News Briefs

+ New animal license fees approved
In one of its final actions of 2011, the Sarasota County Commission approved a wide range of fees for various services and actions related to the work of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office’s Animal Control Department.

The new schedule was necessitated by changes in ordinances over the past few years, according to a memo prepared by Sheriff Tom Knight and John McCarthy, interim executive director of the county’s Community Services Department. No rates were increased.

The fees took effect at midnight Dec. 13.

The schedule includes the following fees for animal licenses and tags:

• For cats and dogs that have not been spayed or neutered: $25.

• For spayed or neutered cats or dogs: $10.

• For a replacement tag: $5.

• For annual registration of a dog certified as “dangerous”: $100.
The new schedule of civil penalties includes the following:

• Failure to vaccinate a dog, cat or ferret: $100 for a first offense; $200, second offense; and $300, third offense. (For the penalty to increase as indicated, second and third offenses must occur within 18 months of the previous offense, the ordinance notes.)

• Failure to obtain a license or tag for a dog or cat: $50, first offense; $100, second offense; and $200, third offense.

• Dog or cat wearing an expired tag: $50, first offense; $100, second offense; and $200, third offense.

• Dog or cat running at large: $50, first offense; $200, second offense; and mandatory court appearance for a third offense.

• Failure to confine or restrain a vicious animal or dangerous dog: $450 for a first offense; and mandatory court appearances for second and third offenses.

• Confinement of an animal in a vehicle: $100, first offense; $250, second offense; and $500, third offense.

+ Nominations sought for Keystone Awards
Nominations are being accepted for the 2012 Celebration of Hope Keystone Award presented by the Cancer Support Community Florida Suncoast. 

The annual award recognizes two exceptional individuals for their dedication and contribution to the local cancer community. One member of the medical profession and one lay person or organization will be honored during the Cancer Support Community’s annual Celebration of Hope dinner event, to be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 25, at Michael’s On East, Sarasota. 

The deadline for nominations is Monday, Feb. 6..

“The award winners embody the Cancer Support Community’s mission and spirit of helping people affected by cancer through hope, education and support,” a news release notes. 

Recipients of the award are chosen by a Cancer Support Community committee comprising members of the CSC Board of Trustees and representatives from hospitals in Sarasota and Manatee counties. All nominations are confidential and become the property of CSC. 

For information on how to nominate someone, visit  www.cancersupportsuncoast.org and click on the “Celebration of Hope Award,” then the “Nominate Now” tab.   

+ Desks for Success delivers 10 more desks
Just in time for Christmas, Desks for Success, a program designed to provide home desks to students in need, presented desks to 10 more students at three schools during a ceremony held at McIntosh Middle School.

Three McIntosh Middle School students — two seventh-graders and one sixth-grader — and seven fifth-grade students from Alta Vista and Fruitville elementary schools were selected to receive the desks, program founder Grier Ferguson announced.

The ceremony was held the last day of school before students’ two-week holiday break to emphasize the desks were gifts from community members, teachers and administrators, Ferguson said.

“After receiving several generous donations from individuals and organizations, it made sense to expand Desks for Success to fifth-graders who are about to make the sometimes challenging transition to middle school,” Ferguson said. “We hope these home desks will allow the students to develop or continue good study habits as they finish elementary school and get ready for the next step in their education. The principals and staff of the participating schools were excited about helping the program grow so we could reach more students.”

Students are selected to receive Desks for Success based on recommendations from teachers, administrators and guidance counselors at each school. “The decisions are made carefully and the process is confidential until the recipients are chosen,” Ferguson pointed out in a press release. Whenever possible, students in service organizations join school staff members in assembling the desks.

More information about Desks for Success is available at www.desksforsuccess.org or on the Desks for Success Facebook page. Interested parties also may call 726-7026 or send an email to [email protected]. Through mid-January, a donation may also be made to Desks for Success via the Gulf Coast Gives website at www.gulfcoastgives.org/projects/515. A $60 donation underwrites the cost of one home desk, but cash donations of any amount are welcome.

Meetings & agendas
• Siesta Key Association — 4:30 p.m. Jan. 5, St. Boniface Episcopal Church, Room F, 5615 Midnight Pass Road, Siesta Key.
• Environmentally Sensitive Lands Oversight Committee — 2:30 p.m. Jan. 5, Press Room, first floor, Administration Center, 1660 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota.
• County Commission — 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 9, Commission Chambers, R.L. Anderson Center, 4000 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 10, Commission Chambers, 1660 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota.