The Covington County Commission heard a report by a dog owner who had issues. The commission also approved two appointments to the E-911 board during the regular meeting on Tuesday on May 23rd.
Wendy Mayo addressed the commission in protest over her dog’s owner and demanded that the commission adopt the section 3-1-5a of the Alabama State Code.
The code reads the following: (a) Every person who owns or is in charge of any dog or animals must always confine the dog or dogs within the confines of his or her own property or the area on which the dog are kept regularly. The provisions of this section do not hinder the owner of any dog or or the person or persons who have the dog or dogs under their possession from allowing the dog or dogs to travel with their owner or other persons outside of the premises on which the dog or dogs are or are kept regularly. Any person who violates this provision will be considered a misdemeanor, and will be punished no less than $2.00 or over $50.00.
“I am aware that the thought of this change is a source of concern for many people, but I are aware that a large number of residents are in favor of the change,” Mayo said. “To those who are irritated by the new law’s changes to dogs who aren’t properly controlled it’s important to remember that I’m not trying to force every dog that is loose to the chain or on a leash. The opposite is true and my reason in promoting changes like this is to create an avenue of recourse to those who are being terrorized by the dangers of a dog. There are currently no laws that protect those living in areas outside city limits, and even in cases where somebody has been bit or seriously injured by another’s dog.”
Mayo said that she’s taken every precaution to stay away from being confronted by the dog of her neighbor since she moved out of Andalusia two years two years ago.
“This has reached the point where I’m no longer feeling secure in my yard. I’m always checking my surroundings while I am at my home. My neighbor to the right lives 1,000 feet away and his dogs are known to chase me whenever they catch my attention, like when I go to look at my mailbox or leave my garbage out on the road. They have even swarmed at me in a violent manner when I tried to get access to the water spigot at my property, which is at the opposite side of my home. I’ve been forced to stop getting to the mailbox for the fear of provoking my neighbors’ dogs.”
She fought for the security of other citizens in Covington County, despite numerous attempts in contacting officials from the county.
“Every attempt I made to figure out a solution to the dangers of my situation, I am confronted with the same response. There are no law enforcement agencies that apply to Covington County that were enacted to protect anyone. I’ve contacted the District Attorney and the Sheriff personally. I know how crucial it is in Alabama to ensure the rights of citizens however, sometimes it is a matter of sanity when one right is more important than one right over. The right to safety for the public especially on one’s personal property, should be overridden by the dog’s owner’s right to allow their pet to pose dangerous to other people,” Mayo said.
The Chairman Greg White stated that counties have a very strict home rule.
“One of the issues we could address with the county commission is animal control. We are not able to adopt a rule or ordinance that limits the hunting dog’s use or prevents a pet owner from breeding or raising pets,” White said.
Mayo said she hasn’t spoken to her neighbor directly about the incident.
“I am a single female who is not from this region. My family has warned me not to do this because of fear that I might turn upon the doorstep of this gentleman and receive a negative response. I put a note in the mailbox of his.”
The commission was unable to decide in the course of the meeting.
Sheriff Blake Turman addressed Mayo’s concerns and stated that he’d been to her neighbors.
“I am out and I have seen dogs that can be quite aggressive. The problem I see is that even though these dogs are domesticated they aren’t aware of their boundaries. If the dog of a neighbor stayed in his backyard and we didn’t have to sit in this room today discussing this,” Turman said.
Turman explained his opinion that the statute Mayo that was mentioned was put into the law for counties to decide on at their own discretion.
“Whatever this commission comes up with, I’ll fully support it. It’s going take some more funds, however I’m ready to try anything else I can do to make it happen. She (Mayo) has concerns, and during the last election there was a dog that bit me. This is something the commission (the Commission) to consider.”
As per revenue commissioner Chuck Patterson, 71 parcels were sold at the delinquent 2022 tax sale for property on the 17th of May, Wednesday.
“We will continue to work on them and will see how many more we could receive. The next steps will be to conduct final settlements for the year 2022 as well as advertising insolvents for personal and commercial properties within the Andalusia Star-News newspaper,” Patterson said.
The commission appointed the board of E-911. The commission unanimously voted to renew the appointment of Wayne Godwin and Kyle Adams with a vote of 3-2 to the board. Chairman White needed to break a tie of 2-2 between the commissioners, who were divided in between Adams as well as Ken Harris. Both appointments were for four-year term.
In other businesses:
- The commission unanimously voted to renew the nominations of Virginia Brawner, Kyle Gantt as well as Joe Bush for the state’s Board of Equalization. The commission was only able to make its recommendation to state officials for approval.
- The commission has approved an invitation to bid for parts for equipment and repair parts as well rates for shop services, which will be utilized to support engineers from the Engineer’s Department.
- The commission endorsed purchasing a tractor as well as bush hog replacements to departmental engineers. Engineer’s Department.
This is the next scheduled meeting for Covington County Commission Covington County Commission is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, June 13 9 a.m. in Covington County Administration Building. Covington County Administration Building. The public is welcome to attend.
The article Resident expresses concern about dogs and commission appeared at The Andalusia Star-News.
