Conservation District still dealing with unpaid dead animal pickup bills By KAREN KENNEDY The Meade County Conservation District held its monthly meeting on Feb. 26. Present were chairman John Bruington and board members Fred L. Sipes, Jack King, Henry Pike, and Nathan Beavin, as well as employees Charlotte Lawson, B.J. Stith, and Calvin Bohannon. Invitations have been sent out for the March 7 Conservation District banquet, which will feature entertainment by Meade County High School’s barbershop quartet. Master Conservationist of the Year and poster and essay contest awards will be presented at the banquet. Conservation District employee Liz Hawkins, who has been out on medical leave for the past couple months, hopes to return to the office in March. So far, one application has been received for the state 50-50, cost-share employee. The position was advertised in the Messenger and the deadline for receiving applications was Feb. 28. The state performed another audit and advised the district it needs to put into place more investment safeguards such as increasing the amount of the bonds to reflect the highest levels of bank account balances. Charlotte Lawson provided an update on recent paid and unpaid dead animal pickup bills. The Meade County Conservation District, in cooperation with the Meade County Fiscal Court and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, sponsors Meade County’s Dead Animal Removal program, which picks up horses, hogs, ostrich, llamas, and goats. Fiscal Court covers $50 of the cost and the landowner pays $25 to have his animal removed. The Meade County Conservation District bills each landowner for services monthly. For the month of November 2006, Lawson reported eight dead animal pickups, with two of those bills still unpaid. In December 2006, 11 pickups were made with one bill as yet unpaid. In January 2007, there were 11 dead animal pickups, with five bills still unpaid. B.J. Stith noted a push on EQIP contracts, which are behind schedule. He said an effort needs to be made to get projects off the ground, and that he’ll be working one on one with landowners in Meade County to help make this happen. Ideally, said Stith, landowners will begin their projects within a year of grant approval. Normally, the applicant has three years to complete the project, and many people are well into their second and third year without having yet begun the project. The state cost-share program has received about 40 applications, said Stith, and by mid-April they should know which projects are being funded and which ones are not. Calvin Bohannon mentioned he recently attended a Tyson Chicken growers’ meeting in Indiana and that out of about 70 people, he noticed several Meade County growers in attendance. Click Here to Go Back
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