LIBERTY — While some church members can raise a “stink” causing problems in a church, one visitor caused a stink of another kind Sunday.
When members Clint and Christy Bowling arrived at Mount Pleasant Church on West Ky. 70 about 8 a.m. to open the building, a foul and noxious odor greeted them at the front door, said Barbara Norfleet, Christy’s mother.
It became obvious, Norfleet said, that the odor was from a skunk.
“My grandson, Christopher Spears, kept telling them that they needed to call the Turtleman,” she said, referring to Ernie Brown Jr. in Lebanon.
The Bowlings notified Norfleet and her husband Charles, who have been members for 40 years at the small country church of about 45 members.
Fellow church member Larry Bell met Charles at the church a few minutes later and the odor was so bad, Charles only made it 10 feet up the aisle of the church before being forced to retreat outside to escape the stink.
As it became obvious that the odor wasn’t going to be cleared before services began at 11 a.m., the decision was made to cancel services.
Before this encounter with a skunk odor, the only other creature Barbara could remember that invaded the church building was a mouse that ran across the floor one Sunday during services.
Barbara said traps have been set, and the only offender that has been nabbed is an opossum.
“There’s a burrow hole near the foundation, and we wonder if that’s where the skunk got under the church,” she said.
Because the foundation on the 100-year-old building is so low to the ground, it’s impossible to crawl under the church and set a trap, she said.
This week, church members have opened the doors during the day and placed fans to draw fresh air through the building.
Others have suggested placing saucers of white vinegar in the building to capture the odors.
But whether the odor is weakening because the doors are open or the skunk has left the building, it remains to be seen what will happen this weekend.
“The odor is getting weaker, and we’re going to try and have church this coming Sunday,” she said.
— By LARRY ROWELL
The Casey County News
