Peace Park rooster safe in new home

We haven't had too much time to explore the Mizzou campus just yet, but recent alum and fellow SJI member Gary Cotton has been kind enough to point out highlights as we've walked or driven around Columbia.

One landmark is Peace Park, the swath of grass neighboring our classrooms in the J-School's Lee Hills Hall. Originally called MacAlester Park, it took on its new name after thousands of Missouri students protested the Kent State shootings in 1970. Although it's a popular spot for relaxation and events like Earth Day, Gary added that the park is less peaceful after dark when the inebriated wander in from downtown Columbia.

The park was also recently home to a rogue rooster, a red-and-black bird known by such nicknames as Bob Dylan, Acorn, Roosty and Chicky. Originally spotted last May, the rooster became the park's starring attraction for several months, enjoying the easy life as passers-by made a habit of feeding him. MU Landscaper Services and Animal Control both failed to catch the rooster. The latter said that corralling the bird was not a high priority because it wasn't causing much trouble.

If Animal Control had caught the rooster, it would have sent the bird to the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture, where he would have been killed if no one claimed him within five days. Luckily for the rooster, a small rescue mission organized by retired psychologist Summer Allen spent over an hour searching for the him on the morning of Dec. 4. After successfully grabbing him, they turned the rooster over to a "hobby" chicken farm near Rock Bridge Memorial State Park — about four miles south of campus.

How the bird ended up in Peace Park in the first place is still unknown.