Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 16 2011
Chair of ethics down
By Julie Arrington
forsythnews.com
Citing what he called
public ridicule and a
"fatally flawed” govern¬
ing ordinance, the chair¬
man of the Forsyth
County Board of Ethics
has resigned after 11
years.
George Pirkle, who was
appointed to the five
member panel by the
Forsyth County Civil
Service Board, submitted
his letter of resignation
late Friday.
That was a day after
Terry Smith, vice chair¬
man of the civil service
board, criticized the ethics
panel in a meeting, saying
Softball booster club owes thouands
By Alyssa LaRenzie
alyssalarenzie@forsythnews.com
Forsyth County is weighing
whether to go after more than
$8,000 in fees owed by a
defunct softball booster club.
Spokeswoman Jodi Gardner
said the county did not receive
the 2010 fees from the Central
Park Softball Association
booster club. Typically, that
money would have been paid in
July.
FROM 1A
Woes
Like the Nexity arrange¬
ment, the Silverton Bank
collateral of 30,000 shares
of Integrity Bank hold no
value.
The Silverton Bank suit
contends Murphy still
owes $193,187.
It also seeks to collect
an additional $15.71 for
every unpaid day since
Dec. 31, 2008.
Since Silverton Bank
failed in May 2009, the
suit has been taken over by
the FDIC.
Murphy said he used the
loans to buy Integrity
stock.
Attorney Tom Knox, a
former local state repre¬
sentative, is handling
Murphy’s case.
“I think that he absolute¬
ly has meritorious defens¬
es in the case,” Knox said.
“I’m working with attor
FROM 1A
Blaze
“She did make it out
alive without a problem,
but it’s going to be a total
loss to that one unit,”
Shivers said.
The woman, whose
name Shivers did not
have, lives in the home
with her two daughters,
who both attend local
schools.
He said the family
FROM 1A
Hit
the store when a red
Dodge Ram 1500 crashed
through the front window.
He said another cus¬
tomer and the driver
refused treatment for
minor injuries as a result
of the wreck.
Cumming Police Sgt.
Bryan Zimbardi said the
driver of the truck, whose
name he did not have, will
not be charged.
He said the wreck,
which appeared to be acci¬
dental, occurred when the
female driver hit the accel¬
erator instead of the
brakes.
He explained that while
some traffic laws are
enforceable on private
property, she would not
face charges because it did
not appear she had inten¬
tionally struck the build
ing.
Matthew Cunningham’s
it was reluctant to investi¬
gate complaints.
Pirkle said he was
angered by the comments.
He also received a phone
call Friday from someone
claiming a county com¬
missioner had described
the ethics board as a
waste of taxpayer dollars.
“1 cannot remember a
time that I was so angry,”
Pirkle said. "So I just sat
down and batted out my
letter of resignation.”
The letter includes the
statement that “the last
straw is comments made
by qurrently seated com¬
missioners who have
characterized our efforts
as a waste of taxpayers’
money.”
Pirkle said he later
The matter has been turned
over to the county attorney for
legal review, she said.
Forsyth County made “mul¬
tiple attempts” to contact the
former softball association
president to discuss the finan¬
cial issue by mail, phone, certi¬
fied mail and e-mail, Gardner
said.
The former president of the
organization, Betsy Stanford,
declined to comment on the sit¬
uation Tuesday.
neys from both of these
entities.
Knox hopes both cases
can be resolved by year’s
end, though he said the
banks are unfairly target
ing Murphy to make an
example of him.
"That’s a tactic that fed
eral agencies like the
FDIC use,” he said. “They
like to go after public fig
ures. That gets the news...
to spread around and is
supposed to scare anyone
else in a like situation.'
Murphy said his situa¬
tion is not uncommon
from others in his industry.
It’s also a business stan¬
dard to have multiple
loans for various invest¬
ments, he said.
“I am a businessman
and I’m in real estate,”
Murphy said. “I own about
12 or 13 properties ... of
course, I’ve got loans with
other banks.
“Everyone in real estate
is going to have these
problems every now and
declined help from the
Red Cross.
The condo, one of four
attached units, was
engulfed in flames when
firefighters arrived at the
complex in eastern
Forsyth.
Shivers said firefighters
were able to stop the
flames from spreading,
though an adjoining unit
had some water and
smoke damage.
In addition, a separate
building next to the condo
had some heat damage.
vehicle was parked in
front of the shop when the
crash occurred.
“1 came out the front
door, walked to my car
and was putting my bag in
the back as she pulled in
and plowed in front of
me," Cunningham said.
“It was probably 15 sec¬
onds after 1 walked out the
door. “
He said the crash sent
tables and chairs flying.
Some of the shattered
glass hit him, though he
wasn’t injured.
For the folks at
Starbucks, the wreck was
all too similar to a Feb. 1
incident in which a 66
year-old woman drove
into the other side of the
storefront.
Two people were hospi¬
talized for injuries in the
wreck. The driver was not
cited.
Authorities have said
that wreck also appeared
to have been caused by a
driver mistaking the accel¬
erator for the brakes.
learned none of the com¬
missioners had said any¬
thing against the ethics
board.
“I feel bad for having
implied in the letter of
resignation that the com¬
mission would have made
a statement like that
because, quite honestly, if
the commission felt that
we were a waste of tax
payer money they
would’ve shut us down a
long time ago,” Pirkle
said. “1 have no doubt
about that.’
Smith’s comments
stemmed from the ethics
board’s decision to send a
complaint against former
Planning Commissioner
Brant Meadows back to
the civil service board
Fees paid by booster clubs
are used for printed materials,
game officials, trophies and
state or national sanctioning.
"Any concern regarding
unpaid fees by booster clubs is
unusual," Gardner said.
“Forsyth County has an out¬
standing group of booster clubs
who play a very important role
in our youth athletic programs.”
The county works with 16
booster clubs and organizations
at its parks.
then. It’s just business
Murphy said the three
lawsuits are a personal
issue that do not affect his
service on the senate
Banking and Financial
Institutions Committee,
“You have lawyers serv¬
ing on the judiciary com
mittee,” he said. “If they
get a lawsuit from a bank,
are they supposed to
recuse themselves from
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over a couple of technical
deficiencies.
Meadows had been
accused of threatening
three county employees in
2009 and 2010. The alle¬
gations surfaced during a
hearing before the civil
service tribunal, to which
former Planning Director
Jeff Chance had appealed
his termination.
The ethics board dis¬
missed two of the
employee complaints, cit¬
ing timeline requirements.
It asked the civil service
board members to sign
the complaint individually
and to resubmit it with
physical evidence, such as
a transcript from the hear¬
ing, of the third grievance
against Meadows.
The dispute between the
county and the former softball
booster club will not affect
children’s ability to participate,
Gardner said.
The former softball associa¬
tion dissolved at the end of
2010, she said.
Softball at Central Park was
turned over to the Central Park
Athletic Association beginning
with this upcoming spring sea¬
son.
Greg Blitz, association presi¬
serving on that commit¬
tee?
“The banking commit¬
tee has very little influence
on what goes on in the
banking industry.”
Knox agreed, saying the
suit doesn’t conflict with
Murphy’s committee serv
ice.
“It doesn’t have any¬
thing to do with banking
regulation in my book,” he
forsythnews.com
Pirkle said he thinks the
county commission has
the right to correct or crit¬
icize the ethics board.
"But a sister board like
the civil service board
does not have that prerog¬
ative, nor does a member
of that board,” Pirkle said.
“Of course, that's just my
opinion.”
He said he hand-deliv¬
ered the letter to Dana
Miles’ office. Miles, a
local attorney, serves as
the civil service board’s
hearing officer.
Pirkle also e-mailed the
letter to his fellow board
members and County
Manager Doug Derrer.
He added that he’d been
considering resigning
from his post for a long
said. “It’s strictly a busi¬
ness decision.”
Murphy also touched on
the $70 million FDIC suit,
which maintains the bank
violated ryles, made false
reports and allowed loans
to borrowers known to be
poor credit risks.
The bank also reported¬
ly failed to disclose the
true condition of assets
and did not adhere to poli¬
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS
time and that he has felt
inadequate to serve in
such a position.
He said board members
do not receive training in
ethics, though one mem¬
ber is an attorney appoint¬
ed by the local bar associ¬
ation.
He suggested the ordi¬
nance the ethics board
follows should be inspect¬
ed “with a fine-toothed
comb.”
Pirkle, who is diabetic,
said his medical condition
also played a role in his
resignation.
“1 feel like a dead hippo
has been lifted off my
shoulders," he said.
"Because like 1 said. I’ve
never felt like 1 was really
the person for the job.”
dent, said in a statement that
the matter between the former
softball organization and the
county is not in any way related
to the CPAA, which now
organizes baseball and softball
at the park.
“No debt was ever inherited
and passed along to the
CPAA,” Blitz said. “Our organ¬
ization ... has always taken
pride in being fiscally responsi¬
ble in our dealings with Forsyth
County.”
cies outlined in warnings
from federal and state
banking authorities and
regulators, among other
complaints.
Murphy said the FDIC’s
claims are untrue.
“Our answer has not
even been filed,” he said
“But when it is filed. I’m
sure that people will see
that we will be vindicated
in that lawsuit.”
3A