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TagsBY BOB HOLT
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
The mascot of the Ogdensburg Elementary School got a little too lifelike for their liking this past Monday.
A small black bear crashed through the door that leads into the main breezeway of the school just before 8 p.m. on Monday,according to the New Jersey Herald. After the bear entered a first floor classroom, Ogdensburg Police Sgt. Stephen Gordon went in the room and opened the windows, while Patrolman Christopher Geene moved the bear toward the windows.
Custodian Earl Hornyak spotted the 75-pound bear, and chased it down the hallway. He told CBS New York, “I am not afraid of a bear cause I see ‘em a lot around here.”
The bear finally climbed out a window and ran off into nearby woods. Gordon scared the bear away with a round of rubber buckshot. The bear was unharmed.
Bears are common in Sussex County, known as “bear country.” School Principal Tim Nicinski said, “We’re used to bears daily or weekly.”
A Division of Fish and Wildlife report said there were 1,915 reported calls for bear damage/nuisance and 1,126 bear sightings in 19 New Jersey counties in 2011. Most common calls were about bears getting into trash or being hit by vehicles.
There were two calls of human attacks by bears in 2011.
According to the Gothamist, teacher Judy Donche said when the bear first entered the classroom, it appeared disoriented and sat down and began destroying math books.
