OKTIBBEHA COUNTY – The county will begin paying Starkville Police Department to assist in animal control countywide.
During their regular meeting Oktibbeha supervisors unanimously approved a one-year agreement for SPD to provide animal control services to the county, which does not have its own dedicated animal control service.
Starkville Police Department will start receiving $100 for each animal control call in the county, a service the department previously covered as a professional courtesy, Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Maurice Johnson told The Dispatch.
SPD’s animal control unit already assists the sheriff’s office with calls involving animals that are too large, aggressive or sick to be placed in OCSO patrol cars, Johnson said.
OCSO will still handle any investigations related to animal control calls.
“We do that every once in a while (if) they need some help on something (or) we need help, but we discussed compensating them because we were taking them away from some of their duties, so compensation would only be right,” Johnson said.
Johnson added that on average, the sheriff’s office responds to one animal-related call each day, though not all require SPD assistance.
“A lot of times, (we’ve) just got to locate the owners,” Johnson said. “Some of them are just small pets, not vicious or anything like that. If we can’t locate the owner, we will just take them to the (Oktibbeha County Humane Society) ourselves.”
District 1 Supervisor Ben Carver called the agreement “a good deal” for the county.
“… This is something I didn’t know was that big of a problem until I got out there campaigning and got chased a few times myself,” Carver said during the meeting. “… Something’s got to be done.”
County residents should report loose or dangerous animals by calling 911. Sheriff’s deputies will respond first to investigate the situation and will contact SPD if an animal is too large or dangerous to take in themselves.
SPD did not respond to messages and calls from The Dispatch by press time Monday.
Safe room for Maben
The board also accepted a $1 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance program to fund construction of a safe room in Maben. The grant will cover 90% of the cost, with the county covering the remaining 10%.
The safe room, planned to be located on Second Avenue next to the Maben Public Library, will be the second one in the county. Emergency Management Agency Director Kristen Camapanella said the structure will be modeled after Starkville’s dome-shaped safe room on Lynn Lane, though it will sit at about half the size with a capacity for 784 people.
Community members can shelter in the safe room during emergencies, such as tornadoes or flash floods.
The $1 million will be awarded in two phases. The first phase, which costs $77,260, will cover designing and engineering. The county must pay that amount up front and will be reimbursed 90% once the phase is complete.
County Administrator Wayne Carpenter said the county will begin seeking bids for designers and engineers immediately. Plans must be finalized and submitted to FEMA by April of 2026, and Campanella hopes to see construction completed by April 2027.
“I think that everybody wants to protect the public and have a place to go,” Campanella said following Monday’s meeting. “Maben is so far out from major restaurants or hotels or anything like that, so if something significant happens in that community, this will provide them a place to be housed.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 47 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 47 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
