This broken chain and collar are from a dog that was found severely emancipat
ed after he escaped tethering. The county commissioners voted to ban the prac
tice on Monday, Oct 24.
Attendees at the Forsyth County commissioners meeting applaud and cheer
after an unsupervised tethering ban was passed on Monday, Oct. 24.
County passes tethering' ban
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
After more than a year
of deliberation, Forsyth
County commissioners
approved a ban on the
unsupervised tethering of
dogs during their Monday,
Oct. 24, meeting.
Normally county com
missioners meetings have
few, if any, residents in
attendance, but the highly
anticipated vote attracted
dozens who clapped and
cheered when they finally
got the 4-3 vote on the ordi
nance. Commissioners Don
Martin, Gloria Whisenhunt
and Richard Linville voted
against the ban, saying it
was too restrictive and
wouldn't stop animal
abuse.
"There's not a commis
sioner up here that supports
abuse or who wants to
know that a dog has been
abused," said Whisenhunt.
"There are mean people in
this world, and I don't
think there's' anything gov
ernment can do about mean
people. I think this ordi
nance is the most intrusive
ordinance I have ever seen
in Forsyth County."
Commissioners Dave
Plyler, Ted Kaplan,
Everette Witherspoon and
Walter Marshall voted for
the ban, which has been
pushed by animal welfare
groups. The ordinance
bans unsupervised tether
ing, but still allows for
walking a dog on a leash or
tethering when the owner
can see the dog. It is mod
eled after Guilford
County's tethering ordi
nance. There are several
exceptions such as hunting,
camping where tethering is
required and training or
performance events. There
will be a one year educa
tion period before the ban
begins.
Both the U.S.
Department of Agriculture
and Centers for Disease
Control found keeping a
dog chained in a yard can
cause more aggressive
behavior, including biting
humans, and can lead to
injury or strangulation of
the dog. The Forsyth
Count^feterinaryMedical
Keith Murphy
Association endorsed the
ban.
Marshall said the ban
would make the communi
ty safer for both animals
and people.
"It will benefit all parts
of the county, including
East Winston," said
Marshall.
During the public com
ment session, Mitch
Cromer spoke in opposi
tion to the ban, saying that
some residents can't afford
to build fences for their
dogs.
"All people are not
born with a silver spoon in
their mouth and one size
does hot fit all," he said.
Keith Murphy, co
founder of Unchain
Winston and Unchain
Forsyth, said that both
groups build fences for res
idents who can't afford
them. He said the groups
are collaborating with other
non-profits in anticipation
of the tethering ban.
'To date, we have man
aged to keep up with fence
requests," he said. "When
this ordinance passes, we
do anticipate an increased
demand."
Animal Control
Advisory Board Vice Chair
Priscilla Ivester asked com
missioners to implement
the changes they suggested,
which would add more
exceptions. The rest of the
speakers supported the ban
as passed, including Janice
Freeman, who is also on
the Animal Control board,
and School Board Member
Lida Calvert-Hayes, who
was concerned about chil
dren being bitten by teth
ered dogs.
Commissioners also
voted 5-2 to accept an offer
of $11.5 million from
Texas-based LeVcor
Acquisition LLC for 20
acres of land on Strummer
Park Circle, subject to an. ,
upset bid period that would
allow others to bid on it.
The offer Involves an
examination period of at
least nine months before
the sale closes for the
developers to determine if
the land is viable for com
mercial use. Both Marshall
and Linville opposed the
sell because they felt the
county might need the land
in the future.
The land, which is just
off University Parkway, is
next to the county's animal
shelter. It contains the
county's former youth
detention center, which
was shuttered because it
was cheaper to house juve
niles in neighboring coun
ties. The state now leases
the facility for its center for
adjudicated youth run by
the nonprofit Methodist
Home for Children. The
state could renew its lease
for up to three years under
the deal. Watts said the
county is looking for a new
location for the juvenile
center.
Lawmakers form group to
address police-community
relationships across N.C.
SPECIAL TO
THE CHRONICLE '
Rep. Edward "Ed"
Hanes Jr. (D-Forsyth) and
Rep. Craig Horn (R-Union)
announced the formation of
an ad-hoc committee of 12
legislators to discuss and
propose legislation that
will address enhancing
police and community rela
tionships statewide.
The group will be com
prised of six Democrats
and six Republicans,
already selected by Hanes
and Home from the House
and the Senate. "We want
folks to know that it is not
all acrimony in the General
Assembly," said Horn.,
"I have developed a
good relationship with
Representative Horn
through discussions on
education, family, and
issues of race," said Hanes.
"He's been supportive of
my efforts to bridge gaps
and build relationships in
the Assembly. When the
shooting of Mr. [Keith]
Scott happened in
Charlotte, I contacted Sen.
Joel Ford (D-Mecklenburg)
and reached out to Craig
with a simple question:
'What can we do? What
should we do as a lawmak
ing body?' Since Senator
Ford and I were already
?
Rep. Craig Horn
planning a statewide dis
cussion on the broader
issue, I suggested to Craig
we do the same internally,"
said Hanes.
"I thought it was a great
idea," noted Horn, who is
recognized as one of the
House leaders in education.
"I have a mentee who is an
accomplished educator and
has become increasingly
aggravated by what he per
ceived to be unfair treat
ment of African-American,
citizens by law enforce
ment. It was a frustrating
moment because I could
feel the tension in the air. I
see officers trying to do
their jobs and citizens try
ing to understand but bad
things seem to keep hap
pening. I'm all in for try
ing to come up with some
reasoned solutions that
everyone can embrace."
The group, comprising
rural and urban districts,
members from both parties
and both chambers, will
Rep. Edward "Ed"
Hanes Jr.
meet twice before the
General Assembly recon
venes in January. Hanes
and Horn hope to spark
conversation and encour
age legislators to be cre
ative and present game
changing solutions.
"One thing I have
learned since I have been in
the Statehouse is that the
General Assembly can do
whatever ' the General
Assembly wants tq do,"
said Hanes. "It's all about
'want to.' It's not about'can
we.' I believe that we have
a group of 12 legislators
who want to, and that's a '
heck of a start when talking
about enhancing police and
community relationships.
It's not an easy conversa
tion, but it's one we're
committed to having, and
that's great for the State."
Help is available
Those who need a fence for their dog, but cant afford to build one, can contact Unchain Win
ston at unchainwin8ton@gmail.coni or 336-365-8291, or contact Unchain Forsyth by going to
fureveffrlendsnc.org and clicking on "Unchain Forsyth."
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