Humane Society of Logan County turns soil on new building project

 

[May 12, 2023] 

Thursday afternoon the Humane Society of Logan County celebrated achieving the first milestone of the new building addition that has been in the works for the last several months.

Lynnette Maske and other board members hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on the side of the new building. Before turning the first soil, she noted that the building was to be a new isolation room that will be dedicated to dogs. She said currently the dogs are in the main building, but when the new building is completed that old isolation area will be dedicated exclusively to cats and kittens.

Each pet that comes into the HSLC has to be put into isolation for two weeks. This gives the shelter time to determine if the animal is coming in with a sickness that could be spread to other animals, and if yes, act accordingly.

Maske said that with the new addition, the HSLC will be able to take more animals because it will have the capacity to provide that isolation.

Maske called out specifically Jeff Short who was next to her with shovel in hand, saying that he would be the overseer of the project. She noted that Jeff and Brenda have been very helpful in getting the project off the ground.

Other board members with shovels included Judy Conzo, Judy Hale, Kay Armbruster, Brenda Short, Marilyn Wheat and Dan Wheat.

Standing left to right:  Judy Conzo, Chuck Conzo,
Judy Hale, Peggy Bateman, Kay Armbruster,
 Jeff Short, Lynette Maske, Brenda Short,
Marilyn Wheat and Dan Wheat

For the official photo of the event, the members were joined by Lincoln City Treasurer Chuck Conzo, Lincoln City Clerk Peggy Bateman, two of the HSLC volunteers and Gizmo and Leah.

Gizmo is a playful ambitious dog that was excited about being around people and about playing and rolling in the grass. An interesting fact about Gizmo is that she is going to behavior training at the Lincoln Correctional Center in Lincoln. The women's prison has a program where that inmates train dogs and work with them to become comfort dogs, or just better citizens.

Leah is the fuzzball calico kitten being held by Armbruster. Leah is named after Princess Leah in Star Wars. On Thursday she had just come from the veterinarian's office where she had been spayed. She was a little bit anxious about her traumatic day, but seemed to enjoy all the attention she was getting from those attending the groundbreaking.

After the photo, the board members each turned a few shovels of dirt.

Maske said that the HSLC has been working hard on their fundraising and now have what then need to complete stage one of the building process. That will include the foundation and construction of the shell of the building.

She added that there will be more fundraising and also there are grants that have been applied for that they are hoping they will receive in order to move into stage two of construction. She added that stage two will be the final stage so once completed, then the building will be ready for use by incoming dogs.

Anyone who is interested in supporting this effort by the HSLC is encouraged to do. You may donate funds to the organization via their website at Home | Humane Society of Logan County, Illinois (hslclincoln.org). When you arrive at the website click on the link to the Shelter Expansion. Scroll down and you will find a location to donate specifically to the building project.

Maske said that when the building is completed, the public will be invited to a ribbon cutting ceremony in celebration.

[Nila Smith]