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Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spay and Neuter Ordinances could give animals a ‘new leash on life'
PRINCETON, WV (WVNS) – Overpopulation for animals in Mercer County has been on an uptick in recent years. The Mercer County Commission tried introducing a new 'leash law' back in early 2024. Now, the Commission has introduced two new ordinances to try and control population for not only dogs, but cats as well. Those ordinances are 'Canine Control Ordinance' and a 'Spay Neuter Ordinance.' 'We work with our animal groups following the meeting we had in March and now we're moving forward on that one. That actually goes in tandem with the spay and neuter ordinance, because one of the things we talked about back in 2018-2019 was about maintaining the population.' Greg Puckett, Mercer County Commissioner There will be a few exceptions when it comes to the 'altering' of animals, such as a 'Unaltered License' or medical exemptions. Furever Fixed Clinic to offer low-cost spay and neuter services for Mercer County Puckett said the community has been fairly positive about these upcoming Ordinances. Now, with local animal groups backing the ordinances, the commission can move forward. 'We felt that it was time now that we've had some uniform operation with our local animal groups, that it was time to go ahead and do both of these into this was the first reading we had this previous Tuesday. We will put that again on the 24th of June.' 'We felt that it was time now that we've had some uniform operation with our local animal groups, that it was time to go ahead and do both of these. This was the first reading we had this previous Tuesday. We will put that again on the 24th of June discussion.' Greg Puckett, Mercer County Commissioner If the second reading is accepted, the ordinances can successfully move forward. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
First readings of Mercer County spay/neuter and canine control ordinances pass
princeton – First readings were conducted Tuesday for spay/neuter ordinances and a canine control ordinance aimed at reducing Mercer County homeless pet population and getting pet owners to keep their dogs under control. A canine control ordinance and a spay/neuter ordinance had first readings by the Mercer County Commission. Commissioner Greg Puckett, who read both ordinances into the official record, said copies of both would be posted on the county's website and Facebook page. The canine control ordinance has measures requiring dog owners to keep their pets on a leash when out in the public or fenced in so they cannot roam. 'That's one of the worst issues that we have,' Puckett said later. 'Roaming dogs are a terrible problem here in Mercer County. They collect a lot of problems. They do a lot in not only being nuisance, they tear down the fabric of land they go across.' A canine control ordinance will help the county address the damage that stray dogs do to private and public property and control where they harass pets and livestock, he said. 'We had this issue come up back in the winter,' Puckett said. 'We had a constituent come from Matoaka and say hey, I've got roaming dogs. They're eating all the free-roaming chickens, they're actually eating cats. There were some videos of actually cats that were being consumed by a pack of dogs, so there's a lot of things where if you can control those packs, control that roaming, then you have a lot more safety not only for the people in the community, but for the animals as well.' The spay/neuter ordinance would require those procedures for dogs and cats. This ordinance has exceptions for work animals such as farm dogs, hunting dogs and dogs used for legal breeding purposes. Fees collected from licensing and fines will go into a fund to help pet owners who cannot afford these procedures, Puckett said. Between the canine control ordinance and the spay/neuter ordinance, the county can address population issues at the county animal shelter, he said. Puckett said the ordinance fits West Virginia State Code and magistrates should be allowed to hear cases under it, Puckett said. Both ordinances would go into effect after a second reading at the commission's June 24 meeting. 'The spay/neuter ordinance is a beginning to reduce the population in Mercer County, ' said Lesia Moten, co-founder and president of ALIVE (Animal Lives Inspiring Volunteer Efforts). 'We have to start somewhere. It may not be perfect, but it's a start. It has been worked on for years. It will need to be tweaked as we go along for enforcement. We need to enforce it in a responsible manner that the shelter can handle the intake and the influx.' Sandy Flanagan with the Mercer County Humane Society said that the spay/neuter ordinance would be 'a very progressive step.' 'I helped write the spay/neuter ordinance years ago,' Flanagan said. 'It feels good that it's going to finally, hopefully, get passed because it's needed. I hate it that people have to be made to do the right thing, but the mindset of so many people around here, to me, if you're going to get a dog, why are you not keeping it on your property? It's frustrating for us who do keep our dogs up and have to put up with the neighbors'.' 'I also think it has to do with the overpopulation as far as letting your dogs run,' Flanagan said. 'They work in tandem with each other,' Moten said about the ordinances. 'If you don't have free-roaming dogs, you have less overpopulation of animals that are just being allowed to reproduce out in the community. And if you have the spay and neuter ordinance, then you have people being held accountable for their own animals and it just works together in tandem.' Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
First readings of spay/neuter and canine control ordinances scheduled
princeton – A proposed county spay/neuter ordinance and canine control ordinance with goals of controlling the local homeless pet population are scheduled for first reading today before the Mercer County Commission. A canine control ordinance's first reading is an early item on today's commission meeting agenda. This meeting begins at 10 a.m., at the Mercer County Courthouse. County Commissioner Greg Puckett said this ordinance for canine control is a change in the current leash law. 'This helps clarify that dogs do not need to be tethered to be controlled,' he said. The ordinance states that tethering or putting a dog on a leash is a form of control, but not the only way to control a dog, Puckett said. Keeping dogs behind a fence so they can't wander around a community is another way to control them. Making the ways pet owners can keep their dogs under control clearer is a better way to address the county's animal issues, he said. In March, Matoaka residents spoke to the county commission about the problems they were having with stray dogs tearing into trash and harassing people. 'We've had these issues for decades,' Puckett said. 'We did have that public meeting and a lot of what came out of that public meeting was ways to solve a lot of these problems. I want to thank everybody who came out. The solutions that are being supported have come out of that public meeting. We want to thank the community and assure them that we heard them loud and clear.' The canine control ordinance would include getting a county dog warden. Sheriff A.P. Christian said that under West Virginia Code 19-20-16, counties are authorized to hire dog warden. The sheriff's department would not be the agency hiring a warden. The county has animal control officers, but their duties are focused on dogs and cats being treated inhumanely, Christian said. Dog wardens are authorized to pick up stray and unlicensed dogs that are roaming the county. After the canine control ordinance's first reading, Puckett is scheduled to do the first reading a county spay/neuter ordinance. The county tried to institute a spay/neuter ordinance in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of passing an ordinance is to manage Mercer County's large population of homeless dogs and cats. Both last year and this year, the Mercer County Animal Shelter has declared Code Red situations whenever its facilities were too full, Puckett said. Code Red is declared when euthanasia may be considered to make more room. In October 2024, the Furever Fixed low-cost spay/neuter clinic opened near the county animal shelter to help decrease the homeless pet population. The nonprofit clinic has been busy with both dogs and cats, said Director Connie Gillespie. 'Oh gosh yes,' Gillespie said. 'We had that dry spell when we were between veterinarians. We do have a full-time veterinarian now four days a week. We do have a waiting list that we are working on with still over 300.' The spay/neuter clinic recently completed over 300 spays and neuters through the West Virginia Spay/Neuter Program with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Gillespie said. Since April 1, the program has helped pet owners from Mercer, Monroe, McDowell, Raleigh and Summers Counties. There are clients who do not show up for appointments, but the clinic also helps the neighboring animal shelter by doing spay and neuter procedures. 'We are nonprofit but we are not a government-run solution,' she said. 'Every animal that leaves our facility that is spayed or netuered has a certification of sterilization their owners can show landlords and anybody else that needs to know their animals are fixed.' Farmers and hunters told the commission the last time a spay/neuter ordinance was proposed was that it would harm their work dogs and hunting dogs. Puckett said the proposed ordinance has variances for hunters, breeders and other owners that don't want to spay or neuter their dogs. Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Six weeks later, volunteers still removing trash from roadways
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways princeton — While a six-week spring cleaning campaign for Mercer County may have ended, volunteers are still working to remove trash from area roadways. In fact, officials are working this week to pick up garbage that has been dumped along parts of U.S. Route 52, near the ATV trails, said County Commissioner Greg Puckett, who coordinates the annual Keep Mercer Clean campaign. That campaign concluded on April 30, but the work continues, according to Puckett. 'We didn't get all of the highways. We just didn't have time,' Puckett said. 'We are still going to work on it. But we are working on other high-priority areas as well.' Route 52 near the ATV trails is one of those priority locations. 'We are out there today on 52,' Puckett said Monday. 'We went back up to Coaldale and started working our way back. We've got tons of trash down at Bramwell.' Puckett said parts of that area, including near the creek banks and on hillsides, were cleaned earlier. But since that time people have illegally dumped more garbage in the area. 'It's just terrible. When you clean it up, you expect it to stay clean for a while,' Puckett said. As part of the Keep Mercer Clean campaign, 71 tons of garbage was collected in the free community dumpsters and then hauled by Lusk Disposal to the Mercer County Landfill, County Administrator Vicky Reed said Monday. A number of open dumps also were found across the county during the six-week campaign, including a site along Beckley Road where more than 2,000 pounds of trash was removed. The open dump was located only a mile from the entrance to Camp Creek State Park, a key tourism site for the region. Puckett said another open dump was found at Crane Creek, and a third was located on Oakvale Road. 'We had three or four couches laying off Country Girl Road,' he added. Puckett said a record amount of trash was likely disposed of during the six-week campaign. Much of the garbage was collected during two of the four free dumpster days. 'We've never been that busy,' Puckett said of the free dumpster days, which were held each Saturday in April in different communities. 'I mean the first and the third Saturdays were the ones that were the roughest. We would literally pack a box and wait for the next box.' Puckett said some of the individuals who took advantage of the free dump days were flood victims, who were disposing of items that were damaged by the Feb. 15 flood. The amount of trash collected on the second and fourth Saturday in April was less. Rain, and colder temperatures, impacted the community turn-out during those two days. Puckett said the community response to the free dumpster days was very good. 'It told me 100 percent without fail that we have to put mobile drop sites somewhere in this county,' Puckett said, referencing his earlier proposal to install free dumpsters or convenience stations for trash disposal in different communities across the county on a year-round basis. However, such a plan would require support from the full county commission and the approval of the county's solid waste authority board. Puckett said those individuals who are illegally dumping trash across Mercer County need to stop. He said officials are looking for information regarding those individuals who contributed to the most recent open dump sites so that the guilty parties can be cited. 'I'm constantly amazed by how much we clean up,' Puckett said of the Keep Mercer Clean volunteers. 'Just to keep cleaning up the way we do. I don't mind doing it because we have to make our place look better.' Puckett said more clean-up events will be held in the weeks ahead. Contact Charles Owens at cowens@
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Puckett would still like to see regional trash disposal sites in Mercer
princeton — A member of the Mercer County Commission says he still supports the idea of developing regional trash collection sites that would allow citizens to dispose of their own garbage. Having such regional trash disposal sites in place also would help in reducing the amount of trash that is being illegally dumped across the county, according to Greg Puckett, who also is the coordinator of the annual Keep Mercer Clean campaign. That campaign is still ongoing, and Puckett points to the large number of citizens who have been taking advantage of the free weekend trash disposal sites provided by Keep Mercer Clean as further evidence of the need for something that is more permanent and year round. 'I think it proves the need of why the county needs to have regional dump sites or regional drop sites,' Puckett said. 'Hopefully I can advocate for that again. I think Virginia does it well.' In neighboring Tazewell County, Va., citizens who live in the county are allowed to dispose of their garbage for free at designated transfer station sites across the county as long as they have a valid Virginia license and proof of residency in Tazewell County. Puckett said he has advocated for several years for a similar type of program for Mercer County. 'I think it would be fantastic,' Puckett said of setting up similar transfer station sites in Mercer County. 'The discussion definitely needs to be reengaged. The question you get is where do you put it? If we pilot one, I would like to see it in the Brushfork area. I think you would look at the locations of where the highest need would be.' However, setting up something in Mercer County that is similar to what Tazewell County in neighboring Virginia does isn't as easy as it sounds. Rules and regulations are different between the two states and counties. Puckett said the Mercer County Commission can only make a recommendation. 'The commission can make recommendations but ultimately the Solid Waste Authority is the one in charge of determining our waste procedures in the county,' Puckett said. 'They are great partners. They help us out on this campaign (Keep Mercer Clean).' Such a discussion wouldn't even be necessary if citizens in the county were more responsible and didn't illegally dump trash and garbage along area roadways, hills and mountains, Puckett said. 'People still need to be responsible,' Puckett said. 'Some of the places I've been working on trying to get cleaned up are literally open dumps on private property.' The Keep Mercer Clean campaign continues until Wednesday, April 30. According to the official Tazewell County, Va. website, the free transfer or convenience stations help with litter control in the county while also making garbage disposal more convenient for Tazewell County residents. The convenience stations are located in the Falls Mills, Boissevain, Baptist Valley, Burkes Garden, Cedar Bluff, Gratton, Raven, Jewell Ridge, Tannersville and Thompson Valley communities. As part of the Keep Mercer Clean campaign, the free trash disposal dumpsters will be available this Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon on the grounds of PikeView High School and Oakvale School. Contact Charles Owens at cowens@
