Today’s Richardson County Board of Commissioners meeting is unlikely to be of a “routine” nature, as David Sickel, Jim Davidson and James Standerford will hear grievances from a pair of former Sheriff’s Dept. employees terminated from their positions just days after Sheriff Don Pounds took the oath of office.
If there’s a manual on “dealing with anger management in the workplace,” it may be prudent the commissioners refer to it, as former Jail Administrator David Clark and former employee Julie Houser are unhappy campers and willing to formally say so publicly.
Sheriff Pounds defeated Mrs. Houser’s husband, Randy, in last spring’s primary election, and was sworn into office Jan. 8 of this year. That swearing in marked the end of the Houser Era – in more ways than one. Julie Houser was fired upon arriving for work the following Saturday; Clark upon arriving for work on Monday.
Clark said both he and Mrs. Houser were “wrongfully terminated” and suggested today’s grievance hearing was only the beginning of the fight.
Sheriff Pounds “had an agenda,” according to Clark, who started with the department four years ago (Mrs. Houser long before that, during Vernon Buckminster’s term).
Sheriff Pounds will meet with the Board at 10:50 a.m., followed by Clark at 11 and Mrs. Houser at 11:30.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.