Police dog gets badge; zoning changes approved

April the bloodhound, now known as Kira, received her official police badge Tuesday night at the Cheney City Council meeting.

Police Chief Jeff Sale introduced Kira and her partner, Officer Zeb Campbell, to the council and explained that the 5-month-old puppy was donated by the sheriff’s department in Newberry, S.C.. The department is working on her training and she can already track people who have a 30-minute head start.

All of the council members got a chance to meet Kira while she bounded around the council chambers on her leash. City Administrator Arlene Fisher asked Campbell if she knew how to sit.

“She does not sit,” Campbell joked.

The badge was placed on Kira’s collar and she is now officially sworn in as a Cheney police officer.

In other business, the council approved two zoning changes within the city. The first, a property owned by the Cheney Care Center, was changed from general residential to multifamily residential.

The second is some property near Anderson Road owned by developer Steve Emtman. The council agreed to change the zoning from general residential to industrial, since the property sits in what as known as an “odor zone” of the wastewater treatment plant.

The council unanimously voted to change the zonings in these areas, with Tom Trulove abstaining from the vote, since he sits on the board of the care center.

The next council meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 22.