wes_von_papineäu
Our Roving Correspondent
COLUMBUS DISPATCH (Ohio) 15 December 07 State amphibian debate - In this race, the bullfrog's still got legs (Jim Siegel)
After fighting for nearly six years to make the bullfrog Ohio's official state amphibian, students at Dublin's Grizzell Middle School aren't about to roll over and let the spotted salamander step in and steal all the glory.
And they're not worried about getting mixed up in a little negative campaigning.
"Spotted salamanders are bland. They have the personality of a brick," said Katie Lee, a 13-year-old seventh-grader.
Students hope to renew their bullfrog push next year; the Ohio Senate voted this week to make the spotted salamander Ohio's state amphibian.
Since early 2002, students in Shawn Kaeser's social-studies classes have studied the bullfrog and made trips to the Statehouse to testify in favor of allowing the green jumper to join the state's other living symbols, including the black racer snake, white-tailed deer and cardinal.
The project, Kaeser said, lets his students study an amphibian they are already familiar with, thanks to camping trips and the Dublin Kiwanis Annual Frog Jump, while also learning about the legislative process.
"It is such an adaptive species," Kaeser said. "If you're talking about a symbol, we found the bullfrog represents the rugged individualism that makes Ohio great."
The closest Dublin students got was in late 2006, when the House rolled the bullfrog proposal into a single, overstuffed bill along with several other measures honoring various animals and people. The Senate did not act on the bill, and it died at the end of the session.
The salamander was researched and pushed by students at West Geauga Middle School, with help from Sen. Timothy J. Grendell, R-Chesterland. The bullfrog has been criticized by some for being a predator.
"Unlike the bullfrog, which is a cannibal, the spotted salamander is a peaceful amphibian, and we want to show an image of Ohio of peace, prosperity and wetlands quality," Grendell said during a speech in the Senate.
But Ray McVeety, 12, sees it differently. The Dublin seventh-grader said bullfrogs are "survivors and fighters," like the settlers who founded Ohio.
"We didn't hide from our predators like the salamander does," he said.
Katie Lee also points out that salamander larvae are known to be cannibalistic.
"Bullfrogs are survivors," she said. "They do what they have to do to get by."
Rep. Jim Hughes, R-Columbus, sponsored the bullfrog bill last session and says he will soon reintroduce it.
"I think we have the better amphibian, so that's what we'll be pursuing," he said.
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/liv...frog.ART_ART_12-15-07_B1_M08PJ6R.html?sid=101
After fighting for nearly six years to make the bullfrog Ohio's official state amphibian, students at Dublin's Grizzell Middle School aren't about to roll over and let the spotted salamander step in and steal all the glory.
And they're not worried about getting mixed up in a little negative campaigning.
"Spotted salamanders are bland. They have the personality of a brick," said Katie Lee, a 13-year-old seventh-grader.
Students hope to renew their bullfrog push next year; the Ohio Senate voted this week to make the spotted salamander Ohio's state amphibian.
Since early 2002, students in Shawn Kaeser's social-studies classes have studied the bullfrog and made trips to the Statehouse to testify in favor of allowing the green jumper to join the state's other living symbols, including the black racer snake, white-tailed deer and cardinal.
The project, Kaeser said, lets his students study an amphibian they are already familiar with, thanks to camping trips and the Dublin Kiwanis Annual Frog Jump, while also learning about the legislative process.
"It is such an adaptive species," Kaeser said. "If you're talking about a symbol, we found the bullfrog represents the rugged individualism that makes Ohio great."
The closest Dublin students got was in late 2006, when the House rolled the bullfrog proposal into a single, overstuffed bill along with several other measures honoring various animals and people. The Senate did not act on the bill, and it died at the end of the session.
The salamander was researched and pushed by students at West Geauga Middle School, with help from Sen. Timothy J. Grendell, R-Chesterland. The bullfrog has been criticized by some for being a predator.
"Unlike the bullfrog, which is a cannibal, the spotted salamander is a peaceful amphibian, and we want to show an image of Ohio of peace, prosperity and wetlands quality," Grendell said during a speech in the Senate.
But Ray McVeety, 12, sees it differently. The Dublin seventh-grader said bullfrogs are "survivors and fighters," like the settlers who founded Ohio.
"We didn't hide from our predators like the salamander does," he said.
Katie Lee also points out that salamander larvae are known to be cannibalistic.
"Bullfrogs are survivors," she said. "They do what they have to do to get by."
Rep. Jim Hughes, R-Columbus, sponsored the bullfrog bill last session and says he will soon reintroduce it.
"I think we have the better amphibian, so that's what we'll be pursuing," he said.
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/liv...frog.ART_ART_12-15-07_B1_M08PJ6R.html?sid=101