Yancey Commissioners Hear More on Dog Laws

It was a full house again last night at the Yancey County Commissioners meeting, in the courtroom of the courthouse.  Commissioners took care of some of the smaller items on the agenda before getting to the main item that packed the courtroom, the proposed animal ordinance.

In the October meeting, many spoke against and for the ordinance. In the meeting last night Vicky Tipton reviewed the North Carolina laws on animal control. It was pointed out that there are 11 pages and 77 statues in the state wide law. Gerald Phillips presented the commissioners with 1133 signatures of citizens against the new proposed ordinance.

Rhonda Boone, speaking for the new ordinance, said there have been 500 calls to the Sheriff’s Department so far this year on nuisance Dogs and that represented a 27% increase from last year.

Commission Chair Jeff Whitson said the next step in the decision process would be to have a public hearing on the proposal.

Rhonda Boone said before a public hearing is scheduled she would like to form a dog law advisory committee, with all concerned parties represented, to work toward a mutual agreement on the new proposed animal ordinance.