Silent Angels looks at satellite in Scott City

By Rod Haxton, editor

In order to help local residents become more familiar with their work, Silent Angels Animal Rescue Shelter is attempting to establish a satellite office in Scott City.
Finding a site where animals can be seen and, hopefully, adopted by local residents has continued to be a stumbling block for the non-profit agency.
Silent Angels board member Marilyn Chinburg and two other supporters recently asked the Scott County Commission for temporary use of the former LEC building where people could see some of the pets available for adoption and also donate to the shelter. The proposal was to use the building one, or possibly two, days per month.
Chinburg says shelter’s current site, 10 miles west and six miles north of Leoti, is so isolated that it’s difficult for many people to adopt pets or volunteer to help the organization.
“The majority of our support, financially, is from Scott County,” says Chinburg. “We feel we need a greater presence here.”
Tentative plans are to bring 3-4 pets to the site two times a month. Chinburg said they wouldn’t need utilities and would only need one room in the LEC. Chinburg had hopes of starting the satellite office in September.
Commissioners were reluctant because they didn’t want to establish a practice of making the LEC available for public events on a regular basis. The commission has agreed to allow Scott County Partners for Youth use of the building for a haunted house, but SCPY would be responsible for acquiring liability insurance.
Likewise, the commission said if they were to allow Silent Angels use of the building the organization would also need to provide its own insurance.
When asked if the commission would consider allowing Silent Angels use of the building for three months on a trial basis, commissioners were somewhat agreeable. However, they encouraged the group to see if they could find another option.