By Cheryl Splain, KnoxPages.com Reporter
MOUNT VERNON — Anyone visiting Ariel-Foundation Park is aware of the goose population there and the residue the geese leave behind.
Mayor Richard Mavis said that a recent count by Dave Carpenter, superintendent of the city’s parks department, revealed that 245 geese make the park their home. The good news is that this year’s goose hatch doesn’t seem to be as large as in prior years.
To combat the problem, the city has ordered a goose buster. A goose buster plays the sound of a distressed goose; when geese hear the sound, they get agitated and move away from the area. City officials were successful when they tried a similar approach a number of years ago when a large crow population was encroaching on Public Square.