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Commission says: no shelter

By Staff | Mar 10, 2010

There is still no animal shelter in site for Tyler County. Linda Hendrickson from the Olive Branch Animal Refuge attended the Commission meeting on Tuesday morning on behalf of getting an animal shelter in Tyler County. She once again stated the importance of having an animal shelter in the county due to the large number of animals that people are dropping off. She said animal cruelty is on the rise in the county.

Commissioner Robert Wable informed Hendrickson that there was a piece of property on Oil Ridge Road in Paden City that the owners were willing to donate for the animal shelter but after he and Tyler County Sheriff, Bob Kendle went and inspected the tract of land, Wable said it was not acceptable.

He said that the roadway is in bad shape and the hill is to steep. He and Kendle agreed that it is not a good place to put the shelter.

Hendrickson suggested putting one where the old shelter was, by the Tyler County Fairgrounds. She said she gets calls everyday about strays in the area or of cruelty cases. She also stated to the commissioners that there is a lot of people wanting to help but there is just not enough interest in it.

“It wouldn’t be a problem to build it, it’s getting the people to run it”, said Wable.

Hendrickson said there are grants to keep it running. She also said they would not have to employ a veterinarian to euthanize animals that are unstable to be adopted out. She said a dog warden could be employed to do that and can take training to be licensed to do it.

“I can’t financially do it anymore where it is at”, said Hendrickson.

“I am an animal lover also and I agree that we need an animal shelter, but money wise, we can’t do it”, stated Wable.

Hendrickson told the commissioners that she has the floor plans and everything ready to go to get the animal shelter built. She said she just needs the property to do it.

No resolution was made in the attempt to bring an animal shelter into Tyler County, but the commissioners granted Hendrickson $5,000 out of the dog tag fund to build a building for the amount of puppies that people are dropping off. These are stray puppies, not ones that are brought in.

In other business, Sandy McEowen, a resident on Stewart Run Road, was in front of the commissioners voicing concerns about the road signs that are being put up. She said that starting up Friendly Road and heading towards Middlebourne, the name of the road changes three times. McEowen said that when she was growing up, it was called Stewart’s Run. Due to the signs being put up, it is now called Rush Fork Road. She said that Rush Fork Road starts about three to four miles over the hill from where she lives.

Kendle said it is the Department of Highways doing this project with the signs. He is also concerned about the deputies knowing the addresses when called out.

Jackson Hayes, Tyler County Assessor, was also concerned about the subject. He stated the fact that it is going to cause a lot of havoc for title searches because of the renaming of the roads.

Another concern is the 911 center. President Charles “Pork” Smith agreed that it is not running as smoothly as thought. A special meeting has been planned for March 23 at the next regular meeting to discuss the issue further.

Bob Tippins, resident of Sistersville, was in front of the members to give an update on the base of the gun monument in front of the courthouse. He said he has been in contact with Mick McMullet from New Martinsville. Tippins said that they have $1,200 money left over to pay McMullet to do the job.

He wants the base of the gun and the gun itself to be in place by the time the Civil War Monument that is planned in front of the courthouse on May 30 at 2 p.m. Tippins said that he has received 150 names to be placed on the monument.

Tim Meeks, MOVRC Grant Coordinator, was on hand at the meeting to give two grants to Jeff McCready from the Department of Natural Resources. One grant in the amount of $9,000 to go towards ADA accessibility (handicap accessible) and the other one in the amount of $5,000 to go towards improvements in camping facility was awarded to the Conaway Lake for upgrades. Meeks told the commissioners that there is a 10 percent match on each grant.

Tom Cooper, Director of Emergency Management in Tyler County gave the members an update on the Flood Plain Ordinance. He stressed that they will lose their funding if they do not come up with a plan soon.