MARSHALL --They are calling the effort to save animals along the Kalamazoo River a big success even though they are only saving a fraction of the creatures who have been inundated by oil.
The DNRE’s Jeff Wesley says they are having great success with Turtles, many have been cleaned and set free at nature preserves in the area, and there are many more at the rescue center.
But he says just a fraction of the turtles in the contaminated zone are being rescued. A grand total of two frogs have been thru the center. Where are the rest? Still in the oil. No matter how successful the effort, its clear they would have all been a lot better off if they spill had never occurred.
After weeks of cleaning and rehabilitation they are expected to release their first geese today at the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary.
Health officials have yet to find a single water well in the oil spill area from Talmadge Creek all the way down the Kalamazoo River to Morrow Lake, that has been contaminated by oil. Kalamazoo has tested 14 wells and Calhoun County health officials have tested 60. All came out clean.
Health Director Jim Rutherford says it takes about 6 months for oil to seep thru soils into shallow aquifers, unless it’s removed first.
He says the municipal water well fields for Marshall and Battle Creek are some distance away and should not be affected.
Felony charges of drunken driving causing serious injury and child endangerment may be levied against Megan Easter, a 25-year-old Holland Township woman whose pickup truck sheared off a utility pole and crashed head-on into a tree off of 120th Avenue near James Street on Sunday. Her condition has been upgraded from critical to serious; her sons, aged 7 and 4, are recovering from lesser injuries sustained.
