DONATE NOW
October 22, 2024
A bark from the past: Remembering Jasper

By Sam Barrow

Editor’s Note:  Sam wrote this eulogy after Jasper Koehler, LRNow’s original  Scoop the Poop pup,  passed on more than a decade ago.  Sam rode on Jasper’s coat tails for several year as LRNow’s Scoop the Poop pup until he passed on too.  Now Coco Gorman is our Scoop the Poop pup and also LRNow’s beloved office dog.

 

Jasper—RIP—was the first dog volunteer to help Lynnhaven River Now with this campaign.

Over a decade ago (before my time), Jasper sat and stayed for this zany photograph, created by his owner John Koehler. Arf! Arf!

Jasper has been a role model for good dogs ever since. He urged folks to scoop the poop everywhere, whether in their yard, in someone else’s yard, in the park or on the beach. Three bones for Jasper!

Jasper knew that when Lynnhaven River Now first started its campaign to clean up the river, up to a third of the pollution in the river could be from dog waste! Grrrrr!

He also learned that bacteria from dog poop flows into the river not only from riverfront property but also from storm drains all over the northern part of the city! Grrrrrr!

Jasper would tell you that every new dog owner has to be educated about the importance of scooping the poop to keep the river clean. Arf! Arf!

That means dogs, like me, though we will never be as famous as Jasper, have to step up to the plate. Arf! Arf!

Help me keep Jasper’s legacy alive! Scoop the poop and keep the river clean. Arf! Arf!

Barked by Sam to his person, Mary Reid Barrow.

Seed for Thought…

Bruce Julian, star volunteer at False Cape State Park, wrote to say that he learned from Vickie Shufer that a persimmon seed can forecast the winter.  Split it open and if the design looks like a fork shape, the winter will be mild.  A spoon shape means snow and a knife shape forecasts bitter cold.

“At False Cape we have a few persimmons and each year, I show this to some of our visitors that hike with me,” Bruce said.

Tony Arnold’s email was about the  strength of persimmon wood. “Back in the day I used to hit a persimmon driver off the tee, long before metal woods (oxymoron) were introduced to the game of golf,”  he wrote.

And more about another tree:  Laura Bayer remembers that she saw a “sweet longleaf (pine) newcomer” at the end of the Marlin Bay Dr median as you turned right from Shore Dr. “Maybe this little guy is related!” she wrote. “Fun to think so!”

 

HOW YOU CAN HELP THE ENVIRONMENT
PEARL HOMES & NEIGHBORHOODS

PEARL HOMES are places where people care about our environment and want to do what they can to help protect our resources.

Learn more»
PEARL SCHOOLS

Lynnhaven River NOW recognizes schools providing outstanding environmental education as a Pearl School.

Learn More»
PEARL BUSINESSES

PEARL BUSINESSES are essential to truly move towards a more sustainable Virginia Beach and cleaner waters.

Learn More »
PEARL FAITH

We all want to do our part to restore the health of all of our sacred waterways and protect them for future generations to enjoy.

Learn More»
SUSTAINABLE YARDS PROGRAM

SUSTAINABLE YARDS PROGRAM: Let us help you “green” your Lynnhaven watershed home. This unique program provides specific stormwater management practices to your yard at a significantly reduced cost to you.

Learn More»