thedrifter
01-19-09, 06:25 AM
dailypress.com
Board will decide the future of K-9 kennel's bid for property
The county Planning Commission recommended denial of the American K-9's request to purchase property.
By Allison T. Williams
247-4535
January 19, 2009
The Isle of Wight Board of Supervisors is poised to make a decision Thursday that might determine whether a company that trains bomb- and drug-sniffing dogs for military deployment will remain in Isle of Wight County.
American K-9 Interdiction LLC, the country's only private company that trains dogs for the Department of Defense, has based its operation from a rented kennel in Carrollton for the past three years. But with encroaching development in the county's northern end and the rapid growth of their company, American K-9 owners Paul Roushia and Nigel Rhodes have been on the lookout for a more rural site to expand their business.
They thought they had found the perfect site —70 acres outside Zuni, much of which is heavily wooded and has the rolling topography needed for training.
If county leaders give the green light this week, American K-9 will buy the property and invest an estimated $1 million into building 200 kennels, a 6,000-square-foot administration building and warehouse, a 24-room bunkhouse, a 30-vehicle parking lot and an obstacle course on 32 acres. The remainder of the property will act as a buffer zone.
The Isle of Wight Planning Commission recommended denial of the company's request at its Dec. 23 meeting, citing safety concerns voiced by a church that hopes to build on adjacent property.
Some planners also opposed the bunkhouse, where military members who come for six weeks of on-site training with their dogs will stay. Having an on-site facility for people to live is a requirement for many of the Army contracts that American K-9 hope to win, Roushia said.
Roushia is hopeful that the Board of Supervisors will support his firm's efforts to grow. He would like board members to take advantage of his invitation to visit the kennels in Carrollton before Thursday, to take time to see the 74 dogs that American K-9 is training for deployment to Iraq with the U.S. Marines.
The dogs — working breeds including Dutch shepherds, Belgian malinois, golden retrievers, Labrador retrievers and German shepherds — are trained to detect improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, planted by insurgents to kill U.S. troops, Roushia said. Dogs can be taught to detect five narcotic odors and 23 explosives odors.
American K-9 trainers, who all have military backgrounds, spend eight hours a day in the field training the dogs at remote sites around the region, regardless of weather. Trainers take the dogs, who are trained on voice and hand commands, to expose them to an array of conditions and sounds they might encounter in other parts of the world.
On a recent sunny day, in the woods and fields behind the proposed Benn's Grant development, Roushia and his trainers put Dutch through her paces. One moment, the dog is relaxed, tail wagging as she noses around to find someone to rub her ears. An instant later, with a single command, Dutch is on the job, scouring an area the length of two football fields until she finds explosives that her trainers had hidden. During another exercise, Dutch, on command, lunges through the window of a pickup truck to stop the "enemy" — trainer Tony Mazzola, who is wearing a protective training device on his left arm designed to absorb dog bites. The dogs are trained in sites around southeastern Virginia — open fields and woodlands, inside high school buildings at night, in vacant buildings that might prepare them for urban warfare. The dogs also spend 45 minutes a day running on treadmills and at night, listen to hours of sound bytes from war movies, such as "Saving Private Ryan," at 130 decibels to get them comfortable around combat sounds.
The company, which has a $4.3 million contract with the federal government now, experienced a growth rate of over 1,000 percent last year, Roushia said. The company employs 40 full-time workers, just hired five new trainers last week and pumps an estimated $200,000 monthly into the local economy through apartment rents, motels, meals and shopping. If the Board of Supervisors doesn't give the green light to the kennel expansion, Roushia isn't sure what the company will do.
Board meeting
The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing at its meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at the county courthouse.
A vote is likely to be taken that night.
Ellie
Board will decide the future of K-9 kennel's bid for property
The county Planning Commission recommended denial of the American K-9's request to purchase property.
By Allison T. Williams
247-4535
January 19, 2009
The Isle of Wight Board of Supervisors is poised to make a decision Thursday that might determine whether a company that trains bomb- and drug-sniffing dogs for military deployment will remain in Isle of Wight County.
American K-9 Interdiction LLC, the country's only private company that trains dogs for the Department of Defense, has based its operation from a rented kennel in Carrollton for the past three years. But with encroaching development in the county's northern end and the rapid growth of their company, American K-9 owners Paul Roushia and Nigel Rhodes have been on the lookout for a more rural site to expand their business.
They thought they had found the perfect site —70 acres outside Zuni, much of which is heavily wooded and has the rolling topography needed for training.
If county leaders give the green light this week, American K-9 will buy the property and invest an estimated $1 million into building 200 kennels, a 6,000-square-foot administration building and warehouse, a 24-room bunkhouse, a 30-vehicle parking lot and an obstacle course on 32 acres. The remainder of the property will act as a buffer zone.
The Isle of Wight Planning Commission recommended denial of the company's request at its Dec. 23 meeting, citing safety concerns voiced by a church that hopes to build on adjacent property.
Some planners also opposed the bunkhouse, where military members who come for six weeks of on-site training with their dogs will stay. Having an on-site facility for people to live is a requirement for many of the Army contracts that American K-9 hope to win, Roushia said.
Roushia is hopeful that the Board of Supervisors will support his firm's efforts to grow. He would like board members to take advantage of his invitation to visit the kennels in Carrollton before Thursday, to take time to see the 74 dogs that American K-9 is training for deployment to Iraq with the U.S. Marines.
The dogs — working breeds including Dutch shepherds, Belgian malinois, golden retrievers, Labrador retrievers and German shepherds — are trained to detect improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, planted by insurgents to kill U.S. troops, Roushia said. Dogs can be taught to detect five narcotic odors and 23 explosives odors.
American K-9 trainers, who all have military backgrounds, spend eight hours a day in the field training the dogs at remote sites around the region, regardless of weather. Trainers take the dogs, who are trained on voice and hand commands, to expose them to an array of conditions and sounds they might encounter in other parts of the world.
On a recent sunny day, in the woods and fields behind the proposed Benn's Grant development, Roushia and his trainers put Dutch through her paces. One moment, the dog is relaxed, tail wagging as she noses around to find someone to rub her ears. An instant later, with a single command, Dutch is on the job, scouring an area the length of two football fields until she finds explosives that her trainers had hidden. During another exercise, Dutch, on command, lunges through the window of a pickup truck to stop the "enemy" — trainer Tony Mazzola, who is wearing a protective training device on his left arm designed to absorb dog bites. The dogs are trained in sites around southeastern Virginia — open fields and woodlands, inside high school buildings at night, in vacant buildings that might prepare them for urban warfare. The dogs also spend 45 minutes a day running on treadmills and at night, listen to hours of sound bytes from war movies, such as "Saving Private Ryan," at 130 decibels to get them comfortable around combat sounds.
The company, which has a $4.3 million contract with the federal government now, experienced a growth rate of over 1,000 percent last year, Roushia said. The company employs 40 full-time workers, just hired five new trainers last week and pumps an estimated $200,000 monthly into the local economy through apartment rents, motels, meals and shopping. If the Board of Supervisors doesn't give the green light to the kennel expansion, Roushia isn't sure what the company will do.
Board meeting
The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing at its meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at the county courthouse.
A vote is likely to be taken that night.
Ellie