Sheriff Nicholson is to be commended
by Dub Joiner -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sheriff Stacy Nicholson is to be commended for agreeing to take on the responsibility for animal control in the county, an additional job he really didn’t want to add to his department. However, the stray and abandoned animal situation is getting out-of-hand and something must be done to control it. The board of commissioners are also to be commended for agreeing to the sheriff’s request for more help and funds to do the job. The only thing they didn’t include was a decent place to house the animals. What the county has now is despicable at best. With the sheriff in control, it is hoped that a better, and more sanitary facility will be provided in the near future. Several months ago, commissioners approved a better animal control ordinance for the county. Maybe that ordinance can now be fully implemented now that animal control is under the sheriff’s control. Let’s be fair to the sheriff and his staff however. He, and the person he assigns to oversee and direct animal control will have to have some time to orientate themselves with the ordinance and the needs of the county before any big changes can take place. The sheriff’s department is the right place for animal control because it involves enforcement of a county ordinance and that will take, in some cases, a sworn officer to see that the ordinance is followed. In the meantime, Gilmer County citizens need to do their part in taking care of their pets by seeing that they are spayed or neutered, don’t roam the community, have their rabies shots, and have a tag attached to a collar with the owner’s name and phone number in case the pet gets out and becomes lost. With the sheriff’s office and local citizens working together, along with organizations like Friends of Gilmer Animal Shelter and Homeward Bound, the stray animal situation can be handled. |