Is There A Double Standard In Giles County????
Until WKSR finally posted the story nothing had been made available to the public about the DUI citation issued to the County Tax Assessor in May.
It wasn't until I started poking very hard into the situation and had gathered all the information and was about to break the story on this blog that WKSR would even mention the story. Was it a conscious effort to hide the issue in order to protect an elected official or was it simply a matter of laziness on the part of the local news media? I believe it was more a lack of active investigation than a conscious effort to hide the information. With the paper staff being cut back and the radio relying on the paper for most of its information the circumstances developed that created this lack of involvement.
Here is what I found out about the situation prior to the announcement by WKSR. Mr. Robert Steve McGill was issued a citation in May, by State Trooper Briggs, charging him with Driving Under The Influence, Violation of the Implied Consent Law, No Vehicle Registration, No Proof of Insurance, and failure to drive with Due Care. Due Care means he wrecked his Blue Ford Pick-up without involvement of others. Instead of being arrested and taken to jail Mr. McGill went to the hospital. A court date was set for 30 October 2009, this was a Friday and the reason given as to why this did not appear with the regular listings of court cases in the newspaper.
Mr. McGill who is represented by Attorney Bob Massey had his case turned over to the Grand Jury who made a decision on Friday to send the case forward.
Chapter 8 of the Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) states that this kind of behavior is grounds for "OUSTER". The question now is what will be the extent of public exposure and will the County Ethics Committee address this issue and punish such behavior as it is authorized to do? Allen Barrett
It wasn't until I started poking very hard into the situation and had gathered all the information and was about to break the story on this blog that WKSR would even mention the story. Was it a conscious effort to hide the issue in order to protect an elected official or was it simply a matter of laziness on the part of the local news media? I believe it was more a lack of active investigation than a conscious effort to hide the information. With the paper staff being cut back and the radio relying on the paper for most of its information the circumstances developed that created this lack of involvement.
Here is what I found out about the situation prior to the announcement by WKSR. Mr. Robert Steve McGill was issued a citation in May, by State Trooper Briggs, charging him with Driving Under The Influence, Violation of the Implied Consent Law, No Vehicle Registration, No Proof of Insurance, and failure to drive with Due Care. Due Care means he wrecked his Blue Ford Pick-up without involvement of others. Instead of being arrested and taken to jail Mr. McGill went to the hospital. A court date was set for 30 October 2009, this was a Friday and the reason given as to why this did not appear with the regular listings of court cases in the newspaper.
Mr. McGill who is represented by Attorney Bob Massey had his case turned over to the Grand Jury who made a decision on Friday to send the case forward.
Chapter 8 of the Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) states that this kind of behavior is grounds for "OUSTER". The question now is what will be the extent of public exposure and will the County Ethics Committee address this issue and punish such behavior as it is authorized to do? Allen Barrett
posted by Allen Barrett | 10:50 PM
58 Comments:
GTC Says:
I have never supported Steve McGill personally or during an election. The last blog regarding the election of McGill as tax assessor was riddled with personal opinions pro and con for McGill. Those for McGill were very adement about how McGill may have made mistakes in the past; but, he was a changed man and the deserved any and all suooport from his fellow citizens. This last action on the part of McGill, if proven true, supports the position that he has changed ...... for the worst.
This is the person responsible for conducting a fair and unbiased assessment of all real properties in the County. McGill may have an underlying knowledge as to how this assessment should be done. However he seems to be personally impaired to do his job. Giles County is not a rehab center for elected officials who can not and continually refuse to be personally responsible and place their personal behavior in order. If convicted how can McGill continue to perform his job? Especially if the Judge revoxes McGill's driver's license?
It is time for McGill to go. If he is convicted I hope that McGill has the personal fortitued to resign and prevent this county the embarrisment of impeaching him.
GTC
McGill has embarrassed this county enough he needs to be gone yesterday.
How much time has he taken from his job to deal with this legal matter did he use vacation days, sick days or just not show up as usual?
Mr. Barrett, how do you find out all of this trash? You seem to come up with things no one else has heard of.
9:29:00
Go to the WKSR web site for news. They were the ones who "broke" this story. By the way all of this information is public record
Teagle
9-29 .....Why do you think it's trash to discuss when a publically elected paid official of this county drives off a public highway into a tree (which didnt move over and grab him !) while under the influence of something that incapacitates him ? Not only that but he was apparently unable to provide the state trooper who came to his aid with documentation that any driver is required to have.
I dont see much trash in that.
I DO see news that they who elected (and pay )him NEED to know.
Just as we need to know who's going to be judging this case from here on
Just in case those of you who think Steve is the best we have and is good for this County ....
WKSR learned today that Giles County Tax Assessor Steve McGill was bound over to the Grand Jury in October on DUI charges. According to the Pulaski Citizen Newspaper, the charges were the result of an alleged incident last May.
Charges include DUI, a registration violation, no proof of insurance, violation of the seatbelt law and failure to show due care.
General Sessions Judge John Damron recused himself from the case in October, citing a potential conflict of interest. Lincoln County Judge Andy Myric was called in for the arraignment hearing in October and bound the case over to the Grand Jury.
Teagle you're wrong about who broke this story Mr. Barrett was talking with Commissioners at the School Board Meeting on Thursday Night I was there. WKSR only got hold of the story after the Scott Stewart was contacted about why nothing had been in the paper about it. The radio gets almost all it's information from the newspaper.
How Mr. Barrett gets information I don't know only that he does and and its very seldom wrong. I agree this was public information available to anyone who had an interest in chasing it down.
The difference between WAB and the radio and paper is he's not afraid to ask questions and call things as they are. Of course this gets under the skin of some folks but it's necessary for people to stay informed in order to make smart decisions.
This blog has provided more information about what really happening in this place than the paper and radio combined have, wait a minute they are combined. This blog and Mr Barrett have done the community a service and I don't care if some don't like it he's a hero and should be County Mayor.
1:02
There's only one teeny-weeny minor problem with barrett being county mayor. He can't get elected. I'm sorry if that bothers you, but that's just the way it is.
ummmm....also, you are mayor of the city, not the entire county......just so you know.
6:09
I just had a sudden revelation about the topic of this particular thread...a double standard. Here's the double standard. It's ok for you guys to criticize and belittle those you dislike for whatever reason, but you seem to have "zero tolerance" for those like me who criticize you for doing so. Now that I would call a double standard. In short, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Or, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Would you agree?
6:09
I just had a sudden revelation about the topic of this particular thread...a double standard. Here's the double standard. It's ok for you guys to criticize and belittle those you dislike for whatever reason, but you seem to have "zero tolerance" for those like me who criticize you for doing so. Now that I would call a double standard. In short, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Or, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Would you agree?
If the police pulled over and I had no Vehicle Registration and no Proof of Insurance, what would they do?
I can't believe he didn't have insurance. We all sure could save money if we didn't have to have insurance.
McGill could of hit someone and killed them driving drunk. He doesn't need to be deciding our property taxes.
Thanks WAB for watching out for us.
It does not say he does not have insurance it just says he did not show proof at the time. I know this because my daughter got pulled over and could not find hers at the time but she had it. I know because I have pay out the roof for it because she is a teenager.
Even if you have insurance law says you have to have proof of insurance and vehicle registration in the vehicle at all times. Yep, I know sometimes we forget or dont take the time to keep the necessary papers in the vehicle but nevertheless, a county official should be extra responsible. I wouldnt be surprised if the defense argues prescription drugs were the problemn. But here again, prescriptions come with warning labels and paperwork about driving or operating machinery when taking certain prescriptions. The warning is there for a reason.
Can we wait untill Mr. McGill has his day in court before we (the people on the blog) find him at fault ? If he is found guilty, then we can persue other avenues.
Heard that this past weekend Scott Stewart is having fund raisers for his campain for Co. Exec. My problem is he has covered the McGill problem up secce Oct. To me he is just as bad. More of the same. Cover-up, cover-up cover-up!!
Scott Stewart WAS NOT AWARE of the McGill arrest until last Friday morning. He made no attempt to cover anything up.
12:04 is a Vanzant fan trying already to start the swear campaign. 12:04 possibly works at the annex and is running scared. They will start as quick as they can to try to convince the people of this county that Scott Stewart is worse than Vanzant is. No way can that be true.
The least of McGill's worries is wether or not he has insurance. I remember when Mr. Barrett was arrested, he was plastered all over the papers and the whole nine yards. I guess this also puts to rest wether Mr. McGill was drunk when he was parking his motorcycle on the courthouse lawn.
Great, now when everyone gets their assessment they're gonna ask if the person that did it was drunk.
If this is grounds for "OUSTER" then so is Vanzant living in Lincoln County and holding the County Excutive Office!
Looks like our County Commission has (2) items to deal with.
Personally I want to know what the do about these two officals.
I can't picture Scott Stewart being county executive. His knowledge and leadership skills are lacking for this position.
I THINK SCOTT WOULD MAKE AN EXCELLANT COUNTY MAYOR. AS FAR AS THE MCGILL CASE, HE CAN ONLY REPORT ON WHAT HE KNOWS. I HAVE LIVED HERE ALL MY LIFE AND I WASN'T AWARE OF IT UNTILL IT HIT WKSR. DON'T BE SO QUICK TO JUDGE UNTIL YOU KNOW THE FACTS.
The hush hush scenario surrounding this incident with Mr. McGill starkly reminds me of another issue that appeared and then just as quickly vanished into thin air. What about that Minor Hill policeman who got caught will all those illegal drugs in his house? References to that has even disappeared out of search engines.
Mr. Allard please do a follow up on that.
Mr. Robert Steve McGill was issued a citation in May, by State Trooper Briggs, charging him with Driving Under The Influence, Violation of the Implied Consent Law, No Vehicle Registration, No Proof of Insurance, and failure to drive with Due Care. Let me see if I have this correct, he has been charged with this, but not convicted, and already everyone is jumping on the impeach MCGill bandwagon. I do not know Mr. McGill, but I believe in this country, we follow due process, and also belive in the concept of innocent until proven guilty. Therefore, give the man a break until he has his day in court. Now, as far as this being covered up, I know people who have gotten tickets and had to be in court within 60 days. We are just now hearing about this? This is ridiculous. At least Damron had the sense to recuse himself from the case. I would like to know why this information was not put in the local paper. I'm sure that it was known at the courthouse. Why is it that someone with a "bad name" is assuredly in the paper, but if someone with a "good name" does something, their name is conveniently absent. That is a true double standard.
4:55
You are exactly right about due process, and that's what I have been saying for quite some time on this blog. We have the electoral process in place to remove unsavory elected officials, and there is a criminal justice system that serves to deal with those who break laws. Why can't we honor and follow those institutions rather than to go on witch hunts for those elected officials we don't like? Would anyone from the complainers gang like to answer that question?
4:55, Yor are correct in your statement. I know Stewart knew about this. We need a person to run for this office that is not involved with the media or politics. In this county, those two run together.
Most on this blog believe in Justice For All!!
That means All, good name/bad name!
The problem with our local government is; a small group of those Elected Officals control what the media hears to the best of their ability!
Cover Up is the name of the game.
For anyone that has worked inside the county government, including the school system, knows of this.
For those of you that have not you should use this blog, as a guideline for information that has for decades been sweep under the rug, whispered in the back rooms, but dare not speak outloud in fear of loosing their job.
The first thing you learn in local government when you are hired is: This is a Right to Work State.
Defination: You can be fired at any time for any reason, so what happens here stays here OR U ARE GONE!
It is the DUTY OF THE ELECTED COMMISSIONERS; to Ouster any Elected Offical, for violation of State Guide Lines, PERIOD!
I agree with the post made on 01-18-2010 @ 6:45 p.m.! Our Elected Commission has to stand up and do what is right and do it now. This is an Election year. Let this be a warning for all of them (bar none) get some backbone or gamble on whether they will return to the same position next year !!!
Check with C.T.A.S. themselfs, and not let their so called leader lie to them again.
THE PEOPLE HAVE HAD ENOUGH.
This is just another sad consequence of having no professional media in Giles County. None of them ever leave their offices to actually find and report the news (their jobs). In order to COVER what goes on, it is necessary to GET OUT and attend meetings, events, trials, hearings, develop a network of reliable sources and be a PRESENCE in the community. Their unwillingness to do this (under the lame excuse of staff cutbacks - they never did it when they were fully-staffed) just allows for business as usual - carried on in less of a cloak of secrecy than business-as-usual because nobody cared enough to show up to find out what was going on and then inform the readers/listeners. Rather, they all-too-often rely on having it hand-delivered to them. I give you the column that ran in the paper some time back soliciting photos from readers because paper staff members "couldn't be everywhere and wanted to be home with their families in the evening." That said it all. Reporting is a profession that knows no 9-to-5 regular hours and if "staying home in the evening" is the priority, the a different choice of profession is recommended.
This whole McGill thing is just inexcusable and unacceptable, but happened because, well, when there's no competition (radio or newspaper) what you get is mediocrity or worse. You also have an owner/publisher who is far more concerned with his own local popularity than with mandating that his employees deliver fair, objective, unbiased reporting of what goes on around here.
Once again, there would be no need for this blog if Pulaski/Giles County had real media outlets. But, based on reactions to many of the issues raised on this blog, people here would never stand for real reporting of what does go on.
McGill is an elected official who is paid with tax dollars, which makes what he does taxpayer business. Whether or not he is ousted does not need to be considered until he is convicted or acquitted of the charges.
Public Drunkenness is grounds for ouster of public officials under the ethics guidelines adopted by the county. This is not something that has to be proven in court. The Ethics committee, which has never met since its inception, simply must respond to a complaint filed with them or they can investigate without a complaint if they have reason to believe an ethics violation has occurred.
In the case of Mr. McGill the arresting officer's report described him as appearing to be intoxicated and falling out of his vehicle, fumbling excessively in getting his license, leaning or bracing himself against vehicle while walking or standing. His demeanor was angry, insulting/profane, eyes were bloodshot and watery. His mental state was confused, his attempt to walk resulted in his falling and being unable to walk. His speech was slurred and the effects of the intoxicant was described as extreme. This is clearly the description of a person who is drunk in a public place and in violation of the county and state ethics guidelines.
One question that comes to mind is when will the ethics committee address this issue.
There must be standards of conduct required of officials and there must be penalties when these standards are violated, if there is no penalty why bother having any ethics standards at all. Allen Barrett
Teagle says:
Why Mr. Barrett ... why indeed!
Because that is the way we have run this County for the past 200 years and me and my friends will do any and everything to make sure that our way of runing the County is not changed; by you or any one who thinks they can vote us out.
Teagle
Dont believe Mr Barrett was talking about voting out of office but being ousted out of office. Totally different ya know.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 4:34:00 PM
So you are a public official.
Or just trying to be cute.
Sure sounds like Janet Vanzants' mouth, to me.........!
I.ve heard her cute ton, too many times over the past few years.
One state had an election today and made a change.
Don't say it can't be done.
There is a law in Tn. that says that you have to be proven guilty before the commission can do one thing. That is not to say that I do not think Mr. McGill is not guilty but to say that it has to be proven.
You are wrong 9:25. An ethics board can investigate and punish regardless of what a court decides. Think about how many police officers get suspended from their jobs because they are charged with a DUI or some other violation. People get punished all the time without being guilty in a court of law.
EVERYBODY is guilty of something. Investigate EVERYBODY! Then crucify them on here. One of these days, someone on here is going to say the wrong thing and somebody will lose HIS pants and MORE!
11:01
That is exactly right. They have been warned. And there are ways to find out who is making the accusatory remarks and charges. They just might have to prove it in court or, at the very least, get a "butt whoopin".
6:31 you have claimed to know the person who is the cause of all the trouble you know the one who signs his name and you have proclaimed yourself the defender of all so why don't you march over to his house and dish out that "butt whoopin" are is it that you just do a lot of butt blowing?
Mr. Barrett bags another one and saves Giles County - again. ha!
9:38
Believe me, I wouldn't be afraid to go over there if the need ever came up. But I would never do that, because I don't like the idea of getting sued.
To 9:52, no you are wrong. There is a differance in being suspended and ousted. If you are suspended you are out for a certain amount of time. If you are ousted you are gone forever. The ethics book says you have to be found guilty before you are ousted.
You're right 11:32 there is a difference in ouster or fired and suspension. I thought I had spoken of suspension but apologize if I was unclear. Any public official charged with a serious crime should be suspended without pay until after the matter is resolved then the back pay and benefits can be restored if found not guilty. With the apology made in the paper by McGill there isn't much doubt about his guilt but still the court should be where the decision is made.
8:19 If you are talking about WAB, as you always are, I think you and your big mouth being sued would be the least of your worries. Why do you think he would sue you anyway only lawsuit I've heard he was involved in was those against the county not individuals. Once again you've let your imagination run away with you. If you would just take your medication these things wouldn't happen to you.
9:55
What about the finger incident with the lawyer? I'd never lay a hand on anyone I thought was going to sue me. Would you?
"Finger incident"? I thought it was a shove.
The judge said it was assault then he said guilty Mr Whatever his name was.
assault with a finger. Hilarious.
His name is Cagle. It was a shove. I believe he admitted the offense and that he was wrong.
You are right 7:55 and once again 7:03 has shown his ignorance of the law.
howard
You should have been a comedian.
If 6:33 if Howard was a comedian would he have to pay royalties for using a joke like you?
10:19
And if he were the comedian he perhaps should be, then you could be his writer.
As usual the people of this county can not stay on track with the subject at hand. It was 4 days age that a blogger wrote about the is blog's dubject. Since then all other writers have vented their spleen
It has to frustrating to be smarter and have all the answers and nobody asks you the questions.
ha, wonder who wrote the comment about barrett usually always being right, hint, hint, fill in the blank b_rRe_tt! go figure! We all make mistakes, was this mcgill man on the clock when he was drunk? I wish some of the people on here would tell us their mistakes, so we can dog them! oh, but they may be perfect! hahahahahahaha
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