Fresno City and County may work together on animal control

City Council Member Lee Brand is expecting the bill for temporary services to rise. "I think we are at 2.2. million dollars its gonna cost more, maybe 3 or 4 or 5 hundred thousand more, I'm not sure. "The price has been climbing since the SPCA ended its services with the city and the county a few months ago. The county decided to start its own temporary shelter and is saving money. But without enough funds for its own shelter the city pleaded with the SPCA to keep providing services for a while longer.

This week the County Supervisors considered putting Measure H on the ballot. It would ask voters to approve a small sales tax increase of between 1/10th and 1/8th of a cent to build a new animal shelter and provide services. But action was delayed. Supervisors wanted to know whether the city would be willing to go along.Supervisor Henry Perea hopes to get the dialogue going. "What we'd like is a message of support from the city saying yes we'd like to come back to the table with you. Have this discussion and if makes sense for everybody we roll forward together to the ballots ask the voters how they want their tax dollars spent."

Council member Lee Brand says the city is ready to listen. "It makes economic sense to me that the city and county can do it cheaper together than they can independently." But brand doesn't think the tax proposal, tentatively named Measure H would pass. "In my opinion I believe a sales tax would have a tough time of passing I don't believe the voters would vote 2/3rds for Measure H at this time, particularly when it's on the same ballot as Measure Z."

Scarf-wearing statues warm hearts

Call me a knit-wit, but I've spent three weeks trying to discover why pieces of sculpture all over town are wearing new, handmade scarves.Yes, you may have heard the scarf story on TV (I didn't), but it's such a good one I can't resist weaving my own yarn.Several weeks ago, during that really chilly cold spell, I noticed a cozy scarf draped around the neck of a painted Fiberglas sheep in front of the Standard-Times."Nice idea," I thought, wondering which employee was responsible.

Then I spotted another scarf-wearing sheep next to City Hall.And another, by a lawyer's office on Harris Avenue.All the scarves looked different. Different colors, different material, different designs.Despite my needling, no one could say where the scarves came from — or why.The more I looked, Cartoon Dinosaur Make Stamp,the more scarf-wearing objects I found. Not just sheep, but everything from the bronze longhorn sculpture on Sherwood Way to the pink gorilla statue next to the Angelo Civic Theatre.

Not every statue had a scarf. Amusement Park Ride-Dinosaurs Ride,The Working Cowboy statue on Bryant Boulevard didn't. (Real cowboys don't wear fluffy scarves.)The Concho Pearl (or should we say "Purl") mermaid also was without a scarf. (Not to mention other missing clothing.)But I had no luck trying to weave those flimsy threads into a story. I still didn't have a stitch of information about who did it or why.

Animal shelter will continue its work

Tonight the Estherville City Council did not pass the rezoning of the property located at 201 South 6th Street. That is what we all know at this point. But there are still questions in my mind. Primarily, why?Carnival Equipment-Pleasure Boat, Why would any community be it rural, metropolitan or suburban vote against a group that is trying to make a difference in the very community that just opposed their efforts?

I know not everyone will look at this issue with the best interest at heart of the animals that the Emmet County Animal Shelter has helped and that is fine. Animals do not matter equally to all people. But from a purely business aspect this was a negative decision for our community in my opinion.If we are to be living under our new mantra of Earth, Water, Cartoon Dinosaur Landscape,Wind, Fire and Community we are sadly ignoring the 'Community' aspect of the council's vote against the rezoning of the former 6th Street Emporium location to be used as the Emmet County Animal Shelter's home.

The shelter's primary focus is on rescuing, rehabilitating and re-homing lost, abandon, neglected and unwanted animals but it does much more than that. The ECAS is a non profit organization that our community can take pride in. We are a resource for the community to volunteer at and feel they are making a difference in what matters to them. We are also a source of education. We not only council owners when they are having issues with their own pets but we educate students and adults alike on the humane treatment of animals, the positive effects of spaying and neutering and what it takes to make a lifetime commitment to a pet.

Google Street View's Top 10 Accidental Animals

Since May of 2007, Google Street View has been panoramically mapping the world's highways and byways while coincidentally snapping who (or what) ever happens to be around at the time, including the odd animal or two... or even ten! Not the striped crossing you expected? Not to worry, drivers and pedestrians can confidently go about their business at or around DecorAsian furnishings in Boulder, Colorado as the marauding maneater above happens to be made of immobile fiberglass.

Google solves a crime wave! The suspect, described as short, hairy and wearing a mask was recorded breaking into a second floor room of a home in Narva, Estonia. Nothing of consequence was reported missing but the cat is being treated for shock. One could wait hours or even days for something to appear at this pastoral country crossing so visually capturing the mare & foal above was especially serendipitous.

"License and registration please..." and if you've got any tasty snacks that would also be cool. Yep, getting pulled over by a black & white ain't what it used to be and pleading ignorance is no excuse: the arresting officer has got a monopoly on burying one's head in the sand. Whatever floats yer boat, Google, and in this instance the boat floats on an Amazonian waterway in the Rio Negro Reserve near Tumbira, Brazil.

Drug Lords Reveal Trade Secrets in 'Extreme Smuggling'

The devious methods in which drug cartels think of smuggling drugs in and out of Latin America into the U.S. is now the plot of a new show on the Discovery Channel.  The new reality series, which launched on Monday, takes audiences into the world of drug trafficking and exposes intricate ways in which drug lords bring in their stash into the country.

In the first episode, former smugglers as well as police officials and military personnel talked about their experiences in the field and various methods drugs are smuggled in such as rigged cars,Indoor Decoration Cuoninae-Simulation Animals, submarines, underground tunnels and even ultra light planes.

Cartagena, Colombia, is at the center of the first episode when U.S.Animatronic Paraceratherium, and Colombian authorities discover a U.S.-bound submarine made out of fiberglass and Kevlar. The craft eventually was spotted in the Caribbean out of mere coincidence and officials were able to confiscate more than six tons of cocaine, with a street value of $180 million.

A fence is defined as a freestanding structure designed

Agricultural Fencing: It is usually built to keep animals out of an area of fertile land, and sometimes to keep them confined in an area. The materials used in the construction depend on various factors like the terrain type, the breed of animals haunting in or around it, and the kind of crops it's protecting. The styles of agricultural fences catered to each of the aforementioned factors are the wired fences, the barbed wired, smooth wired, high tensile wired, woven wired, deer fences, electric ones, and synthetic fences.

Temporary Fencing: Such fencing is installed in areas where there's no permanent need of fencing, but an immediate one. The purposes for using the same include public safety, crowd control, theft deterrent, or equipment storage. Sites under construction are major users of temporary fencing.Perimeter Fencing: It is normally made out of single vertical metal bars connected at the top and the bottom with a horizontal bar. Spikes at the top usually define a perimeter fence.

Primarily installed to prevent trespassing or theft, they even aid in keeping children and pets from wandering away.Newt Fencing: It consists of a low fence of plastic sheeting, buried a short way into the ground and supported by lightweight posts usually made of wood or plastic. Also called drift fencing, it's planted to control amphibians in a particular area.

The ASPCA Pays Price For Bad-Faith Ringling Brothers Elephant Suit

Who hasn't seen the television commercials for animal groups? With heart-touching music playing behind a montage of sad-looking dogs and cats, an announcer pleads for contributions to "save" the animals. No organization runs more of these highly effective ads than the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Many contributors agree to donate $18 a month, helping the ASPCA to bring in $111.3 million for the year ending June 2010.

As 2012 came to an end, however, what the ASPCA did not advertise was the fact that, on December 26, $9.3 million in contributions did not go to "save" animals but to Feld Entertainment, the family-controlled company that since 1967 has owned Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which has been in continuous operation since 1919. In settling its lawsuit against "The Greatest Show on Earth," the ASPCA was admonished by the judge hearing the case that it should have never been filed in the first place, primarily because the group used a paid plaintiff.

To be sure, there's big money in animal welfare advocacy. During the same period the ASPCA raked in its haul, the Humane Society of the United States  brought in even more: $131.2 million.  Smaller groups also raised notable amounts: $5.8 million for the Fund for Animals; $2.8 million for the Animal Welfare Institute, and 1.5 million for the Animal Protection Institute.

No plans for Oneida County animal control officer

Despite impassioned pleas from animal advocates, Oneida County has no immediate plans to hire a humane officer."We just get a lot of calls," said Jerry Kraus, public relations officer for the Stevens-Swan Humane Society. "It's not just dogs and cats. It's people concerned about farm animals,Dinosaur Skeleton Exhibition-T-Rex Fossil, animals left behind when people move, animals out in the heat of the sun with no water or shelter, or in the freezing cold of winter."

He and two volunteers from the humane society spoke out at a recent meeting of the Oneida County Board of Legislators.But as the county struggles to stay fiscally secure, officials said it's unlikely the position will be added any time soon."It's one of those tough areas," said Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente. "It goes back to if we can do it countywide, and I don't see how one officer would suffice. It's a big county and it's like having one officer doing traffic."

The county's only humane officer position, a full-time job with $37,000 salary, was eliminated in the 2005 budget.Many cities and towns have their own animal control officers, but some handle only dogs and not farm animals. Also, some animal control officers are only part time and are difficult to reach, Kraus said.The humane society is a shelter and its staff generally does not go out on such calls.