SIERRA MADRE EDITION


SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2017 

VOLUME 11 NO. 6

Sierra Madre News Briefs

ARCADIA TACKLES COYOTE ISSUES


It has come to the attention of the 
city that some of our residents 
might have been targeted for an 
attempted utility fraud scam. 
If you are ever suspicious of 
any interaction with someone 
claiming to be from the City of 
Sierra Madre please call the City 
of Sierra Madre at (626) 355-7135.

What Do Scammers Do?

Scammers impersonate City staff 
and utility workers. They may 
use fear and intimidation to force 
you to make a payment using a 
credit card or a prepaid money 
card immediately threatening 
that otherwise your service will 
be disconnected. They may use 
“spoofing software” that displays 
the name and phone number 
of City of Sierra Madre on your 
Caller ID.

What Should You Do Next?

Hang up! Do not give the callers 
any personal information and do 
not pay!

Call City of Sierra Madre at (626) 
355-7135 to check your account 
balance and to inform us about 
the scammer. Make payments 
24/7 online at https://www.
municipalonlinepayments.com/
sierramadreca 

 Do not call any other number 
that the caller gives you. Do not 
give any information to the caller, 
not even an account number 
which can be used to threaten you 
in future phone calls.

What You Need to Know:

 City of Sierra Madre NEVER 
makes outbound calls asking for 
payment or a customer’s credit 
card information. City of Sierra 
Madre NEVER visits residential 
customers to solicit program 
enrollment or ask for payments.

 If we do need to make a water 
quality check, we will inform you 
first or respond if you request 
this service. City of Sierra Madre 
employees never enter a home to 
check for water quality. Always 
ask utility employees for proper 
identification and look for City of 
Sierra Madre vehicles.

Spread the Word!

 Share this information with 
your friends, family, neighbors, 
and co-workers to protect them 
from scammers. Business owners 
- educate all your employees about 
phone calls that may threaten 
service interruptions. Many times 
managers or employees who do 
not have account information 
are worried that if they don’t act 
quickly and pay, services will be 
shut off. 


At the February 7, Arcadia City Council 
meeting, one of the items on the agenda 
was how to deal with the growing presence 
of Coyotes in the city. City Manager 
Dominic Lazzaretto provided the 
council with a comprehensive report and 
requested direction from the council as to 
how to proceed. (To view the full report, 
go to: https://www.arcadiaca.gov/Home/
ShowDocument?id=9114) . The report 
noted previous attempts by Arcadia to 
address the problem in 2010 and included 
the review of a new technique in Coyote 
Conflict Management. 

 In the pamphlet from the National Parks 
magazine entitled “Coyotes and the City”, 
it is noted that the coyote is a versatile 
animal, capable of easily adapting to its 
environment. 

 As a result, the report states, “the urban 
coyote will often eat human garbage, 
pet food, road kill, and domestic pets, 
including cats and dogs. As is more 
commonly the case in urbanized 
environments, coyotes have been known 
to actively hunt cats and small dogs, and 
are able to leap fences as high as 8 feet to 
prey on domestic animals. Less frequently, 
bolder packs of coyotes have been known 
to shadow joggers and even approach 
humans while walking their pets on a 
leash. While extremely unusual, coyotes 
have been known to attack humans, 
including an incident in the City of 
Montebello this past summer. 

 In the end, the council voted to hire 
a contractor with the responsibility for 
dealing with the city’s Coyote problem. 
That was Tuesday. On Thursday, People 
For The Ethical Treatment of Animals 
(PETA) sent a letter to Arcadia Mayor 
Tom Beck and the City Council objecting 
to the city’s plan to ‘trap and kill coyotes’. 

 Below is the text of that letter:

PETA’s headquarters has been informed 
that the Arcadia City Council has voted to 
hire a contractor to trap and kill coyotes. 
On behalf of our hundreds of members 
and supporters in Arcadia, we urge you to 
halt any plans to kill coyotes immediately. 
Ultimately, trapping and killing 
initiatives are ineffective at controlling 
coyote populations, as surviving pack 
members simply 
breed in order to 
replace lost family 
members while 
more coyotes move 
in from outlying 
areas for the 
available resources. 
Furthermore, 
trapping of any 
kind (including 
cage trapping) is 
extraordinarily 
stressful for any 
wild species, 
and snare traps 
are particularly 
inhumane, since 
ensnared animals 
often sustain 
horrific injuries 
in their frantic 
attempts to escape, 
even chewing or 
twisting off their 
own limbs. Killing 
or otherwise 
removing animals 
also tears wild 
families apart, 
leaving orphaned 
young to starve. 
And such devices 
are notoriously 
indiscriminate, 
posing definite 
risks to companion 
animals and 
“nontarget” 
wildlife, including protected species.

 Making areas unappealing via 
deterrents and curtailing food sources 
will encourage coyotes to move on 
naturally. Ammonia-soaked rags placed 
in dens will successfully “evict” coyotes, 
as they loathe the smell. Residents should 
be advised that trimming vegetation away 
from buildings, trails, and fence lines will 
eliminate or at least reduce the number of 
hiding places for coyotes as well as their 
prey. Sonic deterrents such as YardGard™, 
motion-activated sprinklers, flashing 
lights, and outdoor radios (all available 
at garden stores) also work effectively 
to deter coyotes and their prey. The 
Bird-X Transonic Mole will further deter 
burrowing animals who are a food source 
for coyotes, and the presence of rodents 
can be mitigated by keeping dumpsters 
locked, trash and compost securely 
contained, and grass cut shorter as well as 
by feeding animal companions indoors. 
Finally, a prohibition on feeding wildlife 
should be strictly enforced.

 This integrative approach is the only 
effective means of coyote control, and its 
nonlethal nature makes it acceptable to the 
public. We hope to hear soon that Arcadia 
will abandon this killing initiative. The 
letter was signed by Kristin Rickman, 
Cruelty Casework Associate Manager for 
PETA,

S. Henderson/MVNews

CELEBRATION OF LIFE

"The Joy of Jan Reed"


The public is invited to a 
celebration of the life of 
beloved Sierra Madrean Jan 
Reed on Saturday, February 11, 
2017 from 3 to 6 p.m.

The event will be held in the 
Sierra Madre Room and the 
Recreation Center, 611 E. Sierra 
Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre.