The skunk population in Ward 3 may be an issue. But it’s obviously not a black-and-white issue.

We applaud Councilor George Marin for wanting to help the people in his ward with this stinky problem, but obviously, as was illustrated by the lack of a second, his idea of allowing citizens to capture skunks for a $25 bounty and having the city advertise for trappers isn’t the right one.

His plan didn’t address how the skunks would be captured, and we’d hate to see people with guns within the city limits putting others’ lives in jeopardy to get a few skunks.

Live trapping doesn’t work with skunks, either, for obvious reasons, and regular traps pose safety hazards for children and pets. Poison is not an option for the same reasons.

We urge the city to continue to research options on what to do about the skunks. Certainly, other cities had to have dealt with this problem. What have they done? There must be something that will work here.

We understand people’s displeasure at not being able to enjoy the outdoors on a nice summer evening because of the skunks.

We’d even go so far as to say it stinks.