Category Archives: Animals

Video playlist @ LCC 2012-11-12

The Lowndes County Commission invited a developer to speak about his proposed rezoning at a Work Session without inviting any opposition to speak. Plus another rezoning, a proposed solid waste ordinance with exclusive franchise agreement, and proposed appointments to five boards and authorities. And at the end an animal event report.

Here’s a video playlist:

Video playlist
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 12 November 2012.

Here’s the agenda again, this time with links to the videos plus a few notes.

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First Annual Lowndes County Animal Health Fair 2012-11-03

Animal Health Fair flyer seen on the door of the Lowndes County Commission Chambers yesterday evening at their 5:30 PM Regular Session.

Lowndes County Animal Health Fair flyer

Lowndes County Animal Health Fair flyer
Pictures by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 23 October 2012.

This is the event discussed by County Clerk Paige Dukes the previous morning:

On November 3rd the animal shelter along with the Humane Society will have the first animal health fair here in Lowndes County. It’s hoped that this is going to be an annual event, held the first Saturday of November. And the purpose is to mirror the benefits you see for people health fairs.

-jsq

Video of 6 minute meeting @ LCC 2012-10-22

Here’s a single video of this morning’s entire Lowndes County Commission Work Session. The railroad item was neither of the ones on which I was speculating. The animal shelter wants a 24 hour “cooling-off period” with a submitted animal kept at home before “evaluation” by the shelter. The Tax Commissioner wants to refund some taxes they apparently accidentally overcharged. The Fire Chief has bids for equipment for the new fire truck. And there’s going to be an animal health fair. They vote tomorrow evening at 5PM.

Here’s the video, followed by the agenda, with links to the relevant parts of the video, and a few notes.

Video of 6 minute meeting
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 22 October 2012.
Thanks to Dexter Sharper for use of his video camera.

Here’s the annotated agenda:

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Animal shelter violations in Chatham County

Some of an animal shelter story coming out in Chatham County sounds familiar.

Mary Landers wrote for SavannahNow 20 October 2012, Savannah Chatham Animal Control Shelter cited for violating state rules: Local professionals call shelter’s care “inhumane”

The county-funded Savannah Chatham Animal Control Shelter was found to have repeatedly violated animal protection requirements in two state inspections last month, and its practices are being criticized as inhumane by four local animal professionals.

One professional criticized the shelter not only in writing, but also by revoking the shelter’s permission to use her veterinary license. The Chatham County Commission says it’s dealt with the problem. We’ll see.

-jsq

Rairoad, animals, taxes, and a fire truck @ LCC 2012-10-22

Five minutes? Or will they discuss any of the four items on the agenda for Monday morning’s Work Session?

What’s the CSX project? CSX in Lowndes County Is it this item from the T-SPLOST constrained project list?

RC11-000071 Construction of St Augustine Road Overpass

That overpass went from $12,000,000 to $14,627,933.04 during the T-SPLOST selection process. On the ground down there on St. Augustine Road it sure looks like people are preparing for an overpass. Has the county found some non-T-SPLOST way to fund that railroad overpass?

Since it’s CSX, I’d guess it’s not this other T-SPLOST project:

RC11-000077 Georgia and Florida Railway (GFRR) — Valdosta to Willacoochee Rehabilitation

The Commission could just post the proposed agreement along with the agenda, and then we’d all know.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2012, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2012, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
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Waste disposal again —Joe Pritchard @ LCC 2012-06-12

Why are Commissioners hiding behind Joe Pritchard, instead of discussing trash disposal in open meetings?

At last week’s Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission, County Manager Joe Pritchard repeated part of what he said the previous morning at the Work Session. After the meeting he came up to me to ask whether he had clarified it more. I do appreciate him doing that, and he did clarify where the new cards are on sale, although he omitted any mention of where they had been discussed previously. And it’s true that the previous morning he did not say anything had been decided. Yet the method of paying for waste disposal has changed (for only six months, and not prorated), so somebody decided that, somewhere where the public was not invited.

That six month period conveniently ends just after the current current Commission will be replaced by a new Commission with two additional members and a new Chairman. Those of us who remember former Chairman Rod Casey’s Commission passing a waste collection plan just as he left the Commission may remain sceptical that the Commissioners haven’t already made up their minds to privatize trash collection and socialize the losses onto landowners, who will have to deal with increased illegal dumping.

Sceptical especially when the VDT has reported twice that the Commissioners have already made up their minds, and about the Commissioners discussing trash disposal at three different meetings at which they knew the public would not be present. Remember the VDT report of the Commission’s stealth 4 June meeting:

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REZ-2012-09 Copeland rezoning @ LCC 2012-06-12

How can a man with health care financial troubles make a living with a shop he’s had for decades when some of the neighbors complain about a rezoning that is now required? A controversial case that raised issues ranging from wetlands to public safety to Moody Air Force Base jets flying out of Valdosta Airport made its way through two appointed boards to a Solomonic rezoning decision by the elected Lowndes County Commission. Nobody wanted to deny a man a living, but many people wanted to limit potential commercial uses of the subject property. The Commissioners attempted to take all that into account, yet failed to incorporate two major considerations raised by neighbors, mentioning one of them only to disparage it. Even that isn’t the end of it, since it may head back to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a buffer variance. Here are videos of REZ-2012-09 Copeland at the Lowndes County Commission.

It had been to the Planning Commission for a recommendation on rezoning, it had been to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a buffer variance, Monday morning it had been to the County Commission Work Session at which we learned a bit more, and Tuesday evening it went to the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session for a vote on rezoning.

Monday 11 June 2012 Work Session

At the 8:30 AM Monday Work Session, County Planner Jason Davenport had several updates since Commissioners had received their packets the previous week.

  • An email from a Mr. Bradford in opposition.
  • Some open records requests to be filled after the work session.
  • Some opponents of the rezoning had hired a lawyer. (Those of you who watched Bill Nijem at the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting already would have guessed that. Nijem also spoke the next day at the Regular Session.)
  • Davenport had met with the applicant, Mr. Copeland, who had provided more materials because he believed there were some accusations about lack of continuous operations in the building.

Davenport summarized that he thought there were three camps:

  1. Those not supporting the case.
  2. Those supporting the case,
  3. Those supporting the case with conditions,

He said one possibility would be for he and the county attorney to meet with the opposition attorney to try to work out some conditions.

Tuesday 12 June 2012 Regular Session

The agenda item was

6. Public Hearings – REZ-2012-09 Copeland, 3258 & 3264 Loch Laurel Rd, R-A & R-1 to C-C, well & septic, ~5 acres

Here’s a list of every citizen speaking for, at any of GLPC, ZBOA, or County Commission: John A. Copeland (the applicant), Kevin Copeland (applicant’s son), Nancy Hobby, Charles Miles, Fuller Sorrell, Alan Davis, Robert Roffe, and Norman Bush, plus a petition for.

Here’s a list of every citizen speaking against, at any of GLPC, ZBOA, or County Commission: Bill Nijem (attorney for several neighbors), Jimmy Hiers, Gail Hiers, Greta Vargas, and Patty Haynes.

For the rezoning

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Animal shelter vet resigns from board

Last month the Niagara County, NY SPCA fired its executive director; this month one of its board members resigned. He is a veterinarian, and he oversaw the euthanasia that a report by Erie County, NY SPCA said was improperly applied. He claims that wasn’t so, because the animals were anesthetized first, and now invoices for the anesthetic have turned up.

Michael Wooten wrote for wgrz.com 9 February 2012,

2 On Your Side contacted the SPCA Serving Erie County. Although Ms. Carr was unavailable, we were told she based her report and conclusions on the information that was provided to her and the interviews she conducted.

The Niagara County facility had poor record-keeping, so it’s possible Ms. Carr did not receive the invoices. Some have expressed concern about why all documents weren’t turned over during Ms. Carr’s investigation. Others have also questioned if Rompun, even in large concentrations and doses, are enough to make an animal unconscious.

Maybe if there had been more oversight and transparency at the animal shelter, none of this would have happened. At least in Erie County, New York, there’s finally some sort of accountability.

-jsq

Animal shelter director fired

Animal shelter board received report, and then acted on it!

Charlie Specht wrote for the Buffalo News Monday, Embattled Faso fired as Niagara SPCA chief: Board move follows furor, scathing report on shelter,

The leaders of the SPCA of Niagara hired John A. Faso as executive director in April 2010 after interviewing a series of “remarkable” applicants.

“We were really impressed with the quality, but John stood out,” board President Bruno A. “Brandy” Scrufari III said at the time. “We were confident he’s here to stay for quite some time.”

Those high hopes came crashing down Monday as the board voted to fire its embattled executive director after a month of criticism and a scathing report outlining a dysfunctional culture and unnecessary and cruel euthanasia practices.

“This is a quick, decisive, positive reaction to go forward,” said Paul J. Cambria Jr., the defense attorney advising the board. “They’re well on their way to fixing it.”

It took less than one week for them to act after getting the report.

-jsq

SPCA report on animal shelter: “Childish Behavior” and lack of oversight

No, not here (although the description might fit): SPCA of Erie County, New York reported on the animal shelter in neighboring Niagara County, New York. Also the parts about “horrific” animal cruelty and “excruciatingly painful” euthanasia may sound familiar.

WGRZ.com wrote today, SPCA of Niagara Report; “Childish Behavior”, Lack of Oversight,

In part of her report, Carr writes, “It’s clear that the NCSPCA is dysfunctional in many ways. Without standard operating procedures, without careful record keeping and record retrieval, without trust of one another, without a clear chain or command, with any strategies to improve, this organization will continue to disappoint and enrage the community,”

She continues, “there is an overwhelming culture of distrust at the shelter. Some staff distrust the Executive Director, the Executive Director distrusts many of the board members, many board members distrust the Executive Director and some staff and volunteers distrust some staff and staff distrusts some volunteers. Everyone seems to distrust someone associated with the SPCA. They gossip, pass on written complaints about each other to one another, try to get each other fired, go behind backs of one another to people in authority and make complaints. The evaluation team has witnessed this rather childish behavior at all levels of the organization, by board members, the Executive Director, staff members, and volunteers.”

Charlie Specht wrote for the Buffalo News yesterday, Probe details ‘horrific’ animal cruelty at Niagara SPCA: Report by Erie County counterpart details ‘excruciatingly painful’ euthanasia, Continue reading →