[Editor’s Note: Full disclosure … this one actually came from the world of Facebook

H ow

can the West Memphis School board just decide to change the school calendar? Where do they get the authority and how can we stop them? [Editor’s Note: Well, that’s actually what they are there for … to set school policy. That’s just how school board’s work. They are your elected representative, just like the city council or in Congress. That’s where they “get the authority” from … from you. As to how can you stop them? Well, you probably can’t. At least not this year. If you’re really serious about it, you will have the chance to vote in the upcoming school board elections on May 9. Of course, I should point out that there’s only one contested race on the ballot in West Memphis. Joyce Gray is being challenged by Angela Eason for her Zone 1 seat. The other seats are all uncontested. Would one change in the board’s membership be enough to change the board’s position on the school calendar? I don’t know, but there’s only one way to find out …] Can somebody please make this make sense! Our dogs have an invisible fence and $300 shock collars if they cross the invisible fence. They have never once gotten out of our yard nor do they bother ANYBODY and can only go up to five feet past the front of our house, yet west memphis animal shelter comes by and says they have to be on a leash still if you don’t have a real fence?!?! All because somebody complained about them being in their own yard. Also they are not outside dogs so they don’t stay outside but a few hours a day to run around and use the bathroom.

rather than over the Text the Times hotline. But I was curious as to what people thought about it, so here we are. My own personal experience with those collars and invisible “fences” is mixed. On one hand, there’s a dog at the end of the street where I live that is pretty “barky” and he comes after me every single time he sees me walking by … until he hits the perimeter of the invisible fence line, about three feet from the street. He has never once crossed it (doesn’t stop him from standing there barking his head off until I’m well down the road though). On the other hand, a few years ago, I saw a dog completely ignore the shock from his collar (which was strong enough to visibly shake him) just to get at another dog, which he then mauled pretty effectively. So, while I’m sure those invisible fences work very well most of the time, they are, in fact, decidedly not “fences,” in the eyes of the law. Those are made of wood, metal, and/or some other actual material that create an actual physical barrier … at least that’s the way I, and apparently city code, see it. Even if your dogs “never would hurt anyone,” you really never know]