White County Executive Q4 Candidate Responses

The Main Street Journal – Sparta has been listening to the community. Over the past several weeks, readers have submitted questions they want answered ahead of the 2026 election—and we’ve taken those directly to your County Executive candidates.

Here is your fourth question, and answers from those candidates who chose to respond.

The White County Animal Shelter has morphed from being simply Animal Control, designed to house up to 16 dogs, to becoming a major source of concern for animal lovers and activists. No permanent location, lack of proper management, underfunding and other problems are the target of many citizens of the County.

a) What will you do to find a permanent home for the Shelter?

b) When will the Animal Shelter have full-time management, so as not to depend solely on volunteers for day-to-day operation?

c) Would you consider moving the control of the Animal Shelter to the County Sheriff department (to include handling calls of abuse, neglect)?

d) What are some paths that you will take to provide adequate funding to support the Animal Shelter?

e) Would you consider combining resources of both Sparta Animal Control and that of White County, to provide property, funding, resources and manpower?

DENNY WAYNE ROBINSON: I think we should explore creating a 501c or similar entity that can own and operate the Animal Shelter with support from White Countians. This seems to be the model that is in most used throughout the state. This model allows decisions to be made without the delays associated with the bureaucracy of committees and commissions which takes time.

KYLE GOFF: First, we will shift animal control under the Sheriff’s Office as Animal Control needs to be aligned with department that already responds to calls and make Animal Control Officer a post-certified officer who can issue citations. Then we will create a standalone Shelter Director: a dedicated Shelter Director manages the shelter, volunteers, adoptions, outreach, intake, and operations. I will work diligently with Waste Management to buy-back the property the shelter currently sits on. The rumored Highway 70 location is not suitable for a county shelter: It sits where the fireworks show happens and is surrounded by youth sports traffic and noise. It is a stressful, chaotic environment for animals.

Additionally, we will establish job descriptions, SOPs, documentation, and volunteer vetting. Right now, none of these things exist. Currently, the county does nothing to help with adoption events, marketing, social media, etc. so creating a county-supported adoption marketing plan will be crucial.

A long term vision would be to transition to a 501(c)(3) board to manage the shelter. This Increases community involvement, fundraising capability, and long-term stability that government cannot provide. The county will still contribute annually (more than current funding) and handle all maintenance.

An intriguing long-term goal to explore is the idea of a veterinary scholarship pipeline. The county pays for a vet student’s tuition. In return, the vet commits five years of service at the White County Shelter. This gives the shelter in-house medical care, lowers emergency vet costs, reinforces humane care, and creates a stable pipeline for the future.

PENNY WHALEY: (a) I would use the resources that are available to restructure the animal shelter by relocating it to a permanent location as well as building a bigger and better facility.

(b) Animal Shelter would definitely be one of the top priorities if I become County Executive there again, are also resources that can be made available by restructuring the operation to have permanent staffing and a full-time manager to run the day-to-day operation with many improvements for our animal control.

(c) Yes, I feel the expansion and restructure should definitely involve the White County Sherriff office to handle calls of abuse and neglect.

(d) There are many organizations and grants that can be utilized to help fund the Animal Shelter to make the funding less burden on the county taxpayers. The facility has been neglected an put on the back burner for many years which definitely needs to change.

(e) Yes, I do feel that the county and city need to work together to combined resources that would help with funding, property issues and manpower.

JOE HALLUMS: (a) I would like to work with and encourage the White County Commission to develop a long-term plan considering all properties currently owned by the county to avoid land purchase. Also explore any synergies and opportunities with the city of Sparta.

(b) Initially, I would like to evaluate the current county staffing structure to determine if there are any opportunities to consolidate responsibilities to avoid adding a position. This would have to be approved by the WC Commission and budgeted.

(c) I would like to investigate all potential management options. However, I feel it is essential to have good working and communication process documented with the sheriff’s department.

(d) Consider and utilize all non-profit options before exploring budget discussions

(e) Yes, I think there are many opportunities for the county to share synergies with the city of Sparta. This is a good example of one that should be explored.

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