Vandals strike foe of deer kill

Retired justice reports incidents in Ottawa Hills


Alice Robie Resnick, a retired Ohio Supreme Court justice, demonstrates where a handwritten note was taped over a sign in her yard that expresses her opposition to the planned deer cull.
( THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT )


By TOM HENRY
BLADE STAFF WRITER

Tensions in Ottawa Hills over a proposed deer cull have led to vandalism at the Edgehill Road home of retired Ohio Supreme Court Justice Alice Robie Resnick.

"I was really surprised at such behavior. I would think everyone would respect other people's opinions," Ms. Resnick said of what she discovered around 7:45 Thanksgiving morning.

A deer yard ornament was removed from her property, but the antlers were left behind. Three "No Hunting" signs had been ripped from the trees where they were posted, according to a village police report.

The report said a handwritten message that read: "Deer Ottawa Hills. My life is not worth this controversy. So I kill me'self" had been duct-taped to one of her yard signs.

Ms. Resnick said the writing appeared to be that of an adult, although one with a juvenile mind-set. "You feel violated because you know somebody came on your property and took the time to do that," she said. "The whole thing was planned, because it wasn't scribbled."

A spokesman for the police said the report is on file, but no one had been arrested.
Although Ottawa Hills Sgt. Mark Kolasinski told The Blade he was not aware of other vandalism, Ms. Resnick said she knows of other homes where yard signs have been spray-painted and ornaments depicting deer have been removed.


Ms. Resnick opposes the proposed cull.

She has offered to help review the wording of a petition two area lawyers are drafting for villagedeer.com, a citizens group opposed to the cull.

The group yesterday began circulating petitions calling for the question of the cull to be decided by voters. Linda Howe, Lucas County Board of Election director, has said the petitions need 218 valid signatures of village voters to put the issue on a ballot.

The vote could not be taken until the May statewide primary. Village Council is trying to get the cull done in February or March. Terry Lodge, one of the lawyers involved with the referendum drive, has said he plans to seek a temporary restraining order if enough signatures are gathered and the council does not agree to yield authority.

On a 4-2 vote last Monday, the council approved an exemption to a 1940 firearms ordinance so the cull could proceed. The decision came at the conclusion of a meeting at Ottawa Hills Elementary School attended by 350 people, one of council's largest turnouts.

Several people from both sides of the issue urged the council then to let voters decide the matter.

The cull would be the Toledo area's first organized killing of suburban deer since a controversial one in Perrysburg in 1998, which was called off after only two does were taken.

- Tom Henry