Good-bye to K-9 Sasha

At Monday evening’s meeting of the Odessa Town Council, Town Marshal Brent Dell reported that K-9 officer Sasha had recently undergone additional and more thorough health testing and was found to have issues with her hips and spinal discs, as well as an incipient tooth abscess, that have rendered her unable to serve as a local drug dog. She will be returned to her former handler at the organization that donated her to the Odessa Town Marshal’s Office. That organization already has lined up two suitable homes in which she can live out her retirement years.

An organization called K-9 Northwest, which has already assisted the Odessa Town Marshal’s Office in obtaining needed equipment, will now also help the town in its search for a dog that has already completed all or most of the required training to become a drug-sniffing K-9 officer. Donations provided by the public to date will remain in a dedicated bank account maintained by the Odessa Chamber of Commerce to be used solely for additional training, equipment or housing for a healthy K-9 to take Sasha’s place as soon as possible.

Marshal Brent Dell told the council he has already had requests from other law enforcement agencies in the area to use the talents of the drug-sniffing dog in certain investigations. Therefore, the need for canine assistance certainly exists, and he and fellow Odessa officer Les Jimerson both wished to keep the momentum alive for having a drug-sniffing dog to aid law enforcement in the immediate area.

In other business, the council denied a homeowner’s request for a fence that exceeds the height restrictions as defined by town ordinances.

A request by the marshal’s office to increase the civil penalties that can be charged to town residents to bring those penalties more in line with those of other communities in the area was approved.

Marshal Brent Dell reported that his department has answered many serious calls over the past two weeks.

Owners of nuisance properties that have not complied with requests to clean up will now be receiving certified letters, the next step in the legal process.

The final day that the Odessa swimming pool will be open is Sunday, August 18.

Budget discussions for the coming year will begin September 4 at 6:30 p.m.

Steve Nelson of CenturyWest Engineering in Spokane reported on the roadway and water-line work currently under way in certain areas of town. He said the work is scheduled to be completed prior to this year’s Deutschesfest.