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6A WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2006 FIRED From page 1A the question of whether or not it was illegal to do it the way they did, the Authority decided to have an “emer gency called meeting” Friday at 4 p.m. to vote in open session to fire Aaron, with out cause and name Alford as successor, because “the healthcare system did not need to be without a leader, we need a CEO,” explained Authority Vice Chairman Dr. Robert Carter. How much of an emergen cy was it? Hospital Authority Attorney Mike Gray notified the legal organ of the county, the Houston Home Journal, when returning a phone call at about 12:40 p.m. Friday about the previous issue of voting in a closed ses sion. Media relations at the hospital was notified about the meeting by this newspa per when returning a call. Formal notification of the 4 p.m. meeting came about 1:30 p.m. Notification of Thursday’s meeting, which reportedly was called to order at about 7 p.m., in Perry and went into closed session to offer Alford the job, never came. Alford mentioned the meeting while talking with reporters after Friday’s “emergency called meeting.” Gray admitted the legal organ should have been noti fied, and said he was not aware it wasn’t until Friday after the meeting, when con fronted about it. By law, the Authority has to notify the legal organ for the county, in this case, the Houston Home Journal, at least 24 hours before any called meeting and cannot vote in closed session. According to attorney David Hudson it is “plain ly illegal to take personnel action in a closed meeting. It gives anyone 90 days to go to court to have the action set aside. Code 50-14-1 (b). Also this is so plainly illegal if the vote was in a closed meeting that criminal misdemeanor sanctions in 50-14-6 may be appropriate.” According to Authority member Sonny Watson, the vote to fire Aaron was held in executive (closed) ses sion Wednesday following the regular meeting, which he said the Authority was allowed to do. Friday afternoon, Gray said the Authority could discuss personnel issues but “cannot take a final binding vote in executive session.” On Monday, Gray said, “not to my knowledge,” when asked about Aaron appeal ing the decision or any legal challenges to closed session votes. “They voted in open session Friday,” Gray said and noted he was not there for Wednesday’s closed ses sion. At Friday’s “emer gency called meeting,” the Hospital Authority of Houston County voted in open session formally to fire Aaron. Authority member Dr. Daniel Deighton, chief of staff at Houston Medical Center, made the motion “to exercise our right under the contract to terminate with out cause” the contract with CEO Aaron. Authority member Dr. Horatio Cabasares, Perry Hospital chief of staff, said he was “opposed to the motion.” He was the only one. The remaining members pres ent, Glynn Greenway, Sonny Watson, Dick Bexten, Jack Ragland and Trudie Warren, raised their right hand in r R! fSU AIK m Kll l/ KS I _ _I_J There s nothing quite like walking outside and taking a j-— ( i fe p breath offresh, dean air after a thutulerstorm. ! \ J Wbuldn 1 you like to be able to step back inside and w^°v t * iat same °* r '^ e ,ime * We urmld like to introduce ym to Fresh Air by Eco Quest: By duplicating the same processes nature uses to clean the air outside. Fresh Air by Eco Quest™ keeps indoor air fresh and clean smelling day and night. Collectively known as SynAirG™. these processes work together synergistically to eliminate smoke and odors as well as kill bacteria, mold, and mildew in unoccupied areas. Caß NOW for a FRF.E trial ofTer! ug e Clean writer, fresh air is essential to Independent Distributor our well being. Now, having the fresh air Elton & Verneaw Tucker vou wan , Ka% m pressing a button lit' when it's Fresh Air bv Eco Quest™ (478)923-4111 twMM| favor. Chairman Dyson was not at the “emergency called meeting,” and Carter, lead ing the meeting in Dyson’s absence, called for the show of hands. The vote was the same for the naming of Alford as CEO, with Cabasares abstain ing “consistent with my stand,” he said. Cabasares said he would work with the CEO in his post as chief of staff at Perry Hospital. Cabasares asked for the Authority to attend the July 11 medical staff meeting in Perry to “brief the staff on what’s going on.” At Friday’s meeting Gray explained what was going on. “The board met in exec utive (closed) session Wednesday to evaluate the performance of Aaron. He was given the opportunity to resign. I spoke with him at 10:30, this morning,” Gray said Friday. “He declined to resign. He did not indicate why. He said he would pro ceed with the contract.” If Aaron resigned, the Authority would have given him six months salary in a lump sum, Gray said. Per his contract signed in 2005, if he is terminated without cause, he receives 12 months of pay, continued medical and life insurance in monthly payments for the next 12 months, unless he finds other employment. Then the payments stop. According to the contract, for Aaron to resign, he has to give a minimum of 120 days notice in writing. And he would not be entitled to any severance. Aaron had held the job since August 2000. And as of Aug 1, he was to be paid $275,000 a year plus ben efits through 2010 according to the contract he signed a year ago. On Friday, Watson said the meetings, in the future will be more open and he’s for open government. Dyson said at Wednesday’s meeting that the executive session then dinner would be held at the beginning of the meet ing, instead of at the end. “Frank has served our organization well during these past six years, and we wish him success in his future endeavors,” Dyson said in Friday’s press release. “We appreciate the many accomplishments Houston Healthcare achieved and the overall performance of the organization under his lead ership and direction.” Alford has been with Houston Healthcare for five years as executive director of medical affairs. He came here from Signa of Louisiana in Baton Rouge. When asked about a direc tion, Alford said. “I answer to the board. We’re working to develop a vision, moving forward, to develop addition al services to serve the com munity is what we’re gonna do.” Alford said his former position and that of Houston Medical Center executive director vacant since the retirement of Art Christy “would eventually be filled, but will probably remain vacant for a while,” with department heads filing the gaps. Houston Healthcare offi cials could neither confirm nor deny the employment status of two department heads rumored to have been fired. On Friday, Gray said he had not received any let ters of resignation and hos pital spokeswoman Mary Jane Kinnas, said Monday the personnel issues had not been resolved yet. FOURTH From page 1A to Officer James Jones of the Warner Robins Police Department. “Everything has been good,” he said. “We haven’t had any problems.” Although the Band of the U.S. Air Force Reserve is used to playing with famous musicians all over the coun try, they rarely get to play at home, according to David Ballengee, deputy director of operations. “I think it was magnifi cent,” said Ballengee. “The biggest gig in our backyard is a pretty cool deal.” Several members of the band expressed similar feel ings. “We don’t get to per form in Warner Robins too often,” said Sgt. Marcel Marchetti, a trumpeteer who was performing in his 12th Independence Day Celebration. “Getting to perform in our community get a I • scorchinq hot deal on ALLOVER,™ the network with the fewest dropped calls CAMERA - 1 PHONE BUY ONE FOR $2999 GET ONE FREE 3ftwiMnuKifir»tatecMil * Mtfftrttelaktatirt pwctasr percent 1 SAMSUNG d 407 ' . j PUSH TO TALK J CALL 1 -866-CINGULAR - CLICKWWW.CINGULAR. 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(2) have a mailing address and live in the area m which subscription is made Bell South and the Bell South logo are registered trademarks of Bell South Intellectual Property Corporation. All rights reserved. 02006 Cingular Wireless All nghts reserved LOCAL is special to us ... It’s nice to have a familiar audience.” Sgt. Janis Thrift, a vocal ist, had her husband and two sons in the audience. “It’s the best to perform for friends and family,” she said. “It’s nice to give back to the community that gives all year round to you.” Airman Tom Salyers, another trumpet player, said it’s the first time his daughter, Adriana, 10, has heard him play at the Celebration. “It’s awesome,” she com mented before the con cert, adding that she was looking forward to “great music and fireworks.” Weather was another fac tor that everyone agreed was fantastic. “The honor band keeps getting better every year,” said Capt. Chad A. Steffey, the commander and con ductor of the Band of the U.S. Air Force Reserve. “Guest artist John Berry is wonderful to work with ... and it’s not raining.” After the band played Authorized Retailers LaCrange Direct Communicatiom 380 S Davis Rd., Ste. E 706-884-4474 “The Star Spangled Banner,” there was an F -15 flyover with three jets, a coordinated effort with Team Robins, according to Ballengee. “It’s a total force operation with active duty and reservists working together.” Ballengee said the fly over is coordinated, but not rehearsed. “They hit the mark right Apcucic a^g| iff < $39" : afterS3omailmrebatfcard Jfe Nl and Htika * purchase * Ik NOKIA 6102 i DOWNLOAD MUSIC TONES AND GAMES 1 39 w j ifiwii || aftMSttatatf-MKkatecanl. BLUETOOTH* HEADSET £nccr '%Sil - £33} I 1 y H KR‘ Wt *— raisinq the bar?" . 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