Members of HELP FIDO attended the Whitehall City Council meeting again last night – it’s almost a tradition at this point, at least I know where I’ll be every Tuesday evening. Last night’s meeting was a committee meeting which is open to the public, but the public is only allowed to speak at the full Council meetings. As outlined below and here, Council Member Jackie Thompson’s much publicized pit bull ban was defeated last week, 5-2. But Ms. Thompson’s antics continued this week with her attacks on Council Member Bob Bailey’s comprehensive, breed neutral legislation that is based on action or behavior (not breed). It will be up for 2nd Reading next Tuesday, June 17th (most ordinances go to a 3rd reading) so I encourage everyone to attend - especially if you're a Whitehall resident. If you’d like an entire copy of this ordinance, send me an email (briancluxton@yahoo.com). Ms. Thompson continues to argue the same uninformed, ignorant positions at each meeting about pit bulls and breed specific legislation; there simply is no reasoning with her. I got the distinct impression last evening that many elected officials in Whitehall are tired of her act. I know I tired of it a long time ago.
After the back and forth about Mr. Bailey’s legislation, discussion moved on to other matters, including the standing committees. During the Safety committee discussion, talk among the members turned to general safety in Whitehall – nothing to do with dogs or dog legislation. Pretty much out of nowhere, Ms. Thompson stated that “All of the men on council don’t care that Whitehall citizens feel threatened.” This was at least the second time she has claimed no one supports or agrees with her based on gender. Needless to say, that remark set off a firestorm of discussion and many of the other Council members were furious. Personally, I was dumbfounded – Ms. Thompson has said a lot of stupid things over the past 5 or so months, but that took it to a whole other level. As usual, reporters from both the Suburban News Publications and Eastside Messenger were in attendance. I hope they are accurate in their newspaper accounts of Ms. Thompson’s behavior last evening.
On to a much more pleasant topic – Anna and I were in Iowa City 2 weekends ago for the 4th Annual Bully Workshop. One of the highlights was seeing Wallace the Pit Bull, the 2007 Purina Incredible Dog Challenge Freestyle Flying Disc National Champion. Wallace and Roo (his handler/owner) are amazing!! Wallace is also one of the sweetest dogs you’ll ever meet. And to think, people like Jackie Thompson believe dogs like Wallace should be killed simply because of the way they look. Much more about Wallace’s story can be found here.
After the back and forth about Mr. Bailey’s legislation, discussion moved on to other matters, including the standing committees. During the Safety committee discussion, talk among the members turned to general safety in Whitehall – nothing to do with dogs or dog legislation. Pretty much out of nowhere, Ms. Thompson stated that “All of the men on council don’t care that Whitehall citizens feel threatened.” This was at least the second time she has claimed no one supports or agrees with her based on gender. Needless to say, that remark set off a firestorm of discussion and many of the other Council members were furious. Personally, I was dumbfounded – Ms. Thompson has said a lot of stupid things over the past 5 or so months, but that took it to a whole other level. As usual, reporters from both the Suburban News Publications and Eastside Messenger were in attendance. I hope they are accurate in their newspaper accounts of Ms. Thompson’s behavior last evening.
On to a much more pleasant topic – Anna and I were in Iowa City 2 weekends ago for the 4th Annual Bully Workshop. One of the highlights was seeing Wallace the Pit Bull, the 2007 Purina Incredible Dog Challenge Freestyle Flying Disc National Champion. Wallace and Roo (his handler/owner) are amazing!! Wallace is also one of the sweetest dogs you’ll ever meet. And to think, people like Jackie Thompson believe dogs like Wallace should be killed simply because of the way they look. Much more about Wallace’s story can be found here.
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