Rufus Debriefed

Wayne Kobel reported this morning that Rufus spent two days at Grassman Camp during which he told his dognapping story to Klak Grassman.  “Klak just gave me the short version today.  Rufus was abducted by two men who sold him to a family with a little boy.  He escaped from the family who probably didn’t know he was stolen.  Rufus cannot tell how many days he was held by the dognappers or how far they traveled before they sold him.  But Klak says the longest time period was after he escaped.  He thinks they must have taken him pretty far away because it probably took him more than two weeks to get back home.” 

What about identification of one of the abductors as Klak suggested on Sunday?  “That part is not exactly clear at this point.  We need to dig into that some more”

Debriefing Rufus

Wayne Kobel told friends at the Cozy Corner this morning that he left Rufus at Grassman Camp to see if he will open up to them about his abduction.  Since returning home from the hospital on July 2, Rufus has recovered nearly 100% from his ordeal.  “The Grassmans understand dog language, and if he has any story to tell, Klak can translate it in sign language.  I think Rufus is ready, and I’d sure like to know what happened to him.”  Last week Wayne reported that Klak Grassman believes Rufus recognized at least one of his abductors.

Rufus Update

Today Rufus returned home to the Wayne Kobel family, one week after dramatically showing up on the Kobel doorstep following his dognapping and 25-day disappearance.  “Dr. Marling and her staff in Hillsboro took good care of him.  Rufus still needs some recuperation but he’s in pretty good shape now,” said Wayne in a phone interview.  When asked how soon Rufus might return to his seat on the Town Council, Wayne deferred the question.  “We haven’t even brought up the subject yet.  When he gets back to 100%, we’ll see what he wants to do.  Right now I’m more interested in who dognapped him.  Klak Grassman was here today and told me that Rufus knows who took him but he’s not ready to talk about it.  When he’s up to it we’ll get with the Grassmans and see what this is all about.”

Budget Cuts Threaten School Program

The American Sign Language Class has been part of Pearlville Elementary’s regular curriculum since 1941 but is threatened by state budget cuts for the 2009-2010 school year.  According to Andy Bishop, school board chairman, a representative from the Ohio Department of Education will meet with the school board next week to review the budget, and he has already asked why we offer a sign language class when we have no deaf people within the boundaries of the district.  “It’ll be a tough one to sell in this economy.  We really don’t want to see this on CNN, and we think we have other options.”  Options include volunteer instructors for the students.  “Several competent volunteers have already come forward.  We’re going to make this work for the Grassmans and the whole community.”

Supreme Court Nomination

This week President Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to be the next Justice of the Supreme Court.  The president cited her background, as a minority female who worked her way up from poverty, as contributing to his decision.  The nominee was a subject of discussion this morning at the Cozy Corner.  Jeff Fox said by that criteria Kela Grassman should be a Supreme Court Justice.  “The Grassmans are a minority group and she is a female.  She was born in a cave.  She raised a good family that contributes to the community and her judgment is respected by all of us.”  Most people agreed, but Ralph Schubert pointed out the obvious: “No way Kela would want to go to the Supreme Court.  All heck would break loose around here and we don’t want that either, but it would be pretty funny when people found out that a Grassman was smarter than most of the judges in the country.”

First Cut Bailing in Progress

The Grassman family is bailing hay for farmers in the Pearlville area.  Any farmers wishing their services for the first cutting must let Hupp Grassman know by Saturday.  As usual, bailing machinery must be provided at each farm.

Grassmen Hunters

Ever since the History Channel featured a search for Grassman on their Monster Quest series, “bigfoot hunters” from the outside have been stomping through the forests in southern Ohio including the Pearlville area.  Yesterday Police Chief Burley arrested two trespassers from Illinois on the Schepel farm, who were reportedly carrying shotguns and fired a shot at Erwin Schepel, apparently mistaking him for one of the Grassmans.  Erwin, obviously upset to find armed “bigfoot hunters” on his property, said “I know the Grassmans and I don’t look nuthin like them.”