It was a big event — the culprit finally captured.

Sheila Pounders, the “Marm” of Court Street Catering, lives next door to her business on the street that bears the name in the middle of Batesville.

She was literally terrorized when supposedly person(s) unknown crept into her rather small front yard in the dark of night and whacked down small trees carefully planted between her house and the street.

Naturally she called the police after the first occurrence and couldn’t imagine why someone would do that to her.
Maybe it was an isolated incident.

But the offender kept returning and terrorizing Pounders by chopping down her trees and disposing of all evidence. She lay awake at night for weeks wondering whom she had offended so severely that they would terrorize her in such a way.

The Batesville Police Department kept tabs and animal control officer Benjie Caine was included in an investigative operation that involved a motion camera set up in Pounders’ yard.

Sure enough, Mr. Beaver appeared from the water drain that goes under the street and started working on his next birch. The culprit was captured on “film” but that didn’t stop the damage to trees and nearby rosebushes.
News media rushed from the big city, which apparently has no beavers, to get the story for their evening newscasts from the small town to the south.

Several days passed before Caine got the assistance of Federal Wildlife Control Officer Jackie Fox who is always willing to share his knowledge and skills with those dealing with unruly wildlife.

A quick lesson was given and a snare set for Mr. Beaver late Wednesday and Thursday morning Caine had the culprit varmint in a cage riding him around and showing him off like trophy buck on opening day.

And don’t expect barbecued beaver on the menu at Court Street Catering. Caine was releasing Mr. Beaver away from town near his home where other beavers tend to work and live with hopes a Miss Beaver in the vicinity will be more accepting than the Court Street Marm.