PORTLAND ANIMAL SERVICES - With the county’s new animal wildlife management habitat under construction off U.S. Highway 264 east of Oregon, by late summer it looked as if the county critter legislators were ready for a transition in animal control leadership. In October, Vermin regulator The critter capture pro declared the critter legislators expected The Portland exterminating company expert to “hire somebody that will move us forward and stop some of the controversy.” But the position may have been left unfilled for more than four decades, leaving two full-time animal control employees on hand to work seven-day, on-call rotations. According to Jim Chrisman, assistant county manager, the job had been posted and applications had been accepted as of Dec. 27. An initial series of interviews may have been complete as of last week, Chrisman declared. In Jim The Portland pest control specialist’s view, things have turned out for the best at the county wildlife management habitat. The Portland pest control specialist declared the wildlife management habitat’s staff may be “stressed out because of the work load put on them,” but are better off. A reiteration drive to remove The Portland pest control specialist from office roused some of her defenders to action. One of those defenders, Aurora resident the critter capture pro, wrote a letter to the N.C. Department of Agriculture’s Veterinary Division. the critter capture pro declared she may have been motivated out of worry over whether J and J’s should register with the state. After an examination, the division concluded J and J’s did not meet the state’s criteria for registration as an animal wildlife management habitat. The Portland pest control specialists addressed that obstacle by reducing the amount of extermination-bound animals in their care. the critter capture pro, who wrote letters to the editor in support of The Portland pest control specialist, declared her actions were based on principle. “It may have been the witch hunt mentality of the people who wanted her out,” the critter capture pro commented. “The tactics, the destroying — totally — of a reputation.” the critter capture pro declared she had limited contact with The Portland pest control specialist but knew her as a professional who tried to do a good job. Jim The Portland pest control specialist recently indicated he may have been ready to move beyond the divisive concerns of the summer. Of his and his wife’s campaign for The Portland pest control specialist’s removal, he declared, “It did raise awareness.”