By VICKI URBANIK

The newly hired director of the Porter County Animal Shelter didn’t hesitate when asked if she plans to do anything different at the county department.

Jennifer Pierce, who has been an animal control officer for the past three and a half years before assuming the interim director’s post last month, said her top priority will be to re-establish the shelter’s reputation with the community, opening up communications and increasing awareness of what the shelter does.

“The shelter has taken some hits. Sadly, the actions of a few have cast a bad shadow,” she said. “We need to repair community relations ...We have nothing to hide. We want more people to know what we’re doing.”

The Porter County Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously hired Pierce, of Portage Township, as the new animal shelter director. They received about eight applicants.

Pierce takes over at the shelter following an animal neglect case that led to the resignations of director Sandy Ogle and Animal Welfare Board Member Bonnie Frye. One of Frye’s horses had to be euthanized due to its severe condition, and officials said other animals in Frye’s care were also in poor shape after being returned to her after earlier being placed in foster care. She has since been charged with 10 counts of animal neglect.

North Porter County Commissioner John Evans commended Pierce for her work assisting “in any and every way she could” in the past few weeks. He also commended members of the Animal Welfare Board for their role during a difficult period.

Pierce, who cleaned cages and volunteered at the shelter before she became an ACO, said historically, the shelter has not been very inviting to the public. She said that will change.

“We want people to know what we’re about, because then it can only help our animals,” she said.

She noted that many people have a misperception that ACOs are “cold-hearted” and punitive officers who ticket people, capture their dogs and euthanize animals. But, she said, ACOs have a much broader role, with duties that range from bandaging dogs hurt in car crashes and taking them to the veterinarian to giving pet care advice to residents to networking with rescue agencies.

Pierce said public safety will always be the shelter’s top priority, since the department must deal with cases like biting and roaming dogs. But equally important, she said, the agency must be an advocate for animals that are being neglected, such as horses left out in fields to starve or chained up dogs given no food or shelter.

She said it’s never been a problem for her to enforce laws while still looking out for the best interest of the animals. “What’s right for the animals tends to be right for the community,” she said.

In other matters Tuesday, the commissioners also approved a contract with the Mortensen CPA Group, at a rate of $150 per hour, to handle monthly accounting of the funds involving the sale of the former county hospital Porter. The county is still dealing with what’s known as trailing liabilities from the hospital sale, such as outstanding workers compensation claims and other expenses. County Attorney Gwenn Rinkenberger said the CPA group will supplement the county’s internal accounting of the funds to make sure that all claims paid out are justified.

An expense of about $14,000 for three employees to attend a training on the new Geographic Information Systems raised concerns for the commissioners, but they ended up approving the expenditure, which has already been budgeted as part of the GIS expenses.

South County Commissioner Carole Knoblock said the cost of the training seems too high, while Evans asked if the county could get a commitment from the GIS staffers that would guarantee that they will remain working for Porter County government for a set period. He said he would hate to spend that much money to train the employees, and then have them leave to go to work elsewhere.

But County Auditor Jim Kopp said the three-day training session is necessary in order for the GIS staff to know how to use the new system and enter and update data. The new computerized mapping program is expected to arrive in about a month or so, though Kopp said it will probably take a year or so for the system to become fully operational.

Also, the commissioners heard a request from a Chicago film and video producer who sought permission to use one of the courtrooms in the County Courthouse for a film in which a trial will be re-created. At County Commissioner President Robert Harper’s recommendation, the commissioners agreed to consult the judges first. Harper said the judges have some very specific feelings about cameras in the courtrooms and said they should be consulted, even if the filming will be done when the Courthouse is closed to the public.

Posted 3/19/2008