Published: May 11, 2008 11:42 pm      

Lawrence County animal walk a success

Louisa — Friends of animals in Lawrence County say they are pleased with their first Walk for the Animals in Louisa, and with the announcement the local shelter will soon receive thousands of dollars to expand, renovate and improve facilities.

State Rep. Rocky Adkins said the Lawrence County Humane Society will get a check for $75,000 after July 1.

“They are a great organization and they run a first-class animal shelter there in Lawrence County that also takes animals from other counties,” Adkins said, explaining he initially learned about the organization during an open house event last fall.

“With this funding they convinced me they can do a lot more than they are even doing now. They are a group of volunteers who take pride in what they’re doing.”

Adkins made a point to say the $75,000 “did not come from the general fund,” and was generated by Lawrence County’s coal severance tax funds.

Organizers said the recent Walk for the Animals was a definite success.

“We had over 60 registered participants for the walk, and there was at least half that many dogs accompanying their owners. The overwhelming enthusiasm of the participants to collect money from sponsors resulted in a great amount of money to be collected for the animal shelter,” said organizer and shelter volunteer Beverly Pack.

“And, of course, the announcement that Rocky made was purely icing on the cake and will make our dream become a reality to expand the shelter. In addition to Rocky, Mayor Teddy Preston was present and made a few comments and then he led the walkers as they proceeded out of the Main Street Park and onto the walk route,” she said.

The first-place prize for the one who raised the most money went to Sheila Castle, who raised $530, and second place went to Betty Lou Ball, with $370.

“We had many more participants who raised over $100 each,” Pack said.

TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2651.