At the May 18 quorum court meeting, justices of the peace heard from a bicyclist who had suffered a serious attack by dogs.
Steffanie Gates recounted an incident from mid-April, when she rode her bicycle on Arkansas Highway 221 South. She encountered the dogs during an uphill section of the road, where the dogs could easily challenge her. Gates dismounted and tried to use her bike as a shield, but the dogs attacked as a team, and they continued to bite as Gates ran to a neighbor’s house. She jumped into an unlocked car and honked the horn for help. The dogs continued to bark and circle the vehicle until the homeowner chased them. Gates was taken to the emergency room, where she received 32 stitches to close multiple wounds.
“If a human had attacked me like this, he’d be in jail,” Gates said as she explained that the county’s ordinances are inadequate. Dog owners are required to quarantine dogs for 10 days after a bite incident, to ensure that a dog does not have rabies. However, the law does not require boarding a dog at a secure facility, and owners may be allowed to self-quarantine.
Gates objected to the procedure of having a quarantine “enforced by the same negligent owners who allowed the attack.” In her case, Gates drove by the same location the next day and saw the same dogs at large.
“I’m sharing my story not for sympathy, but for change,” she said. Gates had conducted some research and found that Carroll County had less protection for the public than surrounding counties. In Madison County, allowing dogs to run at large can constitute a misdemeanor. Benton and Washington counties have stronger regulations, and Newton County has regulations and penalties for vicious dogs. “These counties are not anti-dog, but in favor of responsibility,” Gates said. She said quarantines should be conducted in a secure facility, and she asked for laws to define a dangerous animal. Biting someone should automatically qualify a dog as dangerous, and Gates said some counties require spaying and chipping a dog as possible responses.
In response to a suggestion that she carry a gun while biking, Gates said that does not address the problem. The dogs who had attacked her had previously ventured into neighboring yards with threatening behavior, and Gates said county residents should not have to keep a gun on them in their own yards, or at a school bus stop.
That sentiment was echoed by Bobby Romano, who spoke during public comments. Romano said he was attacked six days later by the same dogs who savaged Gates, and he was told he could shoot threatening dogs. “What has it come to?” he asked, if bicyclists have to carry a gun for safety.
After the meeting, JP Kellie Matt looked at a wound on Gates’ leg, still healing a month later. “This looks like a shark bite, not a dog bite,” Matt said, noting that the incident had occurred in her district.
In other business:
- The quorum court appointed Bobby Thurman to fill the remainder of the term of the late David Slaton as coroner. Thurman has been serving as chief deputy coroner.
- A resolution confirmed the appointment of Steve Ratcliff to a three-year term as a commissioner on the Mundell Heights Subordinate Service District.
- An ordinance appropriated $50,000 for fixtures and furnishings at the new Berryville library.
- An ordinance appropriated a $5,000 grant from the Administrative Office of the Courts to the Juvenile Probation Grant Fund.
- Boyum’s Bike Resort, located on Arkansas Highway 23 North, wished to expand its food menu and upgrade its liquor license to allow for the sale of mixed drinks. The club already had a beer permit. An ordinance was passed on an emergency basis, to allow the application to proceed more quickly to the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
- JP Craig Hicks said the county’s digital radio system is now in place. He explained that the project had begun six years ago. The project included some new towers to increase coverage in areas which had previously experienced difficulties in receiving radio signals. Hicks said a press release will be issued to explain the new system.
- During public comments, Sue Frost warned against the proliferation of data centers, which she said are “drastically affecting communities.” She warned of noise, increased utility costs, and long-term environmental effects. Jack Frost said the company operating a wind turbine farm south of Green Forest has violated federal laws, and that should eliminate any exemption from the county’s moratorium on wind and solar installations.
- Jim Wallace had spoken at the April meeting, warning of the average age of volunteer firefighters, and he returned this month to elaborate on the topic. He said younger volunteers are not adequately replacing the older ones, and the problem is statewide. Wallace proposed a state-level effort to create a pilot program to pay younger people to replace the older participants. Wallace also cautioned against losing the institutional knowledge possessed by those older firefighters.
- During public comments, Jack Haynes said the quorum court should respond formally to any citizen complaints. “By responding to a grievance, you show you care,” he said. He also complained about the maintenance of Carroll Road 152.