Feral cats a nuisance: Jackpot to try spay/neuter service

JACKPOT - The feral cat population in this border town has become a problem.

Elko County Animal Control Officer Connie Manley thinks she's found the solution.

She received permission from the Jackpot Advisory Board last week to allow the Alley Cat Allies organization, through the Humane Society, to bring a mobile spay/neuter clinic to the community.

An Alley Cat Allies team would come to Jackpot to trap, spay or neuter and then release the cats. They'll arrive in the fall or next spring.

Manley explained that colonies of feral cats establish territories around food sources, such as trash bins. If the cats are removed from the area another colony will just move in, she said. If the cats are all neutered and allowed to remain, however, they will keep other cats away and at the same time stop reproducing.

The mobile clinic proposal raised a few concerns among members of the advisory board, a governing body akin to a city council that makes recommendations to the Elko County Commission.

Board member Brad Hester, who's also a sheriff's deputy, said trapping feral cats in the past has never worked. He said people destroy the traps because they're afraid the cats are going to be killed.

Manley said the Alley Cat Allies workers would only euthanize very sick cats. The rest would be returned to the area where they were captured.

She said the key to making the program work is to educate the public on what's taking place.

"It curtails a lot of problems when you do this," Manley said.

All of the clinic's services would be free, Manley said. The only things Alley Cat Allies personnel ask for are a place to sleep and meals.

The program is a training ground for veterinarians. Manley said there usually are a couple of qualified veterinarians with the clinic while the other volunteers are advanced students.

Since there is not a veterinarian in Jackpot, the group could vaccinate, spay and neuter residents' domesticated pets, too, Manley said.

Other Jackpot Advisory Board business included:

Road construction - Elko County Public Works Supervisor Lynn Forsberg said the Nevada Department of Transportation wants to do some major road work on Highway 93 through Jackpot. The department wants the highway to be four lanes through town from Poker Street to the Spanish Garden RV Park on Gurley.

"The best thing to do for economic development is to put in five lanes through Jackpot," he said.

Airport work - Forsberg said the project for improving the airport return runway has been put out to bid. He said the bids will be opened July 1 and awarded July 7. Construction is expected to take 90 days.

Power problems - Officials with the Raft River Rural Electric Co-op and Idaho Power Co. offered their apologies to Jackpot residents. Residents had been informed last month that power would be cut on May 18 and May 24 for short periods of time. Power remained on May 18 but went out May 19.

Hank Williams, a spokesman for Idaho Power, said the mix-up was a result of miscommunication.

Perry Van Patten, Idaho Power's southern region manager, also apologized for the June 2 power outage, which lasted for about five hours.

He said somebody had shot and weakened a phase conductor near Thousand Springs.

"It appeared to me it was shot a while back and ultimately fell apart," Van Patten said.