Taylor sets date for wet-dry vote

After several months of controversy surrounding a possible wet/dry vote in Estill County, an official date has been set.
Estill County Judge-Executive Wallace Taylor announced Monday night the vote will be Jan. 15.
The court also approved new hires, a contract renewal and heard from a concerned citizen about chained dogs.
He said setting a date for the vote has been a big issue because of scheduling around other elections.
A special election, like a wet/dry vote, can’t be scheduled 30 days before or after a general election.
Taylor had the option of scheduling the vote at the beginning of October or within 90 days after the Nov. 6 election.
He opted to schedule the election after the November election to give himself time to study the regulations and procedures required for a vote of this type.
Taylor admitted previously he was going through a “learning process” with the wet-dry vote.
In other business the court approved hiring several new county employees and purchases for equipment.
The court approved a recommendation from EMA/CSEPP Director Fred Rogers to buy radios and handhelds from TAIT Radio Systems.
Taylor said the company submitted the lowest bid but also is represented by a local man, making the decision a good one in his opinion.
A hiring committee that included Taylor, Deputy Judge-Executive Teresa Sparks and District 2 Magistrate Earl Young, made recommendations for positions for CSEPP, the road department and 911 dispatch.
The court approved hiring: Brad Goolman and Timmy Muncie as CDL drivers for the road department, Lucas Taylor Barnes for a 10-hour CSEPP position and Michelle Hoover, Hillary Bledsoe, Emma Herald, Elizabeth Hisle, Elisha Miller and Dawn Gras for on-call 911 dispatch positions.
The court also approved a contract renewal with RCS Communications for 911 equipment.
Rogers said this contract is funded equally by the CSEPP and 911 budgets.
He also told the court about changes made to the emergency operations plan. He said the book mapping out emergency plans will now separated into six different books specific to different emergency situations.
“Instead of one large book there will be six smaller ones,” he said.
James Mullins told the court about what he called a “long-standing issue in the county.”
He said the county needs an ordinance pertaining to chained up dogs that bark. He presented the court with a copy of a similar ordinance in effect in Powell County.
“The problem is that the dogs bark continuously,” he said.
There are 22 other states with laws about chained dogs that bark and Clark and Madison counties also have ordinances about noise caused by dogs in these situations.
“Chained dogs are vulnerable to people who are passing by that are simply cruel or annoyed by the dogs,” he said.
Taylor told Mullins the fiscal court has a limited tax base and can’t use the little resources they have for an issue like chained up dogs.
He told Mullins the animal shelter gets calls everyday about abused and neglected animals and the employees there respond immediately and provide care for these animals.
“Don’t come preaching to me about abused animals,” he said. “What’s more important to you? A barking dog or a drug dealer? We don’t have the resources to send a deputy from a domestic [violence] situation to a barking dog.”
He said the court would take into consideration a noise ordinance but priority would always be give to the thousands of humans in the county that need protection.