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Show Learning is boosted by professor deciding to "stuff it" by Jill Edwards Staff writer Have you ever wondered where all those mounted birds in the College of Eastern Utahs Science Building came from? It all started when Professor Lament Arnold began teaching at the college in 1961. He taught a natural history class, later called field biology, and wanted to help his students learn to identify as many animal species as they could. He collected the birds so "the students could see first hand what some of the local and native birds looked like. They wouldn't just have to see pictures of them in a bode or on slides, but could see actual specimens so they could leam to identify them. In the showcases of the Science Building, students can see a large number of bird species and information on each bird. Students can see a Goshawk standing over a Blue Grouse it has justkilled. A Prairie Falcon is depicted with its recent prey, a Stellars Jay. Even a Bald Eagle and a Golden Eagle can be found in the showcase for students to see. Three by five cards in the showcase give information such as the birds common name, scientific name, gender and where it was collected. The purpose of his project, Dr. Arnold stated, was to help students become more aware of their surroundings. Many of them, after the class, told me that they never knew there were so many different kinds of birds. Birds werent just sparrows or robins or ducks. There were many different kinds and they started to look and see what they were. Some people Birds are not the only animals Arnold collected. The purpose of the class was for students to leam to identify a variety of birds, mamnalimd reptiles. He set out live traps for mamma!, such as chipmunks and squirrels. Most of there animals were made into better,sfima mounted and made to look lifelike. specimens can be found in the show cases of the classroom he used toteuhln. The study skins are stored in a drawer in the classroom, Reptiles werealittle easier to prepare. Theysimply had to bcplaced in ajar of formaldehyde. Arnold estimates that there are roughly 30 to 40 different species of mammals and 25 to 30 reptiles and "PWM- quite a few years, Arnold said. The birds are owned by CEU. Written on a 3x5 card in the window of the show case,. students may read that Arnold and Norman Larsen collected most of the birds, Collecting the birds was not an easy task. Smaller birds were the most difficult to collect Arnold used a .22 caliber rifle with bird shot The bird shot will not shoot from far away, so he had to be close to the animal. Larger birds were shot with a shot gun. He said it was much easier to collect them in die beginning when he was trying to find commonly seen birds. It became much harder as he looked for rare birds. Arnold went where he thought the birds would be. I learned to identify a lot of birds that I didn t know before.I learned their habits ' and where you could expect to find them." Most of the water birds were collected over Desert Lake and ponds over Miller Creek. One ofthe managers at Desert Lake was very cooperative. Arnold could tell him he needed a certain bird and the manager would keep him informed. He obtained a lot of birds that he didn't have at that time because of this mans well-kno- , Udy was done by Brent Housekeeper. He went to CEU, and then went on to work for Jonas Brothers, a taxidermy company who has drnie work on animals such as elephants, giraffes and tigers. Randy Mathis, Sam Raby and Gail Rabyalsodidsomeofthe taxidermy work. Not all the birds are in the showcase ofthe science building. Other birds are in a back room stored in sealed tubes. The birds can still be seen and examined in the tubes. Die size and colon ofthe birds - The study skins andthereptiles wereprebyAnmld tatthe taxidermy of some of the mammals and of the birds was done by amateur and professional taxidermist in this area. Most of the work help. One of the great contributions to the show case was a Bald Eagle. Arnold was traveling to Logan when he saw the carcass of the bird. past Soldiers Summit, going down that canyon, 1 happened to glance out of the comer . of my eye and I saw off to the side of the road, a hundred feet up on the hillside, what looked like a Bald Eagle. The eagle did not appear to have been shot or hit by a car. He picked upthe say that collecting Is "for the birds," but Lamont Arnold, of the science bird and took it with him and kept jt in his department, thinks otherwise. Photo by Bryan Bernard sisters freezer until he returned from his trip. As soon as he could, he called the local office are easily observed, tat they are not prepared well enough for Fish and Game and 0f asked permission to have it mounted. They display. He said he has more birds than other animals because they tad they did not have jurisdiction over it and referred him to the were casta to collect and people seemed to enjoy them more than fedetagtwernnrent A representative came to W, house and snakes and frogs. examined the bird. He wanted to know all about Arnolds dreum- In order to collect bints, a person needs a state and federal bird ta finding it. Finally, Dr. from collecting pount Thislsdifferentthanahuntinglicenreandharder offlce 'Ttee I, to obtain. The state and federal governments allowed Arnold this at that it is for the permissible paperwork CEU, prove college to permit because he used the specimens for college students educa- - have this bird in its possession tion. He kepthisfor 25 years, buthadtorenew it often. Even with One of Arnolds favorite birds is Bullock's Oriole. He has had the permit., person i. only allowed to collect one pair of each theminhUbackyardforthetotcoupleyear.. HeadtedUmhPowir species of bird. Somehow birds am becolduringtanting remove ome of hU tree, whto had died. The workers them to be hunted any time of year. I ,dUgl season, but the permit had no idea how many Id getrbut I worked at it quite uvinuslv for tee Birds page 8 Domestic abuse statistics for Carbon MUp unZted. . & Emery Counties may shock you treatment of abusers. When she quit working at the shelter to come work at CEU.the other people working at the shelter named it after her. I was quite flattered that they named it after me," Quigley said. Other supporters and volunteers at the shelter are the local police, businesses the community and just the people who live near the shelter. Because the women who go to the shelter are not charged and are not required to pay for essentials like food and toiletries, the shelter appreciates donations they receive on a frequent basis from the community. The day that the interview took place, the shelter recieved a generous gift of some desperately needed new furniture, from Mac Johnson, the owner of the Price Trading Company. Mac has been a long- - time supporter of this program, Poindexter court-order- By Amber Saupan Staff Writer Open up the newspaper or turn on the television to the local news and you are sure to find some heartbreaking story about another ' person who has fallen victim to the continuous problem of domestic violence. Many will read or hear about these cases usually feel bad, but rarely do anything to help solve the problem. However, in Price, a number of people are making a difference and are trying to break the continuous cycle of violence. This month is Abuse Awareness Month. Each week of October has been broken into parts representing a different kind of abuse focused on (physical, sexual, mental, etc.). Last week, Oct 3, domestic violence. Domestic violence is when one family member hurts (or abuses) another. An abuser can be either male or female, or partner. but usually is a husband, father, boyfriend, Women and children are usually the victims. Living in a rural Utah community as in Carbon or Emery county, violence is in many do not realize how big of a problem domestic our area. We believe this kind of problem is found in large cities, when, in fact, the problem is as serious here as it is there. According 7-1- 'said. ' ed . , The Price Battered Spouse Shelter is continually in need of volunteers and are currently interested in getting help from the from CEU youth. Youth volunteers can earn collegecredit-hour- s for volunteering at the shelter. If you are interested please call Quigley at 637-2- 1 20 ext S326 or go down to the sun center and talk to Kathy Painter. Quigley also mentioned that she has an excellent film dealing with spoiisal abuse issues in her office. . |