As published in the Courier-Tribune on January 12, 2012
Hugh Martin
CANDOR — At a public forum during the regular January meeting of the Candor Board of Commissioners Monday, 12 people spoke, most angered over the firing of the police chief and three officers at an earlier meeting.
Frank Harris repeated his call for the resignations of commissioners Wayne Holyfield, Rob Martin and Tim Privett who voted for the firings.
“Tonight I’m also asking for the resignation of Mayor Richard Britt,” Harris added. “I don’t feel, and most of the citizens don’t feel, that he is acting in the best interest of our town.”
Harris continued, “Now is the time to be counted. The only way to fight this kind of tyranny is to put your name on the petitions. I don’t know of anything else to do.”
Petitions calling for resignations of the four have been circulating throughout the community.
Former commissioner Tim Smith of Candor asked for a cost estimate to the town in the past month and where the money would come from to pay for unemployment, payout to the officers, expenses to Montgomery County deputies to cover the town and other items.
Town Clerk Tammy Kellis said the cost was “in the thousands,” but no one offered an answer on the source.
Robert Hearne said he was concerned about the lack of response by board members when questioned by citizens.
“I heard at least five different times, by different people, why this action (firing four police officers in a public meeting on Dec. 12) took place. No one responded to any one of those five questions. Somebody knows why. I’ll ask again one more time, why?”
John Thompson, the grandson of John Thompson, who has worked for the town for over 46 years, also asked about rumors that his grandfather was going to be fired by the board.
“I have someone who is very near and dear to me and who has been a loyal servant to this town for quite a long time, and I don’t want him drug through this,” the younger Thompson said. “You owe these people out here a moral and ethical obligation to justify your actions to them and that’s not what they’ve been given.”
Brittany Martin, daughter of Commissioner Rob Martin, appealed to the citizens to work together as a town and “right now we are not a town.”
The town is divided over the firings, Martin said, “But, guess what? It did happen and we need to work together to make the best of it.”
Lonnie Campbell said he was tired of the publicity on TV and in the newspapers.
Jim McLeod, former commissioner and member of the town’s Planning Board told the commissioners he was appalled at their actions.
“As commissioners you have a fiduciary obligation to the taxpayers, even if they’re not citizens — people who own property and pay taxes,” he said. “Where is all this going to come from? Candor’s not a rich town.”
Rebecca Shepherd asked commissioners Martin, Holyfield, Privett and Mayor Britt if they felt that they represented the people who elected them.
Britt spoke up, saying, “People put me in office to try to do better for the town. I have tried to do that.”
Commissioner Holyfield answered, “I do, and I will say this: How many people signed up here tonight?”
Kellis said 77.
Holyfield said more than 77 people voted and a lot of them weren’t present.
Shepherd said. “We still want answers. We still want our police officers re-instated with full benefits. The citizens of Candor will not stop. We will continue to take an interest in this town and continue to fight to see that justice has been done.”
Ella Smith, a former resident of Candor who now lives in West End, said, “Mr. Mayor, I think the best thing you ever did was to clean out your (police) department. I had bad experiences with them. I sat two hours on the side of the road with a 2-week-old baby in the rain. I think I called you and kept complaining about it.”
Gloria Marshall said her riding mower that she used for transportation was confiscated by an officer and she had to walk home in pain.
George Myers was the last speaker. “We want answers and we’re not going to quit until we get some. You can sit there like a knot on a log if you want to, but we’ll still be here — this month, next month and every month after until we get some answers.”
Myers said he hoped the executive session on the agenda did not include the dismissal or firing of any additional town employees. “The one exception I will make to that will be ex-state trooper Eric Jackson, who was supposedly cleared to be hired last month. He’s never worked a day in his life in the Town of Candor and I hope that he doesn’t. We don’t want him.”
Jackson was recommended at the Dec. 12 meeting by Holyfield and backed by Martin and Privett. He has not applied for the job.
The commissioners were also asked to approve the minutes of the Dec. 12 meeting, at which Police Chief Randy White and three Candor police officers, James Pierce, Grantland Jackson and Jeremy Blake, were fired. Commissioner Rob Martin requested that the minutes be amended to contain a “verbatim” account, which would be a transcript rather than a summary. The request was approved by the board.
Following an announced executive session, Mayor Richard Britt reported that he and commissioners Layton Booker and Tim Privett will serve as the committee to review applications for the police chief position. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Friday.
In other action at the meeting on Monday, commissioners:
* Approved a $12,000 budget amendment giving the go-ahead for the bidding on the construction of a one-fifth mile walking trail at Fitzgerald Park. The park, located on the edge of the downtown area, is the center of the N.C. Peach Festival every July.
Public Works Director Brice Hollis and Town Management Advisor Ron Niland have mapped out the location of the trail and are now prepared to seek the bids for construction. The eight-foot wide paved asphalt trail will be constructed through a $10,000 grant from FirstHealth’s Healthy Kids Program. The town’s share will be the remaining $2,000.
Niland said the bids will be brought to the board for action during the meeting on Feb. 6.
* Were reminded town hall will be closed Monday, Jan. 16, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
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