Attention Chronicle Progress e-mailers
Subscribers and advertisers desiring to contact the newspaper via e-mail should send messages to
chronpro@millardccp.com and send a carbon copy to
millardccp@yahoo.com.
If there are any questions, please call us at 864-2400 or 743-5340.
Mountain Lion in Meadow
An elite, but uninvited, guest showed up on Thurs., May 8, for Lexie Labrum’s wedding reception.
Invitations are sent to family friends and dispersed relatives to come join the fun. Reception preparations include a lot of rushing to and fro and the arrival of guests from unexpected places. This guest was not on the list and was not considered welcome when it arrived at the church a day early.
Lexie passed by the familiar stuffed mountain lion, Charlie the Lonesome Cougar, in her home to take decorations to the church for her reception. Little did she know that one of Charlie’s relatives was about to add to the excitement of the festivities.
Lexie took a large armload into the recreation hall and came back to find a surprise guest. An old mountain lioness was waiting by the east doors of the Meadow LDS chapel as Labrum came out after delivering some items for the reception.
“I opened the doors and heard cracking twigs. It (the lion) jumped away from me and hit some snow shovels. I thought it was a dog and then it turned around and looked at me,” said Labrum. “I pulled the door shut. I peeked out and it walked around the building to the south.”
Labrum called her family and fiancé seeking help. They called 911 and started for the church.
“I was flagging down the school bus and knocking on doors to let them know a mountain lion was in the vicinity,” said Tania Labrum, Lexie’s mother.
Millard County Sheriff’s deputies arrived quickly on the scene. The cougar had taken refuge in some bushes on the south side of the church. The deputies contacted Sean Kelly, DWR wildlife officer, while across the street an anxious mother of two toddlers watched the proceedings.
“They described it as an old cat—very emaciated. It was decided that the animal should be put down,” said Kelly.
The decision to dispatch the lion was based on it being a threat to small children and small animals in the community. The old lion apparently had come down out of the mountains in search of easy prey. Its teeth were worn and some were missing. It was so thin it was amazing it was still able to move. An older animal such as this one could not be re-located to another habitat. It was starving with little hope of recovery.
Quite a flurry of excitement coursed through the Labrum family for most of the day. Tania and Lexie’s grandmother, Carolyn Ballard arrived at the church at about the same time as the deputies.
“We made a list of things to do to prepare for the reception today, this was not on the list,” said Tania.
“It’s not everybody that gets such a distinguished guest at their wedding,” said Carolyn Ballard.
The lion was removed to Kelly’s residence where DWR officials could later examine the body. Kelly said there are few mountain lions that would come into town unless they were in desperate circumstances. He said this was a very unusual occurrence.
As for Lexie and her new husband, Clayton Barber, they had no plans to go on safari for their honeymoon. The unexpected visit took care of that possibility prior to the wedding
Stories in this weeks Millard County Chronicle Progress
A Great Tradition makes its annual appearance
Hinckley Icon gone
Special Olympics Torch Run
School District committee tours MHS
Letters to the Editor
Public Notices
School Happenings
Guest Editorial
Community Happenings
Service Directory
Crossword puzzle and more.....
American Legion Memorial Day Schedule
Memorial Day-May 26, 2008
Sutherland 0900 hours
Hinckley 0945 Hours
Deseret 1030 hours
Oasis 1115 hours
Delta 1200 hours
Cahoon-Jensen Post 135
