A local story recently came to light and I'd like to throw the pertinent
details out here for your opinions

A local city councilman has a girlfriend who runs a cat rescue called Cats
Haven. She currently houses 200 cats and provides neutering and adoption
services. She works out of a newly constructed barn and has the services of
a local vet to oversee the needs of the animals. Her salary is 36K per
year.Sounds rather expensive, eh? Donations are only a minor part of her
funding. The local newspaper tried to make a big issue of where she gets her
money and came up short of having the smear story they wanted.

The city councilman boyfriend runs a very busy bar downtown. He sells pull
tab tip tickets there which are classed as a form of bingo in Ohio. Since
the benefactor of these sales is a registered charity - Cats Haven - the
whole thing is perfectly legal. The records keeping of the bar and the Cats
haven organization are impeccable, so there is no complaint of violation of
gaming laws or political ethics.

http://www.limaohio.com/lederman/?postid=111

Those who opposed a casino coming to Lima on religious grounds found the
unlikeliest of allies in Lima City Councilman Ray Magnus.

It's really no surprise that Magnus opposed a casino, at least now that
someone has looked into the amount of gambling his bar does. What is
surprising: The people who implied hell awaits those who gamble signed on
with a man responsible for more than $1.45 million worth of gambling in only
12 months.

The woman Magnus has identified to reporters as his fiancée, Marie Daley,
runs the cat shelter that receives profits from the bingo sales at Magnus'
bar. Although the Ohio Attorney General's Office lists Cats Haven, the
holder of the bingo permit, as being in Wapakoneta and the Allen County
Auditor's Office puts it in Cridersville, it actually is in Allen County.
The cat rescue is at a Perry Township home Magnus and Daley own at 6105
McClain Road, across the street from Auglaize County.

The Form 990 for Cats Haven filed with the Internal Revenue Service for 2006
shows she spent more than $295,000 providing care for cats. In 2006, the
Form 990 for Cats Haven shows, bingo brought in more than $298,000.

Tip book expenses, which include paying winners, totaled almost 80 percent
of the money taken in. The reporting periods for the tax returns and the
bingo sales are different, so it would take an office with actual auditing
power to determine if all the reporting is accurate.

Let's assume it is.

Now, reading through the rest of the article, various people have an axe to
grind with Mr.Magnus, Cats Haven, the way some of the money is spent, etc.

Having perused the many articles tha appear on this subject, it is clear the
animals receive over $140,000 in vet care, $290,000 in total care and have a
really good chance at being homed.

If such an operation became succesful in your area, what would your thoughts
be about it?