Huntington to get $854,000 to help with homeless

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — Huntington is getting $854,000 in federal stimulus funds to help the homeless.

Rep. Nick Rahall said Monday that the money can be used to provide rental assistance, housing relocation and stabilization, credit counseling, mediation and other services.

Rahall says the funding released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is intended for short- and medium-term assistance.

W.Va. city kills anti-tethering proposal

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — A proposal to restrict the tethering of dogs that saw some protesters chain themselves to trees has been scrapped by Huntington City Council.

Councilman Jim Ritter, the sponsor of the measure, asked that it be tabled at a meeting on Monday, effectively killing the proposal.

Ritter says discussions with the city’s lawyer and a municipal judge convinced him that all the city’s animal cruelty ordinances are outdated and need to be revised as a group, rather than individually.

Some protesters, including City Councilwoman Rebecca Thacker, chained themselves to trees and a dog house last month to criticize the proposal for not being strong enough.