• Home Delivery
• Customer Services
• Contact Us

Ethics panel to consider allegations against Sullivan highway department

BLOUNTVILLE — The Sullivan County Commission’s Executive Committee voted Wednesday to submit County Attorney Dan Street’s report on recent work by the county highway department to the county’s Ethics Committee.

Sullivan County Commissioner of Highways Allan Pope did not attend the Executive Committee’s called meeting.

Executive Committee Chairman Wayne McConnell said he’d made repeated attempts to reach Pope after questions first arose last week about the Sullivan County Highway Department’s work on Graybeal Road.

McConnell said he finally reached Pope on Tuesday on his cell phone — and Pope told him he and Street should have spoken to him before speaking publicly about the questions, and then hung up.

McConnell said it was his understanding Pope had made it clear to others that he intends to “plead his case” to the full County Commission at the group’s regular monthly meeting next week.

Commissioner Joe Herron, a member of the Ethics Committee, said he’d spoken with Pope and “he felt if he came here tonight he’d be crucified” by the Executive Committee, acting as a “kangaroo court.”

Seventeen of the Sullivan County Commission’s 24 members attended the Executive Committee’s special meeting Wednesday, called last week solely to discuss questions about the highway department’s work on Graybeal Road.

Several county commissioners and county residents last week asked Street to look into the highway department’s work on Graybeal Road. That work garnered much attention from some area residents and county officials in recent days after the highway department first dug a trench along that road — and then filled it back in with nothing inside.

Street presented committee members, as well as others in attendance, with an eight-page report of his weeklong investigation.

According to Street’s report:

•“The facts also indicate that Allan Pope knew of the work being performed by the highway department on Graybeal Road at the time it was being performed.”

•“The facts also indicate that David Campbell knew of the work being performed by the highway department on Graybeal Road at the time it was being performed.” (Campbell is a district foreman with the highway department.)

•The facts indicate that the highway department’s improvements to Graybeal Road benefited the owners of a property parcel proposed for subdivision there.

•The facts indicate that by the highway department digging a water line ditch, the owners of that parcel benefited.

•“The facts also indicate that even though Bluff City denies it had any agreement with the Sullivan County Highway Department or Allan Pope, that Allan Pope has indicated that he intended for Bluff City to personally gain by giving as his explanation that his intent in digging the water line ditch was to personally benefit Bluff City.”

Also according to the report, under a section titled “Misconduct, the law”:

•The state’s “County Uniform Highway Law” states: The chief administrative officer (Allan Pope) shall not authorize or knowingly permit the trucks or road equipment, the rock, crushed stone or any other road materials to be used for any private use or for the use of any individual for private purposes, and the chief administrative officer’s failure to see that this section is enforced is a Class C misdemeanor.”

•Another section of that state law states: “Neither the chief administrative officer (Allan Pope) nor any other official or employee of the county may use any county vehicle, equipment, supplies or road materials for other than official county road purposes.”

•That section of the law continues to create an exception by saying “however, the county governing body (County Commission) has the authority to authorize the county road department to perform work for other governmental entities; provided, that the cost of the projects so authorized is to be reimbursed to the county road department.”

•“A violation of this section of law is a Class C misdemeanor — a crime, and each separate use of such personnel, equipment or supplies for other than authorized purposes constitutes a separate offense and is subject to a separate punishment.”

Also according to the report, Sullivan County’s own ethics policy states:

•An official or employee may not use or authorize the use of county time, facilities, equipment or supplies for the private gain or advantage to any private person or entity, except as authorized by legitimate contract or leaser or that is determined by the board of commissioners to be in the best interest of the county.”

McConnell urged the committee to send Street’s report directly to Sullivan County District Attorney Greeley Wells. Commissioners Darlene Calton and Elliott Kilgore, however, said they wanted to hear Pope’s side of the story. Kilgore said as far as he was concerned, everything Street reported was “hearsay.”

McConnell said he could not force Pope to come to the Executive Committee meeting.

Commissioner Linda Brittenham made a motion to send the report to the district attorney, but it died for a lack of a second.

Commissioner John McKamey then made a motion to send the report to the Ethics Committee, and that won unanimous approval from the committee, including Calton and Kilgore.

The county’s Ethics Committee, chaired by Circuit Court Clerk Tommy Kerns, also includes Commissioner Cathy Armstrong, Brittenham, County Trustee Frances Harrell, Herron, Commissioner Bill Kilgore and Gayvern Moore.

The group has a standing monthly meeting time of 8:30 a.m. on commission day — 30 minutes prior to the full commission’s monthly meeting — but only meets when given something to consider. The full commission is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. March 15, and McConnell clearly expected Street to be able to meet with the Ethics Committee that morning — saying they possibly should move up their meeting time to 8 a.m. to allow enough time for the topic at hand.

The county’s calendar, however, does not list an Ethics Committee meeting for this month.

And Herron, speaking with Armstrong, Brittenham and Bill Kilgore after the Executive Committee adjourned, was pushing for the group not to meet until at least after the full County Commission’s meeting that day — to give Pope a chance to talk to the whole commission first.

Home | Login | Local News | Obits | Sports | Business | Opinions | Blogs | Classifieds| Business Profiles

Web Feeds/RSS | Contact Us | Customer Service | Privacy Statement | Common Questions | E-Edition | Subscriptions | Site Map

© 2010 Kingsport Publishing Corporation - Innovation by Times Digital Group