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Flamingos demand a charitable ransom City Parks Department employee Nikki Petersen ponders the flock of flamingos that descended on Central Point's City Hall sometime Thursday night. Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune Friday May 4, 2018 at 4:39 PM May 4, 2018 at 4:39 PM Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Central Point officials arrived at City Hall Friday morning to discover a small flock of bright pink, scantily clad flamingos perched in an otherwise respectable planter bed between the library and the police department. City Recorder Deanna Casey discovered the feathered flock, suspected the city had been targeted overnight, and alerted the proper authorities. A sign declaring “You’ve been flocked!” was surrounded by a half-dozen birds — one sporting a grass skirt, another dressed like a bumble bee and the more brazen of the group wearing a Fourth of July-themed tutu. Casey said surveillance video to determine the culprit was not immediately available, but a ransom letter of sorts, a demand for a donation to fight breast cancer, was strung around the neck of one of the self-declared plastic “glamingos.” The letter, taken into evidence by police officials, provided details on how to have the birds removed — make a donation and give up the name of someone else who could use a good “flocking” — and how to obtain “flock insurance” to avoid being targeted altogether. More crucial than finding the culprit, Casey said, was to beg for donations from city employees — being stewards of maintaining a tight budget and all — to “gather the ransom” for having the mischievous birds removed. “As cute as the flamingos are, we were concerned for their safety with the citywide yard sale coming, and we thought it best to relocate them to a safer place,” said Casey. Known for her own large-scale acts of fundraising for breast cancer research, Central Point resident Ruby Mills said she was shocked to hear of the flocking of City Hall. Mills, who insisted she was home sleeping Thursday night, said she could sympathize that whoever was responsible “was probably desperate to raise money to fight breast cancer.” City police would not confirm whether Mills was a suspect but acknowledged her “street name” of “Big Mama.” Mills, 85, was quick to point out that she was “older than dirt” and that no one would suspect she could pull off such shenanigans. In an aside, Mills mentioned she hoped to walk much of the 60-mile Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk in September and was saving her strength and trying to avoid a criminal record in the meantime. Mills, whose daughters, mother and grandmother all battled breast cancer, encouraged giving in to the demands of the flock and donating for a good cause. “It’s probably best to just make a donation; I mean I don’t know,” Mills said. “Whatever it takes to get them to go away!” Nikki Petersen, of the city Parks Department, surveyed the feathered flock on Friday and shook her head. A better sport than most, Petersen reckoned the birds were “kind of cute.” “We came out this morning and saw that we had these adorable pink flamingos. Of course, we immediately wondered where in the world this would come from. You can’t miss them when you go by and I guess they’re not exactly the world’s best dressed,” Petersen said. “It’s not every day you get flocked by some pink flamingos. Our hope is to move them along here pretty soon, though.” Police Chief Kris Allison was away from her office when she was briefed on the Friday flocking. “We are currently investigating this act of vandalism at City Hall and being flocked by these … supposed glamingos. We are willing to overlook this incident for help with donations to have them removed from city property,” Allison said, declining to disclose the city’s ransom payment in order to discourage copycat crimes. “We also warn everyone to be on the lookout. It would be a real shame for another entity — especially the Central Point Chamber — to be targeted next.” Maintaining her own innocence, Mills, who purchased her own flock insurance last week after hearing of a dozen local residents being targeted, said she had heard rumors there were at least six flocks of pink birds descending on the Rogue Valley. “It sounds like all you can do is pay the ransom or get this so-called flock insurance,” she said, noting that her organization still has some $17,000 to raise. She added with a snicker, “It’s a great idea. Too bad my bunch didn’t come up with it!” The suspects involved with the flocking say they will accept requests from flocking via email at [email protected]. For more information or to donate to the fight against breast cancer, see www.the3day.org/goto/ruby2018. Reach freelance writer Buffy Pollock at [email protected].