Stop speeding the NH way

[Rosie the Riveter]

Steer heads give warning to speeders

By ROGER AMSDEN
New Hampshire Union Leader Correspondent
1 hour, 57 minutes ago

GILMANTON – Fast and Dash, two steers that were slaughtered for beef last weekend, are still making their presence known on a dirt road near the spot where Bailey, a 9-month-old family beagle, was hit and killed by a speeding car last winter.

Their severed heads and hides have been placed on opposite sides of Potter Road near the same spot where the Potter family's pet was killed, along with cardboard signs imploring drivers to slow down.

And drivers using the road that passes by the Potter family farm are slowing down to read the signs and see the steers' heads, said Robert Potter Jr. In the past, speeding drivers have hit calves and chickens, he said.

When the family dog was killed in February, the driver also hit Hunter, a mixed-breed dog Potter uses to help herd his beef cattle. Hunter recovered and is now back at work in the fields, looking out for the 84 remaining cattle.

"He nearly hit me, too," Potter said of the speeding driver. "I was backing out of the driveway and looked down the road and there was nothing there. The next thing I knew he was right there sliding on by me."
May19 cow heads 220px (ROGER AMSDEN)

A cow's head, one of two placed beside the road on Potter Road in Gilmanton, urges drivers to slow down on the dirt road, where the family's pet beagle was killed when hit by a speeding driver in February. (ROGER AMSDEN)

He said that the idea for the attention-getting display came from his 14-year-old son, Carl, after Fast and Dash were slaughtered last weekend.

"I didn't even think that it would work. But Carl's kind of stubborn, like his grandfather,'' said Potter with a laugh, "and he was determined to do it. And it's worked like a charm. Drivers are going a lot slower than they used to."

Carl enlisted the aid of his sister, Katie, 16, and brother, Sam, 10, and they put out the display and signs, one of which reads "Please Slow Down. We All Don't Want to Look Like This,'' and others identifying the steers by name.

Not everyone is happy about the roadside display. Potter said he's had a visit from the local police after a woman complained.

"What do they expect? This is rural New Hampshire. Farmers used to put cow's heads out on fence posts to scare away coyotes,'' said Potter.

He said he has a special aversion to speeders, having been the first on the scene of an accident near his parent's home 20 years ago that left his younger brother, Dick, then only 14, paralyzed for life.

"After seeing my brother like that, having people speed by our home really gets to me,'' said Potter.

He said the display is temporary and will be removed when the steer heads start to stink. But he's hoping it will leave a lasting impression on people by reminding them that a farm is a busy place and that they should keep their speed down when they're near one.

http://unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Steer+heads+give+warning+to+speeders&articleId=b87c84a1-af27-42f6-b24b-d21edf0c7ff8

   


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[LiveFree]

Macabre.  I like it!  I might have to roll by there sometime when I get bored, since its in the next town over...