Florence County Council hears arguments on pit bull ban

FLORENCE — Florence County Council has heard from a Scranton resident calling for a ban of pit bull-type dogs and a group of Florence students opposing breed-specific legislation.

Ernestine Haselden spoke Thursday on behalf of a group of Scranton residents who have said they worry a group of dogs in the neighborhood will get loose and hurt someone.

Haselden pointed to recent dog attacks during her presentation to council, which hasn’t considered any breed-specific ordinances.

“I don’t know what we’re going to need to do to make it apparent that something needs to be done … ” she said. “Are we waiting for someone to be killed? Because we’ve already had the maimings.”

Two dog attacks have been reported in Florence County this year; the most recent, on Monday, involved two bulldogs on National Cemetery Road in Florence.

A group of Southside Middle School students made a rebuttal to Haselden’s presentation. Teacher Brian Harvey, who owns two pit bulls as pets, said the request for a ban on the dogs is the result of a “severe generalization” and that pit bulls are used for search-and-rescue operations and as therapy dogs at hospitals.

The students proposed implementing canine safety education programs in schools, offering responsible canine ownership classes to pet owners, and adopting stronger laws on the city and county levels.

“Pit bulls are no more inherently dangerous to people than any other breed of dog,” student Emily Nance told council.

Linda D. Witouski, an American Kennel Club judge and delegate, said dog owners should be educated about the law and be held responsible for their pets’ behavior only on an individual basis.

Gordon Williams, Haselden’s neighbor who owns the dogs in question, said he was pleased with the “good outcome” following all the presentations.

“(The dogs are) like my children,” he said.

Haselden also presented a model of an animal control law that would also cover incessant barking, waste and odor, licensing, and a requirement for owners of dangerous animals to hold a $100,000 insurance policy.

Dillon City Council in May enacted an ordinance defining a pit bull as a dangerous animal and requiring stricter guidelines for pit bull owners.

In other business Thursday, council deferred a resolution to fund two new sheriff’s deputies to serve as library resource officers but approved the submission of an application for a grant to fund five additional patrol deputies.

The Drs. Bruce & Lee Foundation Library has a $63,000-a-year security contract with the city of Florence through which off-duty city police officers are paid as independent contractors, according to county documents.

The Internal Revenue Service, however, requires for the officers to be treated as county employees, but the county can’t hire the city officers because such an action would violate the “dual commission prohibition” in state law, county documents state.

The annual cost of the two new deputies would be $90,000, according to the county.

Council members voted to approve the submission of an application for nearly $200,000 in U.S. Justice Department grant funds for the hiring of five new patrol deputies. The county would be required after three years to maintain and fully fund the five positions, at an annual cost of $225,125.

They also approved a grant application for a Justice Department grant worth $272,523 in start-up capital for two library deputies and the additional five patrol deputies.

In other business, council voted unanimously to approve:

• A one-year moratorium on the enforcement of the county’s portable sign rules so that the county planning commission can consider revisions.

• A resolution to amend grant amounts for the H.J. Heinz project near Florence from $1.5 million from the S.C. Department of Commerce Coordinating Council for Economic Development Set Aside Funds and $2 million from the department’s Closing Funds to $1.75 million apiece from the Set Aside and Closing funds.

• The $139,500 purchase of more than 38 acres where the county has a radio tower on Cash Road in Johnsonville.

• The $24,700 bid by General Cage LLC of Elwood, Ind., for cat cages at the new county animal control facility.

• Third and final reading of a new Community Facilities element, part of the county’s updated comprehensive plan, which state law requires for a local government to have zoning.