NEW BOSTON, Texas-Some spooky, furry, flying creatures have given more of a Halloween flavor to New Boston's Pioneer Days celebration rather than a frontier spirit.
Earlier this week, New Boston municipal officials discovered bats accumulating in a vacant building in the 100 block of northeast Front Street in the downtown area.
City Secretary Darla Faulknor said Friday that the city had contacted the Tyler, Texas-based Tru Tech Wildlife Exterminators firm, which sent workers out to inspect the building Friday afternoon. She said the firm has scheduled exterminators to come back Monday to remove the bats.
Faulknor said there are federal laws regarding how bats can be handled, adding that it takes a professional firm to do the job.
The former business building is boarded up and has been vacant for years, she said.
Carl Butler, a barber at David's Hair Design, just a few doors to the west of the bat-invaded building, said there have been bats in other vacant downtown New Boston buildings for about the last 15 years.
"If you have vacant buildings, you have bats," he said.
The owner of the Something Different Hair Salon business near David's Hair Design, who asked not to be identified, pointed out a live bat lying on the sidewalk near her business entrance.
T-Bone Dooley, owner of Cowboy Guns, in the same 100 block of Front Street, said people have come out to see the bats since some pictures of them have been posted on the internet.
"We know about the bats, but they aren't a real concern around here," Dooley said. "We know the city is taking care of the situation. We also haven't had any problems with bats in our building-even though our building goes back to 1903."