I hope you enjoyed the tour of the SAW Animal Shelter and hearing from our animal welfare experts. It’s hard to believe that there are only three animal control officers who cover the entirety of the county, not to mention occasional help with neighboring localities. While both Jon and Dwight talked about serving the community, it is important to underscore the message about the shelter really being the place of last resort for these animals - the less we need to rely on the shelter, the better. Jon once told me that his real job is to “put himself out of business.” Of course all sorts of societal issues need to be solved before this happens, but education in the community can help.
It’s eye-opening to hear directly from the community partners who provide all levels of human services to the region. The need for increased services remains stable while funding does not, necessarily. Ginny from the Office on Youth shared some great success stories that gave hope and, again, centered on the power of education and human connection.
Community Academy Class 7 (Last Class!)
Tuesday, Oct 20, 6-9pm
Location: Smith West Conference Room - Government Center
Topics: Planning for the Future
Economic Development & Tourism
Agricultural Development
Community Development: building inspection, engineering, planning, zoning
Graduation
Make sure you have Wednesday, Oct. 28, 7pm on your calendars! That is when you will be recognized at the Board of Supervisors meeting. I hope you all can attend.
Survey
The survey will close THIS Sunday, Oct. 11.
You will receive a separate email to submit the feedback survey. You can also use this Class #7 Survey link.
Resources & Reminders:
The presentation from Class 6 is on the cohort webpage.
Send regrets. academy@co.augusta.va.us or (540) 245-5600 (before 5pm).