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Cold weather provides extra challenge to homeless
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The cold temperatures are a challenge for everyone, but especially so for the homeless. Rick Smith has panhandled off and on in McMinnville for three months. He’s trying to raise enough funds to buy a generator for his cabin tent in Murfreesboro. - photo by JL Jacobs

Life can be hard during the winter. Freezing temperatures require more fuel, rising electricity and gas costs, not to mention food, clothing, health and transportation. Try being homeless with those same challenges.

Homelessness is up in Warren County, in Tennessee and the entire United States. You could call it an epidemic. When is the last time you saw a homeless person in McMinnville? What was your reaction? Did you feel pity, compassion, maybe even avert your eyes? Was that from shame, disgust or simply fear? Maybe you gave them something - money, food, a blanket?

One of McMinnville’s current homeless people, Rick Smith, who turns 49 in April, has been passively panhandling for the last three months. He’s originally from Northern Maine where his aging father currently resides. He talks to him about once a month.

Rick moved to Tennessee for work around 1996 but, for the last 15 years, he has struggled with homelessness. He has a cabin tent in Murfreesboro. It is 15 feet wide and 12 feet long. He says it iss good and sturdy at seven feet tall. He would usually survive through the winter there, but his generator broke. A new one will cost at least $900 to replace. He is trying to come up with the cash for that in McMinnville. Then he will return to Murfreesboro and his home cabin tent.

Why did he come to McMinnville? Murfreesboro is bigger with more people. He says he has had good luck in McMinnville before and that people are more generous even though there are less of them. He says it is also safer. The most he has ever made in one day was $150. Currently he’s been pulling in $25 or $30 on a good day. 

Presently setting up in front of Shoe Dept. Encore on North Chancery Street, he says they don’t mind as long as he keeps his area clear. When it begins to get dark at night, he rides his bicycle back to his encampment about a mile or so away closer to McDonald’s.

He says he has a good backpacking tent and a cold weather sleeping bag. Somebody gave him a comforter recently from their vehicle. It has been useful.

“Need Any Help” and “God Bless” are lettered on his cardboard sign. He sets it up against his backpack with a small log so it won’t blow away in the wind. He drinks a cup of warm coffee and smokes a cigarette. One passerby in a pick-up truck hands him three dollar bills.

“I won’t stay in shelters,” says Smith. He recalls his experiences at Nashville’s Rescue Mission in the past. Stealing is an everyday occurrence there. There is also daily violence there.

He had a bicycle stolen that he bought for himself recently. The one he rides now is chained against a tree. He says a friend from Murfreesboro recently donated it to him.

He usually gets something to eat at Walmart’s deli section. They gave him some grief about setting up to panhandle over there so he came across the street to Shoe Dept. Encore. Police told him he’s within his rights as long as he is on public property.

Smith says once he gets his generator and returns to Murfreesboro, he’ll begin the arduous task of looking for work while living in a tent. 

He claims he has no disabilities, though he used to have epileptic attacks. He currently suffers severe anxiety and hand tremors.

If anyone wants to reach out to him, you can contact him at (629) 201-0587. He said a local Shell employee told him some residents were complaining about his presence on a local Facebook page recently. The Shell store has no problem with his presence. Smith’s wish for the New Year is to get a new generator and to be on his way.

Deciding whether to give money to homeless individuals at intersections is a personal decision. Some people prefer to offer food, water or other necessities instead of money, as it ensures the help goes directly towards meeting basic needs.

Things You Should Know: Don’t ignore beggars if you can; nod, smile and communicate with compassion, explain that you don’t have any money, or that you’ve only got credit cards on you. If a beggar becomes aggressive, do not hesitate to alert the police, run or solicit help from others nearby. Donating to shelters and charities, or offering beggars food or water, can be much more helpful than giving someone loose change. Follow your instincts and do what you feel called to do in each situation. 

WCACAC talks about euthanasia
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During the regularly scheduled Warren County Health and Welfare Committee meeting on Tuesday, the topic of behavioral euthanasia at Warren County Animal Control and Adoption Center was one of the primary points of discussion.

Although WCACAC does not euthanize animals to create space in its facility, there are some situations, according to staff and the committee, when animals’ wellbeing or quality of life come into question due to factors outside the shelter’s control.

The employee chosen to receive certification to perform euthanasia will be required to submit their TBI background check and an application with a passport photo to begin the process for certification. Their background check and application then go to the Tennessee Veterinary Board and once approved, the employee will be set up for their first day of online classes before having to attend an in-person course which is typically held in Nashville or Murfreesboro.

Previously, behavior euthanasia was performed by vets, but they have largely refused to conduct them in recent years due to the emotional toll it bears. This leaves the shelter with the onus, if the county is to continue euthanizing animals who display extreme aggression.

Health and Welfare Committee Chair Blaine Wilcher asked how many dogs have currently been marked for aggression and the employees indicated there was a handful, all of which had been at the shelter for over two years and were aggressive enough to have bitten employees and trusty inmates during routine procedures such as cleaning cages. Due to liability concerns, these dogs are unadoptable.

According to staff, it is believed the extended stay in the cages has caused the dogs’ mental health to decline, leading them to become aggressive.

“It’s a shame, but they’re basically in prison at this point, without parole,” Blaine said.

Jeff Tubb, who is the Document Controller for WCACAC, indicated he had done hours of his own research trying to find answers or cures for the dogs.

“When you’ve got animals that have been in there for two years, it’s like putting somebody in solitary confinement,” Tubb said. “Even a human will go crazy. The same thing has happened to these animals.”

Beyond the matter of becoming certified to perform euthanasia in extreme situations like this one, the committee discussed baseline criteria to guide the facility on when behavioral euthanasia is necessary and whose call was final word.

“I just want to know who’s picking and choosing the criteria of when an animal needs to be euthanized. Would that be Brandi?” County Commissioner Kasey Owens asked.

Wilcher replied, “I would say she would probably have the main say because she would know more about it than anyone as far as how long the animal has been there, if they are aggressive and other details. I would think she would be the final stamp, wouldn’t she?”

County Commissioner Terry Bell admitted it was something they were still trying to determine and suggested perhaps the committee be the ones to discuss and decide on an animal-by-animal basis.

“No, I don’t agree with that, and I’m going to tell you why,” Owens said. “We don’t have the experience, and it is not our area of expertise to be doing that.”

Bell expressed reluctance to place it squarely on the employees of the shelter, as the task is a difficult one, especially for those who may have forged bonds with the animals while caring for them.

“I don’t want to put that on Brandi or anyone else down there,” Bell said. “It’s not right for anyone to have to step up and say ‘Oh, this dog right here’ — I don’t want to put anyone in that position. No one wants it on them, but that is the uncomfortable situation that we’re faced with. People can’t take care of their animals and that has landed us here.”

The committee suggested keeping track of details such as animals who have been there the longest and whose behavior had been affected grievously by captivity and were no longer candidates for adoption. Due to the limitations on the shelter’s capacity and the effect long-term captivity in a shelter setting has on animals, the committee felt it was neither realistic nor ethical to keep such pets indefinitely.

“In the past, we’ve had directors that actually euthanized,” Wilcher said. “And then we’ve had them take them to be euthanized. They made the call based on the history and all that, we weren’t involved.”

Ultimately, the committee was unable to decide on criteria and opted to table it for a future meeting where WCACAC Manager Brandi Harville could be in attendance to discuss the matter as well.

WCACAC has no plans to euthanize animals for space and maintains its qualification as a no-kill shelter, which means it has at least a 90% placement rate for the animals in its care. For the month of February, 19 animals were adopted into new homes and a free adoption event is currently taking place.