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Animal Control mural in final stretch

ALPENA, Mich. — If you’ve passed the fairgrounds in recent weeks, one building may stand out which didn’t before.

Next to the hustle and bustle of the fair, volunteers continued the quiet work of painting the County Animal Control building.

The project, organized by Girl Scout Troop 1218, has transformed the once–beige structure with colorful paintings of pets – all submitted by Alpena students. For the past month and a half, some of those students have joined the painting process, lending the scouts an extra hand.

Troop leader Deborah Hautau said the mural greatly increased animal control’s visibility.

“We have people from the community coming up, even before the fair, they would come up and say ‘what is this building?’ even though it’s been here for years, they never knew it was here. And it just catches the eye.”

Scouts and students aren’t the only ones volunteering. Anyone in the community who wants to can lend a hand.

One volunteer said she feels like she’s happy to be a part of the team.

“I think it’s so cool that children wanted their pictures to be up there and they spent the time to draw them. So, I can take a little time to paint them so they can see them.”

Hautau says there’s roughly a month of work left before the mural’s finished. If you want to lend a hand, keep an eye on Alpena Animal Control’s Facebook page. They’ve been posting open dates for volunteers.

 

Correction: An earlier version stated that Girl Scout Troop 79 organized the project. It was actually Troop 1218. The text has been updated accordingly.