Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Oct. 20, 2016, edition 1 / Page 7
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Commissioners hear animal control report BY TODD LUCK THE CHRONICLE Forsyth County com missioners heard a staff report on ways to improve animal control during a Thursday, Oct. 13, brief ing. Forsyth County Animal Control is responsible for calls on animal cruelty, rabies and vicious animals. It also runs an animal shel ter that receives about 8,000 animals a year on average. The department has about 29 employees and receives more than 1,000 service calls a year. The report, which was requested by the commis sioners, focused on response time. Urgent calls for things like rescuing an animal in danger or an attack in progress are responded to in less than an hour on average. Calls about cruelty, animal bites and rabies exposure are responded to in four hours on average. Less urgent calls can take days to respond to. Calls about stray and nuisance animals and neglect take an average of eight days to respond to. The report also includ ed stats on the animal shel ter. It showed nearly a quarter of animals at the shelter were adopted and nearly 10 percent were reclaimed by their owners last year. About 61 percent of the animals were eutha nized in 2015, which is the lowest percentage of euthanasia at the shelter in eight years. Deputy County Manager Damon Sanders Pratt, who presented the report, gave numerous options to improve service beyond increasing staffing. They included contracting with animal welfare groups to provide adoption servic es, renaming the depart I ment to "Rabies Control & Cruelty Investigations" to emphasize its core mission, narrowing the focus to rabies and vicious dogs, putting animal control in the Sheriff's Office's or health department's hands, and implementing more aggressive civil penalties for violations. He also said that the shelter could reduce euthanasia by not excepting all voluntary sur renders, but doing so might cause more people to aban don their animals. Sanders-Pratt also gave a presentation on a new tethering ordinance that commissioners are sched uled to vote on in their Oct. 24 meeting. The ordinance bans unsupervised tether ing with a one-year educa tion period before it goes into effect. The discussion by county commissioners once again focused on teth ering. County Commissioner Walter Marshall wanted the ordi nance's education cam paign to include contact information for nonprofits that build fences for those who can't afford them. Commissioner Ted Kaplan said they could add to the ordinance that animal con trol officers would give out such information with any warnings they issue about tethering. Commissioner Don Martin reiterated his oppo sition to the ordinance. He gave the example of a man who contacted him saying that he cunently has his dog on a 20-foot leash and believed he would have to put it in a small kennel box under the ordinance. "This is not like some no-brainer," said Martin. Kaplan, who's been working on the ordinance for a year and half, dis agreed. "This is not rocket sci ence," he said. "This is not the most critical thing we've handled, I don't know how it became that way." Martin Kaplan Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (Morgan Stanley), its affiliates, employees and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and Private Wealth Managers are not in the business of providing tax or legal advice, and this material and any statements contained herein should not be construed as tax or legal advice Individuals should consult their personal'tax advisor or attorney for matters Involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving personal trusts and estate planning. ?2016 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC Member StPC FWA002 CRC 1SV163S 08/16 CS 8716103 10/16 Let's have a conversation about your family's financial future. At Morgan Stanley, we understand the importance of family. You have values, goals and priorities ? and we'll work with you to create a financial plan that will carry them across generations. A Morgan Stanley Family Wealth Advisor can provide guidance on how to communicate about money and values, shared goals and protecting your wealth as a family. Having someone dedicated to your family's future by your side is the first step toward achieving your financial goals. It all begins with a conversation. Christopher B. leak Famity Wealth Advisor Senior Portfolio Manager Vice President Financial Advisor 100 North Main Street, Suite 2500 Winston Salem, NC 27101 336-721-9203 chris.leak@morganstanley.Gom wwwmorganstanleyfa.com/theyatesgroup ; 1 AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM MEDICARE WHAT WILL YOU FIND DURING MEDICARE OPEN ENROLLMENT? You'll never know unless you go. Have you compared plans yet? See if you can lower some costs or find a plan that better suits your needs. Many people do. Even if you like your current plan, check to see if the costs or coverage are changing at medicare.gov. Or call 1-800-MEDICARE for help. E^7 L*? Medicare? 'Like' us on Facebook! WWW.MEDICARE.GOV f 1-800-MED1CARE (TTY1-877-486-2048)
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Oct. 20, 2016, edition 1
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