Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/15933
COMMUNITY NEWS COMMUNITY NEWS County Warns of Wild Dogs on County Streets a STAFF REPORT Cumberland County Animal Ser- vices is battling at least seven wild dog packs roaming in Fayetteville and parts of Cumberland County. “We have a serious problem with packs of aggressive dogs running in the city and county, and we need to be proac- tive to protect our citizens from these wild animals,” said Animal Services Director Dr. John Lauby, a veterinarian. The dogs have proven very diffi cult to capture, and Lauby has called for ad- ditional night patrols by Animal Services Enforcement Offi cers between the hours of 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., the time when the animals move. “Trapping won’t work on these packs as they are very wary. Often we can’t get close enough to dart the dogs with tran- quilizers, and when we do, the sedation doesn’t work fast enough to capture them before they go in the brush where we can- not track them,” Lauby said. When wild pack dogs are captured, they are taken back to the Animal Services Shelter to be euthanized since they are not adoptable. Shooting the animals in the fi eld is a drastic measure that may eventu- ally become necessary as a solution to this critical public safety issue, Lauby said. “These dogs are dangerous to other animals and people. They attack and bite. They are not social animals because they have never had human interaction,” he said. Animal Services has received reports of rabbits, cats, and other small animals being killed in their yards by wild dogs. Wild dog packs have been sighted and reported in the following areas: • Old Wilmington Road to Campbell Avenue and Cool Spring Street • Commerce Street to Bradford Avenue and Hay Street • Raeford Road corridor, near Fair- way Drive; off Willborough Avenue; near Berkshire Road; and South McPherson Church Road • Raeford Road at Wildwood and Aftonshire Drives • Lamon, Moore and Hillsboro Streets • Shaw Road and Holland Street • Mike and Johnson Streets If you see a pack of wild dogs, please call Animal Services at 321-6852. After 5 p.m. and on weekends or holidays, call the Sheriff’s Offi ce at 323-1500 or your local police department. Grants Available for N.C. Farmers Through its Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund, the Rural Advance- ment Foundation International-USA (RAFI-USA) is offering cost-share grants of up to $10,000 for individual farmers and up to $30,000 for groups to assist WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM with the development of on-farm and community demonstrations of innovative ways to replace lost tobacco income. The Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund provides cost-share support for farmers to try new production, marketing, and pro- cessing strategies in order to earn more income on the farm. A “How-to-apply workshop” is scheduled for September 13 at 6 p.m. in the Cumberland County Cooperative Extension Offi ce. If you would like to at- tend this workshop, contact Peggy Elliott at 910-321-6872. All farmers who make an income from agriculture in the central piedmont counties are eligible to apply. Deadline for applications is Novem- ber 19, 2010. The application process is competitive. High priority will be given to innovative projects which show farmers a new direction or opportunity. For more information and application materials, contact: Julius Tillery, RAFI- USA, 919-259-4101, julius@rafi usa.org or visit the RAFI-USA web site, www. rafi usa.org. The Tobacco Communities Reinvest- ment Fund is supported through a grant from the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission. Voter Registration Held at Cumberland High Schools The Cumberland County Board of Elections will be conducting Voter Registration Drives in the county’s pub- lic high schools through Sept. 24. Registration is open to students who are 18 years old or who will be 18 by the Nov. 2 general election. Pre-Registration is open to students who are 16 or 17, but who will not be 18 by Nov. 2. Voter Registration Drives are scheduled at the following high schools: • Cross Creek Early College, Sept. 9, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. • Jack Britt High School, Sept. 10, 11:50 a.m. – 1:50 p.m. • Gray’s Creek High School, Sept. 13, 11:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m. • Westover High School, Sept. 14, 12 – 2 p.m. • Fuller Performance Learning Center, Sept. 14, 3 - 4 p.m. • Howard Health & Life Sciences, Sept. 15, 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. • Reid Ross Classical High School, Sept. 15, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. • Massey Hill Classical High School, Sept.16, 10:50 a.m. – 1:05 p.m. • E.E. Smith High School, Sept. 17, 12 – 2 p.m. Cape Fear High School, Sept. 20, 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. For more information, contact the SEPTEMBER 8-14, 2010 UCW 9 • September 16th - Chairmen of the Board