GUY — The man spearheading the construction of an animal shelter in Guy is adamant that recent vandalism won’t stop the project from going forward.
Steve Martin, chief financial officer for the Central Arkansas Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the 4,000-square-foot, $350,000 facility was about a month away from opening.
When volunteers went to work Monday, he said, they found that someone had kicked in the front door and done extensive damage to the main building, which he calls the kennel, at 18 Five Star Ranch Road.
Martin said the insurance adjuster’s preliminary damage estimates are $180,000 to $250,000.
“Somebody went in there and cut every piece of wiring in the building they could possibly get to,” Martin said.
Vandals spray-painted the rough log walls, which were going to be varnished.
Insulation was ripped out, and where the block layers were working, the vandals tore down the kennels and took a sledgehammer to all of the two-by-fours, he said.
“The two walls most exposed are load-bearing walls of the kennel, which is making the whole building drop,” he said.
A second building, to be used for isolation of animals, has been framed and was not bothered, Martin said.
In December, construction suffered a setback when vandals caused an estimated $16,000 worth of damage.
“I take this as a personal vendetta to what we’re doing and to me,” Martin said. “It would have been much easier to accept if they had just gone over there and burned it down. Then we wouldn’t have to see it.
“Sheriff ’s deputies came out Monday morning when we discovered it. They’re limited to what they can do since they didn’t find [the vandals] in the act.”
Faulkner County Sheriff Karl Byrd said, “It’s just like any other crime. We don’t condone anything. We’ll do anything we can to find out who did this.”
Martin said, “This right here, I can see it setting us back three months, if not more.”
He said he doesn’t know who would want to tear down the facility.
After the first incidence of vandalism, a security camera was installed. During the recent incident, the security camera was taken.
The Guy facility is designed to hold about 50 dogs and cats, plus horses, Martin said. The cats are at a shelter in Lonoke County.
He said the shelter will have a 30-day hold for animals, and every effort will be made to adopt out the animals.
Martin, who also is a builder, said he’s had a passion for animals all his life.
“I felt strongly my whole life about animals - it’s something that if you got it, you understand it; if you don’t, a person will never understand it,” he said.
He moved to Faulkner County about two years ago from Mississippi.
He said he got involved with the Central Arkansas Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals after meeting its president, Karen Stone of Jacksonville. The organization is not affiliated with the Faulkner County SPCA.
Martin said he and the volunteers will start over on the shelter as soon as they can.
“We’ve had structural engineers out there, and they said it was unsafe to go in,” Martin said. “Right now, we’re waiting on the insurance to see what they want to do.”
Martin said fundraising for the shelter has been slow. Chances are now being sold on a new car to continue bringing in funds for the project. More information is available on the organization’s website, www.centralarkansasspca.org.
“We need help from people, sad to say, because there’s going to be a lot of extra expense to start back just what we’ve been doing,” he said.
Martin said the vandalism just makes him more determined to see the project finalized.
“We’re not giving up,” he said. “All this does is just make us a little bit smarter.
“It’s going to be open. It will be open. If I live to be 100 and I’m still working out there, it’s going to be open.”
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.
River Valley Ozark, Pages 141 on 05/06/2012