Volunteer numbers have more than held steady as the city of Independence has taken over the Regional Animal Shelter. And without them, Interim Animal Services Director Christina Heinen says, "We wouldn't be able to sleep." Tonya Hampton Lopez, director of volunteers at the shelter, said the roster as of this week is "107, and growing, and about 20 percent of them are new." Lopez had worked for Great Plains SPCA, which ran the shelter for Jackson County but left in July. Heinen said Great Plains maintained it had about 100 registered volunteers, but the city never received an exact number...
