Likewise, I expect the same from him. I've found that most people will let me alone, excepting a few minutes of casual conversation now and again. The only help from my neighbors that I would ever hope for is for them to call the fire department should my house ever catch fire, and if they see some low-life breaking into the house they might call the police and deliver an anonymous tip. I don't expect them to ding the intruder while he's halfway in through the window. For one thing, it might be me, as I've been known to lock myself out upon occasion.
This, then, is how good neighbors ought to act, and if we all did this, we'd all get along just fine. We don't, but that's a topic for another day. What happens in the middle of this pastoral scene is government. Federal, State and Local, every single branch is populated with people who are convinced that they can run your life better than you can. The city of Sylvania, Ohio is no exception. Keep reading for the latest regulation to float to the surface.
Ever find a stray dog? How about a stray cat? The first thing Mom would say is, "Don't feed him, now... Jack, do not feed the dog. Jack, NO!"
Too late. The dog has been fed, which is steps one, two and three in acquiring a new dog. Fortunately my father was of the same mind I was, generally speaking. So now we have a new dog. Or cat, as the case may be.
Dante (on chair) and Zeus |
The problem is that the busybodies that occupy space in the Sylvania City Government don't like this arrangement. According to them, feeding stray cats and dogs is a very bad thing and must be stopped. So naturally they are going to pass yet another law. Here's a link to coverage and a request for comments from the local bird cage liner:
Council Seeks Comment On Stray Cat Ordinance
According to the article:
Sylvania City Council’s safety committee requests public comment at its next meeting, 6:45 p.m. June 2, on a proposed ordinance to forbid residents to feed stray cats.
Recommended by Doug Haynam, the proposal takes the current nuisance code pertaining to wildlife and stray animals a step further, prohibiting people from feeding stray cats, dogs, deer, geese, or raccoons. The draft legislation was created to establish fines against those who habitually feed cats, officials said.I couldn't find the current nuisance code, although I looked through City of Sylvania Ordinances: Part Five - General Offenses Code.
Sylvania has roads that need repair, a Board of Education that should be brought under control and city services that fail to serve. In the middle of all this some fathead lawyer wants to pass legislation about feeding stray animals. These are people with too much free time on their hands.
If you feel like emailing the Sylvania City Council and telling them your thoughts on this, here's a list of elected officials and email addresses. Remember to be a whole lot more polite than I generally am. For instance, an email like this one:
Dear Stupid,
Why don't you mind your own business?
Yours,
Mad Jack
Is not going to help much. Unless you just want to rag on the Sylvania City Government, like I do. Here's the list:
His Noble Corpulence, Mayor Craig Stough city.mayor@cityofsylvania.com
Members of
Todd Milner tmilner@cityofsylvania.com
Michael Brown mbrown@cityofsylvania.com
Katie Cappellini kcappellini@cityofsylvania.com
Doug Haynam dhaynam@cityofsylvania.com
Sandy Husman shusman@cityofsylvania.com
Mark Luetke mluetke@cityofsylvania.com
Mary Westphal mwestphal@cityofsylvania.com
Give 'em an earful.
2 comments:
"His Noble Corpulence", lol. Sylvania woulda loved my family back in the day. We had a very strict weeding out process for animals that wanted a free meal. Here it is in its entirety:
1. It came into the yard.
Unless there are some idiots feeding rats around there, I too would say this ordinance belongs in the "better things to do" file.
Naturally, the ordinance doesn't mention rats which are a major problem in some areas. No, I suspect that one of the councilmen is pissed off at a neighbor for feeding stray cats and wants to abuse their authority.
All I can say is that I don't live in the city, and am thankful for that every single night before I go to bed.
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