10 The Perquimans Weekly, July 30, 2003
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Maul Robinson honored
Continued from page 1
No charges have been
filed against Foreman or
his son, and the attack is
still under investigation,
Tilley said.
“We have to talk to
Bunch first to find out what
happened, why she was in
the area before we consider
charges,” he said. “That
may be tomorrow
(Saturday); it aU depends
on her condition.”
Tilley said it appeared
the dogs had been used for
fighting. Each had punc
ture wounds, bite marks
and scratches on their legs,
e£u:s, chest and head.
Reel confirmed that the
department has been told
that the dogs have been
used for fighting in the
past, and they are looking
for more information on
those allegations.
She added that the
department expects to
receive notification to euth
anize the dogs.
Blake Robinson was
pretty mild-mannered in
the haUs of PCHS.
His manners stayed with
him on the football field,
even when he was pummel-
ing opponents with a
vengeance.
For his positive conduct
on the field, Robinson was
one of eight individual win
ners of sportsmanship
awards in the North
Carolina High School
Athletic Association
Student Services Team
Recognition Program.
The Student Services
Division of the NCHSAA
recognizes schools whose
teams have gone ejection
free for the entire academic
year. In an effort to expand
that recognition, individu
als from any team' which
was ejection free may be
submitted by their coach
for further consideration.
These students must not
only have exhibited good
sportsmanship but exem
plified citizenship, charac-
Blake Robinson partici
pates in pre-graduation
events.
ter and community spirit.
Then all those individuals
who were nominated are
eligible for a drawing each
to receive a $100 scholar
ship.
The 2003 graduate wUl be
sorely missed by the
Pirates this season, but
chances are, opposing
offensive players will be
glad they don’t have to deal
with Robinson’s bruising
tackles.
Dismal Swamp deer hunt scheduled
Refuge Manager Lloyd
Culp released the frame
work of the 2003 hunt pro
gram at the Great Dismal
Swamp National Wildlife
Refuge. The hunt will con
sist of 13 dates for hunting
white-tailed deer in
October and November.
The annual
shotgun/archery deer hunt
dates have been scheduled
for Oct. 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 16,
17, 18, 24, 25, and 31 and
Nov. 1. Hunters can pur
chase the Refuge permit for
these hunts by sending
their name, current
address, and telephone
number (including area
code) on a 3x5 index card to
the Great Dismal Swamp
NWR, 3100 Desert Road,
Suffolk, Virginia 23434,
Attn: Deer Hunt. In addi
tion, a check or money
order for a $15 non-refund-
able permit fee, made
payable to the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, must
accompany the application
card. Applications wUl be
taken from Aug. 1 - Sept. 15.
AU individuals who apply
for a permit wUl receive
one. All applications with
fee must be received in the
Refuge office no later than
Sept; 15. Hunters will
receive their hunt permit
and hunt information pack
age in the maU.
Individuals who have a
Golden Age or Golden
Access Passport wUl
receive a 50 percent dis
count on the hunt fee. The
Golden Access Passport is
free and is for individuals
of all ages who are dis
abled. Both passports are
available at the Refuge
office during business
hours.
The Refuge wUl offer two
scouting days on Sept. 26
and 27. The Refuge has land
open to hunting in both
Virginia and North
Carolina. Hunters wiU also
need to have the appropri
ate state hunting license to
participate in the Refuge
hunt. I
For further information,
please contact the Refuge
office at (757) 986-3705,
Monday - Friday, 8a.m. to
3:30p.m.
Rearchers aim to halt sales of
noxious weeds on Internet
Some plants
and seeds sold
on web sites
illegal
Web-savvy gardeners
beware: Certain plants and
seeds sold on gardening
web sites are considered
Ulegal by the federal gov
ernment.
Many online vendors seU
plants that appear on the
federal noxious weed list,
making the Internet the
newest pathway for exotic
plants and associated pests
to invade the nation's nat
ural resources.
“Some of the vendors
may not know the species
they are raising are inva
sive plants and are listed,”
said Dr. Ronald Stinner,
professor of entomology
and biomathematics and
researcher at the National
Science Foundation's
Center for Integrated Pest
Management (CIPM) at
North Carolina State
University.
But a team of
researchers from CIPM and
the United States
Department of
Agriculture's Animal and
Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) is develop
ing a web application that
searches the Internet for
web sites selling noxious
weeds. The application,
called Agricultural
Internet Monitoring
System (AIMS), frees regu
latory inspectors from
manually searching the
Internet.
“Can you imagine trying
to use an Internet search
engine to search for a thou
sand different pests?”
Stinner asked.
Purple loosestrife is sold
as an ornamental plant
despite being an invasive
plant.
“The idea of this appli
cation is primarily notifica
tion,” stressed Stinner.
Technically, vendors
aren't in violation until
they've actually completed
a sale. When AIMS spots a
web site peddling invasive
plants or seeds, APHIS noti
fies vendors that sales of
those items must be discon
tinued. But AIMS also
helps authorities keep tabs
on web retailers who con
tinue selling Ulegal plants
after they've been notified.
Violators who refuse to
comply are prosecuted and
subject to heavy fines, said
Stinner.
Each year, the United
States spends billions of
dollars fighting invasive
plant species in crops, gar
dens, forests and water
ways. APHIS estimates that
more than $9.5 billion is
spent fighting weeds and
diseases in gardens and
animal forages alone.
Because they often have
no native enemies in their
new habitat, exotic species
often outcompete native
plant species, resulting in
drasticaUy altered ecosys
tem biodiversity
Purple loosestrife is a
classic example. Like the
ubiquitous kudzu, looses
trife was originaUy viewed
as a harmless groundcover.
The flowered perennial was
introduced to the north
eastern United States in the
1800s, but it quickly became
an overzealous invader in
wetland habitats across the
country.
Today, purple loosestrife
can be found in almost
every state, according to
the U.S. Fish and WUdlife
Service. The plant chokes
both fresh and saltwater
wetlands, forming dense
stands that reduce open
water habitat for amphib
ians and waterfowl. Many
people don't recognize pur
ple loosestrife as an inva
sive — despite its damaging
characteristics — so it con
tinues to be sold as an orna
mental plant.
That's exactly what
AIMS attempts to prevent,
Stinner says. And the novel
web application may soon
be doing some spreading
itself. APHIS is looking to
develop a cooperative pro
gram with equivalent orga
nizations in other coun
tries; authorities in
Australia, New Zealand
and South Africa have
already expressed interest..
“We see this as an appli
cation that could be used by
many organizations that
have an interest in trying to
stop the spread of invasive
species,” he said.
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