SALEM Animal shelter is in the works

Architects and volunteers are working on a design for the new shelter.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- Salem Area Humane Society will soon have a place to build a state-of-the-art animal shelter.
Pete Johnson, president of the humane society, said funds from the Robert Atchison trust will soon be used to buy 231/2 acres from Gene Zilavy.
The land purchase is the next step in the group's efforts to build a shelter, Johnson said.
The property is along state Route 45 just south of Salem near Kent State University.
Court ruling
The group has been working on buying the property for weeks but did not reveal its location until after a court ruling Thursday.
Judge C. Ashley Pike ruled the humane society could use funds from the Robert Atchison trust to operate the humane society and to make the $180,000 land purchase.
The trust was established in 1959 to benefit animals.
A similarly named group received the trust funds for about 40 years and operated a shelter on west State Street. Partly because of repeated complaints from neighbors about overcrowding and animal noise, Judge Pike ruled that shelter be closed.
Pike later ruled the Salem Humane Society should receive the trust money, and ordered the State Street facility be closed. The other group is appealing that decision.
Cable tower
Johnson said a portion of the 231/2 acres is leased to Time Warner, and the company has a telecommunications tower on the property. Time Warner leases the land for $5,000 per year, and that money can help fund the humane society's shelter operation, he said.
Johnson said the humane society has been operating a stray cat spaying and neutering program, providing dog houses to people who can't afford them, and paying the county humane officer, all with donations.
He said with the judge's ruling, the group can now make more concrete plans for a new shelter to be built next year.
Projects
Johnson said a group of artisans is working on Christmas ornaments and other items for sale and also working on various designs for the new shelter.
A steering committee of volunteers is working with an architect on the plans for the shelter, including its design and size, he said.
The design will include landscaping that will minimize noise, Johnson said. A dog barks because it sees movement, and the landscape will be designed to limit the dogs' line of sight when they are in outdoor runs, Johnson said.
He said humane society volunteers want to be good neighbors and take care of problems quickly.
Johnson said that while the group waits to break ground, fund-raisers will be planned and volunteers will invite the public to tour the new location.