WARSAW — After 17 years of heading up the city’s deer task force, Warsaw Mayor Jeff Grose has handed the job off to another leader in the task force, Todd Braddock.

Reflecting on the city program's legacy, Grose recalled the effort when he was charged with overseeing it while serving on city council.

The policy change was sought by two fellow educators, John Cook and Nate Howett, who came to Grose with concerns about the growing population of deer in the city. Grose then worked to gain the support of then-mayor Ernie Wiggins and city council.

"One resident said, "I love deer, I love Bambi, our family likes it, but Jeff — 40 deer in my back yard,' " Grose said.

The first vote attracted plenty of media attention from Fort Wayne and South Bend and city council approved the plan by a slim 4-3 vote.

Each year, the city, with cooperation from the police department, designate reduction zones and works with property owners to focus on problematic areas.

The reduction efforts are publicized each ear and continue as late as December with most efforts scheduled during weekdays.

So far this year, Grose reports 10 deer have been removed.

In the early years, the task force would cull as many as 75 deer in a season.

These days, it’s now more of a smooth-running maintenance program that’s turned high-tech.

At some point, the community embraced the service.

"I would say that at the decade mark, it was a switcheroo — the calls started coming in, 'When are you coming to our area,' " he said.

Grose also pointed out that the presence of city-approved archers has helped eliminate illegal hunting in part through large fines.

The first-term mayor made the comments during an interview for In The Know, the public affairs show that can be heard Friday, Saturday and Sunday on Kensington Digital Media radio stations.

Grose also reflected on the continued growth of stores in the downtown business district, which now has a storefront vacancy approaching zero.

"The activity is unbelievable," Grose said, pointing out that many towns the size of Warsaw have struggled with downtown storefront vacancies.

"Boy, we're not seeing that here."

In The Know can be heard at the following times:

News Now Warsaw (99.7 FM and 1480 AM):

Fridays at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Saturdays at 7 a.m. 

Sundays at 7 a.m. & 2 p.m.

WRSW (107.3):

Sundays at 6 a.m.

Willie (103.5 FM):

Sundays at 6 a.m.

The post Once controversial, Warsaw Deer Task Force now in its 18th year appeared first on News Now Warsaw.