Protect Pickens Pets Confronts Board of Commissioners

JASPER, GA – Protect Pickens Pets and supporters filled the room at this month’s commissioner meeting. The group made plans to bring their concerns and requests to the board about the conditions at the animal shelter coming together after the firing of former shelter employee Judy Moody.

Before the meeting adjourned Commissioner Jones made the announcement that anyone with questions or comments could speak one at a time. Hands went up in the air one by one to speak on the situation of the shelter and Moody.

Lisa Kelly commented first,

I am concerned the animals are not being took care of. There is 11% left on the budget that could go towards the shelter. Why is the money not being spent? Feces are in cages and there are empty bowls. When you question the staff they say they are overwhelmed and understaffed.

Linda Ross followed asking,

Who is in charge of hiring? Do they have a background? Sanitation procedures need to be in place. It’s great to have volunteers, but that’s not enough. We need a better staff. The shelter conditions are bad.

Lori Taylor told Jones,

There is a networking to running a shelter. We can’t leave things how we are. We need a company that could deal with the dogs that some fear to help them. Chihuahuas bite more than pitbulls! You’re out of your league with us people. We need to make a committee with rules and regulations.

The members of the board were silent throughout most of the comments and this bothered supporters who came to hear an answer.

Board member Becky Denny spoke to the crowd,

I have been to the shelter and been pleased with it. Legally we can’t speak about an employee. I would be happy to go to the shelter and look around.

Commenters mentioned Denny has been the only one to come to the shelter.

As comments and questions kept coming, Commissioner Jones adjourned the meeting. FYN spoke with Judy Moody after the meeting closed for a statement. Moody replied with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi,

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.

Commissioner Jones also gave us a statement on how he felt the evening went,

I think it went really good and I believe some of the commenters have great ideas such as creating a board or committee for the shelter. I have had the shelter inspected by the Department of Agriculture and we received an A.

Protect Pickens Pets will be having a protest Monday, July 24 at 11:00 A.M. in the Burger King parking lot. They encourage all supporters to come out to the protest.

The group left this message on their page last night,

Sadly we attended the Pickens County Commissioners meeting last night to witness the painstaking process (sarcasm) of a new Pickens County Tax Assessor being selected. The commissioners discussed how this new candidate owned a Pickens County business with his father and the fact that a commissioner knew who he was. We learned that this new candidate just happened to be the son of the former Pickens County Tax Assessor who was stepping down from the position.
What was never discussed by the commissioners was this new candidate’s education level, experience, resume, his qualifications, or any other candidates that may have applied for this same position.
Now the person approved last night to be your new Pickens County Tax Assessor may very well be qualified. But this would be a simple roll of the dice as our fine commissioners certainly did not put forth any effort to guarantee this.
Is it too much to ask that a person appointed by our Pickens County Commissioners to decide how deep to reach into your pocket be competent to do the job?
How many other Pickens county officials are deciding the daily direction of the county and our lives with their only qualification being a Good Old Boy Certification of Approval?
Is it any wonder that the Pickens County Animal Shelter Directors have all been unqualified and completely inexperienced?
It’s time for a change!

FYN will follow this story as it progresses, or read “Animal Shelter Employee Fired” and “Animal Shelter Situation Escalates”.

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