For Rick Wolowick, a normal day involves going to work, buying coffee and some cheese crackers for a mid-morning snack and picking up dead squirrels, ducks and deer.
Wolowick is your friendly Lake County patrolman – the man that cleans litter off Lake County roads, fills small potholes and picks up the roadkill that makes many people shudder.
"Monday is the day for lots of roadkill pick-ups," Wolowick said.
Kevin Kerrigan, the engineer of maintenance with the Lake County Department of Transportation, is in charge of making the entire Lake County system of roads run smoothly.
"The county is split into four quadrants, divided by Route 120 and Route 45, each with about 20 roads," Kerrigan said. "One patrolman drives the roads of each quadrant making sure they are clear and clean."
Wolowick drives the southwest quadrant of Lake County.
"The quadrant system is really good," he said. "We understand and know our corner, so it is easy to see what is off or misplaced."
As far as roadkill, Wolowick does deal with it, but not as much as his co-workers.
"There really isn't too much [roadkill] in this corner, but in the northwest corner, where there aren't as many houses and they have the swamps of the Chain o' Lakes, there is a lot more," Wolowick said.
When picking up the roadkill, the patrolman take as many safety precautions as they can.
"We pick-up the roadkill with a shovel and then put it in the back of the truck," Wolowick said. "When we get back to the lot, we put it in the Dumpster. We used to just bury them on the side of the road, but we can't do that anymore."
"If it is a deer, we can't pick it up with a shovel, so we use the winch," Wolowick continued. A winch is like a mechanical claw that lifts heavy object into the bed of the truck.
"The patrolman also wear safety vests, and the trucks are equipped with strobe lights for work in the field," said Kerrigan.
After the roadkill is put in the bed of a truck, it is placed in a special Dumpster, known to the patrolmen as the "doggie dumpster."
"The patrolmen put the roadkill in a specially designated Dumpster, and on Tuesdays and Fridays a Veolia truck comes to empty the dumpster," Kerrigan said.
Each state has different laws for what the ending location for roadkill has to be, as laid out by their state's legislation. Looking at what most states choose, there are really two options, burial in specially designated area or cremation.
Important to note is that the roadkill wouldn't ever be placed in a regular landfill because every state has a law on the books against leaving animal carcasses in county landfills given their risk of disease.
But some people believe that roadkill can be put to better use than burial or cremation – some people prefer to use the animals for food.
But don't go picking up just any dead animal off the street. In Illinois, residents can only pick up a roadkill animal if they hit it or get it from the person who hit it.
According to Illinois law, the legal route to processing the roadkill is to call the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and get them to tag the animal. Once the animal has been tagged, it is the property of the person who wants it and he or she can do what they want with it.
Considering that people must have hit the animal or know who hit it to legally obtain it, they are fairly safe from picking up an animal that died of natural causes, which may include diseases, Animals must be prepared quickly; however, as the meat will spoil, officials said.
A professional chef responding to a roadkill question on a Yahoo! message board said that in order to use the meat, the animal needs to be field dressed and cooled immediately. Another responder said to cook the meat at a high temperature for a significant amount of time to lower the chance for disease.
Eating roadkill, while it may be an acquired taste, is not that out there. In fact, there is an entire festival dedicated to the cooking of roadkill in West Virginia called the RoadKill Cook-Off.
David Cain, the chief organizer of the Cook-Off, said that the event attracts between 10,000 and 15,000 visitors a year.
"Since I have been doing this for the last few years, I have had no complaints from any of the attendees as far as the food," Cain said.
Wolowick doesn't mind the gore of picking up the roadkill, but sometimes the smell does get to him.
"Skunks are pretty bad, but if you are sitting in the cab with a dead deer in the bed, it smells horrible," he said.
With all the blood and guts, the Lake County patrolmen do try to lighten the mood.
"Sometimes the other guys play a trick on you," Wolowick said. "They will put a hat on the animal or put a cigar in its mouth."
If you see roadkill on a street, report it to your local authorities. They will find the proper person to clean the animal up.
Or, of course, you could just use it to whip up a new dinner – just don't tell the family what they ate until after dessert.
Some roadkill recipes
Venison Black Bean Chili
Ingredients:
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 celery rib, chopped
• 8 garlic cloves, chopped
• 4 lbs boneless venison, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/3 cup chili powder (not a typo)
• 3 tablespoons dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2-1 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 (28 ounce) can plum tomatoes, crushed
• 3 1/2 cups hot chicken broth
• 3 (15 1/2 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
Directions: In a Dutch oven, Saute onions and celery in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil until soft, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and cook a few minutes more. Transfer to a small bowl, set aside. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the same Dutch oven, and brown, in batches, the cubed venison. Add the onion/garlic mixture to the browned venison and add the remaining ingredients except the beans. Cook for 2 hours or more, until the meat is fork-tender. Add beans, and heat through. Taste to see if it needs more salt and/or pepper. Serve hot, good with brown rice.
From 'Aunt Kathy' of www.recipezaar.com
Bacon Wrapped Squirrel
Ingredients:
• Squirrel legs, both front and rear legs work
• Your favorite beer
• Garlic powder
• Salt
• Pepper
• Minced onion
• Bacon, preferably hickory smoked
Directions: Soak the squirrel legs in the beer for 2 or 3 hours. Remove the legs and drain. To your personal taste, sprinkle each leg with garlic powder, pepper, salt and the minced onion.
Wrap each seasoned leg with bacon and secure the bacon with toothpicks if necessary. Place each leg on a hot grill and cook over medium temperature until the meat is cooked all the way through. Serve along side your favorite sides, such as macaroni and cheese.
From Timothy S. Barry of www.backwoodsbound.com