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| | Wednesday, February 20, 2019
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CLB gets animal shelter update
Members of the Cocke County Legislative Body meeting Tuesday evening received an update on the operation of the Friends Animal Shelter. Manager Elisha Henry told the body there are maintenance issues at the shelter, but a number of volunteers are working on the problems. In addition, the shelter soon will have a volunteer grant writer and has begun working closely with Brother Wolf, a rescue agency in Asheville. New adoption events are planned and Henry hopes to again implement a rolling rescue operation. She said only two or three animals are adopted per day. Although the facility currently is a no-kill shelter, Henry says that likely will not continue. "Bite dogs" are a major problem at the shelter. On Tuesday a dog, with it's teeth filed down so he couldn't fight back, was brought in. Recently the shelter has received a number of dogs which Henry believes were used as bait in dog fighting training. Also she said a dog was brought to the shelter recently after he bit off the genitals of a pony and then bit a small girl on the face. Sheriff Armando Fontes reported that the shelter seems to be operating well. But he said animal control is a major problem in the community because the county currently is without an animal control officer. "We are responding to a multitude of nuisance animal calls, dealing with irresponsible animal owners," the sheriff said. "And for every call you get there are ten you aren't hearing about," chimed in Commissioner Norman Smith. "We have so many animals running at large, people aren't keeping their animals up like they are supposed to, they are not following state laws. We are just having multitudes of litters out there and it is a community problem as the result of poor ownership," the sheriff told the body. The commission approved a 1.7 percent increase in the monthly fee paid to QVHC, which provides medical coverage for the jail. The firm also has negotiated reduced fees with local hospitals. County Attorney Brittany Vick also reported that a lawsuit brought by Ft. Sanders Medical Center has been resolved. They agreed to purchase a new breathing air system for the Cocke County Fire Department, to replace the one that is worn out. The system is used to fill air tanks needed to fight interior fires. The new system will cost $34,000, but bids for a replacement had ranged up to $54,000. The body voted not to pay EMA Director Kevin Benton the bonus he had earlier been promised. Benton recently announced he will leave the post at the end of this month for a position with FEMA. State law and Newport officials allow the sale of beer beginning at 10 am on Sundays, but the CLB voted to retain the county law which forbids the sale of beer before noon on Sunday. The body also voted to require any departmental requests to be filed five days before a meeting, so that commissioners have time to review the request before it is voted on. The body also approved a HOME grant which will be used to rehabilitate the homes of low-income county residents.
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