Washington’s K-9 officer retires
The city of Washington has retired its K-9 officer.
At Thursday’s meeting, council voted to accept the retirement of K-9 Tony, effective Jan. 1, after eight years of service to the city.
“He served the city for eight years with honor,” said Mayor JoJo Burgess, who added that the city is looking into getting another K-9 officer. “Me and the chief are looking at ways to ensure that we have one here.”
In corresponding moves, council voted to transfer ownership of K-9 Tony from the city to Matthew Karlowsky, Tony’s K-9 handler, and to place the K-9 vehicle (a 2013 Ford Explorer) on public surplus online auction.
Burgess also said there have been complaints about the city’s sanitation hauler, Big’s Sanitation, on social media. A representative of the company was available for questions at Thursday’s meeting, but Burgess said no one posed a question concerning sanitation.
“Complaining on social media doesn’t get anything done,” Burgess said. “We don’t respond to that. We respond to calls and emails. We had Big’s Sanitation at the meeting to answer questions, and nobody showed up.”
Burgess said if people have complaints about their trash pickup, they can call 724-223-4030 or contact him at 724-223-1380 or mayor@washingtonpa.us.