(La Porte, IN) - A La Porte County official is disputing claims in connection with the mess being left by hundreds if not thousands of crows.

 

Commissioner Joe Haney said it was 42 degrees when he asked for a power washing to remove heavy amounts of crow droppings outside the courthouse. Haney said the crow droppings are unsightly and pose a potential health risk.

 

Last week, Commissioner Rich Mrozinski said the maintenance department refused to do it because it was 30 degrees outside. They didn’t want to create icy conditions where people walk to and from the courthouse and county complex.

 

Haney said the claim by Mrozinski shows he is spending too much time living in Florida.

 

“If he spent more time here in Indiana instead of living in his second home in Florida, he might actually know what the weather was here,” he said.

Noisemakers that only crows can hear seemed to chase away the birds last year.

 

For some reason, though, they’ve come back again in huge numbers, and Haney wants to explore if there’s another more long-term solution.

 

Crows roosting in the trees on the courthouse lawn and inside the courthouse bell tower has been a longstanding on-again-off-again problem for at least 25-years or more.