By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

During the regular meeting of the Guthrie County Board of Supervisors on April 9, the supervisors heard updates from several departments. Health Services Director Jotham Arber shared his progress in collecting information to help create a Vicious Dog Ordinance for the county.

Arber discussed the difference between “dangerous” dogs and “vicious” dogs.  Arber said certain types of dogs, such as those that are used for hunting, are generally classified as dangerous dogs. A dog would be classified as “vicious” only based on its behavior.

“Any bite that is vicious is an unprovoked bite,” Arber said.

Arber suggested that if a Vicious Dog Ordinance is adopted, it would be wiser to direct that such animals be removed from the county rather than requiring that such an animal be killed. He said that would be difficult to enforce, other than in emergency situations.

Arber will meet with the county attorney to work on drafting a proposed ordinance and will return to the supervisors when it is available.

The supervisors discussed the EMS (Emergency Medical Services) RFP (Request for Proposals). Supervisor Maggie Armstrong asked Jotham Arber about a proposed timeline for allowing proposals.

“As far as RFPs, I think generally 90 days is the standard response time,” Arber said.

The supervisors approved adding a due date of July 1 to the RFP. Armstrong will work on a first draft of a cover letter and will bring it to the April 16 meeting. Once approved, the cover letter and RFP will be sent out and posted on the county website.

County Engineer Josh Sebern addressed the supervisors about several upcoming matters from his department, including proposed Resolution 24-23, Noxious Weed Notice to All Property Owners.

The next regular meeting of the supervisors will be Tuesday, April 16. The public is welcome. Attendees may participate in person or by calling 323-792-6123 and inputting conference ID 547029216#.