Thursday, November 2, 2006
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Thursday, November 2, 2006 |
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Community | Obits | Editorial & Columnists | Society | Sports | Education | Classified Ads | Calendar of Events | Features | Newsbriefs | Legals | Archives | Subscriptions | Photo Gallery |
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FeaturesMarshall County Humane Society News Anyone who loves horses knows value of Coggins test Most of you have probably heard about the recent controversy about racing horses in Victoria and Red Banks. Nearby residents complained about noise and traffic, among other things, but horse owners kept bringing up “Coggins test.” Not being knowledgeable about horses, I’m thinking “Coggins” is a disease they’re testing for. Wrong. A Coggins test is a blood test for the presence of a virus that causes equine infectious anemia (EIA), also known as swamp fever, and was designed by Dr. Leroy Coggins, a famous veterinary virologist. Anybody who loves horses knows the value of the Coggins test since it’s really the only way to protect their horses from EIA. There is no vaccine and no cure for the disease. No infected horse ever recovers. EIA is transmitted by horse or deer flies biting an infected animal, then a healthy one. The virus is relatively short-lived outside its host; it can only live for 15 to 30 minutes on the horse fly so proximity of the animals is important. The virus is related to the viruses that cause bovine leukemia, feline leukemia and HIV infection. Once infected, a horse may react in any one of three ways. In acute cases the animal will immediately exhibit fever, depression and loss of appetite. Many die within a month, before the test shows a positive result. In chronic cases the horse will have recurring bouts of weight loss, swollen belly and legs and anemia. It may survive for a year or more and will test positive. In some cases an infected horse will not show any symptoms but will test positive and will be a walking source of potential infection to any others nearby. These animals must be either destroyed or isolated. Mississippi law requires that any horse must have a negative Coggins test within the last 12 months to appear in any public event such as a show or sale or to travel within the state. (MS Code 69-15-117). Now I know what every horse owner should. Have your horses tested immediately, pray they’re negative and keep them far away from any untested animals. If your pet needs to be spayed or neutered (no, we don’t do horses), call 662-252-6196 for an appointment at the Marshall County Humane Society sponsored, low-cost Spay/Neuter Clinic in Holly Springs. When you call, if you get the answering machine, you needn’t go into a lot of details. The number of spots on your dog isn’t necessary but your phone number is. Folks have called and left no number, not enough numbers or unintelligible ones. Invariably they’re the ones with cell phones so a telephone directory doesn’t help. If you leave a message you’ll get a call back as soon as we can. If you don’t hear back within a day or so, call again. Maybe I couldn’t understand you or my cats may have erased you. (They love the blinky button.) For information on fostering, adoptions or anything that's not the Spay/Neuter Clinic, call 662-564-2900. Correspondence and donations should be sent to the Marshall County Humane Society, P.O. Box 625, Holly Springs, MS 38635. Search and rescue seminar attracts K-9 teams to Wall Doxey Park More than 60 handler/K-9 teams converged on Wall Doxey State Park for training at the October 9-13 NOCDS (Network of Canine Detection Services) ninth annual SAR K-9 Seminar, spending an intensive week of paws-on field work learning new search skills and honing old ones. The seminar, implemented in 1997 and sponsored by the Desoto County Sheriff’s Office Department of Emergency Management, this year received additional sponsorship and assistance from the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office. Dogs representing a wide variety of breeds and ages — from 9- week puppies to 10-year-old veterans — participated in specialized classes focusing on mantrailing, air-scenting, and human remains detection (HRD). Separate classes taught skills in land HRD and in water HRD. A faculty of experienced and nationally-recognized instructors came from as far as Wisconsin, Florida, and other states to share their proven training methods with a student body comprised largely of volunteer dog handlers who had individually funded their own travel and seminar expenses, motivated by a deep personal commitment to prepare themselves and their dogs to serve their communities as effectively as possible. Classes frequently took field trips outside the park in order to train the canine teams in realistic and challenging working conditions, such as the Holly Springs Courthouse Square during business hours on a weekday. Other training locations were generously offered by businessmen, city administrators, and property owners in Holly Springs, Byhalia, and surrounding areas, and included warehouses, a school building, a nursing/rehabilitation facility, salvage yards, and public maintenance compounds, as well as a variety of privately-owned wilderness sites. A realistic mock search scenario was created and enacted between 7 and 11 p.m. on October 11. The mock emergency used K- 9 team resources from air-scent, mantrailing, and land HRD disciplines, as well as human search teams. As the mock missing person case was investigated, based on early reports and interviews, the teams were deployed from an incident command post structured to teach participants and observers the value of a clearly established, approved, and well-understood command structure in addressing emergencies utilizing a large number of responders/volunteers. As clues were discovered by teams in the field, search strategy evolved as the managers on the Incident Command team responded, redirecting their resources accordingly. Observers and participants learned valuable lessons during the course of the mock incident, as well as from the debriefing session following the conclusion of the event. This traditional nighttime mock search has become a favorite feature of the NOCDS seminar over the years, to which students look forward with enthusiasm. NOCDS Seminar 2006 class rosters listed 15 canine teams training in mantrailing, taught by instructors Perry Nelson and Deb Goebels; 14 canine teams training in land HRD under instructors Lisa Higgins, Brad Dennis, and Barbara Holley of the Desoto County Emergency Services K-9 Unit; 11 canine teams training in water HRD under instructors Joe Mayers and Paul Martin; and 21 canine teams training in air-scenting (wilderness area search) under instructors Sarah Garfunkel, Judy Thigpin, and Judy Otto of the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office SAR K-9 Unit and the Tennessee Search & Rescue Dog Association (TSARDA). Area students attending the seminar were Lisa Hiatt-Todd of Ashland (Marshall County Sheriff’s Office SAR K-9 Unit and TSARDA); Randy Hobson of Ashland (Benton County SAR Unit and TSARDA); Gwenda Murray of Byhalia (United K-9), Linda Baum of Mount Pleasant (United K-9); Kathy Doty of Columbus (Golden Triangle K-9 Unit); and Officers Richard Dye and John Pevey of the Columbus Police Department. Opportunities to evaluate handler- canine teams for missionreadiness under NOCDS standards were offered on October 8, when 25 teams were tested by evaluators. Area teams passing evaluations included Kathy Doty & Belgian Malinois “Tundra” of Columbus (man-trailing); Linda Baum and rottweiler “Travis” of Mt. Pleasant (land HRD); Gwenda Murray and labrador retriever “Buck” of Byhalia (land HRD); Judy Otto and Belgian tervuren “Diana” of the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office SAR K-9 Unit (building search) and also (article search); Judy Otto and Belgian tervuren “Clark Kent” of the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office SAR K-9 Unit (building search and also article search). Seminar attendees wish to extend special thanks for the Herculean efforts of the NOCDS seminar organizers and support staff who handled multiple administrative details, frequent troubleshooting, and kept things running smoothly: Mike Jones, Danny Holley, Chris Jones, and Charmaine Wright, all of Desoto County. The NOCDS Board of Directors is already moving forward with plans for next year’s seminar. For more information, visit www.nocds.org or contact T. H. Walker at th.walker@earthlink.net, or Mike Jones, at cadavertess@yahoo.com. Pages from the Past 10 Years Ago - October 31, 1996 Voters will elect a president Tuesday Marshall County voters going to the polls Tuesday will find a shorter and more simple ballot than they were faced with in the 1992 election. The 1996 ballot contains 10 elections, including president and vice president. The ballot offers a choice of seven presidential candidates. The three major candidates, are Bill Clinton, Bob Dole and Ross Perot. There is also an Independent candidate, along with candidates representing the Libertarian Party, Mississippi Taxpayers Party and Natural Law Party. County school board member Amanda Malone honored Marshall County School Board member Amanda Malone will be honored during the Mississippi School Boards Association convocation in Jackson on Nov. 8-9. She has served on the Marshall County School Board for 21 years. Student’s artwork selected in “Kidney Calendar” contest Monique Moore, 13, of Holly Springs, was one of 13 winners nationwide in the American Kidney Fund’s 1997 “Kidney Calendar” contest. Monique’s picture is featured in the month of September. 25 Years Ago - October 29, 1981 Sherwood Bonner biography released Dr. Hubert McAlexander, son of Mr. and Mrs. H.H. McAlexander of Holly Springs, will be honored Sunday, Nov. 8 by the Marshall County Historical Society with an autograph party at Airliewood. The occasion is the release of his book, “The Prodigal Daughter: A Biography of Sherwood Bonner,” published by the Louisiana State University Press. Sherwood Bonner was born in Holly Springs and grew up at the home now known as Cedarhurst. During her litarary career she was befriended by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who became her mentor. Former aldermen honored Former aldermen for the City of Holly Springs were honored last week at the board meeting. They were presented plaques in apprecation for their years of service. Receiving plaques were Eddie Lee Smith, Fred Hensley, John Dabney Brown and Ed Rather. 50 Years Ago - November 1, 1956 Stennis spends day in county; addresses Rotary Club, visits factories Sen. John Stennis spent Wednesday in Marshall County visiting industries and schools and speaking to different groups. He spoke to the Rotary Club at noon and to farmers at the North Mississippi Branch Experiment Station in the afternoon. That evening a large group attended a Dutch dinner at Johnny’s Cafe where Stennis spoke informally. Jamie L. Whitten will speak to Lions Club Congressman Jamie L. Whitten will speak to the Holly Springs Lions Club on Fri., Nov. 9. The Lions Club will present a minstrel show at the high school on Thursday, Nov. 15. Mrs. Gibbons retires: postal clerk for 36 years Mrs. Jessie Gibbons having reached the maximum years of service, was retired by the Post Office on on Oct. 31. Mrs. Gibbons, affectionately known as “Miss Jessie,” was appointed a clerk in the local Post Office on Aug. 3, 1920. She has had 36 years of continuous service, the greater part as a window clerk. She has won the love of all and her cheery smile will be missed by all of us. Report
News: (662) 252-4261 or south@dixie-net.com
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