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<br />been efforts to get the Southern Park fields online and it has been stopped and put out to bid <br />many times. He said that his only request is, that if the decision is made to go with West Ten, <br />that they are designed properly, since many of the other fields are unusable for half of the year <br />due to design problems. He said that the turf quality is the most important component. <br />Patrick Sullivan said that the people have came here to ask for the County <br />Commissioners' help because there is a desperate need for fields. He said that it is taking too <br />long to bring fields online and more funding is needed. He said that the Chapel Hill Parks and <br />Recreation fields do not open until April 15t. He agreed that the other fields are shut down for <br />half of the year because of bad design and overuse. He said that he has been a strong <br />advocate for active recreation, and there should be programs for youth to make the community <br />healthier. He said that this should be done for the whole county, but also they need to <br />recognize where the need is and address the need. <br />Suzanne Roy spoke on behalf of The Coalition to Unchain Dogs. She formally <br />requested that the Board of County Commissioners adopt an ordinance to prohibit chaining of <br />dogs. The coalition represents many local citizens who are concerned with the widespread <br />problem in the community. She asked the citizens present that were in support of this to stand. <br />She said that chaining dogs deprives them of essential socialization, companionship, and <br />exercise. She read many other negative effects of chaining dogs. She read a warning from the <br />American Veterinary Medical Association: "Never tether or chain your dog, because this can <br />contribute to aggressive behavior." She said that nearly 100 localities and states, including <br />Connecticut and California, ban or severely restrict the practice of tethering dogs. In North <br />Carolina, this includes the counties of New Hanover and Scotland and the cities of Laurinburg <br />and Roanoke Rapids. She appreciates the Board's establishing a Tethering Committee, and <br />she urged the County Commissioners to move forward quickly with an ordinance to deal with <br />this problem. She requested a timeline for the committee's deliberations, with the goal of <br />enacting a strong anti-tethering ordinance this year. <br />Chair Carey said that the County Commissioners fully expect to give the committee <br />ample time to consider this matter and make a recommendation to the Animal Services <br />Advisory Board and to the Board of County Commissioners. <br />Craig Perrin is a resident of Hillsborough. He came to ask the Board to take action in <br />favor of banning the chaining of animals in Orange County. He brought a Valentine chain from <br />an organization that is promoting national standards to free dogs from chains. <br />Amelia Perrin is nine and she spoke in support of banning the tethering of dogs. <br />Isabel Leslie is nine and she also spoke in support of banning the tethering of dogs. <br />She said that chained dogs are dangerous around little children. <br />Craig Perrin said that as the Tethering Committee convenes, the Board of County <br />Commissioners will hear many sides of the tethering issue. He said that this is a public safety <br />issue because chained dogs are aggressive. <br />Judith Reitman said that she is here to give the Board a visual sense of the conditions <br />under which dogs live in Hillsborough alone. She said that on Saturday she brought a <br />newspaper photographer, who did newspaper photography in EI Salvador and took a picture of <br />a chained dog being mulled to death by two unchained dogs. She said that they were <br />interested in documenting how bad this problem is in Hillsborough. Within atwo-block radius, <br />they found several dogs chained in yards and there was a lack of shelter and bedding. She <br />said that she interviewed seven owners of chained dogs, and she found that not one of the dogs <br />had a rabies shot, not one of the dogs had been to a vet in over four years minimum, and all of <br />the owners said that they would definitely chain if it were a County law. She said that the <br />Tethering Committee needs to look at what is before it and within three months make a <br />decision. <br />