VIDALIA – More than 1,000 people have signed petitions of support for the establishment of a parishwide animal shelter — and a committee researching the subject is determined not to let them down.

&uot;There’s all kinds of stuff we’ve got to go to make this happen, stuff we didn’t realize,&uot; said committee member Donna Maroon. &uot;But we’re working hard on it.&uot;

Committee members are scheduled to give an update of their work at Monday’s Concordia Parish Police Jury meeting, which will begin at 6:30 p.m.

The committee will now work to set up a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation to operate the shelter. Filling out and submitting the paperwork to do so will take about three to four months, Maroon said.

Setting up a corporation is necessary in order to qualify for grants to help build a shelter. Local officials have estimated that a shelter for the parish and the towns of Ferriday, Ridgecrest and Clayton could cost $50,000.

One reason is that the Humane Society has detailed specifications for shelter construction, according to information from the Humane Society of the United States. &uot;We will follow their guidelines,&uot;&160;Maroon said.

Maroon pointed out that Ferriday Mayor Glen McGlothin has said the town could donate land it owns on Poole Road in unincorporated Concordia Parish as a site for the shelter.

&uot;But there’s nothing concrete on that yet,&uot; Maroon said. McGlothin could not be reached for comment Friday.

Still, despite still-uncertain details, Maroon said the committee will keep plugging away at the problem.

Petitions handed in at the committee’s Thursday meeting brought the number of signatures in support of the shelter to more than 1,000.

That shows people are concerned about the problem of stray animals, she said.