of urban and suburban sprawl is leading to increased run-ins as the big cats lose their natural habitat. The University of Arizona estimated that roughly 2,500 to 3,000 wild mountain lions are living in the state. "If you encounter a lion, do not run. Face the lion and slowly back away, leaving an escape route, " the university said in a statement, per The Island Packet. "You should also try to appear larger by raising your arms over your head. You may also throw rocks and sticks as long as you can avoid crouching down." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Another dog owner recently went to extreme lengths to protect her pup. Kim Spencer of Tampa, Florida, was on an evening walk with her dog Kona when an alligator emerged from a lake nearby with its sights set on the pet. While the alligator got Kona's head in its jaws, Spencer mobilized and jumped on the back of the gator, effectively wrangling the reptile. "I stopped thinking and just dove on it, jumped on it and straddled it, as lady-like as that is, and was trying to pry its jaws open," she said. Kona survived the attack thanks to Spencer, leaving the altercation with several deep bite wounds that required stitches. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A reminder this Earth Day: The fight to save the Lowcountry is up to us
Ahead of America's first Earth Day in 1970, an oil spill famously stained a California beach and a polluted river was on fire in Ohio. But in the South Carolina Lowcountry, a great environmental battle was being waged that's also worthy of the history books. Here, a small but diverse band of natives and newcomers, shrimpers and developers, children and retirees successfully fought off the powers that be to stop a BASF chemical plant from locating on the pristine Colleton River near Bluffton and Hilton Head Island. The humble Capt. Dave shrimp trawler gave the fight its lasting image when it chugged to Washington, D.C., to deliver to Secretary of the Interior Walter Hickel more than 40,000 petition signatures in opposition to the chemical plant. The Capt. Dave was part of a new Hilton Head Fishing Cooperative that enabled Black shrimpers to get a bigger piece of the economic pie. And in the spring of 1971, the Capt. Dave and all aboard cruised into Harbour Town to celebrate the first anniversary of their historic trip to Washington. This is where we can see the ingredients to success as we mark the 55th Earth Day on Tuesday. We can see it through the eyes of the Rev. Boyd Cook. He attended the second annual Capt. Dave celebration after just arriving on the island to bring Christ Lutheran Church to life after six years in Memphis when it was being torn apart by racial violence. 'There were all these yachts tied up,' he told The Island Packet newspaper in the spring of 1972. 'Then into the harbor streamed the shrimp boats draped with banners and pennants, horns blowing, people waving and yelling. Everybody got off the boats and had a party. There was shrimp boiling in 50-gallon drums, a band playing and a beer truck. 'Here was a community getting together as one. I was overwhelmed. 'Can this really be South Carolina?' I thought.' A lesson: They banded together as one. They remembered the fight. They celebrated. The next spring it was even bigger. 'An estimated 800 people showed up on Sunday to dance to the rock 'n roll of the 'Chariots,' drink beer, eat hamburgers and frankfurters and recall the historic 1970 voyage,' The Island Packet reported. It had the feel of the Fourth of July, New Year's Eve and Bastille Day rolled into one. Amid all the fanfare, a petition was circulated. This time it was in opposition to a planned Chicago Bridge and Iron plant at the same Victoria Bluff site BASF had eyed. That lesson: The fight to protect the Earth never ends. The community also celebrated on the day Walter Hickel, the Interior Secretary, came to see the land and water he had helped protect by writing a pointed letter to BASF saying the government would not allow environmental degradation. 'If I live to be very old, I will never forget the day the Capt. Dave came up the Potomac River with the petition of a list of names protesting the plant,' Hickel said. 'The powers on Capitol Hill backed off.' In a speech at the Port Royal Inn, Hickel said that 'caring' was more important than money in getting things done. He said laws already on the books offered environmental protection — but only if they were enforced. 'Someone has to care,' he said. 'Someone has to make it happen. Laws alone won't do it.' He said the threat to Port Royal Sound would never have come to his attention without the concern of individuals. 'Wars will always be won by the concern of one human being for another — not by billions of dollars.' The Rev. Cook had a similar message. When he left for another charge after a decade on the island he said the concern and caring that he had so admired in the past was needed more than ever. 'The big fear is not the growth of the island,' he said, 'but the attrition of concern. Apathy and frustration should be fought more than windmills. When people no longer get involved, when they no longer care, then everything we don't want to happen will happen by default. 'It is a matter of caring so intently that you keep trying. You refuse to quit.' The same is true today. The fight to save the Lowcountry is up to us. David Lauderdale may be reached at lauderdalecolumn@
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Yahoo
No bathroom for students who skip Pledge of Allegiance has May River teacher in hot water
A May River High School math teacher accused of refusing to let students use the bathroom unless they participate in the Pledge of Allegiance is believed to have been put on leave by the Beaufort County School district. In a 40-second video that has been posted multiple times on social media, a student can be heard pleading to be allowed to go to the bathroom, but the teacher refuses. A student can then be heard asking, 'So if we don't stand for the pledge, we can't use the restroom?' The teacher responds, 'Right.' When the student again pleads she needs to go to the restroom, the teacher says, 'Then stand for the pledge.' Social media users identify the teacher in the video as Lawrence Scandone, who is listed as a math teacher in the high school's directory. Multiple sources granted anonymity also confirmed to The Island Packet that Scandone is the teacher in the video. Candace Bruder, the school district's communications offer, confirmed that Scandone has been placed on administrative leave but would not confirm Scandone was the teacher in question or address why he is on leave. Calls made to a number believed to be Scandone's were not immediately returned Monday. Bruder said that the district cannot comment on personnel matters, but bathroom policy complaint is being addressed. A teacher placed on administrative leave is removed from campus while an investigation is conducted, Bruder confirmed. Dr. Chad Cox, the executive director of schools with the school district, said that students use an electronic hall pass system. Students are able to use their school-issued devices to complete a request to a teacher, and teachers, from their own device, would have to approve the request with a code. Typically, kids verbally ask a teacher before submitting the online request, he said, but they do not have to. There are not limits on the number of times a student can use the bathroom, he said. Bruder confirmed that each school within the district does the Pledge of Allegiance. According to the district's policy manual, 'Any person not wishing to recite or otherwise participate in the Pledge of Allegiance shall be exempt from recitation and/or participation and shall not be penalized for failing to participate in a manner which does not materially infringe upon the rights of others or disrupt school activities.' A student posted the video on Tuesday, April 1. It collected more than 187,000 views and 33,000 likes in the following six days. The video can be found on TikTok.
