About a month ago dispatcher Margie Barlow was on duty at her desk in the 9–1-1 office in the Daviess County Courthouse on the midnight shift when she got a very unwelcome surprise.
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"I went to answer the phone and something on the floor caught my eye," she said.
Margie finished the phone call and turned around. What caught her eye was a foot long snake. It was lying under the counter on the carpet.
"I said ‘snake!’ and rolled my chair back into the corner," said Margie.
Margie’s frightened reaction may have been as humorous as any victim of an office prank — only this wasn’t a prank and the snake wasn’t fake.
The snake was gray with black bands. It slithered up into the computer cords where it was more or less camouflaged. An officer with the sheriff’s department disposed of it promptly.
Since her experience, two other snakes — apparently all babies — have been discovered in the 9-1-1 office.
Daviess County Conservation Agent Alan Bradford identified Margie’s snake as a baby black rat snake.
"Black snakes are very common and can be found anywhere," Agent Bradford said. "They’re like a mouse, if they can get their head through a crack they’ll come in to get cool or warm."
Agent Bradford said the courthouse lawn has a lot of bushes and shrubs, making it a good place for snakes. He thinks a mother black snake probably had her babies around there. He said the black snake is harmless and nothing to be too concerned about.
Margie said she is fine with snakes as long as she sees them first.
"The rest of the night I had my feet up on the chair," she said.