It’s a problem that clearly worries Coal Grove Mayor Tom McKnight: loose dogs running the streets. By law, dogs must be on leash or confined to their owners’ yards.

&uot;We’ve got dogs, two or three, running loose all over the place. It’s a terrible problem,&uot; McKnight said. &uot;We don’t want to wait until someone is seriously hurt.&uot;

Last Thursday evening, council gave first reading to a resolution to enter into an agreement with the city of Ironton for animal control service.

Under the agreement, the village would pay the Ironton animal control officer $12 an hour to apprehend the loose canines, with a minimum of two hours charged for each callout.

&uot;That’s as cheap a rate as I’ve seen,&uot; McKnight said. &uot;And I think after he makes a couple of trips up here, you’ll see a big differences.&uot;

By law, the county must provide animal control service. But McKnight concedes this is a hard job for a county the size of Lawrence.

McKnight had wanted the council to declare an emergency at last week’s meeting, suspend the rules and give the resolution the required second and third readings for it to take effect immediately.

The motion to suspend the rules failed when council members Kenneth Pyles and Phillip Roush voted against it.

Roush said the village had sent the county a letter asking if they intended to provide animal control service to Coal Grove.

&uot;We sent them a letter and I don’t know if we’ve gotten a response or not.&uot;

Roush also said he had checked out the situation and isn’t sure the issue of dogs running loose is a big problem.

McKnight said he may bring up the matter again at this evening’s special meeting, called to discuss general village business. The meeting is at 7 at the village hall on Carlton-Davidson lane. Teresa Moore/The Ironton Tribune