Horses on Main Street anger neighbors

After leaving horses on E. Main Street overnight, the owner arrived to find two horses, piles of manure, angry neighbors and codes enforcement on the way.

?I don?t understand what all the fuss is about,? said horse owner Nancy Farmer. ?We just left them here overnight. They didn?t hurt anything.?

According to Farmer, the horses, named Bandit and Doc, were left overnight in the lot of Shane?s Automotive Repairs located at 307 E. Main Street after she brought the horses to the lot to exchange services.

?We worked on the guy?s vehicle while he shoed our horses,? said Farmer. ?Before we got through it was midnight so we decided it would be best to leave them here and come for them in the morning. Here I am.?

Before she could retrieve her horses, codes enforcement was called by Sandra Hillis, an employee of Check Exchange, after she arrived at work. Although the horses were enclosed in a fence at that time, at some point they were allowed to defecate in the parking area the businesses share.

?The smell is awful,? said Hillis. ?Those horses have been here since yesterday. We are trying to beautify downtown and they let horses mess everywhere. I bet they don?t even clean it up.?

According to Hillis, the business has broken city codes in the past and continues to do so.

?They just don?t care,? said Hillis. ?They know they are supposed to keep the black lining around the fence but they don?t. They said codes wouldn?t do anything about it anyway. It?s down right now.?

Farmer said she had no idea that placing the horses in the enclosure overnight would be a problem and promised she would be back in an hour to clean up the mess.

Even though the business is not located in McMinnville?s Historic District, current codes prohibit feed lots and stock yards within the city which would make housing the animals on the lot a violation. Before a codes inspector could arrive, the horse owner loaded up Bandit and Doc and headed for their home in Grundy making a not-so-clean getaway.

According to city planner Jack Qualls, if the mess is not cleaned by the horses? owner, the business owner will be responsible for clean-up.