Did this little squirrel, with the plastic bag wrapped around his neck, actually trigger a war in the Lexington Park Townhomes in northern Colorado Springs neighborhood of Briargate?

Resident Constance Rohrer says it did.

Actually, it was her decision to take in the squirrel, feed it and cut the bag off it’s neck, that led to harassment, fines and even felony theft allegations, Rohrer said.

Are you scratching your head like I was?

Seems Rohrer nursed the squirrel back to health and released it in her 96-unit townhome complex. But one of her neighbors alerted the homeowners association about a rogue squirrel. The HOA hired a trapper who came out to catch the squirrel. Rohrer intervened, ordering the trapper to leave.

Here’s a look at the complex from Google Earth.

Here’s it’s web site:

These are photos from the web site.

Rohrer says the rescue incited the wrath of her homeowners association board and led to harassment, hundreds of dollars in fines, and even allegations of felony theft lodged against her with police.
So I contacted the president of the Lexington Park Townhomes HOA figuring I’d clear it up and move on.

But Chad Farris, the HOA president, declined to talk to me. Ordered me not to use his name. Wanted me to meet him “in a public place with my attorney present.”

Hmm. Maybe the squirrel lady isn’t nuts, after all.

I talked to others at the 96-unit complex at Lexington Drive and Union Boulevard in Briargate. Especially persuasive was previous HOA president John Chestnut.

“It’s a power thing,” Chestnut said. “I’ve been here 10 years. I was on the board 6 years. We never had any trouble with the board.
“Now, a lot of people are upset. It’s not just how they are treating Constance. It’s how they are running the board. Treating everybody.”
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