Animal control volunteers "letter to the editor" Suncrest Call (click here for the letter.)
Well, I am confused here folks. The letter from two of the volunteers of the Crestwood animal control shelter states in the second paragraph that, "The writer, Mr. Ford, indicated that Crestwood is supporting two animal control officers, which is not the case. Our animal control officer works within the borders of Crestwood and is paid by the city. The fact that our taxes may help support St. Louis County's services does not mean we do not need the services provided right here."
Now as I read this I see a direct contradiction of the original premise that we are NOT supporting two animal control officers! Please notice that "The fact that our taxes may help support St. Louis County's services" shows me that we are indeed supporting TWO animal control entities.
Ladies, I thank you for making my point, and I rest my case, WE ARE INDEED SUPPORTING TWO ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICERS AS I SAID!
Ladies, Please, you and I and most of Crestwood understand that we cannot afford this, and since St, Louis County will not give it up, I think we must!
Face it Ladies, it's one or the other, but it cannot be both, so which is it, we support one, or two?
Tom Ford
NO.639
Now as I read this I see a direct contradiction of the original premise that we are NOT supporting two animal control officers! Please notice that "The fact that our taxes may help support St. Louis County's services" shows me that we are indeed supporting TWO animal control entities.
Ladies, I thank you for making my point, and I rest my case, WE ARE INDEED SUPPORTING TWO ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICERS AS I SAID!
Ladies, Please, you and I and most of Crestwood understand that we cannot afford this, and since St, Louis County will not give it up, I think we must!
Face it Ladies, it's one or the other, but it cannot be both, so which is it, we support one, or two?
Tom Ford
NO.639
posted by Crestwood Independent at 20:21
18 Comments:
"In fact, I would state these services are absolutely necessary. The volunteers help out in two shifts per day when our animal control officer is not there."
Really??? That's funny.
Several weeks ago, there was a stray cat on the edge of our backyard. I called animal control - this was 5:15PM on Friday - and guess what...can you guess? No answer. I then called Crestwood police. The operator told me to call St. Louis County.
And so it goes...
the animal control position is a waste of good air
Let me see....we MUST have our own animal control officer, complete with city car, and we are cutting positions in both the police, and fire departments?
IS SOMEONE CRAZY??
How many people have called animal control? And had someone show up?
I have not tried to call animal control but I have had to call both the police, and fire departments, and they DID show up (and very quickly) luckily for me and my family.
We love our pet, and other animals (except ants, and moles), but we can take care of them ourselves.
Can someone find out the cost of running our own animal control department?
Maybe this could be put on the ballot for the next election.
John, I will have that here for you by tomorrow. I think with the car, gasoline, maintenance, and salary it will approach $45 to 50K at least!
And that's for a person who "is out of position" most of the time when calls come in, or out trapping cats!
I would like to suggest that the City retire her now instead of December, pay her until then, and save the rest by selling the vehicle, and cutting the gasoline costs! I know we would be money ahead, ask your Alderman!
Tom Ford
"Tom"
"Salary including benefits for the animal control officer is estimated at $49962.11. That does not include overtime, car, gas etc."
So there you have it John, do we really need this? In a word, NO!
Tom Ford
Tom,
I agree with you, and will add another NO.
So now we have two NO's.
I saw that there was a tent at the "block party" apparently raising money for "animal control"?
If they want to fully fund the animal control operation, I think that is OK. But I don't think the majority of residents would want to fund that INSTEAD OF emergency services for the people.
Who did the "animal control" for the original owners in the Sappington House?
I am sure they had a lot more DIFFICULT animals than we have now to live with.
I say, get rid of animal control and allow us to shoot any dog or cat that enters upon our properties. Instead we pick up the animals and turn them over to their owners so they can let them out again. Better yet call Tom & John's Pest Control and they will beat feet over to your house to handle your critter problems.
Ok, it that's the case, then I think Tom and John's pest control should only be in operation during normal business hours. After all, I called at 5:15 and got no response, so why should Tom and John have to work any different hours? Oh...and they get use of nice SUV too.
And ... they get help from volunteers as well.
10:14 AM blogger: Well I can't speak for John, but I do have a .416 Rigby Elephant gun that I once was going to use in Alaska, buy alas, I didn't go.
I believe that should do the trick, and if I can have "volunteers" as "beaters", of the tall grass, well problem solved!
The way people speak of the VICIOUS ANIMALS THAT APPARENTLY PERMEATE CRESTWOOD, I would feel much safer with John as my back up!
By the way, John Sappington had a .45 cal. flint lock rifle, a knife, a powder horn, and the will to survive else there would be no Sappington House for the code enforcement officer to reside in FREE, and get paid 100.00 per Month to do it.
Tom Ford
Tom,
Sure, I'll watch your back....but the deadliest weapons I have are a baseball bat, and a swiss army knife. If we encounter those herds of rampaging pit bulls, I'll watch your back from inside my car.
I did write to my elected officials and expressed my feelings, and got a response that the board will deal with this issue later this year.
As I said before, if the "volunteers" want to do this at no cost to the city, fine. But I can't see the logic in cutting emergency services to have a "sometimes" animal control department.
If this is such an important issue, put it on the ballot and the majority can decide.
John,
read the City Charter, there are ways of forcing the city to put things on the ballot, just takes getting people to sign a petition.
Tom
Is your 416 a double or bolt action rifle?
Anymouse 10:57,
We might need to go the petittion route, but I think we should try our aldermen first (I sent both of mine an e-mail) and see what happens, but your advice is good. Thanks.
10:58 PM blogger: The .416 is a Ruger NO. 1 single shot with a Leopold 2-7 scope mounted on top.
I am partial to single shot rifles, as they are more accurate, and a quick follow up (if needed) is simple.
Tom Ford
I used to collect Ruger No. 1 and 3's. Have a book about their history by J.D.Clayton. This was before slick Willy Clinton made getting a Federal Firearms Permit to costly.
The No.1 I hunted with was 30-60 with a 26 inch barrel. Fun to reload due to the strenght of the action and the amount of free bore.
tim
trueblood
Tim, those are great rifles to have my friend! I also have three Weatherby bolt actions in .257 WM, 300 WM, 338 WM, and another Ruger NO.1 Tropical in .375 H&H.
Fun toys at the range but expensive to shoot (the .416 is $3.85 per round!)
You will have to join me at my club range some day for some target work.
Tom Ford
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