by Bill O'Malley
Contributing writer
At its meeting Tuesday night, Parkville’s
Board of Aldermen never relented from its unwavering
support of Police Chief Bill Hudson’s decision
to order that a dog that attacked an 8-year-old
girl on Oct. 2 be removed from Parkville.
Mickey and Linda Guthrie petitioned the board
in an appeal of Hudson’s decision. Fighting
back tears, Linda Guthrie pleaded with the board
to allow them to keep the dog until she had her
hip replacement surgery, scheduled for Dec. 2,
and the couple is able to find a new home outside
of the city limits.
Guthrie argued that the incident was the result
of a bizarre set of circumstances and that they
could assure that it would never happen again.
They purchased a 7 foot fence and offered to never
allow the dog to go into the fenced area without
their constant supervision. She indicated that
she believed that the mother of the girl would
support their appeal.
Mrs. Guthrie said that the dog is docile and
has “never shown any aggression toward anyone.”
She added “We always thought that if someone
came into our yard that he'd lick them to death.”
Alderman Jack Friedman said that he had a unique
insight into the incident as he knows the people
who saved the girl from the attack. He said that
they told him two important things: First, the
dog was docile. But, second, the dog went after
the girl again every time that they moved away
from her. He insisted “If James and Brian
had not driven up at this time, it wouldn’t
have been over.”
Hudson cited “City ordinance gives me the
authority to ask for the removal of any dog from
Parkville that is a danger. I’m not saying
that it’s a bad dog, but it’s a dangerous
animal.”
The board unanimously backed Hudson’s decision
and suggested that the city could be liable if
there was a future attack. Alderman David Rittman
said “We have been elected to protect the
city. We’re very lucky that this little girl
is alive and nothing less than that is factual.”
Rittman showed pictures of the girl's injuries
to the couple.
The order means the couple will have 48 hours
to remove the dog from the city limits.
Hudson and the entire board expressed sympathy
for the couple’s plight. Mayor Dusenbery
and several aldermen said that they hoped that
the couple would remain in Parkville.
The board approved Park University’s request
to conduct a private, managed deer hunt on its
land in Parkville. The dates for the hunt will
be Dec. 19-22, 2004, Dec. 26-30, and Jan. 2-5,
2005. The hours of the hunt will be from one half
hour before sunrise to one half hour after sunset
each day.
Anna Jaffe and Mike Horine, representing Curious
Eye Productions, updated the city on improvements
that are being made to Parkville’s cable
access channel, Channel 2. Improvements have already
been made to advance the station’s programming
and transmission.
The board applauded their accomplishments and
thanked them for being a wise steward of the taxpayer’s
money. Dusenbery said “They are being very
modest about what they’ve accomplished.”
Consent was given by the aldermen to authorize
the mayor to enter into a contract with Williams
Spurgeon Kuhl & Freshnock Architects, Inc.
(WSK & F) for improvements at city hall. The
approved contract was for $13,500. It is only
one stage of the scheduled city hall improvements.
The board also passed an ordinance covering an
agreement for $467,000 with Wolf Construction
for improvements at the McAfee Pump Station.
Aldermen approved the purchase of a new F-350
truck to assist in snow removal from Thoroughbred
Ford, Inc. for $20,779.18 and a snow plow from
Kranz of Kansas City for $7,402.00. The quote
from Thoroughbred Ford was the lowest of the three
bids that the city received. Bill Woods Ford bid
$21,155.18. Metro Ford submitted a bid for $29,572.65.
Alderman Rittman abstained from voting on the
purchase of the truck. While he indicated that
he would receive no financial remuneration for
the purchase, Rittman said that he did not feel
that it was appropriate for him to vote on the
ordinance as he is employed with the dealership.
The city also approved several community development
projects, including Lake Pointe Professional Center
and two final plats for new development at the
National.
Parkville’s next board of aldermen meeting
will be held on November 2 at 7 pm.
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