As they walk to their cars and drive away, the epicenter of Asotin grows quiet. Other than the slight breeze blowing on this summer evening, nothing is stirring on Second Street.
Wait. Something just darted under the antique tractor parked in the downtown gazebo.
"Here they come," whispers Asotin Mayor Vikki Bonfield. "They always show up at dusk."
As promised, the feral cats arrive on cue. Close to a dozen scamper under antique farm equipment housed near the Asotin Museum. Two more hide under a boat and a black kitten hangs around the fire station.
They all bolt when a couple of kids ride by on bikes, but before long, the cats creep out of the shadows for another round of hide-and-seek with the town's top official.
Bonfield quietly places two traps deep in feral cat territory and waits for the smell of tuna fish to draw in her prey.
Over the next six hours or so, the dedicated trapper makes frequent visits to the downtown area to see if the bait has done its magic. Sure enough, just before midnight, two kittens and a mama cat are confined in the crates sitting next to the Asotin Fire Department/Kerri Sandaine, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
