A Simpson Short...and Western Trib Column

Today is too busy and I don't have much time, so it's Tribune column day. These columns as posted here are not always word for word as to what is in the paper, because of editing and such. Then there's a little Simpson's info following the column.



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To my knowledge there has been no response from the city regarding the animal abuse that has occurred in our animal control facility following the story and picture of the burned dog in this paper. The paper reported that the mayor claimed the city does not have an animal problem.

That is true. The animals are not the problem. The problem is with the people who own them and some of the people who are mandated to provide care and shelter for them when they are taken in by the city.

State law requires that the city provide animal control, and there are standards that must be followed. The City of Bessemer is not following these standards both in the care it provides for animals and in the dispensation of animals (whether it is euthanasia or adoption). This is not only a dog health issue; it is a human public health issue.

Last year this was brought to the attention of the Mayor and each city council member by way of a letter from the executive director of the Greater Birmingham Humane Society delivered to each in November. In addition, a plan of action was presented that would have gotten Bessemer on track to correct its problems. The letter was ignored. The director never got a response.

One recommended action was to utilize the services of Kim Staton, a consultant with “Animal Welfare Consultations.” She will visit, assess, and make very specific recommendations to correct the array of problems currently in place. The Humane Society noted in the letter that the fee charged by Ms. Staton was equal to the dollar amount discounted Bessemer by the society for services performed between June 2006 until September 2006, about $7,000. In essence, the Greater Birmingham Humane Society would have paid for the service, and Bessemer would reap the benefits for free.

The Bessemer Neighborhood Association and others are not going to be satisfied with a response of “We can take care of this” because the city has had plenty of opportunity and has not taken care of it. The only acceptable solution is to hire Ms. Staton or a similar outside consultant to evaluate our situation and provide a plan. Any other response reeks of attempting to hide the truth and we as citizens have grown tired of that.



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Bart Simpson will hit the Silver Screen all over the country this weekend, but what about Nancy Cartwright?



She is forty nine years old and has been the voice of Bart Simpson since his small screen debut 20 years ago ( in a tv short, the series is just 18 years old).



For the short she was called in to read for Lisa, but like Bart's "devious, school hating, irreverent" characteristics and chose that part instead.

She gets a six figure paycheck for each episode (which takes about 6 hours of work for her each week). It's good work if you can get it.


She's a student of scientology...didn't Bart take on that cult once? I wonder what she thought of that.

Anyway...go see the movie.