LAHARPE — In a few short months, LaHarpe’s new city library has grown by leaps and bounds.
But the momentum provided by volunteers to open the library has stalled, LaHarpe City Council members were told Wednesday.
Volunteers are needed to staff the library at City Hall so it can remain open, City Clerk Kim Bradford told council members.
“They’re down to little to almost nothing in terms of volunteers,” she said.
Most of the original volunteers have had to stop because of illness or other commitments.
The city hopes to find new volunteers.
“We’d be flexible,” said Mayor Cynthia Carr. “We’re not going to tell anybody the hours they have to work.”
Carr and others in the audience lauded the effort put into getting the library off the ground.
“It’s really a very nice library,” said Joyce Lee, wife of Councilman Harry Lee Jr.
“We’ve accomplished a lot,” Carr agreed.
Volunteers are encouraged to call (620) 496-2241.
AN UNFORTUNATE side effect to the opening of the Allen County Animal Rescue Facility has been the influx of stray or abandoned dogs in and around LaHarpe.
Local residents Bev Higinbotham and Carey Goodman were on hand to complain about the number of dogs spotted roaming their neighborhood in the southeast part of town, particularly after dark.
Not all are strays, they noted.
Some are pets that have been let out of their pens or off their leashes by neighbors for the evening.
Higinbotham and ?? both said they have pets, but that they are forced to keep them indoors overnight because of the number of animals wandering their neighborhood at night.
City Attorney Chuck Apt encouraged those who know animals are being released to file a complaint at City Hall.
“If you know whose animal it is, we can do something about it,” Apt said.
But many of the animals have no owners.
Higinbotham said the number of strays in LaHarpe has skyrocketed.
She noted that some pet owners bring their dogs to or near LaHarpe, but not the shelter because of the fee required to donate an animal there. Instead, the animals usually are dropped off and left outside.
More than 25 dogs have been dumped near the Allen County Landfill since ACARF’s opening, council members were told.
Council members took one step toward alleviating the problem by approving the hiring of Jason Prock as a part-time law enforcement, code enforcement and animal control officer.
Prock will work up to 19 hours a week, council members said.
COUNCIL members applied for a state grant that would fund a new storm siren.
The city has been told it was authorized to seek up to $15,000 from the Kansas Department of Emergency Management to replace the existing siren, which often cannot be heard in the city’s northern edges.
The new siren, if approved, would be installed near the intersection of Fifth and Main streets and would be considerably more audible than the old siren, council members were told.
They promised to look at the issue again in future years to determine if another siren would be needed elsewhere.
