Christian Peterson
reporter.riverbendnews@gmail.com
During Riverbend News' continuing investigation into the incidents that occurred at the Hamilton County Animal Control facility late in October, the same question has arisen many times: What is Hamilton County's response following the destruction caused by neglect? While County Coordinator Gary Godwin has been hard at work since finding out about the state the shelter was in, many decisions will fall upon the county commissioners.
Godwin, after seeing and hearing about the shelter's horrific conditions, immediately told the county commissioners, the government body to whom he reports. In fact, the chairman of the board, Commissioner Robert Brown, was one of the people to see firsthand the state the shelter was in. The first question on Godwin's mind was how to fix the current shelter building. With the hard work being done by himself and many volunteers throughout the county, the second problem became apparent: What next?
The first issue that needed to be addressed was the building's ability to hold only 12 to 15 dogs. Due to this, the shelter had a risk of filling up very quickly. In an effort to address this issue, Godwin took a trip to North Florida Paws in Jennings, hoping to find a building with adequate space that could be used as the new animal control building. However, he quickly found that while the building was good, it was set up for veterinary work and not suited for a shelter. After much more thought and planning, Godwin decided to provide a more in-depth update at the Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners' regular meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
During the meeting, one of the agenda items up for discussion was the animal control situation. Upon reaching this item, Godwin took over to present a few recommendations and updates to the commissioners. He explained how, as the meeting was occurring, inmates at the Hamilton Correctional Institution were present at the shelter, fixing the pens so the current facility could return to operational status. He then presented his new ideas to the commissioners.
Godwin stated he wanted the building placed next to the county jail. His thought process was that, since there were regular complaints from former animal control officer Alicia Anderson about a lack of help, inmates could volunteer time to take care of the animals. Godwin also presented the idea of asking Oak Grove students to volunteer their time, citing it as a way to help rehabilitate the individuals volunteering as much as the animals they'd be caring for.
The board was open to the ideas Godwin presented and approved his continued search for further corrective measures. Each commissioner also took their time to thank Godwin and all the volunteers who had helped clean up the shelter.
Although the item was also opened for public comment, no citizens were in attendance to speak on the issue.
At the time of writing, commissioners have yet to respond to Riverbend News requests for comment. Furthermore, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office has not confirmed that Anderson is under criminal investigation.