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Waterways Conservation Officer Bill Crisp was guest speaker at this week's Emporium Rotary Club meeting. Crisp talked about poisonous snakes in Pennsylvania, particularly copperheads and rattlesnakes. He informed Rotarians that many of the perceptions regarding these snakes are untrue. According to Crisp, venomous snakes only strike for two reasons, because they are scared or hungry. And contrary to popular belief, no deaths have been attributed to timber rattlesnake bites in the Commonwealth for 25 years. Crisp also discredited the rumor that you can tell a rattlesnake's age by the amount of rattles it has. He said that rattlers don't gain a new rattle every year, but rather, every time they eat. Adult rattlesnakes can be identified by their rounder, more parallel rattles whereas younger snakes have pointier rattles because they are still growing. Crisp informed Rotarians also that identifying poisonous snakes in Pennsylvania is easy because they have elliptical eyes while all non-venomous snakes have round eyes. James Moate photo