Town has raccoon problems

Thursday, June 25, 2009

RUSSELLVILLE -- Town residents complaining of raccoons in their gardens and yards will have to figure out how to get rid of the pests themselves. Russellville Town Council members Jim Rodgers, Don Reddish and Jean Gross determined that problems with raccoons were up to the individual property owner to resolve and not an issue for the town.

"One of the problems is the vacant buildings in town. That hotel has more tenants now then it has ever had," joked Town Deputy Mike Biggs. "If they are causing damages you can do whatever you have to do."

Council President Don Reddish reported that the golf course has a problem with muskrats.

"We have a guy to come catch them. He can only do it during the hunting season, but he gets rid of them for us," said Reddish.

At the end of the discussion, the town council members and deputy determined individuals needed to deal with the raccoons.

"As long as they don't endanger anyone else, they can do whatever they need to," said Reddish.

The board reluctantly accepted the resignation of Street Superintendent and Assistant Water Superintendent Chet Leatherman.

"He has done a terrific job. I hate to see him go," said Reddish. "We will have to replace him and we'll be investigating who to name."

Ordinance 2009-1 was passed by the council following three readings of it. This ordinance establishes additional appropriations for 2009. They include a total of $85,693 from the general fund, $41,592 from the Motor Vehicle fund, $3,600 from the Local Road and Street fund and $6,834 from the capital improvement fund.

A $100 payment to the Putnam County Emergency Management Operations was approved for a sign to be placed on their mobile emergency unit.

"The unit is used for disasters and secondly for education," explained Biggs.

"For $100 it gets our name up in lights," said Reddish. "It's a good way to get our name out there."

A problem with the town warning siren not going off was discussed. Some people received phone calls from the new automated system installed by the 911 center.

"A lot of people didn't get calls. Some don't have landlines and can't get calls. We need to contact Kim Hyten or whoever to see what the problem was," said Reddish.

Announcements by the council included the Water Consumer Confidence Report being mailed out June 19. Appropriations for the 2009 budget have been properly advertised and will be mailed to the Department of Local Government on June 25 following the approval of 2009-1.

A clean-up day has been set for the town on August 22. The town will provide a dumpster for the event.

The next meeting of the Russellville Town Council will be July 15 at 7 p.m.

Comments
View 1 comment
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
  • Let's stop more people from coonhunting on or araound private property that surrounds the town. The more people won't let trustworthy people hunt their land (totally their option I mean no disrespect)The more the problem will arise. I have a young son and can't hardly get hunting permission with 25 years experiance and a hunters safety course.

    Remember if you read this and you get permission to leave it better than you found it and don't drive through fields.

    -- Posted by c1991 on Thu, Jun 25, 2009, at 11:59 PM
Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: