A. Gianotto
11-03-2005, 05:06 PM
Big shoes to fill - County deciding how to replace animal control officer
By Heather Schaefer - Daily News staff
You suspect your next door neighbor has about 50 feline friends living in his home.
You notice that the neighborhood cocker spaniel appears to be underfed and is kept outside in -20 degree weather.
There's a pot belly pig on the loose.
Who do you call?
That's the question facing the county following the retirement of Oneida County Humane Officer Bob Kabel.
Kabel is retiring after 43 years of watching over neglected and abused dogs, cats, horses, cows, and birds.
The problem is Kabel, and his father before him, handled animal control duties in the county for so long that no one is quite sure how to go about finding a replacement.
The Oneida County Law Enforcement Committee on Wednesday decided to seek the input of the labor relations committee in formulating a job description for the humane officer position.
Decisions regarding wages, insurance, and whether the new humane officer will be a county employee (with the associated benefits) must also be made.
The committee is aware of at least one person who is interested in the job but is unsure who should be in charge of making the hiring decision.
In the interim, the committee indicated it is concerned about providing services to the public.
“There has to be somebody that people can call,” said committee member John Potters. “How would anyone know who to call?”
Oneida County Chief Deputy John Sweeney says for the time being calls should come to the sheriff's department.
“If we get a call reporting suspected animal abuse we'll respond to it, we don't have specialized equipment but we'll do what we can,” he said.
Sweeney also said he plans to take up the matter with the finance committee so the sheriff's department can gain access to approximately $5,000 set aside for the humane officer's operations.
Both the labor relations and finance committees are expected to discuss humane officer issue within the next few weeks.
The county is also working on getting a plaque to present to Kabel in appreciation of his many years of service to the county.
http://rhinelanderdailynews.com/articles/2005/11/03/news/local_news/news03.txt
By Heather Schaefer - Daily News staff
You suspect your next door neighbor has about 50 feline friends living in his home.
You notice that the neighborhood cocker spaniel appears to be underfed and is kept outside in -20 degree weather.
There's a pot belly pig on the loose.
Who do you call?
That's the question facing the county following the retirement of Oneida County Humane Officer Bob Kabel.
Kabel is retiring after 43 years of watching over neglected and abused dogs, cats, horses, cows, and birds.
The problem is Kabel, and his father before him, handled animal control duties in the county for so long that no one is quite sure how to go about finding a replacement.
The Oneida County Law Enforcement Committee on Wednesday decided to seek the input of the labor relations committee in formulating a job description for the humane officer position.
Decisions regarding wages, insurance, and whether the new humane officer will be a county employee (with the associated benefits) must also be made.
The committee is aware of at least one person who is interested in the job but is unsure who should be in charge of making the hiring decision.
In the interim, the committee indicated it is concerned about providing services to the public.
“There has to be somebody that people can call,” said committee member John Potters. “How would anyone know who to call?”
Oneida County Chief Deputy John Sweeney says for the time being calls should come to the sheriff's department.
“If we get a call reporting suspected animal abuse we'll respond to it, we don't have specialized equipment but we'll do what we can,” he said.
Sweeney also said he plans to take up the matter with the finance committee so the sheriff's department can gain access to approximately $5,000 set aside for the humane officer's operations.
Both the labor relations and finance committees are expected to discuss humane officer issue within the next few weeks.
The county is also working on getting a plaque to present to Kabel in appreciation of his many years of service to the county.
http://rhinelanderdailynews.com/articles/2005/11/03/news/local_news/news03.txt