Council hears new state dog-fighting laws and report on city's stray-animal problems
By KIP BURKE news editor

In a Washington City Council meeting Monday night, council members heard a report from Washington Wilkes Animal Shelter Director and Manager Gloria Wheatley on new dog-fighting laws and the local stray dog problem.

A new Georgia dog-fighting law, she said, makes it illegal to own, transport, train, or possess dogs with the intent to be used to fight another dog. "This is getting to be a problem in Wilkes County, and we're going to be talking to some folks about this law just signed into effect," she said. "This also includes breeding dogs to be used as fighters."

There are cash rewards to turn in violators of the fighting dog law. "The Humane Society of the U.S. is giving a $5,000 reward and the Georgia Sheriffs Association is offering a $2,500 reward, and we're really pushing this because this is becoming a problem in Wilkes County."

Wheatley also reported that chaining of dogs, rather than fencing them in, is an inhumane practice. "We have problems in Washington with chained dogs, primarily pit bulls, that get loose. Chaining is not a reliable form of confinement, and we have numerous reports every year of pit bulls getting loose and attacking other animals. So far, no severe attacks on humans have happened, we've been lucky, but it's coming. Chaining is not appropriate for any dog, but especially pit bulls. The longer you keep them chained, the more aggressive they become."

Urging pet owners to spay and neuter their pets, Wheatley told the meeting that grant money was available to help with the cost. "We now have some endowment money that was given to us, so we can offer low-cost spay and neuter services, and if you can't afford it, we'll pay for the whole thing. 2008 is the year we're going to see how many dogs we can have spayed or neutered."

She also reminded pet owners that Washington has a leash law, "and that means every single dog."

The shelter has been working to trap feral dogs that run in packs, but with no success. "They've been well-trained for years. If I set my traps one place, they'll go somewhere else," she said. Some traps are stolen, and others are vandalized, and each trap costs $300.

Wheatley completed her presentation to the council by asking for ideas and input, and asking the public for patience.

Relating to the Southwest Washington Redevelopment Plan, the council set a called meeting at City Hall on June 30 at 6 p.m. to go over proposed ordinance changes related to the redevelopment plan. "I want to have this called meeting so we can go over all this, so everyone can be fully educated on this," Councilman Pam Eaton said.

Councilman Nathaniel Cullars brought up the possibility of bringing a document-shredding service to town to help prevent identity theft. "They do this in Athens and Barrow County, and once a year this company comes and shreds the citizens documents in one place, where their documents are secure."

Cullars proposed that the city offer such a service for the citizens of Washington.

City Administrator Mike Eskew said that he would meet with Cullars on the idea.

Councilman Maceo Mahoney asked Mayor Willie Burns about the status of a video surveillance system set up to watch high-crime areas of town. "It's been fivemonths now, and I've seen some of the equipment, and it's good equipment, but we haven't received all the equipment yet."

Eskew said that as of last week, there was one more piece of hardware or software needed to monitor the security cameras from a laptop, and that it should be fixed soon.

Citizen Carol Cartledge rose to complain about the irregular service from Comcast Cable in Washington. "Channel 8 is off most of the time, and WSB Channel 2 has been off for days now. Several other channels come in poorly, and when I've complained, they've said it's not their wiring or my TV. This is ludicrous for what we're paying."

Eskew said that he knew who to speak to at Comcast, and would pass on the complaint.

Reporting for the Washington-Wilkes Chamber of Commerce, Ed Pope III said that business owners wanted to thank the council for enforcing the sign ordnance.

Pope also invited council members and others to a Business After-hours at the Chamber on July 31 from 6 p.m. to 9. "We'll be asking businesses for creative ideas on saving energy," he said. "and hopefully pass along some of these ideas to our members."

Since it now costs $25 to drive to Athens or Augusta to shop, Pope said, Chamber member businesses urge everyone to shop at home for their products and services. "People do not want to drive out of town anymore for services," he said, "so this is an opportunity for creative businesses to offer something to keep shoppers here."

Downtown businesses also asked him to mention problems with parking on The Square. "It's a great problem to have, but parking is starting to become a problem on The Square, and we need to look at using the parking behind the Courthouse, to make that more attractive and useful.

At the start of the meeting Tourism and Chamber of Commerce Director Ashley Barnett reported on preparations for the 4th of July celebration coming up, and the plans for the second annual Miss Wilkes County pageant set for September 27. She invited the council to a ribbon cutting for a new retail business, Restore Galore, on The Square Saturday, June 28 at noon.

The next city council meeting will be a called meeting at City Hall on June 30 at 6 p.m. to go over proposed ordinance changes related to the redevelopment plan.

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