L’Observateur / September 3, 2000

DEAR EDITOR: After being involved, I truly wonder if St. John Parish will ever get adecent animal shelter and proper animal control program.

Two years ago an Animal Control Officer salary was placed in the budget.

(This comes from the 25 cents that is on your water bills). St. JohnHumane Society director Ms. Heidi Hogan and Animal Control Boardmembers spent time to draw up a job description, handbook, and a test for this position. Upon completion of this, the previous council chose to placeit under the direction of the sheriff.

Now, after two years, the present administration has filled the position with someone that has no experience and does not meet all qualifications.

The Animal Control Board then concentrated on getting a new and larger shelter that this growing parish desperately needs. On Nov. 10, the councilapproved the hiring of a firm for preliminary architectural drawings, but failed to give them a budget to go by. Keeping this in mind ,we knew theshelter was years down the line or it may never materialize.

On Feb. 23 and March 23, 1999, Animal Control Board members asked forreconsideration of a DONATED trailer. At both meetings the previouscouncil rejected it. (Our parish president was one of the councilmen thatrejected it.) At the present time administration has PURCHASED a used trailer and RENTING another monthly. On Aug. 24, 1999 the first plans were viewed bythe council and sent back to the drawing board due to the cost. On Oct. 26,1999 a revised copy of the design were shown to the council. These planswere neither accepted nor rejected.

At that time the Animal Control Board by resolution asked the council to set aside the funds for the new shelter. This was taken under advisementand was to be placed on the next Finance Committee Agenda. This neverhappened.

On Nov. 9, 1999, the new shelter was discussed once again and tabled. Itwas said by the previous and present administrations there are no funds.

(But there are funds to blow up in the air for the July 4 fireworks show, and funds for studies on things that never get repaired. As per Mr. Wolfe’sstatement at the council meeting on Aug. 21, we are paying a firm $24,000per year to baby-sit.)What a waste of the taxpayers’ dollars! It seemed as though things may change with the new council and administration seated. Just as before you start of good and give hope and then put it on the back burner as always. (Let us not forget that some council members were re-elected andthe parish president was a former council member.)Stray animals in this parish are at its worst. WHY? Not enough space, notenough employees, the parish doesn’t want to spend the money on animal control, and a proper facility.

Doesn’t the safety of the citizens mean anything to the governing body that we have? It doesn’t seem like it. If a stray animal had bitten orattacked one of them or a family member, then it would become a priority.

Until then the parish citizens are dealt a handful of lies and deceitfulness.

The way we were raised, if you lie, you cheat, and steal. So sit back andlook at what we have – or what we don’t have.

St. John Parish Animal Control Advisory Board: Margaret Landry, Kay Durr,Nancy Desselle, Dr. Jenn Raulerson, Lesley Spranley, Carol Flannigan andBarbara Falgoust

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