Issue 15 | March 10, 2023
Get Your St. Patrick's Day
Pot of Gold at Sumter County Adoption Event

The end of the rainbow can lead to Sumter County Animal Services, which is having a special adoption event tied to St. Patrick’s Day. “Get Your Pot of Gold on St. Pawtrick’s Day” runs until March 20.

With many dogs and cats available for adoption, finding your own pot of gold should be easy.

All adopted animals will be vaccinated, spayed or neutered, microchipped, and will have received heartworm and flea prevention while at the shelter. All Sumter County residents will receive a free County tag for their new pet!

One dog ready for adoption is Pogo, who has been at Sumter County Animal Services for more than a year. Pogo is a friendly, happy black mouth cur.

“He is a happy-go-lucky dog who loves to run and play,” said Dr. Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, SCAS Veterinarian. “Unfortunately, he has been with us at the shelter for over a year and a half. He loves to run, play with toys, and loves everyone at Animal Services. He can be a bit dog selective, but he would do wonderful as the only pet in the house.”

Come visit us and view our adoptable animals today. If you find an animal that you are interested in, please complete an online adoption or foster application, or come into the office and fill out a paper application. All adoptable animals are available on a first come, first served basis.

Ten Graduate from Sumter County Citizens Academy

Ten Sumter County residents graduated from the Citizens Academy at the February 28 Sumter County Board of Commissioners meeting. Ellen Decker, Larry Donnelly, Daniel Fort, Rick Gray, Bill Holstun, Walter and Chris Lamberti, Sandy Sakata, Harolyn Smith and Anthony Wooding attended all five of the Citizens Academy presentations.

The Citizens Academy consists of five half-day programs in which residents learn about all the different departments and agencies. They also get tours of facilities such as Animal Services, Public Works, the Library and more.
“I really enjoyed the entire program and will be recommending it to other neighbors,” said Rick Gray.

“Thank you for providing this opportunity for citizens and new residents in particular to learn about the services being carried out every day on our behalf,” said Harolyn Smith. “I am grateful for this opportunity and was quite impressed with the academy.”

Another graduate, Bill Holstun, said, “I believe the sessions were very good and exposed us to the heart of activities in Sumter County. I enjoyed the tours of the different facilities. The opportunity to meet the leaders of the county made the experience even better. I will share information with my neighbors and encourage them to attend one of the sessions.”

“All the presentations were superb. I literally can't think of a single thing I didn't like,” said Daniel Fort. “What I liked best was that the presentations were very detailed and were done by high level officials who answered every question we put to them. This shows that the Sumter County government views itself as a true servant of county residents.”

A new Citizens Academy begins Tuesday, April 11 at 1 p.m. Registration for the Spring session is nearly full, but the Academy is also offered beginning in August and again in October.
Fire Departments Train to be Ready
Sumter County Fire & EMS hosted a three-day special operations training event with Citrus County Fire Rescue and Hernando County Fire Rescue. These rescue agencies hold combined training annually in areas such as trench rescue, confined space rescue, hazardous materials, structural collapse and others. These low-frequency, high-risk calls can happen at any time, which require training in order to successfully handle the situation.

The agencies encountered three scenarios each day: trench, confined space and hazmat. Crews handled each scenario as if it was an actual emergency call and were not given advanced information regarding each call, according to Jeremy Feil, Division Chief of program management, Sumter County Fire & EMS. “It put crews and equipment to the test,” Feil said.

In the trench scenario, a subcontractor was digging to place a storage tank when one of the walls collapsed on a worker. In the confined space scenario, a worker was caught in a storage tank. In hazmat, workers noted “smoke” coming from a warehouse. Rather than a fire, it actually was a chemical leak. Each day, teams received training for each event. Crews rescued personnel as well as treating the incident.

“All three agencies worked seamlessly together,” Feil said.

The multi-agency training event has been so successful that representatives from each county is looking to make it a quarterly event.