Shop LocalTuesday, October 16, 2012
Mokane — Communication issues led to conflict at the South Callaway Fire Protection District’s board meeting Monday night.
After a few pieces of regular business were taken care of, officer Jeff Pate had a message for board president Linda Davis.
“I’ve been asked to speak (for the other firefighters). We’re all here in concern as taxpayers and firefighters that you have a lack of respect for the firefighters, and we do not feel we want you as president,” Pate said.
“I find that interesting, because I don’t interact with the firefighters except here at board meetings,” Davis responded.
According to Pate, her interactions with firefighters at the meetings are the problem.
“The purpose of the board is to conduct the business of the fire district,” Davis countered. “It’s not the position of the board to interact with the firefighters. That’s your chief and assistant chief’s job.”
Pate mentioned another complaint was that the board had instructed the firefighters to get estimates for expanding station five — which he said the firefighters did not consider to be their job — only to say when presented with some of that information that the district will not be making any additions this year.
Davis explained that the board’s direction to form a committee was for informational purposes.
“We weren’t going to expand anything until the fire trucks were done,” Davis said, referencing the board’s recent decision to purchase two new fire trucks at a cost of $300,000.
“The money is limited. We cannot do that since we took on the responsibility of the trucks,” she pointed out, adding that “My position on the board is to make sure the revenue is to protect the fire district, make sure we have the money to buy safety stuff, buy trucks.”
Comments
online_editor 7 months ago
I removed some posts because they contained an expression designed to bypass the profanity filter. Please convey any comments minus that. Thanks. --Rick Brown, online editor.
sunreader 7 months ago
I re-posted minus any creative sentiment substution and my comments still do not show. Perhaps you really are censoring critism of the Sun.
online_editor 7 months ago
That was my error with the administrative settings. Your account can post now and your latest post expressing your critique is below. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you for reposting.
callaway 7 months ago
I think as a taxpayer that the board and the volunteer personnel should be looked into. The department has continued to fall below expectations so why are the taxpayers paying? This department has lost good people who actually cared for the community. Now, it's all politics and who someone wants out next. As a taxpayer, our dollars are being wasted. It's time to get rid of everyone and start new! Callaway County residents in SCFD, need to hold a meeting, clean house and bring in people who want to help the community.
sunreader 7 months ago
The lack of previous press coverage of South Callaway Fire Protection District board meetings could lead one to speculate that the presence of a reporter at the recent SCFPD board meeting is the result of a "concerned citizen" contacting the local press to gain an audience for some pre-planned drama. Since the story is bookended with officer Jeff Pate's "we don't want you [Davis] as president" spiel and pays particular attention to his complaints, perhaps it was he? It is awfully convenient that the Ms. Cummings was present for Mr. Pate's performance.
callaway 7 months ago
I do know that the press has attended previous SCFD board meetings because firefighters have asked for the press to attend but nothing has been put in the papers about it. I do know that the SCFD isnt ran by the so called board but instead is ran by the firefighters. Many issues have been brought to the board and the board sweeps it under the rug. Lets see..miss use of department equipment, discrimation, sexual harrassment and wrongful terminations. Maybe the press should talk to previous firefighters to hear the real stories and then present it to Ms. Davis and see what excuses the board, chief and assistant chief came up with.
sunreader 7 months ago
So the press should be a futher accomplice in spreading hate and discontent through perpetuating gossip? If the firefighters are running the show, they aren't doing themselves any favors if they are running around miss-using equipment, discriminating, and sexually harassing each other. As for wrongful terminations...no one ever thinks they deserve to be let go (every termination is wrongful in the eyes of the terminated and his/her friends and family).
Seth 7 months ago
It is so interesting to sit here and read the comments that are posted from behind a fake name, why is it that you cant use your real name? As the newest appointed Officer in the dept. i do feel there are changes that need to be made, however i am not going to hide behind a fake name to say it, the truth of the fact is we have some great people on our dept who work hard to do there job for the better good on the community! As a dept we need to work togather, do the job that needs to be done, help those in need, and fix the problems as they come up. In doing this we will become stronger, and those who dont want to comply will be delt with in a proffesional maner. To do this you must start at the top, the old but true statment about it rolls down hill is exactly that if the people above you don't do there job properly you cant expect those below to follow threw. This is called THE CHAIN OF COMMAND it is my possision we start at the top fix the problems as we go down the list and in the end we will have a stronger more professional dept.
callaway 7 months ago
Well...as you have high hopes for the SCFD, one can only hope that will be case. But after years of volunteering for SCFD i know that line has always been preached but never has happened. Give yourself a few months to a year and see if SCFD doesnt leave a bad taste in your mouth. As far as CHAIN OF COMMAND...you will learn theres no such thing there. As SCFD is the laughing stock of Callaway County...good luck. With that said...you cannot teach old dogs new tricks.
By the way..my name is Aaron.
Tammy 7 months ago
As a former member of SCFPD (16 years of service), I want to state that those who are willing to volunteer to help the community are few and far between. I’ve seen many people come and go over the years for a variety of reasons. This so called “drama” is merely firefighters who are passionate about what they do for their community. As far as the firefighters running the department, that is not true, however, the firefighters know what they need and a lot of the time their concerns fall upon deaf ears due to lack of leadership at the top of the chain of command. You’re only as strong as your weakest link and unfortunately the weak link is at the top, so what are the firefighters supposed to do? The volunteers of SCFPD want to provide an excellent service to the community and despite the problems; I believe they do their best to accomplish that and would like to set the standard high. It is difficult to accomplish much, whether you are a paid employee or a volunteer, when you feel you have no support from the chief and the board of directors. I attended this meeting and since I’m no longer on SCFPD and my views are no longer personal from a firefighter point of view, rather as a taxpayer in the district. I could understand both sides during the discussion between Mr. Pate and Mrs. Davis. The firefighters have been shown disrespect by the board president; however, I understand her job as president and the job of the other board members. I believe there needs to be more consideration given to those who respond to calls and they deserve to be heard. There appears to have been some miscommunication regarding trucks and where to house them. As a former firefighter, I have to agree with the concerns of the firefighters on how to house new trucks in an efficient manner as to not delay their response in getting to whatever incident they have been paged out to. This is something the Chief should have brought to the board instead of assuring them there was room for 2 trucks. In my own opinion, stating housing the trucks is not practical but “doable” is not an acceptable answer. The discussion regarding expanding stations is not new; it’s something that has been on the table for a few years, so it should have been taken into consideration when there was discussion regarding purchasing new trucks. Also, regarding the trucks, perhaps someone should look into checking IF there is a conflict of interest due to the board president’s business being contracted towards maintenance and repairs to SCFPD’s trucks.
Tammy 7 months ago
(continued) The officers have been trying for years to improve the fire department, but the lack of participation and dedication from the chief has made their efforts virtually impossible. The chief is a great guy and has devoted many years to the fire department. For reasons I won’t go into here, maybe it’s time to step down but not leave the fire department because he has a lot of experience that can be valuable to other firefighters (old and new). He should put the department into the hands of someone who has more time to put in the effort to be a leader and make better decisions regarding the fire department and personnel.
Despite all the so called “drama”, if my house were on fire or if my husband or I were sick or injured, I would not hesitate to have the volunteers of SCFPD come to my aid. Their dedication and willingness to serve is greatly appreciated because there are not many who are willing to do what they do.
As far as misuse of equipment, discrimination, and sexual harassment, I’m not going to mislead the public into believing this is what the fire department has turned into because it’s simply ludicrous, (I am a female). I will state that the volunteers work hard to ensure the equipment is properly maintained and I had never once been made to feel discriminated against (I was the first female to be promoted to an officer position) or made to feel uncomfortable in working with the men of SCFPD. It is my sincere hope that issues are resolved so the fire department can move forward and continue to serve the community in a safe and efficient manner.
callaway 7 months ago
On what Tammy has said...amen!!!!!!!
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