By Tyler Trieglaff

Notes from the Chief

Notes from the Farm…The calves are all weaned except for six of the smallest/youngest ones that will stay with their mamas for a couple more months. They will have access to the hay and corn silage that the cows have, but they will also be able to chow down in a creep feeder that has a special grain feed just for the calves.  

The creep feeder is like an all you can eat buffet with a cage around it so only the calves can get the feed. This will help the calves maintain their growth as the temps turn cooler. The rest of the calves have settled into their new feedlot and are starting their own backgrounding ration.  

They got their second round of vaccines and a dose of wormer. We also pulled the weaning tags and tried a new product to help ease the weaning stress. 

FerAppease is designed to simulate mama being close to her baby. The active ingredient of FerAppease is a synthetic analogue of the Maternal Bovine Appeasing Substance (MBAS). MBAS is a naturally occurring substance that is secreted by the skin of the mammary gland of lactating animals, eliminating stress in all beef cattle treated. When I first heard of this product, I called it witchcraft but have since changed my mind with a little research. FerAppease is applied on the snout and behind the head of the calf, sort of like essential oils according to the DA.  

With the weaning tags and the FerAppease, hopefully we have helped reduce some of the stress of weaning. We have had very good results with just the weaning tags so hopefully the essential oils will add to that success. Calves that are stressed are more likely to get respiratory diseases which can be hard to treat and lead to a decline in production.  

Friday, Nov. 1

8:24 a.m. Assist with a background check for the FBI for a firearms check.

11:40 a.m. Report of an issue between two juvenile females. School handled the issue already.

3:18 p.m. Traffic stop for failure to yield to oncoming traffic. A vehicle pulled in front of the squad car and had already pulled over for the officer as he turned around. A friendly warning was issued.

3:21 p.m. Traffic stop on a high school male for spinning his tires on River Drive N.

3:41 p.m. Debit card found in a parking lot was turned in. It was a prepaid card and was destroyed per owners request.

Saturday, Nov. 2

1:50 p.m. Traffic complaint on US Hwy 10. Unable to locate.

6:48 p.m. City ordinance complaint of vehicles in yard and other unsightly items.

Monday, Nov. 4

8:06 a.m. Traffic stop for stop sign violation.

1:41 p.m. Anonymous report of a male in town with a warrant. Warrant is for in Illinois only and we are aware that he has the warrant.

2:30 p.m. Traffic stop for stop sign violation.

Tuesday, Nov. 5

10:55 a.m. Report of a dog barking. The officer did not hear the dog barking at the time.

11:06 a.m. Report of two juvenile boys walking around, trashing pumpkins, threatening people and dumping a cigarette butt tray. The boys were confronted by an adult male about the situation. Juvenile boys will receive citations for vandalism and adult male will receive citation for disorderly conduct. 

12 p.m. Report of the same two boys hanging in the alley behind the salon.  

2:58 p.m. 911 hang-up with a very happy child on the line.  An adult got on the phone and all was well.

3:23 p.m. Report from a female that her grandkids were getting picked on at the bus stop by adults. The officer told grandma to contact the school and the officer talked with the adult in question who of course denied any teasing at the bus stop.

Wednesday, Nov. 6

8:40 a.m. Background check for a local business.  

12:29 p.m. Report of a dog screaming again, similar to the other day. The officer checked on the dogs who were inside a four-season porch. Dogs were in good health and had water in the kennel.

4:41 p.m. Report of an unwanted vehicle on private property again. The business manager said he was going to leave a not-so-nice note for the scofflaw this time. Towing the vehicle is an option if the behavior continues. 

4:59 p.m. Report of erratic driving in a trailer park. The officer talked with the driver who stated his vehicle is loud, thus the complaint.  

5:39 p.m. Report of a minor fender bender in the high school parking lot.

Thursday, Nov. 7

5:07 p.m. Report of a loud boom and smoke coming from a neighbor’s backyard. The officer found a pile of leaves that had been started on fire. Tenant was advised to put the fire out as the leaves can create a heavy plume of smoke that may disturb the neighbors.

8:29 p.m. Report of a suspicious vehicle in a business parking lot. Driver was working on the pickup. As the officer arrived the driver had finished his repair and was on his way.