New Jersey
Behold Turkules, the turkey who charmed and terrorized a New Jersey town for months | CBC Radio
As It Happens6:45Behold Turkules, the turkey who charmed and terrorized a New Jersey town for months
For the longest time, it seemed as though nothing could stop Turkules the turkey.
The wild fowl roamed the streets of West Orange, N.J., for months, gaining both fame and notoriety as it stopped traffic, pecked tires, chased residents and evaded state officials’ many attempts to capture him.
When he was hit by a car, he walked away “unscathed,” according to a statement by the West Orange Township. When an officer shot him with a tranquilizer gun, he appeared unaffected and “continued to wear the dart defiantly.”
“Picture seeing this turkey. He’s, like, magnificent. Like, he’s huge. And there’s a tranq dart sticking out of him, and he’s just walking around with it,” Gia Garcia, a West Orange resident and Turkules superfan, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.
“Like the Terminator. Like nothing happened at all.”
Featured VideoA wild turkey has been caught and relocated to the wilderness after months of both charming and terrorizing the residents of West Orange, N.J. Here, a motorist captures one of the state’s several failed attempts to catch the bird, known locally as Turkules.
But the ungovernable bird’s local hijinks have come to an end. The municipality issued a statement on Wednesday informing residents that Turkules has been caught, pardoned by the mayor for his alleged crimes, and relocated to an “undisclosed location” out of town.
“Had it not been for the number of complaints the township had received with regard to Turkules’s aggressive behaviour concerning pedestrians, joggers, bicyclists, and motorists, township officials would have been content to allow Turkules to remain as long as he wanted,” the statement reads.
‘Oh my God, he’s beautiful’
It’s not clear exactly when Turkules arrived in West Orange, but residents have been reporting sightings of him since at least the summer, according to the Guardian newspaper.
While he was known to harass passersby, his scrappy personality soon turned him into a local celebrity. He was profiled in the New York Times. Turkules has his own Facebook page. And a petition calling on the city to guarantee his protection and pardon his crimes garnered more than 500 signatures.
He picked up several local nicknames, including “Cluck Norris” and “Gobbles McFeathers,” but Turkules — which rhymes with Hercules — is the one that really stuck.
“It’s like seeing a celebrity,” resident Ben Maimin told the Times. “It’s like our version of Taylor Swift coming to town.”
Garcia says she had the pleasure of making the turkey’s acquaintance for the first time about three weeks ago.
“Everyone wants to catch a sighting of him,” she said. “And then you see him and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, he’s beautiful.’”
He was such a sight to behold, it was easy to forgive him for any chaos he was wreaking upon the town, she said.
“In traffic, he would literally walk up to your window and you could roll it down and you’d say, ‘Turkules, sweetie, we have to get home. Like, you gotta get out of the road,’” she said. “And he would, like, stare at you and just be like, ‘I know, but I’m walking the road right now, so can you just wait?’”
Before his sudden departure, Garcia — who owns the Willow and Olivia dessert cafe — organized a “Hometown Hero” event in honour of Turkules.
Local businesses sold Turkules-related merchandise, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Wildlife Conservation Society, she said.
Now, like other Turkules fans, she finds herself mourning his loss.
“I miss his precocious behaviour for sure. And just his spunk,” she said. “I like to think of him as a two- or three-year-old toddler in a bird body. That’s how headstrong is.”
Asked what she was cooking for American Thanksgiving this year, she said: “I plead the fifth.”
A man from Maryland has been sentenced to 41 years behind bars in New Jersey for sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl in Burlington County, prosecutors announced.
Kevin Williams, 34, of Clinton, Maryland, was found guilty in July of two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault and four counts of second-degree sexual assault.
Officials said Williams must serve 38 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.
The assaults occurred several years ago on multiple occasions, officials shared. Williams was taken into custody in December 2020 by the Maryland State Police.
Officials said additional details are being withheld in an attempt to protect the identity of the victim.
“The victim in this case endured abuse that continues to traumatize her to this day,” Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw said in a news release. “We admire the strength and determination she displayed during the prosecution, and hope the justice that was brought on her behalf is meaningful as she pursues a happy, fulfilling life.”
NEW JERSEY — Snowfall ranging from a light dusting to up to 2 inches is anticipated for New Jersey Friday night into Saturday, though some uncertainty about how the storm could unfold means that amounts may be higher in areas, according to the latest forecast.
Northwest Jersey is expected to see 1 to 2 inches, with “a slushy coating to up to an inch” of snow predicted for the rest of the Garden State, according to the National Weather Service. Light precipitation will come in during the morning into the afternoon, transitioning to mainly snow overnight.
A Hazardous Weather Outlook has been issued for the northeast corner of the state through Friday night, as travel conditions could become slippery.
Find out what’s happening in Across New Jerseyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“The danger is the snow can quickly erupt and come down at a steady clip in some areas during the afternoon and evening rush hour on Friday in the Northeast,” AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said. This includes the metro areas of New York City and Philadelphia, he said.
Forecasters said there is some uncertainty with this storm depending on how it plays out. The National Weather Service called it “a difficult forecast,” and noted that snowfall amounts could be higher than forecast.
Find out what’s happening in Across New Jerseyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“Conditions around New York City are tricky,” Rayno said. “They can get a coating to an inch or two of snow from the clipper storm, perhaps a bit more if the coastal storm tracks farther west, or they could be in a rip-off zone where nothing to a few flurries occur.”
Saturday marks the first day of winter, and snow will end by late morning, forecasters say. Cold temperatures will linger through the weekend.
Here’s the latest forecast.
North Jersey
Friday: A chance of rain and snow before noon, then snow likely between noon and 1 p.m., then rain and snow likely after 1 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 36. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Friday Night: Rain and snow, becoming all snow after 11 p.m. Low around 29. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
Saturday: A chance of snow before 1 p.m. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 31. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40 percent. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 14. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 24. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 7.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 28.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18.
Tuesday: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.
Central Jersey
Friday: Rain. High near 39. Northeast wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Friday Night: Rain and snow, becoming all snow after 2 a.m. Low around 32. North wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
Saturday: A chance of snow before 1 p,m. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 33. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50 percent. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 14. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 26. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 8.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 31.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18.
Tuesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 38.
South Jersey
Friday: Rain. High near 42. North wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Friday Night: Rain before 10 p.m., then rain and snow likely between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m., then a chance of snow after 4 a.m. Low around 31. Northwest wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
Saturday: A chance of snow before 1 p.m. Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 36. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 14. Northwest wind around 10 mph.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 27. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 7.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 34.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18.
Tuesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40.
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