Rattlesnakes spotted around town

At least three different rattlesnakes visited downtown Odessa last week. Why so many at about the same time is a mystery. It is fairly rare that the slithering critters are seen on Odessa's streets. One snake was first seen under the bench on the sidewalk outside of the Odessa Record's office. It eventually moved down the street to the west and was dispatched by Nate Lathrop when it arrived at Rolling Thunder Pizza.

Another rattler showed up in the rear parking lot of the former VFW building that now houses Odessa Designs and LocalTel Communications. Building owner Jeff Huiras snapped a photo but lost track of the snake when he went to fetch a weapon.

The Grange Supply Company was also said to have been visited, but a call to Lisa Sandygren at their office said that was not an unusual occurrence for them, given their location right on the edge of town.

This week, with all of the fires burning throughout the area, it might not have been too surprising to be visited by rattlers. But so far at least, things have been quiet on the serpentine front.