Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, May 2,2018
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 9A
'Dawson County is blessed with a great staff of firefight
ers and medics who daily answerthe call and I am look
ing forward to joining their ranks as a volunteer firefighter
after next week. I wish Director Danny Thompson and
Chief Danny Speaks the best in their new positions and
am hopeful the community will support them in the same
mannerthey did me.'
Lanier Swafford
Outgoing fire chief
FROM 1A
Chief
the investigation and
restructuring was spurred
by statements made by
former Fire Marshal and
Deputy Chief Tim
Satterfield, who retired in
December.
Satterfield requested a
meeting with Headley and
County Attorney Lynn
Frey via email Nov. 14 to
discuss payout for 6,896
hours of compensatory
time that he claimed he
had accrued in his 12 years
of working for the emer
gency services department.
Headley declined to pay
the hours, and stated in a
letter to Satterfield that
banking of comp time
hours “goes against any
policy we have had in
place since your hire in
2005, and also goes
against the policy we cur
rently have in place.”
Satterfield claimed that
it was a common practice
in the department for
Swafford and Ricky
Rexroat, then-deputy chief
of administration, to give
comp time for salaried
employees when they
work over 120 hours,
despite the fact that there
is no comp time policy. He
also said that firefighters
had been paid extra for
doing jobs around the sta
tions such as welding and
carpet cleaning.
Headley stated in a Jan.
10 report that after he
reminded all of the county
department directors that
there is no comp time poli
cy, Rexroat continued giv
ing time off and adding
hours and pay to the
department payroll,
“which violates purchas
ing, payroll and personnel
policies.”
Headley initiated an
audit by independent
auditing firm Rushton and
Company, which reviewed
a sample of time cards
from 2017 and found that
record keeping was “slop
py,” that some hand entries
on time cards did not
match digital clock entries,
as well as discrepancies
between the time cards
and the log book of
employees on shift.
“The audit also dis
closed that on occasion
vacation time was submit
ted as regular hours
worked rather than reduc
ing the employee’s accu
mulated vacation hours,”
Headley wrote. “This is
the responsibility of Ricky
Rexroat.”
Satterfield and other
emergency services
employees made further
complaints about Rexroat,
stating that he was unco
operative, arrogant and
that he was a favorite of
Swafford.
Rexroat resigned
January 12 after he was
informed by the county
manager that he had vio
lated several county poli
cies related to perfor
mance, personal conduct,
unfair hiring practices and
attitude and behavior.
“My discussions with
EMS staff, Danielle
Yarbrough (human
resources director) and
(the county attorney) have
concluded that the conduct
and management style of
Ricky Rexroat appears to
be where the internal prob
lem exists in emergency
services,” Headley wrote.
“That is not to suggest to
the reader that Lanier
Swafford does not play a
part in the current dys
function of his depart
ment.”
Headley went on to say
that he believes that much
of what was alleged has
been going on for years
and that it was a way to
save taxpayer money,
including the practice of
paying firefighters for jobs
around the stations as
opposed to hiring contract
workers.
Current County
Commission Chairman
Billy Thurmond said
Tuesday that when he was
director, firefighters with
skills such as welding or
carpentry were often hired
to perform work at the sta
tions when not on duty in
order to save money.
Swafford gained the role
of emergency services
director and fire chief after
Thurmond retired from the
director position in
December 2015.
“This abstract system
was a way of doing busi
ness for so long that it cre
ated an operational culture
not of circumventing the
system of being self-suffi
cient and being good stew
ards for the citizen,”
Headley wrote. “As cul
tures change so does that
way of doing business.
Today, such operations are
viewed as irresponsible.”
Headley stated he did
not believe Swafford had
intentionally made any
violations and that his
offer for Swafford to take
a role as second in com
mand would not be seen as
a disciplinary measure.
He also intended to
demote Rexroat to a posi
tion without responsibility
for administration and
place him under Assistant
Chief Danny Speaks, as a
disciplinary measure.
Rexroat could not be
reached for comment prior
to publication.
Satterfield declined to
comment further on
Tuesday other than saying
his request for comp time
was not related to
Swafford’s resignation.
Satterfield is currently
running unopposed for
District 3 County
Commissioner in the pri
mary election.
Swafford began his
career as a volunteer fire
fighter with Dawson
County in 1989 and
became chief of emergen
cy services in 2007. A cer
tified EMT and paramedic,
he also holds a bachelor’s
degree in fire service
administration. He also
currently serves as deputy
coroner for Dawson
County.
“It has been my honor
and privilege to serve the
citizens for over 25 years,”
Swafford said Friday.
“Dawson County is
blessed with a great staff
of firefighters and medics
who daily answer the call
and I am looking forward
to joining their ranks as a
volunteer firefighter after
next week. I wish Director
Danny Thompson and
Chief Danny Speaks the
best in their new positions
and am hopeful the com
munity will support them
in the same manner they
did me.”
FROM 1A
Planted
In March, Gold Creek Foods
came under fire after a chemical
spill at the plant contaminated a
nearby creek, causing the death
of numerous fish and other
wildlife. Gold Creek Foods did
not notify authorities of the
spill, which was discovered by
City of Dawsonville Employees
two days later.
Representatives with the
Georgia Department of Natural
Resources Environmental
Protection Division are still
investigating the circumstances
of the spill and its impact on the
creek, which runs into Shoal
Creek and the Etowah River.
The school playground was
closed Friday, March 23 so that
soil tests could be performed to
determine if the chemical spill
had reached the school grounds.
Superintendent Damon Gibbs
said the following Monday that
results indicated the playground
was not affected by the spill and
was safe for the students to use.
Gibbs said in an email
Tuesday afternoon that after
EPD representatives conducted
their initial investigation of the
chemical spill, they asked the
school system to make them
aware of anything out of the
ordinary.
“A few days later there were a
few random poultry parts found
on the playground,” Gibbs
wrote. “We were instructed by
the EPD to clean them up and
report any recurrence. We were
also cleared to use our play
ground for student recess.”
Gibbs said the incident was
not reported to the police.
This is not the first time the
plant’s close proximity to the
school has caused issues.
In August of 2013, Gold
Creek Foods received notice
from the EPD for failing to
contain water containing
“blood and high biological con
tent” that dripped off trucks
when workers loaded and
unloaded at the plant. The con
taminated stormwater ran
above ground onto Robinson
Elementary School property
and caused the school to close
its outdoor classroom and gar
den.
Gold Creek Foods was
required to install a drainage
pipe that “eliminated contact
between poultry by-products
and stormwater” as well as a
second drip pad to catch runoff
from the trucks.
Tanner
STATE HOUSE
Values We Trust
Leadership that Delivers.
I ran to represent you with the promise to serve
with the values we trust and provide leadership
that delivers.
G Largest tax cut
state history
G Education reform
G Backed the blue
and supported
efforts like parole
reform to keep our
families safe
G Fought to preserve
our right to
practice our faith
G Continued the
crack down on
illegal immigration
G Kept our economy
growing
G Stood firm for our
2 nd Amendment
Rights
G Delivered vital
infrastructure
improvements
KEVIN HAS DELIVERED:
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