A summer internship program coordinated by ISU Extension & Outreach in Greene County will not only benefit the five college students selected for the program, but it will also benefit residents in the county towns, particularly Grand Junction, that have seen an increase in animal control problems.
Garrett Riedesel, a student at Iowa State University and a part-time Greene County jailer, is one of the students selected for the program. In addition to his jailer shifts, he’ll work another 20 hours a week for the sheriff’s office as an animal control officer.
Funding through the Iowa Microenterprise Assistance Program covers an hourly wage of $8 for the interns. The Greene County board of supervisors at its regular meeting Tuesday approved the county funding an additional $2 an hour for the eight weeks Riedesel will be in the internship program. (Employers hosting intern also pay the student’s employment taxes.)
Sheriff Steve Haupert has had many conversations with the supervisors in recent months about the increasing burden enforcing animal control ordinances in the county’s towns is putting on the sheriff’s office. The 28E agreements the towns have with the sheriff’s office oblige the deputies to deal with dog bite incidents, dogs running at large, and even barking dog complaints. Grand Junction mayor Jerry Herrick has also spoken with the supervisors about a perceived lack of enforcement in his town.
Riedesel, as animal control officer, will respond to calls of dogs running at large and determine if the dogs meet the town’s licensing requirements. Riedesel will have the authority to write citations on violations of local ordinances in each town. He will be accompanied by a deputy when possible. He will be in a uniform marked as “Greene County animal control” and will drive a county vehicle. He will not be armed.
“It’s a good way to start exploring the animal issue,” board chair John Muir said.
