OCTOBER 2017

THE
STURBRIDGETIMES
THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING
MAGAZINE

Permit No. 2
Worcester, MA
PAID
U.S. Postage
Prsrt. Std
 r MUSINGS FROM LONG HILL s
THE DARKNESS CONTINUES
BY RICHARD MORCHOE

I n the September 2017 issue of the Stur-

bridge Times Magazine I wrote about the
duckling or young turkey to any four-legged
creature. We have to take measures against

LEGAL horrendous killings of two dwarf goats. It was

disturbing on many levels including the seem-
flying predators, especially owls, but that is it.
When I came out to feed and water the

BRIEF ing ritual aspect that might portend greater

evildoing on the part of the perpetrator or per-
petrators.
ducks and saw them gone, the scene was dev-
astating, and inexplicable. One end of the
fence had been knocked down but there were
ROBERT A. GEORGE, ESQ.
STURBRIDGE ATTORNEY It was hoped by now that the case would no feathers strewn about as one might expect
M O NT H LY LEGA L A DV IC E have been solved, but that has not happened. with some hunting animals.
F O R R EA D ER S O F With few clues, it was not unexpected. Having used the same method of fencing
T H E S T UR B R ID GE T IM ES M AGA Z INE Since the last issue went out, something sin- for at least a decade and a half, all the dan-
ister has happened on Long Hill Road. That, gerous animals that would love to make a
CHILD SUPPORT or your columnist has an imagination that is meal of our birds, have never breached the
working overtime. barrier.
T heres nothing fair about child support.
If youre paying, youre paying too
much. If youre receiving, youre receiving
A lovely aspect of our rural idyll is that the
privacy we enjoy has allowed us to feel almost
Even if something pushed the fence
down, leaving no trace is hard to fathom. A
too little. But that doesnt stop the Com- as if we lived in our own private country. fox is fastidious and will take the whole bird,
monwealth from trying, every few years, to Other than UPS or FedEx and invited guests, but they are solitary hunters and would not
make if fairer. we are left alone. get several in an evening. They are also small
It wasnt too long ago they revamped the In mid-September that changed. We awoke and would not be able to push down a sec-
guidelines to make what lawmakers consid- to find all our ducks missing without a trace. tion of fence the way it was found.
ered to be a more equitable formula for de- One might say that that often happens out in Bears are often resident in the wildlife
termining who pays how much. Now the country and we have had our share of management area across the street, and
theyve made two new changes.
losses to predators in the past, but this time, it could crash through and scoop up the odd
The first takes into account the age of the
child whos being supported. Most child was impossible to explain. duck. But electricity is known by beekeepers
support orders dont stop until the child is When we arrived in West Brookfield, it was to deter our ursine friends. Our own bee-
an adult-aged 23 years old. This didnt seem with delusions of homesteading. We have since hives are not far from where the ducks were
fair to lawmakers who figured that older learned a lot about what is feasible and what kept. We have electric fencing around them,
children who are away at college and often might not work. Not that we do not still make and a bear adventurous enough to brave a
earning their own spending money cost less occasional mistakes. shock would prefer honey to fowl.
than younger children who are pooping In keeping young poultry outside, the best Raccoons, weasels, fisher cats and other
through diapers, wearing down soccer uni- procedure weve learned is to use electric net- small critters would love to sink their teeth
forms and burning through calories of food
ting. With that, we have not lost a chick or into any of our little feathered friends, but
as they grow up.
The new guidelines can lower child sup-
port payments once the child turns 18.
The new guidelines also attempt to cor-
rect for the cost of health insurance. Often
there is one parent who is ordered by the
court to keep the children on his health in-
surance policy from work.
Under the old calculus, there was no con-
sideration given for the health insurance
payments. Now the courts give a credit to
whichever parent is paying that bill, so that
if youre getting child support and paying
health insurance, youll get a little more. Or,
if youre paying child support and paying
health insurance, then youll pay a little less.
This seems fair. Doesnt it?
Well, probably not youre the mother of
an 18-year-old child who gets child support
from dad, who, incidentally, also pays for the
familys medical insurance.

16 THE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINE THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING

have never challenged our enclosure. Before we
went over to our current system, they were
happy to make a meal now and again at our ex-
pense, but that was then.
One could picture a deer running through,
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could find out. One neighbor thought he might course, doutful there
have seen a duck on his land. Others down the would be much he could
road have lost cats to what they believe were find out.
coyotes. Officer Early suggested it was probably
predator animals. Certainly, if one were to and move off without a trace.
apply Occams Razor, that would be the most Of course, this begs a few questions as to
logical conclusion, with all the furry little guys who would do this. One cannot see the ducks
with sharp claws or fangs roaming about Long from the road and our next-door neighbors are
Hill. not the type to be a party to anything like this.
However, you can probably see where we are Then again, up on Ridge Road the goats were
going with this. Yes, the area is teeming with not visible from the street.
hungry creatures, but why was one able to suc- Over 40 years ago when I was misspending
ceed now when for maybe fifteen years there my youth in the Boston cab business, we had a
has been no successful attempt to take our small saying, paranoia is a higher state of conscious-
livestock? ness. It was a job not without some danger.
Your columnist is almost embarrassed to sug- Since then, Ive never had the feeling that
gest the possibility of a human as the culprit. malevolent actors were close. The probability
Heck, I am embarrassed, but there is no way to is that I am overlooking something, but my
explain it. Only a two-legged malefactor would fence had been heretofore a little Fort Knox
be able to drop the fence, herd the ducks to the and the electricity was on and functioning.
other end and collect them in a transport crate Cue the Twilight Zone theme music.

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THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING THE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINE 17