Code Enforcer Rescued

Officials today halted the three day investigation into the whereabouts of Broken Springs Litter and Debris Code Enforcer, Daniel Shame after he was discovered in a resident’s backyard hanging upside down from a tree. Shame, who was missing an entire day before anyone noticed he was gone, had apparently set off a cougar trap in the backyard of residents who were out of town for the first part of the week. The trap netted him upside down, where he hung motionless until help arrived in the form of a little girl eating a lollipop, chasing after fireflies Tuesday night.

Daniel Shame retells the story. “At first I think she was scared of me. Lots of people are scared of me, so that’s not unusual. But I had to beg her to go get the police and leave behind her lollipop. ‘Go get Jimmy,’ I told her in my most unthreatening tone of voice. ‘And if you leave your lollipop I won’t tell your parents you’re out after dark.’”

The little girl, now regarded a hero among the community, has been given a big bag of lollipops from the Shame family and local dentist, Dr. Floss, who call the lollipops a good investment in future business.

“It was awful,” explains the Code Enforcement Officer, whose face is still criss-crossed from the twine of the netting. “The first night it rained. The next morning I was assaulted by a gang of loose bowelled pigeons. Thank God Mrs. Horrace doesn’t close her shades at night. That was the only thing that kept me going.”

The trap set by local residents was intended for the often seen but never proven cougar who’s presence has graced our area in the past several months. The residents who set the cougar trap were surprised, to say the least, when they heard that their trap had caught a 250 pound animal, but not exactly the beast they had in mind. In the interest of Broken Springs, they gave permission to the Broken Springs police to release the captured creature on the condition that he never trespasses again.

In an unrelated news story, the residents in question were cited for three different litter and debris code violations, all observed by Shame while he hung upside down from the net in their tree.