The City of Indianola has established a temporary hotline for citizens to alert the city about vicious dogs.
The number is 662-207-0684, which is the number that had previously been used for limbs and debris pickup.
The city is working on a permanent number, according to Mayor Ken Featherstone during his From the Mayor’s Desk address this week.
“This is an effort to be more responsive to this ongoing problem,” Featherstone said.
This is in response to a vicious dog attack by two alleged pit bulls three weeks ago. The victim of that attack sustained serious injuries to his legs.
He is currently recovering.
“His injuries are horrendous,” Featherstone said. “I would never like to see that kind of attack happen to any of our residents in the City of Indianola.”
Featherstone said that the city has not created any new laws regarding dogs, but it is diligently enforcing the ones that are already on the books, including a ban on pit bull dogs, leash laws and vicious dogs in general.
Featherstone said that the Hough-Dement Animal
Shelter is currently picking up pit bulls around the city.
Street Project Update
Featherstone also updated the citizens on the city’s $1.2 million street project. Work is well underway on Sunflower Avenue and on Wiggins Road, where crews have been replacing old concrete slabs for the past several weeks.
As soon as the temperatures warm some more, Featherstone said that the Main Street and Second Street paving projects will likely get underway.
Safe Routes to School
Also getting underway this spring and summer is the Safe Routes to School B.B. King Road sidewalk project.
This long-awaited project will construct a sidewalk system along B.B. King Road from the intersection of Roosevelt Street to Wiggins Road.
The grant, which had been lost last year due to the city’s audit delinquency, was revived thanks to Dr. Adrian Brown of Brown & Associates and the Sunflower County Consolidated School District.
Brown, who had written the original grant more than a decade ago, asked the district if it would be willing to submit the grant again to the Mississippi Department of Transportation on behalf of the city.
SCCSD agreed, and the grant was re-awarded last year.
A press conference will be held today at 10 a.m. to commemorate the relaunch of the project.
Dads on Duty
Featherstone also announced this week an initiative to curb violence in the community called Dads on Duty.
Featherstone said that this is an opportunity for adult males in the community to visit local schools and create mentorship opportunities.
“I have a small army of men willing to go into our schools and walk the hallways and mentor our kids,” Featherstone said.
Featherstone said that by going directly into the local schools and engaging students, it may build better citizens and curtail future violence within the city.
