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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009 Nov 17 - Cape Cod Times Article�E &ISLANDS .s to eat in your ✓ at noon at TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2009 A3 Cape Cod Times Editor: Susan 1Lloeller, 508-862-1286 smoeller@capecodon line. coni Fax: 508-771-3292 INSIDE Obituaries /A6, A9, C5 Opinion /A10 Weather /B8 Yarmouthport market .gets to keep its dogs. Fur flies in an ensuing scrap over the health board meeting schedule. By PATRICK CASSIDY pcassidy@capecodonline.com SOUTH YARMOUTH - It was a packed house for yester- day's board of health meeting. But the more than 50 people in attendance did not stay for the conclusion of eight months of personal attacks between board members and wrangling over meeting times. They were there for the dogs. One after the other, neigh- bors and customers of theYar- mouthport Village Store rose to speak in favor of allowing 4 -year-old Max and his mother, 7 -year-old Phoebe, to stay in the quaint Route 6A store. "One of the things I like to do when I get back here is to go to the Yarmouthport Village Store," said Susan Nigro, who splits her time between Cape Cod and California. The problem: Food is served inside the daytime home of the two old English bulldogs, a health code violation that caused at least one person to complain to the health depart- ment. People who complained about the dogs' presence in the store should just go to another store, Nigro and others said. "These dogs to me are the canine ambassadors of good- will,"another man said."I think the board should show that it takes a village to raise a dog." The dogs are never allowed in areas where food is prepared, said Penny Sullivan, who owns the store, and the dogs, with her husband, Charlie. Elderly people and people with illnesses often come just to visit the dogs, she said. Other visitors come back year after year to visit, often making a beeline for the dogs, Penny Sullivan said. "To me that's what Cape Cod is," she said."It's the little memories." The board of health agreed, voting unanimously in favor, of a variance to allow the dogs in the store for at least one more year. The situation will then be reviewed and an exception may then be written into the Sullivans' license, but only for Max and Phoebe. "This is a special place and these apparently are very spe- cial creatures," said the health panel's chairman, Helen Shah. The Sullivans have owned the store for nine years and the show of support from the com- munity clearly moved them. "It feels great," Penny Sulli- van said after the meeting. But once the room emptied of the ardent dog lovers, leav- ing only a handful of audience members, the "great" feelings quickly dissipated. The health board has been embroiled in an ongoing dis- pute over when to hold meet- ings and other, more personal, conflicts since the spring. The ill feelings came to a head during a selectmen's meeting last month at which Tanya Daigneault was reap- pointed to the board of health. Faced with the imminent reorganization of its makeup, the board addressed the time of its meetings. William Snowden, whose appointment to the board in Max, left, and Phoebe will be allowed to continue on as goodwill ambassadors at the Yarmouthport Village Store now that the town board of health has given the store's owners a variance. February sparked the often - heated debate, argued that moving the meeting from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. would allow a more diverse membership. Board member Evelyn Hayes suggested that the meetings take place at 5 p.m., a move supported by Daigneault, who said she has consistently pushed for that hour. After Snowden withdrew his motion the board voted 4-1 in favor of the 5 p.m. meet- ing time. Immediately follow- ing the vote, Shah, who voted against the move, resigned from the board. "Despite character assassi- nations by a particular board member I was willing to remain," Shah said referring to Snowden and a tit-for-tat argu- ment between the two. "How- ever, I volunteered for a board that met in the afternoon." After the meeting Snowden countered that he had "at all times acted like a gentleman" and that Shah's departure was good for the board of health. "It would have been nice if she could have left without taking personal shots,"he said, adding that the board could now move on to addressing important business. After Shah's departure from the room Snowden moved that Brian Braginton-Smith be named chairman, a measure the remaining four, members approved. Daigneault was appointed vice chairman and Snowden was reappointed to be the board's clerk.