Owner breathes life back into pet llama
Steve and Monnie Cripe live high on the mountain overlooking Farragut State Park on their acreage that has, at last count, four or five dogs, three llamas and a plethora of wildlife.
One day last week, Steve put some new halters on the llamas, so that he could stake them out for fresh grass and weed control. These halters were not made for llamas, and didn’t fit properly. After staking the three out in different spots, Steve joined Monnie, who was doing some work on an artificial waterfall they have been building.
Steve would look around from time to time to make sure the llamas were not getting into mischief. At one point he looked up and saw two, Casey and Coco, but not the third. Where was Patches? Puzzled, he moved back down to where he had left the third animal.
There, lying on the ground, was his pet. He had stopped breathing, so Steve proceeded to apply mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, breathing for the animal and then pounding him on the chest. After a time, it worked. The llama reared up, kicking his rescuer in the leg, and bounded away.
It seems that the llamas have necks that are skinny at the top then get thicker as they slope down toward the body. The ill-fitting halter had worked its way off of the face and down the neck. The rope had tangled with a rear hoof and the harder the llama pulled the lower and tighter the noose became until he was choking.
Fortunately, Steve got him breathing again. One wag was heard to say, “Does that make you a llama whisperer?”
Button Hook back to Waterford
Speaking of rising from the dead, the moribund Button Hook Restaurant has reverted back to Waterford Park. It seems that many in the community didn’t feel welcome under the Ivano’s management. On July 23, Bob Holland met with the previous management, agreed upon the value of the consumables and wrote a check terminating the relationship.
The apparent boycotting of the restaurant started when Holly Lange, manager of the Patio, was terminated just after the Fourth of July weekend. Three days later, Bob Holland, reacting to public dismay, terminated the operating agreement with Ivano’s as it applied to the patio only. A week later, after receiving input from former customers and employees, Holland took the same action pertaining to the Button Hook itself.
An apparent conflict in compatibility with the community was cited as the cause of the amicable separation. Retained from prior employment is the chef with nine lives, Steve Stolberg, and everyone’s favorite, Joni Dyas, riding herd on the bar. Serving in the dining room are Jo Anne, Dena and Alisha. Steve has jiggled the menu some, featuring items from burgers to filet mignon and everything in between.
The chef’s specialty of course, is steamer clams with chowder and a wide variety of appetizers. New hours will have the bar and restaurant open Thursday through Monday, with Tuesday and Wednesday closed. Happy hour runs from 4 to 6 p.m. Steve tells us he hopes to stay open until the first of the year, business warranting. The pool table is back, along with three flat-screen TVs featuring all sports channels; the juke box is returning as well.
Across town at the Captain’s Wheel, in addition to the great reception the food and drink have received, is live entertainment with The Riverside Band, both Friday and Saturday nights. The following weekend will see the ever-popular Brother Jones band.