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Pleasant Hill,
Missouri
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
©2008 Pleasant Hill Times
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| Free food helps feed over 100 families |
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By F. KIRK POWELL Editor & Publisher
Volunteers fill orders for food at the Lee’s Summit Church on the Rock’s Outreach Center in downtown Pleasant Hill a couple of weekends ago. The church extended its outreach program to Pleasant Hill in late 2007 and distributes food to families who show up each month and express a need. No extensive paperwork is required. Initially, about 50 families took advantage of the “free food,” but lately the numbers have been increasing. “We distributed food to 102 families in Pleasant Hill on April 28,” said Church on the Rock administrative assistant Cheryl Hoelscher, “and that will help feed over 400 children, adults and senior family members.” Cheryl says she and her fellow church members feel blessed to be able to work with Harvesters of Kansas City to get perishable foods into the hands of people who so badly need it. She also thanked the Pleasant Hill community for putting up with the inconvenience of limited parking and congested traffic on food distribution days. Food is normally given out at 136 First Street in downtown Pleasant Hill from 10 a.m. to 12 noon on the last Saturday of the month, but the next distribution will be held on Thursday, May 29, because of the Memorial Day holiday. For more information about the food outreach program, call 816-246-7625.
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First draft of dog law introduced |
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By F. KIRK POWELL Editor & Publisher
The first draft of a tougher new animal control ordinance was presented to the Pleasant Hill City Council for its consideration last week.
The mayor and councilmen have been wrestling with how to better address animal control and dangerous dogs in particular for well over a year. “I think we have a good leash law on the books now,” City Administrator Mark Randall told the mayor and councilmen, “but it could always be improved.”
“Our approach to animal control could probably be more proactive,” he said, “and I think we can be more proactive without being breed specific.” The city has previously discussed a ban on pit bulls and other dangerous dogs, but that has faced resistance from pet owners.
The rough draft of a tougher dog law presented to the City Council last week better defines what constitutes a “dangerous dog” and puts more restrictions on them without banning a particular breed. For example, the 24-page ordinance would require a larger enclosure based on an animal’s size and place time limits on how many hours a day a dog could be kept tethered in a yard.
Owners of dangerous dogs would be required to carry at least $300,000 in liability insurance and implant the animal with an identifying microchip. The ordinance also increases the penalty for violations of the law.
Randall asked the mayor and councilmen to review the rough draft and decide what provisions they would like to adopt and what they would like to see removed from the ordinance. Mayor Terry Wilson said the revised animal control ordinance would be put back on the agenda for the City Council’s new meeting to be held 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 12. In other business at their April 28 meeting, the councilmen gave Police Chief Robert Driscoll the go ahead to apply for nearly $36,300 in federal and state law enforcement grants.
A sobriety checkpoint grant would provide up to $900 in equipment funding for turbo flares and an additional $4,650 for manpower, a hazardous moving violation grant would provide $3,025 in equipment funding for a laser radar unit and $8,928 for manpower.
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