During its regular meeting, the Starkville Board of Aldermen passed by a 6-1 vote a proposal to temporarily ban pets – essentially dogs – from its three public cemeteries.
That temporary ban is likely to become permanent through an amendment to the city’s current ordinance, but was put into place on a temporary basis when the board’s attorney, Chris Latimer, said two public hearings are required before the city can make that move.
The lone dissenting voice on the board was that of Jason Walker, who said that he favors less stringent approach, including posting signs to remind pet owners to pick up after their pets and providing more trash receptacles for cemetery grounds.
It is an issue that has been a topic of conversations for several months now. Most, if not all of the complaints have focused on Oddfellows Cemetery, which is located along University Avenue, near the bustling Cotton District.
While we believe that banning pets from all cemeteries might be a step too far, we agree that banning pets at this cemetery in a neighborhood densely populated with pets (and their owners) is a reasonable restriction.
It should also be noted that the city has a better option for pets at nearby Moncrief Dog Park.
For those reasons, we believe it is reasonable that the city ban pets from the Oddfellows Cemetery grounds.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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