By Beth Christian Broschart
The Parsons Advocate
PARSONS – Tucker County Commission President Lowell Moore said he was at the Parsons City Council meeting for two reasons. First, Moore provided an update on the Pulp Mill Bottom Dike and feral cats in Parsons.
“I met with Dave Starcher and Ray Stout from FEMA and Stout’s direction was to get a contractor to make recommendations and I got that done recently,” Moore said. “Thursday a week ago, I met with Sunrise Construction out of Philippi. They are the ones who put the dike around Kingsford. They gave us a lot of good information and told us a lot of things about repairing the dike. There was no pricing involved.”
Moore said he sent an email to Ray Stout from FEMA telling him he met with the contractors. Moore said his letter said Sunrise was to get back to him with recommendations and would be a potential bidder for the contract. He said he asked Stout for further direction to get the project going.
“He responded and thanked me for my email and pictures,” Moore said. “He said he would try to finish up the project information and forward it.”
Moore said the dike must be fixed by the end of summer.
“I am hoping FEMA will cover this, but it has to be fixed before summer is over regardless of the cost,” Moore said. “If FEMA will not fix it, I am asking the city and County Commission and state officials to pull together because it has to be fixed. Going through another winter is scary.”
Moore said the folks from Sunrise and he agree they need to get the permits and bidding complete so when the water level goes down, they will be ready to move in and complete the project.
Moore said the other issue in the county is feral cats.
“People cannot legally trap cats, but Tucker County Animal Control Officer Ricky Rosier can,” Moore said.
Rosier said feral cats cannot be put in the animal shelter.
“If it is tame or if it can be tamed, we will take it to the shelter,” Rosier said. “Most cats living under houses are feral and cannot be tamed. There is not a lot we can do but fix them and put them back. This prevents them from breeding and making more feral cats.”
Moore said Rosier has an agreement with the town of Hendricks.
“They are paying $100 per cat and he catches them and gets them fixed and releases them where they came from,” Moore said. “They are allotting him however much money they have to get them fixed.”
Rosier said when the feral cats are neutered, their ears are notched to signify they are fixed. He said the cats are then released where they were originally found.
“The cats cannot be placed somewhere different because the trap, neuter and release program allows for their release where they were trapped,” Rosier said. “If they are released somewhere different, they will not be able to survive.”
The Parsons City Council approved $525 to have feral cats trapped, neutered and released.
In other business, Parsons City Council members approved a budget to submit to the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office. The balanced budget has income and expenses for the July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017 of $555,835.
The next Parsons City Council meeting is slated for 6 p.m. April 5.
