Mahoning County needs second humane officer

Mahoning County needs second humane officer
EDITOR:
I am writing this letter on behalf of the Mahoning County Humane Society. As you may or may not know, Angels for Animals, CHAIN (Community Helping Animals in Need) and the Mahoning County Humane Society form an important coalition for the welfare of our county's animals.
Angels performs spaying, neutering and sheltering of stray animals. CHAIN provides service to financially deprived pet owners who desire to have their pets altered. The Mahoning County Humane Society provides a badly needed second humane officer to the county. Up until this year, the county commissioners had provided $10,000 of the $20,000 yearly compensation for this vital position. The commissioners have announced that they can no longer afford to provide their half of the agent's salary.
We need your help. This organization has no bells or whistles: just one good man going out every day to help animals in places you or I may never know about. Let me assure you -- spending a day seeing what the agent sees is not a pleasant experience. What would happen to these animals without a humane agent? I can and will tell you: they will suffer in silence until the only good thing they can expect, death, removes them from their living hell. I think the animal advocates of Mahoning County would agree that $20,000 is a small price to pay for a year of peace of mind. Herb Risely, out current agent, is a retired State Highway Patrol trooper. He has the proper training and demeanor to get the job done.
Times are rough, and the economy is bad. Guess who will suffer even more because of it? You know: our four-legged friends. But with your help, maybe they will not suffer as much. Please become a Supporting Member of the Mahoning County Humane Society today.
DIANE LESS-BAIRD
Canfield
X The writer is president of Angels for Animals.
Fund-raising companies get too much of donations
EDITOR:
Obviously, when you give to a worthy cause you are put on a list for telemarketing agencies. "Would you consider helping again this year, you kindly gave last year ... ." These are all worthy causes, police, fire, sheriff departments, underprivileged children, etc. etc.
I asked the caller how the money was divided. He did not know, but gave me a 1-800 number for the answer.
The organization gets 20 percent, the agency gets 80 percent. They have to pay phone bills, employees, paperwork, etc.
I should think these organizations could have volunteers or auxiliary units or recruit people to make these calls for donations. They would make a much higher percentage on each donation.
LOUISE MONTI
Austintown
Correction
Because of a typographical error, part of a letter from Mary Ann Schulay published on Sunday, July 14 was missing. The paragraph should have read as follows:
In making school-to-school comparisons, Youngstown City School District had six of the 12 sixth grade schools scoring higher than New Hope Academy's 9 percent in math, with one school scoring 100 percent. Three of the 12 schools scored higher than New Hope's 82 percent in writing, with one school scoring 100 percent. Two of the 12 schools scored higher than New Hope's 45 percent in reading with one school scoring 100 percent. Three of the 12 schools scored higher than New Hope's 55 percent in citizenship, and two of the 12 schools scored higher than New Hope's 45 percent in science, with one scoring 100 percent.