Director of planning and inspections, Steve White, has added more to his list of responsibilities, he is now head honcho at the Animal Shelter. He has experience with animal facilities from when he was the director of public works in Crossett, AR. He was in charge of the Crossland Zoo and its 50 different types of animals.

Crossland Zoo has exotic animals as well as domestic.

Llamas at Crossland Zoo.

In another cost cutting move, the POA board decided to stretch director of planning and inspections, Steve White's, job duties to include directing the Village animal shelter.

White came to the Village in 2005.

From 2000 to 2005 White was the director of public works for Crossett, Arkansas. While there he paved over $12 million worth of streets, improved the water capacity, built a senior citizens facility and re-built it after it was destroyed in a fire, oversaw a sports complex with eight ball fields, installed two EPA cameras around the town's city limits to discourage illegal dumping and was administrator of the Crossland Zoo.

The Crossland Zoo is one of two licensed zoos in the state. It is the only free zoo in the state. White wrote several grants while administering the zoo. Only two were turned back for a re-write, all were approved.

Crossett is only eight miles from the Louisiana border and a free zoo got lots of visitors from both states.

The zoo had a budget of $250,000, only $100,000 came from the city budget. The rest of the funds were from donations. The zoo has 51 acres of ponds, two walking and biking trails. There are more than 50 different types of animals, birds and reptiles. The zoo also offers educational programs.

The zoo is family friendly with a huge playground area and a fishing pier. It is a combination park and zoo.

White said he loved being affiliated with the Crossland Zoo. He said the zoo would get several animals on loan by trading offspring of the zoo's animals. He remembers a male and female cougar, bears, tigers, lynx, lemurs and cranes. He said it was a real hands on experience he cherishes. He remembers bottle feeding some of the baby animals.

As head of the animal shelter White will direct the two existing animal control employees. They are no longer answering to the public safety department.

While in Crossett, White also built an animal shelter. He has direct hands on experience with animals, grant writing and fund raising.

White is looking forward to the new challenge of heading up the Village's animal control/animal shelter facilities.