These past couple of weeks one Marion citizen has been visibly missing from my morning commute to work — the beautiful, lost rooster who was calling Central Park and the neighboring timber his home.

Resident Jack Webb noticed the rooster’s absence in passing the other morning as he was taking his daily stroll from home to downtown.

What happened to our rural visitor? Did someone finally catch him? If so, did he make his way to a fry pan or to a chicken hutch with a bevy of beautiful hens and all the grain he could peck?

Some people in the area were annoyed by his early morning crowing while others enjoyed the sound of the fowl as he did what comes naturally.

Yes, it appears Marion is short one feathered resident. It was fun (yet scary) to watch him maneuver through early morning traffic and run through yards and around houses, searching solitude and a free meal.

— susan berg