The Eupora Board of Aldermen discussed animal control and other issues at a special-called meeting March 19. These were in addition to a proposed alcohol resolution (see March 28 article).
Mayor Lamar Dumas said he had received complaints about loose dogs in the city, especially in the area of Martin Luther King Drive, Mt. Vernon and Hall Road. He said the dogs are becoming vicious to people, and Junior Shaw (Ward 1) noted they are spreading garbage.
Police Chief Gregg Hunter said someone has been feeding the dogs and that he had asked them to back off doing so in hopes of trapping all of them. He said the Police Department had trapped two so far. Dumas said he had talked to the animal control officer in Grenada for assistance in trapping them, and asked Hunter to contact and work with Starkville’s also.
Additionally, Dumas said he had received complaints about young people hanging around the Depot Park using foul language while apparently using the city’s public Wi-Fi network that is available downtown. In hopes of curbing the problem, the board authorized Hunter to cut the wireless network off between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. daily.
Hunter informed the board that the sheriff’s office in Greensboro, North Carolina, had offered to sell the Eupora Police Department a control vehicle — a 2011 or 2012 Dodge Charger — for $3,100.
Hunter requested permission to purchase the car from the EPD’s Special Police Fund, which he said has $4,100 in it from drug seizure money and citations. The board authorized City Clerk Gail Newton to write a check for that amount from the fund to buy the vehicle.
Additionally, the board authorized the street and water departments to change uniform companies from AmeriPride to UniFirst for uniforms only.
On March 5, aldermen had authorized board attorney Jacqueline Meek to start the contract termination process with AmeriPride because the street and water departments were dissatisfied with the company’s service. Meek reported March 19 that she had sent a letter to the company to cancel the contract, which she said would take 60 days. Pam Jones of UniFirst presented information about the company to the board in January.
Dumas said he had talked to someone who had expressed interest in participating in the National Caucus and Center on Black Aging’s Senior Community Service Employment Program. Aldermen voted to table the matter until their next regular meeting. The program, which helps low-income senior citizens provide employment, pays a person to work 20 hours a week and gain experience wherever they are placed.
Louise Shavers of the NCBA-SCSEP met with the board Feb. 5, asking the city to become partners with the program through an agreement to place a senior within the city. This would be at no cost to the city.
