Of the people, By the people, For the people
Home of subscriber
Sherry Bixler
TUESDAY, August 8, 2017 / Vol. 3 Issue 32 / 75 cents
No easy answers for animal shelter Upgrade – A crew puts in fiber optic lines on Oyler Road off Highway 110 north of Clinton. The work captures the attention of Shane and Hunter Berger last week.
Open House at Clinton Elementary set Schools in Van Buren County begin Monday, Aug. 14. Remember to watch for stopped school buses. Clinton Elementary will be hosting Open House on Thursday, August 10. This year will be different from the previous year’s comeand-go forum. Each grade level will have a scheduled time for the students and parents to meet in their classrooms as a whole group to hear a welcome presenta-
tion from the teacher. There will also be a pre-recorded presentation from Principal April Hagans and the vice principal that each teacher will present. Invitations from teachers should be in mailboxes soon. First, third and fifth grades will be from 5-6 p.m. Kindergarten, second and fourth grades will be from 6-7 p.m. The presentations will begin promptly at these times. If you have multi-
ple children that may have the same time frame, just drop by the other class when the first presentation is over. Parents are encouraged to bring supplies to Open House to alleviate the stress of trying to get it all in on the first day of school. Parents enrolling a child in Clinton Schools for the first time, should act as soon as possible so the children can be placed in a class.
There was good news and bad news for SNYP Arkansas last week. Saturday’s benefit featuring an Elvis tribute artist drew a good-sized crowd to Archey Park. But on the dark side, an estimate to add air-conditioning and a new heating unit to keep the animals comfortable during extreme weather, came in at $8,000. And the outside cages are unusable because the drain is no longer hooked up to a septic or sewer system. There is also the fact that the shelter is overpopulated. When SNYP took over, the count already was at 62, and the number has grown. Then there is the bad press director Lori Treat is getting on social media after sending a text to SNYP board members saying some “difficult decisions” are ahead. Immediately, Facebook was atwitter with the news, which Treat says is not true, that animals were about to be euthanized. Some posted that Treat had said the shelter would not euthanize animals when she talked last year with the Quorum Court about taking over the shelter. That is not true. What she said at the time was that it would “not” be a no-kill shelter, but would work toward that goal and hoped to be there in three to five years. Currently, SNYP is trying to avoid eutha-
Elvis tribute artist Tom Christopher on stage Saturday for a fundraiser for SNYP Arkansas. If you missed him this time, plans are for Christopher to return for Dogtoberfest. nizing any healthy animals. It is in critical need of foster families. The chatter on social media also began about the adoption fees, which are $75 for cats and dogs. The fee when the county ran the shelter had been reduced to $25. The actual cost for spaying/neutering and all the vaccines and tests SNYP incurs to get a dog ready for adoption is $111 to $126 per dog. The cost for cats is $84 to $102. The cost to send them to the Massachusetts rescue group that had been taking them is even more, as much as $160 per dog. Every animal the shelter adopted out to individuals or rescue groups when it was run by the county was subsidized by Van Buren County taxpayers to the tune of as much as $100.
The Massachusetts rescue group then resold the dogs for as much as $400$500. Eight dogs are heading to the rescue group this month at the price of $50 per dog, but Treat says SNYP cannot continue to subsidize the adoptions. She said SNYP can’t accept less than $75 per dog. The Massachusetts group has said it will not pay more than $50. SNYP is now looking for other rescue groups to work with. In the meantime, solutions are few and pets are plentiful. Financial donations are needed. Volunteers are needed. Anyone who can foster an animal is encouraged to call 745-SNYP (7697) or visit the shelter on Tester Street behind Simmon’s bank on Highway 65 in Clinton.
Mary Jean Hall of Scotland and United Methodist of Arkansas archivist Carole Teague look over some papers on the history of the Scotland church that Hall donated last week. Read about the history of the church on Page 8.
Man wanted in attack A Clinton man is being sought after an attack on his parents July 28. A warrant has been issued for Michael David Mills, 32, after the incident. Mills’ father reported
that his son struck him on the left leg above the knee with a stick because he refused to drive his son to Fairfield Bay, according to a Clinton Police report. Mills repeatedly struck his moth-
er in the face with his hands and with an oxygen bottle while his father was driving, according to the report. Mills will be charged with domestic battery, the report states.
Music scene – The Lucky Draw Band is one of the most popular bands in the county. Read about them on Page 6.
Surgery has Shirley woman down, but spirits high This year has been rough on Debby Kerrigan. She was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, a rare spinal cord ailment, and on July 17, she had surgery. It was supposed to take two or three hours, but it took six. She
was supposed to be in the hospital for three days, but she was there for more than a week. The bank where she had worked for six years cut down its hours in Shirley and she was transferred to Clinton, turning a four-mile drive into a
30-mile roundtrip. Kerrigan has been off work for several weeks now and has used all her vacation time, sick days and savings. The medical bills and doctors’ bills are piling up. “It’s been really rough,” she says. But, “people have
been very good.” Co-workers at First Service Bank have been providing lunch for her every day. She is thankful for that because otherwise, she said, she would be eating hot dogs and cereal since her boyfriend, Bryan Black, can’t
cook. He has been wonderful in every other way, though, she says, taking her to appointments and helping her make it through a most difficult time. Kerrigan, a Shirley City councilwoman, remains optimistic. She will be at the
next council meeting, but she will be unable to go back to work until at least Oct. 2. Anyone who would like to help Kerrigan can drop off a donation at First Service Bank where an account has been set up for her.