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To the Editor:
The several dozen kittens and puppies at the Shelter, fearing they are on the road to Shelter Hell, asked me to represent their voices pro bono; no human has had input.
I attended the Carter County Commission’s budget committee meeting and at this Commissioner “Ebenezer” Bailey claimed he and 19 other Grinch commissioners voted for forcing the Shelter into a “501” charity in lieu of some, or a lot — it’s not clear — county funding. Plus, animal control and protection were dumped on ECCAS this year by the Commission, but the cheapskates cannot afford a truck. Bah humbug! 
Yet, the commissioners, while swinging the mighty budget ax, protest too much about receiving voter calls expressing opposition while ignoring the Animal Control Board’s opposition. 
The polls are so misunderstood!  Or too well understood — we need the ghost of Christmas past.
No commissioner cared to address my comment that if the commissioners think a 501(C)(3) is a viable idea, why don’t they find key donors — first — to make leadership donations to prove that such a charity is viable in Carter County? I heard crickets. The Star should ask, and I challenge each commissioner to state, the amount of time, and the amount of donation, they made to ECCAS in 2020, so the public can see you aren’t hypocrites.  (Full disclosure, I’ve donated $600 this year).
 The Animal Control Board is composed of both city and county elected officials, equally, who are personally involved in managing Shelter as representatives of the City and County. The ACB needs to bill the governments proportionately for cost variables based on the source of the animal intakes, plus the fixed costs are a joint equal share. Keep it simple – and end micromanagement. The kittens and puppies will do the happy dance. Caring humans, too.

Jim Winchester
Elizabethton