Editor性视界传媒檚 note: Jo Lee Ferguson is on leave, but Answer Line will return in the future. This Answer Line originally was published in January 2021.
QUESTION: Several days ago, I had a small kitten that came to my yard for a few days. I called the animal control line. It was off duty when I called, and the lady assured me she would try to find someone to get that cat that day. I called the day it was open and asked them about it. They told me I would have to secure the cat in a box and call them. What is their job? I feel like they should have been out there with equipment. Are they supposed to come see about these things or do they expect people to take care of it on their own?
ANSWER: It sounds like there might have been some miscommunication that would have explained this situation better to you, but in the case of kittens and cats 性视界传媒 yes, animal control and the Longview Animal Care and Adoption Center ask for the public性视界传媒檚 help in trapping strays, for a few reasons.
Chris Kemper, Longview性视界传媒檚 animal services manager, explained to me, first, that just like the rest of the world, animal control operations have been complicated by the pandemic. The city has three animal control officers, but in recent weeks they性视界传媒檝e sometimes operated with a reduced staff because of illness or people having to quarantine.
Also, all animal calls are prioritized. An aggressive stray dog, for instance, would get priority over just a call about a stray dog or a cat.
性视界传媒淐ats are a little more difficult,性视界传媒 Kemper said. 性视界传媒淐ats are not animals you can go out and chase around. For stray cats, we prefer for them to be trapped if we性视界传媒檙e going to pick them up.性视界传媒
Chasing cats leads to people being bitten, he said.
The city does have cat traps that it loans free of charge to people inside the city, as long as it性视界传媒檚 not raining or freezing cold at the time to ensure that cats aren性视界传媒檛 trapped outside when it性视界传媒檚 cold and wet. A person borrows the trap and traps the cat by putting food (that the shelter typically provides) at the back of the trap. Then, the person calls animal control to pick it up.
Appointments are required to surrender any animal to the shelter as the adoption center works to keep its staff well, in turn ensuring there are plenty of people to care for the animals in the shelter. Kemper also noted the city will monitor how many cat traps it is loaning out so as not to overwhelm staff that might be short considering COVID-19 issues.
性视界传媒淚t性视界传媒檚 kind of a common thing,性视界传媒 he said of the city性视界传媒檚 dealings with cats, wondering if there was a miscommunication with your situation.
Q: I性视界传媒檓 hoping you can help me locate an article I believe my grandfather, Ed Leach, wrote for your paper in 1957.
My father, John Leach, recently found a letter written to his dad as a response from 性视界传媒淯ncle Homer性视界传媒 of James Heddon Sons fishing company. My dad tells a story of Ed being sent out to Lake Cherokee to do a fishing story of someone who had caught a big bass. Hearing of this big bass, my dad (14 at the time) wanted to go fishing to catch one himself ... and the letter attached tells the story from there. I would love to track down that article. Is there anywhere online that I could look back at articles from the beginning of 1957?
A: Our old newspapers are archived through the website . It requires a subscription to use, but there is a free trial offer. I’m sorry to say I did a cursory search and didn’t see this particular article, but perhaps you’ll have better luck. (I did find that your grandfather, at least at one point that year, was described as the assistant to the publisher, Carl Estes.)
